Pdf the student of this paper discusses the theological theme of divine wisdom that the main character of the book of daniel exhibits. The fascinating book of daniel teacher s notes page 2 4. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times cosmic in scope and political in focus. Of the book of daniel the primary theme the primary theme of the book of daniel is the revelation of israels future in relation to the gentile kingdoms now that the nation has gone into exile in babylon, and gods exaltation of daniel as a channel of revealing his will. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b. The book implies that daniel was its author in several passages, such as 9. Daniel gives details concerning the rise and fall of world powers from the time of ancient babylon right on down till the time when the kingdom of god crushes them out of existence forever. Pdf the theology theme of the book of daniel researchgate. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god.
Daniel, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. It is about the nature of guilt and innocence, and about the relations of people to nations. Daniel is an extremely relevant book for our modern times. What is the main theme in the book of daniel in the holy bible. Essay on themes and ideas in the book of daniel 1851. In either case, the theological point being made is that the jewish youths are remaining. This message grows out of the book s primary theme. I love the book of daniel, it is probably my second favorite book in the bible. Every king we encounterfrom nebuchadnezzar to antiochus iv epiphanes the little horn. Some of the major themes and ideas in the book of daniel are humility, our ability to resist, embracing work beyond our own power, following god, being prepared, and the importance of prayer. It is a book about some of the beautiful and terrible feelings of childhood. See more ideas about book of daniel, bible and bible knowledge. Daniels superior way of life earns him great respect in the babylonian government. From daniel and his three friends, we will learn the power of faith and commitment b.
Every king we encounterfrom nebuchadnezzar to antiochus iv epiphanes the little hornultimately is humbled in some way, whether by realizing god is above all or by being totally destroyed yep, those are the two alternatives pretty much. Book of daniel is written in exile in babylon during the 6th century b. L download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. According to the bible what is the theme of the book of daniel. The beast had a head of gold, its breast and arms of.
But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. By the time you finish reading daniel, youll probably be wondering how all these babylonian and persian kings could be so incredibly thick. The genre of daniel is narrative history, prophetic oracles, and it also contains some apocalyptic material. Its prophecies of worldruling empires are closely related to revelation. According to some, the scholarly consensus on the dating of daniel is that the book of daniel was written in the 2nd century b. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. One of the dreams he interpreted prophesied coming world empires. The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the christian canon. In more mundane language, it is an account of the activities and visions of daniel, a noble jew exiled at babylon, its message being that just as the god of israel saved daniel and his friends from their enemies, so. Key verses and themes in daniel bible commentary theology. Daniel, as many other authors of the antiquity and the bible, writes of himself in the third person throughout the first part of the book. Cultic motifs and themes in the book of daniel adventist. God will bring about what the prophet has been given to foresee because of gods sovereign rule over the.
Daniels own dream the four beasts the ancient of days and the son of man the explanation of this dream the fourth beast being the roman empire, and the ten horns the roman senate the kingdom given to the son of man fulfilled, according to calvin, at the first advent of christ and the early propagation of the gospel, about. Doctorow, author of the sociopolitical novel, the book of daniel, his first best known and most important work. It is easy to get bogged down in the details of apocalyptic literature when reading daniel and miss the important theology of the book. Archaeological evidence for the bibles book of daniel. It is also observed that there are many intertwining theological, prophetic, and eschatologicalapocalyptic themes4 in the book of daniel. Discuss some of the major theological themes in the book of danial. Daniel has several major theological themes which might be. Like a plug in an outlet, the book joins itself to the bibles broader narrative, and, as the currents course through, the light of revelation shines on the way things will go until god brings about the promised consummation see chapter 2.
