Daniel 1:6

1:6 As it turned out, ¹  among these young men ²  were some from Judah: ³  Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁴ 

Daniel 1:21

1:21 Now Daniel lived on until the first ⁵  year of Cyrus the king.

¹ tn Heb “and it happened that.”

² tn Heb “among them”; the referent (the young men taken captive from Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”

⁴ sn The names reflect a Jewish heritage. In Hebrew Daniel means “God is my judge”; Hananiah means “the Lord is gracious”; Mishael means “who is what God is?”; Azariah means “the Lord has helped.”

⁵ sn The Persian king Cyrus’ first year in control of Babylon was 539 B.C. Daniel actually lived beyond the first year of Cyrus, as is clear from 10:1. The purpose of the statement in 1:21 is merely to say that Daniel’s life spanned the entire period of the neo-Babylonian empire. His life span also included the early years of the Persian control of Babylon. However, by that time his age was quite advanced; he probably died sometime in the 530’s B.C.