‏ Daniel 3

Summary for Dan 3:1-30: 3:1-30  ^a Nebuchadnezzar’s megalomania, perhaps encouraged by the vision of ch 2  ^b, inspired him to construct a gilded statue and demand that everyone in his empire worship it. He had not learned the lesson that God cannot be captured in any created thing. The three young Hebrews refused to worship it as a god. They were faithful to the Lord, and the Lord rescued them from the king’s wrath. 3:1  ^c The plain of Dura might be the plain adjacent to the city of Babylon, or the Aramaic term might refer to the magnificent outer wall of Babylon described by the Greek historian Herodotus.

• statue: Literally image.
3:2  ^d The various classes of people listed here were all governmental officials.
3:5  ^e Pipes could be rendered “drums,” or possibly this was a word of musical direction that indicated being “in harmony” with the other instruments.
3:7  ^f all the people: Outside of Israel, idol worship was normal, so all the non-Jewish people obeyed the king’s command.
3:11  ^g In some situations, the Lord’s people must refuse to obey the established authorities in order to remain faithful to the Lord (cp. Acts 4:19  ^h; 5:29  ⁱ; Rom 13:1-7  ^j).
3:12  ^k These Jews had defied his Majesty the king, specifically by refusing to worship his statue. Defying the king was an act of high treason (cp. 2:10-13  ^l).
3:13  ^m Nebuchadnezzar was capable of deadly rage against even his most honored officials (cp. 2:12  ⁿ, 48-49  ^o).
3:14  ^p Is it true . . . ? The Aramaic word is used only here in the Old Testament. The king may have been asking, “Are your actions deliberate?”
3:15  ^q I will give you one more chance: The three men’s earlier relationship to the king may have helped them get a second chance.
Summary for Dan 3:16-18: 3:16-18  ^r The three men declared their faithfulness to God above all. They were entrusting themselves to the God who had rescued the entire nation of Israel from the power of Pharaoh (Exod 18:10  ^s). God later revealed that those who remain faithful unto death will be delivered even after they have died (Dan 12:1-3  ^t).
3:23  ^u In the Greek version and the Latin Vulgate, The Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three Jews are inserted after 3:23  ^v (see Daniel Book Introduction, “Author and Date”).
3:25  ^w walking around: The same word is used in Gen 3:8-9  ^x.

• like a god (literally like a son of the gods): The king understood the being as the Lord’s angel (Dan 3:28  ^y).
3:26  ^z The title Most High is often used to refer to God (e.g., 4:2  ^aa, 24-25  ^ab; 7:25  ^ac; Gen 14:18  ^ad; Num 24:16  ^ae; Deut 32:8-9  ^af; Ps 73:11  ^ag; Isa 14:14  ^ah). In Canaanite religion, it often referred to Baal.
3:28  ^ai The king was surprised that God could rescue his people, but the three Hebrew men knew that their God could deliver them (3:17  ^aj).
3:30  ^ak promoted: A related word is used in Gen 39:2  ^al. The men were rewarded for their righteousness and their faithfulness to the Lord.

‏ Daniel 4

Summary for Dan 4:1-37: 4:1-37  ^am In his pride, King Nebuchadnezzar convinced himself that he had built Babylon (4:30  ^an; cp. Gen 11:1-9  ^ao). He disregarded the warning of the Most High God (Dan 4:24-27  ^ap). He had still not learned the lesson God was teaching him through these experiences, that the God of Daniel stands outside the world of time and space, and no human is equal to him. So God’s decree of judgment fell upon Nebuchadnezzar (4:17  ^aq, 25-26  ^ar; see Prov 16:18  ^as).
4:4  ^at God did not allow the king to remain in the comfort and prosperity of his palace; injustice and oppression were in the city (4:27  ^au), and the king was full of pride (4:30  ^av).
4:5  ^aw Nebuchadnezzar’s dream disrupted the false peace and serenity of the king’s misguided life.
4:7  ^ax The professionals could not interpret the dream even though it was told to them this time (cp. 2:1-11  ^ay). Their dream manuals failed them (see study note on 2:4).

• astrologers: See also 2:5  ^az, 10  ^ba; 3:8  ^bb; 5:7  ^bc, 11  ^bd, 30  ^be.
Summary for Dan 4:8-9: 4:8-9  ^bf At last: Nebuchadnezzar appealed first to his Babylonian advisers; in spite of his high position, Daniel, an exiled Jew, was a last resort.

