

When he wakes up, he realizes that the dream has some important message, so he consults his wise men. In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of four kingdoms (chapter 2) When their training is done Nebuchadnezzar finds them 'ten times better' than all the wise men in his service and therefore keeps them at his court, where Daniel continues until the first year of King Cyrus. They are allowed to continue to refrain from eating the king's food, and to Daniel God gives insight into visions and dreams.
Malayalam bible study revelation trial#
Their overseer fears for his life in case the health of his charges deteriorates, but Daniel suggests a trial and the four emerge healthier than their counterparts from ten days of consuming nothing but vegetables and water. Among them are Daniel and his three companions, who refuse to touch the royal food and wine. Young Israelites of noble and royal family, "without physical defect, and handsome," versed in wisdom and competent to serve in the palace of the king, are taken to Babylon to be taught the literature and language of that nation. In the third year of King Jehoiakim, God allows Jerusalem to fall into the power of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon.

C2 (5:1–31) – Daniel interprets the handwriting on the wall for Belshazzar.C1 (4:1–37) – Daniel interprets a dream for Nebuchadnezzar.B1 (3:1–30) – Daniel's three friends in the fiery furnace.A1 (2:4b-49) – A dream of four kingdoms replaced by a fifth.The following is taken from Paul Redditt's "Introduction to the Prophets": There is a recognised chiasm (a concentric literary structure in which the main point of a passage is placed in the centre and framed by parallel elements on either side in "ABBA" fashion) in the chapter arrangement of the Aramaic section. 10: The angel's revelation: kings of the north and south (10:1–12:13 – Persian era, mention of Greek era Hebrew)Ĭhiastic structure in the Aramaic section.9: Interpretation of Jeremiah's prophecy of the seventy weeks (9:1–27 – Median era Hebrew).8: The ram and the he-goat (8:1–27 – Babylonian era Hebrew).7: The beasts from the sea (7:1–28 – Babylonian era: Aramaic).6: Daniel in the lions' den (6:2–29 – Median era with mention of Persia Aramaic).5: Belshazzar's feast (5:1–6:1 – Babylonian era Aramaic).2: Nebuchadnezzar's dream of four kingdoms (2:1–49 – Babylonian era Aramaic).1: Introduction (1:1–21 – set in the Babylonian era, written in Hebrew).The following outline is provided by Collins in his commentary on Daniel: Various suggestions have been made by scholars to explain the fact that the genre division does not coincide with the other two, but it appears that the language division and concentric structure of chapters 2–6 are artificial literary devices designed to bind the two halves of the book together. The division is reinforced by the chiastic arrangement of the Aramaic chapters (see below), and by a chronological progression in chapters 1–6 from Babylonian to Median rule, and from Babylonian to Persian rule in chapters 7–12.

The Book of Daniel is divided between the court tales of chapters 1–6 and the apocalyptic visions of 7–12, and between the Hebrew of chapters 1 and 8–12 and the Aramaic of chapters 2–7. Nebuchadnezzar's dream: the composite statue (France, 15th century) Divisions The book's influence has resonated through later ages, from the community of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the authors of the gospels and of Revelation, to various movements from the 2nd century to the Protestant Reformation and modern millennialist movements-on which it continues to have a profound influence. It divides into two parts: a set of six court tales in chapters 1–6, written mostly in Aramaic, and four apocalyptic visions in chapters 7–12, written mostly in Hebrew the deuterocanon contains three additional sections, the Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon. The Hebrew Bible includes Daniel in the Ketuvim (writings), while Christian Bibles group the work with the Major Prophets. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a portrayal of end times) both cosmic in scope and political in focus, and its message is that just as the God of Israel saves Daniel from his enemies, so he would save all Israel in their present oppression. The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BCE biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BCE setting.
