A-Z: Books of the Bible

1 Chronicles
1 Corinthians
1 John
1 Kings
1 Peter
1 Samuel
1 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Chronicles
2 Corinthians
2 John
2 Kings
2 Peter
2 Samuel
2 Thessalonians
2 Timothy
3 John
Acts
Amos
Colossians
Daniel
Deuteronomy
Ecclesiastes
Ephesians
Esther
Exodus
Ezekiel
Ezra
Galatians
Genesis
Habakkuk
Haggai
Hebrews
Hosea
Isaiah
James
Jeremiah
Job
Joel
John
Jonah
Joshua
Jude
Judges
Lamentations
Leviticus
Luke
Malachi
Mark
Matthew

A-Z: Books of the Bible: Daniel

Genre

OT Prophecy (major prophets)

Description

Ch 1-6 narrate stories about Daniel and his friends, exiles who remain faithful to God in the period of the Persian and Babylonian empires; includes accounts of surviving a lion's den, a fiery furnace, the story of Belshazzar's feast when Daniel interprets the writing on the wall. Ch 7-12 are a series of apocalyptic visions depicting the rise and fall of a succession of empires culminating in the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

Big ideas: Exile; Dreams, visions, prophecy; Famous stories from the Bible: Daniel and the lions

1. Key Old Testament figure, exiled to Babylon. 2. Old Testament book which tells the story of Daniel and includes apocalyptic visions.

In the Old Testament refers to periods when the Jews were compelled to leave their land.

The Bible describes God as the unique supreme being, creator and ruler of the universe.

Of or relating to Persia (modern day Iran).

Babylon, the capital city of Babylonia in ancient Mesopotamia (mostly modern Iraq), mentioned some 200 times in the Bible.

A reference to Hell. The three friends of Daniel in the Old Testament who were put into a fiery furnace when they refused to worship a golden statue but were miraculously preserved by God.

In modern English usage, it means that danger or disaster is approaching. Its origin lies in an incident in the book of Daniel.

A revelation or 'unveiling' of future events; the heavenly world in a highly symbolic form.

Kingdom of God (also called the Kingdom of Heaven). The central theme in the teaching of Jesus. Refers to God's rule and power at work among people who accept his authority in their lives.

Daniel is an Israelite exiled in Persia, the successor empire to the Babylonians. He has risen to prominence at the royal court, but, in doing so he has made enemies who are determined to bring him down. They persuade King Darius to Daniel in the lion's den issue a decree that for a period of thirty days nobody may pray to anyone other than the king, on pain of being thrown into a lions' den. Faithful Daniel refuses to comply and continues to pray to God three times daily. This is reported to the king who has no option but to do as he had decreed. Next morning, Darius rushes down to the den after a sleepless night and is overjoyed to find Daniel - a favourite courtier - unharmed. He is immediately released and his accusers and their families take his place in the den with predictable results! The purpose of the story is to: ' encourage faithfulness under persecution ' show that Israel's God can and will rescue his people even from certain death, sometimes by the most unlikely means.