• spirit of the holy gods is in him: See 2:47  ^bg; cp. 5:11  ^bh. Despite his previous experience of the Most High God, Nebuchadnezzar still believed in many gods. In Egypt, Pharaoh had asserted the same thing of Joseph (Gen 41:37-38  ^bi). It was the Most High God who assisted Daniel (Dan 4:24  ^bj). Nevertheless, for the great king to say that Daniel had the spirit of the holy gods in him showed great respect and helps to explain Daniel’s immunity from harassment (see ch 3  ^bk).
4:11  ^bl The tree ... reaching high into the heavens possibly alludes to the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9  ^bm).
4:13  ^bn a holy one: The term holy is not widely used in the Semitic languages outside of the Bible. It simply refers to that which is out of the ordinary or nonhuman. Nebuchadnezzar was most probably using it that way here.
Summary for Dan 4:14-17: 4:14-17  ^bo The messenger had full authority as the representative of the Most High to announce God’s decrees and demand that they be fulfilled.
4:16  ^bp Seven periods of time may refer to a seven-year period (cp. 7:25  ^bq; 9:24-25  ^br).

• mind of a wild animal: See 4:31-33  ^bs.
4:17  ^bt the Most High rules: God distributes kingship and kingdoms to whomever he will, even to the lowliest (e.g., Joseph, Gen 41:41-57  ^bu; David, 1 Sam 16—2 Sam 5  ^bv).
4:22  ^bw The tree is a haven of sustenance, rest, and safety for the world (cp. Gen 2:15-17  ^bx; Rev 22:14  ^by).

• your greatness reaches up to heaven: Cp. Gen 11:1-9  ^bz.
4:23  ^ca Cut down the tree: The tree must be cut down because of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride (4:27-30  ^cb).
Summary for Dan 4:25-26: 4:25-26  ^cc until you learn that the Most High rules: God’s goal was proper recognition of God’s rule.
4:27  ^cd Stop sinning and do what is right: Righteousness and justice exalt a nation and extend the reign of a king; the lack of it dooms a people. Daniel humbly pled with the king to change his ways.

• be merciful to the poor: This was a requirement of God’s law (Exod 23:6-11  ^ce; Deut 15:10-11  ^cf; Prov 29:14  ^cg; 31:9  ^ch) as well as Babylon’s. A former great king of Babylon, Hammurabi (about 1792–1750 BC), claimed to have been charged by his god Marduk to shepherd and protect the orphaned, the widowed, and the oppressed.

• Perhaps then: Daniel recognized that God was free to act or not act (cp. Dan 3:16-18  ^ci); because he is a merciful God, he might take pity on the condemned king (cp. Exod 32:30  ^cj; 1 Sam 14:6  ^ck; 2 Sam 12:22  ^cl; Joel 2:14  ^cm; Amos 5:15  ^cn; Zeph 2:3  ^co; 2 Tim 2:25  ^cp).
Summary for Dan 4:28-33: 4:28-33  ^cq Because Daniel’s warning went unheeded, the dream became reality.
4:30  ^cr The city of Babylon had magnificent walls covered with royal blue ceramic tile and gold-colored lions and dragons. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were also part of the city’s splendor, as was the dazzling Ishtar Gate. The king recognized all this as a reflection of his own glory and power, not as a gift of the Most High God.
4:32  ^cs The king who took Israel into exile for seventy years experienced his own exile for seven periods of time until he was purified of his pride.
4:33  ^ct This disease, called boanthropy, causes a person to behave like an ox. Several ancient sources lend support to this account, and the king’s annals are notably empty from 582 to 575 BC.
Summary for Dan 4:34-37: 4:34-37  ^cu Nebuchadnezzar now acknowledged and submitted to the higher authority of the Most High, the King of heaven.
4:35  ^cv He does as he pleases: God has absolute power in heaven and on earth.
4:37  ^cw The Most High God is the King of heaven as well as of earth. Human pride has no place before him, even that of the greatest of human kings.

‏ Daniel 5

Summary for Dan 5:1-30: 5:1-30  ^cx Earthly kingdoms all pass away. As Nebuchadnezzar’s dream implied, Babylon would pass away and a new sovereign kingdom would take its place (2:39  ^cy). After Nebuchadnezzar’s death in 562 BC, violence and debauchery increased in the palaces of Babylon until, during Belshazzar’s feast in 539 BC, even God’s holy vessels were polluted and defiled. God’s judgment came with lightning swiftness that night (5:30  ^cz), and the next kingdom took over (see 2:32  ^da, 39  ^db; 5:31  ^dc). 5:1  ^dd Many years later: This chapter opens in October 539 BC (see study note on 5:30).