Taken into slavery after the fall of jerusalem in 605 b. The book of daniel continues to spawn numerous studies, and the present article aims to contribute to scholarly efforts at a theological integration of its contents. A study of the book of daniel church of christ in zion. This can be troublesome when trying to understand the events that take place in the book because there are many prophecies and symbols that appear and actually overlap one another. While bible scholars debate issues like when it was written and whether it is historically accurate, the book of daniel consistently calls gods people of. Archer, the principle theological emphasis in daniel, is the absolute sovereignty of yahweh, the god of israel. Daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. Jan 02, 2020 daniel served in the royal court of nebuchadnezzar and several rulers who followed nebuchadnezzar. Chronological order of the book of daniel chapters 1 thru 4 captivity and interpretation of dreams and visions. Great examples of courage, faith, faithfulness, humility, patience, devotion, etc. The book of daniel opens with the backstory of his capture by the babylonians. The book of daniel is the apocalyptic book of the hebrew bible. Key verses and themes in daniel bible commentary theology of. In this series, im going through chapter by chapter to see what daniels history got right and if he got anything wrong.
Daniel is one of the most controversial books of the bible, yet its message is clear and unmistakable. The book of daniel is a composite text of dubious historicity from various genres. The narratives of chapters 16 have in common a single theme. Background to the book of daniel sermon by johnny a. The book, however, was written in a later time of national crisiswhen the jews were suffering severe persecution under antiochus iv epiphanes. History a prophetical history of gentile world power from the reign of nebuchadnezzar to the coming of christ. The book of daniel in preterist perspective and in the days of these kings shall the god of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. The book of daniel begins with king nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of babylon, ransacking jerusalem.
Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. The big picture of the book of daniel theology of work. The validity of daniels authorship and prophecies is at stake. What is the main theme in the book of daniel in the holy. Its message is usually not so fastit belongs to god. Key themes of daniel a vacation bible school curriculum by barry mcwilliams an ordained minister in the presbyterian church in america. They contained fragments of all the books of the old testament except the book of esther. Daniel 1 niv daniels training in babylon in the bible. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history. The book of daniel 1971 is a semihistorical novel by e. The book of daniel records the actions, prophecies, and visions of the prophet daniel. Such a consensus makes me wonder about whether scholarship is controlled by people who are skeptical of the supernatural inferences in daniels prophecies.
This chart shows you the precise chronological order, and then you will see. The book of daniel presents a collection of popular stories about daniel, a loyal jew, and the record of visions granted to him, with the babylonian exile of the 6th century bce as their background. The book of daniel study guide contains a biography of e. The book of daniel stands as a unique mix in the old testament, for while it begins with history, it makes a strong transition at chapter 7, where it contains visions of future events significant to the jews. This is because it is unfulfilled, detailed, and pertains to the future of israel in the world, and the setting up of the messianic kingdom. I have been studying daniel for several years and have a website which goes through it chapter by chapter. It is a book about the nature of left politics in this countryits sacrificial rites, its peculiar cruelties, its humility, its bitterness. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. The date of the book of daniel is one of the most hotly contested themes in ot scholarship. That framework is a nested parallelism structure in technical terms, a chiasm. Daniel belongs to the latter group, a type of writing that in many respects sharply contrasts prophetic literature. In a nutshell the main theme of daniel is to show how the worst that can happen like the jews being dragged as slaves to pagan babylon can be turned into a personal victory by those who stand for the right through any adversity.
As it happens, the book of daniel offers a readymade framework for unpacking its meaning in the workplace. The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the modern philosophical assumption that longrange predictive prophecy is impossible. Hi debra, you asked 3 months ago about the word eunuchs. The book of daniel is about how god shows his everlasting wisdom, power, and faithfulness through one of israels greatest prophets. Daniel, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of biblical. Indepth literary analysis on the book of daniel by e. Analysis of book of daniel themes by phd students from stanford, harvard, berkeley. The ability of the prophet to foresee future events speaks to the key theological theme. In todays excerpt from the most recent edition in the story of god bible commentary series, author wendy l. Another amazing fact about the book of daniel is that in 1947 the first of the dead sea scrolls were discovered. If anyone knows any themes in the book of daniel in teh bible please list, if possible the main theme. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with this that we have missed its main message. Daniel a nobleman like ezekiel, had been taken as a young man captive to babylon by nebuchadnezzar.