• The name Belshazzar means “Bel Protects [the King]” (Bel was a Babylonian god). Nabonidus (556–539 BC) placed his son Belshazzar on the Babylonian throne around 553 BC as ruler in his stead. Then Nabonidus moved to Tema in northwest Arabia, where he stayed for ten years. He returned to Babylon only in the unsuccessful attempt to oppose the Persians (cp. 5:30-31  ^de).
Summary for Dan 5:2-4: 5:2-4  ^df The gold and silver cups from the Temple in Jerusalem had been taken into captivity along with the people (1:2  ^dg), but previous Babylonian kings had not defiled them. They were eventually returned to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:7-11  ^dh).

• predecessor (literally father): Belshazzar was the oldest son of Nabonidus; his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar is uncertain.

• While they drank from them they praised their idols: If Belshazzar had ever known of the honor Nebuchadnezzar had shown toward the Most High God decades earlier (Dan 4:34-37  ^di), he had long forgotten it. Two ancient Greek historians, Herodotus and Xenophon, record the all-night festivities, dancing, and excessive drinking that took place as the city was taken by Persia.
Summary for Dan 5:5-6: 5:5-6  ^dj The supernatural hand shocked and terrified the carousers. Yet Belshazzar remained unrepentant (5:29  ^dk; cp. Jer 38:19-24  ^dl; Acts 24:25  ^dm).
5:7  ^dn Purple robes and a gold chain are associated with royalty and power.

• third highest: After Nabonidus and Belshazzar himself (see study note on 5:1).
5:8  ^do As before, the Babylonian wise men were unable to interpret the omen (cp. 2:4-11  ^dp; 4:7  ^dq; 5:15  ^dr).
5:10  ^ds the queen mother (literally the queen): She was probably Belshazzar’s mother, not his wife.

• Long live the king! was the standard greeting (also in 2:4  ^dt); ironically, Belshazzar would die that night (5:30  ^du).

• Don’t be so pale and frightened: Cp. 1 Sam 28:20-25  ^dv.
Summary for Dan 5:11-12: 5:11-12  ^dw The queen mother reasoned that someone who had the spirit of the holy gods and could interpret dreams (see 1:17  ^dx) should also be able to interpret the writing.
5:15  ^dy None of the Babylonian wise men could break the heavenly code (cp. 2:27  ^dz; 4:7  ^ea). Only true wise men or prophets can interpret God’s messages. Daniel knew that it was the Spirit of God who enabled him to do so (cp. 2:28  ^eb; 5:24  ^ec).
5:17  ^ed Daniel interpreted the writing but required no pay from the wicked king (cp. Gen 14:21-24  ^ee; 2 Kgs 5:15-16  ^ef).
Summary for Dan 5:18-21: 5:18-21  ^eg Daniel presented Nebuchadnezzar as an object lesson that should have guided his successors. Instead, Belshazzar had made the same mistake of exalting himself and dishonoring the Most High God.
5:20  ^eh A rebel against God characteristically has a heart and mind that are puffed up (or hardened) with arrogance (see Exod 7:13  ^ei; Josh 11:20  ^ej; Isa 14:3-5  ^ek). Nebuchadnezzar was brought down when he became puffed up with arrogance, and Belshazzar would be as well.
5:21  ^el the Most High God rules ... and appoints anyone he desires: God had taught Nebuchadnezzar this lesson, and it was the heart of God’s message to Belshazzar. God would appoint a new ruler that very night (5:30-31  ^em).
Summary for Dan 5:25-28: 5:25-28  ^en Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin: These Aramaic units of measure are used on a balance to weigh quantities of goods being bought and sold. Belshazzar knew the words, but Daniel explained what they meant in this context. The God of Israel measures kings and kingdoms in the balances of justice and righteousness (cp. 4:27  ^eo).
5:26  ^ep Mene means ‘numbered’: In this context, it means “reckoned, scrutinized.”
5:27  ^eq Tekel means ‘weighed’—you ... have not measured up: Babylon’s king would be destroyed because he did not measure up to God’s demand for righteousness and mercy (see 4:27  ^er; 5:22-24  ^es).
5:28  ^et Parsin means ‘divided’ (or halved): The Babylonian Empire would be divided and given to two peoples, the Medes and the Persians.
5:29  ^eu Instead of responding to the message, Belshazzar honored Daniel.

• proclaimed the third highest ruler: Daniel did not desire the honor, and in a few hours it would be meaningless. God would reward Daniel in due time (12:13  ^ev).
5:30  ^ew The conquest of Babylon by the Medes and Persians ushered in a new era of Persian dominance.
5:31  ^ex Darius the Mede is distinct from later Persian kings named Darius (see profile for The Medes and Persians at end of chapter). Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BC, and there is no mention of a Darius the Mede in other sources. Two solutions are possible: (1) Cyrus the Great might have appointed Darius the Mede to rule as “King of Babylon” in his place for a little over a year (cp. Dan 6:28  ^ey; 9:1  ^ez; 11:1  ^fa); or (2) Darius and Cyrus might have been the same man bearing two throne names—one name from the Medes, the other from the Persians (see also study note on 6:28). The portrayal of Darius in ch 6  ^fb suggests that he was in fact Cyrus, the ruler of all Media, Persia, and Babylonia.

Profile: The Medes and Persians


The Medes (around 850–549 BC)
The early Medes left no written records. According to an inscription from Shalmaneser III of Assyria (858–824 BC), the Medes had settled around Ecbatana, their capital (modern Hamadan, Iran), by the mid-800s BC. The Medes were renowned horse breeders, so Shalmaneser raided their territory to steal large herds of fine horses. The Medes were subject to the Assyrians until the late 600s, when they gained their independence as Assyria weakened.


The Persians (around 700–549 BC)
Around 700 BC, a small kingdom of Persia was established under Achaemenes, who ruled around 700~675 BC. His son Teispes (675~640 BC) was under the domination of the Medes, who were gathering forces to overthrow Assyria. But trouble for the Medes later freed Teispes from their control. Cambyses (600~559 BC), son of Cyrus I and grandson of Teispes, married the daughter of the Median king Astyages; their son was Cyrus II (559–530 BC), who ascended the throne of Persia in 559 BC.


The Medo-Persian Empire (549–331 BC)
Cyrus II fought and defeated his grandfather, Astyages of Media, in 549 BC. He made Ecbatana in Media his capital and set up his archives there (see Ezra 6:1-5  ^fc). With a Persian father and Median mother, Cyrus II embodied the joining of Media and Persia.
Cyrus exhibited an attitude of benevolence and generosity toward defeated enemies. A capable military leader, Cyrus invaded Asia Minor and defeated Croesus, king of Lydia, and brought the Greek cities of the area into subjection. In 539 BC, he captured Babylon with virtually no resistance and decreed that exiled peoples could return to their homelands to rebuild their temples (see Ezra 1:1-4  ^fd).
The son of Cyrus, Cambyses II (529–522 BC), conquered Egypt, but the empire nearly disintegrated when he committed suicide. Cambyses was succeeded by Darius I (521–486 BC), the son of Hystaspes, satrap of Parthia. Darius, an energetic and efficient administrator, put down internal revolts and consolidated the empire into twenty provinces, each under a satrap or “protector of the kingdom,” with inspectors (“the ears of the king”) to check on the activities of the satraps. Darius changed the principal capital of Persia to Persepolis, where a tremendous palace complex was eventually constructed. Darius was a follower of Zoroaster and a worshiper of Ahura Mazda, the principal god of Zoroastrianism, as were Xerxes and Artaxerxes after him.
During the latter part of Darius’s reign, he suffered defeat at the hands of the Greeks at Marathon (491 BC).
Darius was succeeded by his son Khshayarsha, better known as Xerxes in Greek or as Ahasuerus in Hebrew. During his rule (486–465 BC), the Persian fleet was defeated by the Greeks at Salamis (480 BC).
The loss of the empire has been attributed to the cowardice of Darius III (336–330 BC), whose armies were defeated by Alexander the Great at Issus in 333 BC and ultimately at Gaugamela, near modern Erbil (Arbela) in 331 BC.


Persia and the Bible
The earliest mention of Persia in Israel’s history is in Isaiah 44:28–45:13  ^fe, a predictive prophecy that was given to Isaiah more than 150 years before Cyrus captured Babylon and decreed the return of the exiled Jews to Jerusalem. The rest of the biblical references to Persia occur in the later period of Old Testament history (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther) and in the writings of the exilic and postexilic prophets (Daniel, Zephaniah, Haggai). Persia is portrayed in Scripture as a stern but usually benevolent master that generally let the Jews govern themselves and worship in their own way. Nevertheless, the fact that the postexilic community of Judea was under foreign rule was never far from their minds.