A historicalchronological look at the book of daniel. The book of daniel differs from the majority of hebrew prophecy. Daniel 1 new international version niv daniels training in babylon. And in fact the book of revelation is largely a christian interpretation of the. According to the bible what is the theme of the book of. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions. In daniel 1, god gives daniel and his three friends knowledge and wisdom to help them stand out from the others in the babylonian court. By studying this book, we can better understand our lords references to it cf. The book of daniel contributes to the bibles unfolding redemptivehistorical storyline. The book of daniel is not in chronological order as can be seen in the timeline below. Feb 06, 2017 the book of daniel is mostly a prophetic book. Nov 17, 2014 the theology theme of the book of daniel.
There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. The sovereignty of god the selfdestructive pride of humankind the ultimate victory of gods kingdom. The overall theme of daniel is gods sovereignty over history. Daniel was the prophet for the israelites in babylon. The student of this paper discusses the theological theme of divine wisdom that the main character of the book of daniel exhibits. A reworking of the biblical book of daniel in the book of daniel part 1 of 2 introduction all history is composed, declares e. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with.
A dictionary style article on the biblical book of daniel. As with all of scripture, the book of daniel is profitable for our study 2 ti 3. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the book of daniel one of the most read of hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible. Daniel has several major theological themes which might be overlooked if we focus only on the difficult interpretive problems. In any case, daniel, like revelation the other booklength apocalypse in the bible provides much valuable material relevant to work. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Doctorow tells the story of paul and rochelle isaacson corollaries to the rosenbergs through the persons of their older son, daniel, and his sister, susan, who are college students deeply.
Answer there are many secondary theological themes in the. God is in control, no matter how things look, and his kingdom will one day fill the earth. The focus of the book can be clearly seen in the structure which daniel employs. The book of daniel chronological diagram posted on april 23, 20 february 24, 2020 by cglamboy this file has been moved to my blog page with. The book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. Daniel emphasized gods sovereignty in relation to the gentile world empires and revealed him as the one controlling and overruling in their affairs, until the time of their destruction at the coming of his son. The book of daniel in biblical theology andy naselli. Book of daniel the eschatology of the book of daniel. The big picture of the book of daniel bible commentary. The book of daniel is no exception for it provides a wealth of information to those who would diligently consider it and its teachings. Daniel, the hero of the book, was an exile in babylon carried away in the first captivity in 605 b. Book in the bibles old testament and the jewish tanakh the book of daniel stands between the books of ezra and esther in the portion of the hebrew old testament known as the. Daniel and his 3 friends successfully bear witness to their faith before a hostile world.
Daniel 1 tells how daniel and his three companions were among captives taken by. Foretells future world events to come that affects israel. A study of the book of daniel gene taylor1preface the study of any of the old testament prophets is a worthwhile endeavor. While bible scholars debate issues like when it was written and whether it is historically accurate, the book of daniel consistently calls gods people of every generation to faithfulness. Well the simplest way i can explain it, is as what our animals shelters do to the animals to stop reproducing by neutering. The book of daniel is apocalyptic in nature and belongs to the 6th century b.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The chief problem with this viewpoint is it has the effect of undercutting the theology of the book itself. You can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the royal rations, and deal with your servants according to what you observe. In the course of the books opening stories, the kings keep realizing that daniels god is, in fact, everybodys god, or the only godand then they immediately do something entirely disrespectful and ridiculous like drinking. He was taken captive to babylon when he was 16 and became prime minister because of his interpretations of nebuchadnezzar dreams. Daniel also has vivid, symbolic visions about the future of israel, world kingdoms, and the kingdom of godexposing us to some of gods longterm plan for the world. Doctorows 1971 novel the book of daniel is both a fictionalization of the then controversial execution of julius and ethel rosenberg as atom bomb spies for the soviet union in the cold war and anticommunist hysteria in the usa of the early 1950s and the mccarthy era, as well as an intriguing piece of fiction in its own right, a novel about a young man and his struggle to come to. The book of daniel has sometimes been classified with the prophetic books of the old testament, a mistake owing largely to a failure to distinguish between the predominant characteristics of prophetic and apocalyptic writings. He ends up taking back the cream of the crop, the most elite and noble israelites, to serve at his court in babylon. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient. This summary of the book of daniel provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of daniel. Doctorow, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Daniel with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Daniels prayer, and the vision of the seventy weeks 9.