Passages for Further Study
Ezra 4:5-7  ^ff

‏ Daniel 6

Summary for Dan 6:1-28: 6:1-28  ^fg God rescued and delivered his faithful servant Daniel (5:23  ^fh; 6:20  ^fi), whereas Belshazzar’s dead gods could not save him.
6:2  ^fj The three administrators placed over the whole territory reported directly to the king.

• and protect the king’s interests: Rebels could bring down the empire, so these administrators had to be absolutely trustworthy.
Summary for Dan 6:3-5: 6:3-5  ^fk Daniel’s integrity was unassailable and his abilities unmatched, so the envious administrators found fault with Daniel’s strongest point, his faithful worship of God. Daniel was about 80~85 years old at this time. He had led an exemplary life in Babylon. 6:3  ^fl the king made plans to place him over the entire empire: Cp. 2:48-49  ^fm; 3:30  ^fn; Gen 41:40-43  ^fo.
6:5  ^fp rules of his religion: Literally law [or requirements] of his God (cp. 6:8  ^fq, 12  ^fr, 15  ^fs; Ezra 7:12  ^ft, 14  ^fu, 25  ^fv).
6:7  ^fw the king should make a law: The request was couched as an appeal to truth and justice, but it was really an appeal to the king’s pride, with ulterior motives (6:4-5  ^fx).

• We already know that Daniel would not break God’s law to obey a human order (cp. 1:5-8  ^fy; 3:4-12  ^fz).
6:8  ^ga cannot be changed ... cannot be revoked: Cp. Esth 1:19  ^gb. Human laws all pass away, but God’s law lasts forever (Pss 93:5  ^gc; 119:152  ^gd). This devotion to established laws was one of the special features of the Persian Empire. Eventually, the profusion of laws so swamped them in bureaucracy that they could not function efficiently.
Summary for Dan 6:10-11: 6:10-11  ^ge as usual: Daniel’s regular prayer time established him in the daily worship of God.

• Jerusalem was God’s chosen city (1 Kgs 11:36  ^gf). Though the Temple was gone, it was unthinkable to forget Jerusalem (Ps 137:5-6  ^gg). Someday, the Temple would be rebuilt (Isa 2:2-4  ^gh; 44:28  ^gi).
6:14  ^gj The king had not thought through all the consequences of signing the law.

• deeply troubled: Or very angry for being tricked. He did not want to execute his best servant.
6:16  ^gk Caught in the officials’ trap, the king had to carry out the law, but he respected Daniel’s integrity in worshiping his God (cp. 3:15  ^gl; 6:20  ^gm).
6:17  ^gn his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles: The multiple sealing of the lions’ den made a covert rescue impossible. Neither the king nor the officials could open the den without breaking the other seals and thus informing the other parties.
6:18  ^go The king spent the night fasting because he mourned over what he had done and hoped that Daniel’s God would rescue him. The king couldn’t sleep at all because he knew that Daniel was an innocent and noble man.
6:19  ^gp Very early: Literally at dawn, the earliest possible hour.
6:20  ^gq Was your God ... able? There was no question about whether Daniel had served God faithfully, so if God didn’t rescue him it would have told the king that God was not able to do so.

• living God: The king probably knew what Daniel’s God had done during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. The expression living God is particularly used in the Bible to contrast the Lord with lifeless idols (see, e.g., Deut 5:26  ^gr; Josh 3:10  ^gs; Isa 37:17-18  ^gt).
Summary for Dan 6:21-22: 6:21-22  ^gu My God sent his angel: The law of the Medes and Persians proved impotent. God has the power to defend his faithful servant and his own reputation.
Summary for Dan 6:25-27: 6:25-27  ^gv King Darius sent this message: As Nebuchadnezzar had done previously (cp. 3:28-29  ^gw; 4:34-37  ^gx), the current ruler of the civilized world testified to all his subjects that the God of Daniel is the living God with real power and a kingdom that will never be destroyed.
6:27  ^gy He rescues and saves. ... He has rescued Daniel: This proclamation moves from the general to the specific. Daniel was a specific example of God’s rescuing power. God continues to act on behalf of his people, just as he has always done.
6:28  ^gz the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian: Or the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Such usage of “and” is common in Aramaic; many believe that Cyrus and Darius were one man (see study note on 5:31).