Daniel 1:1

Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon

1:1 In the third ¹  year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar ²  of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem ³  and laid it under siege. ⁴ 

Daniel 2:39

2:39 Now after you another kingdom ⁵  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth.

Daniel 8:1

Daniel Has a Vision of a Goat and a Ram

8:1 ⁶ In the third year ⁷  of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously. ⁸ 

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ⁹ In the third ¹⁰  year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. ¹¹  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

Daniel 5:29

5:29 Then, on Belshazzar’s orders, ¹²  Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel 5:16

5:16 However, I have heard ¹³  that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ¹⁴  ruler in the kingdom.”

Daniel 5:7

5:7 The king called out loudly ¹⁵  to summon ¹⁶  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ¹⁷  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ¹⁸  and have a golden collar ¹⁹  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel 7:6

7:6 “After these things, ²⁰  as I was watching, another beast ²¹  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ²²  This beast had four heads, ²³  and ruling authority was given to it.

[1:1]  ¹ sn The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be ca. 605 B.C. At this time Daniel would have been a teenager. The reference to Jehoiakim’s third year poses a serious crux interpretum, since elsewhere these events are linked to his fourth year (Jer 25:1; cf. 2 Kgs 24:1; 2 Chr 36:5-8). Apparently Daniel is following an accession year chronology, whereby the first partial year of a king’s reign was reckoned as the accession year rather than as the first year of his reign. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is following a nonaccession year chronology, whereby the accession year is reckoned as the first year of the king’s reign. In that case, the conflict is only superficial. Most modern scholars, however, have concluded that Daniel is historically inaccurate here.

[1:1]  ² sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 B.C.

[1:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ⁴ sn This attack culminated in the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon. The second one occurred in 597 B.C. and included among many other Jewish captives the prophet Ezekiel. The third deportation occurred in 586 B.C., at which time the temple and the city of Jerusalem were thoroughly destroyed.

[2:39]  ⁵ sn The identity of the first kingdom is clearly Babylon. The identification of the following three kingdoms is disputed. The common view is that they represent Media, Persia, and Greece. Most conservative scholars identify them as Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

[8:1]  ⁹ sn Dan 8:1 marks the switch from Aramaic (= 2:4b-7:28) back to Hebrew as the language in which the book is written in its present form. The remainder of the book from this point on (8:1-12:13) is in Hebrew. The bilingual nature of the book has been variously explained, but it most likely has to do with the book’s transmission history.

[8:1]  ¹⁰ sn The third year of King Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 551 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately 69 years old at the time of this vision.

[8:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the beginning.” This refers to the vision described in chapter seven.

[10:1]  ¹³ sn This chapter begins the final unit in the book of Daniel, consisting of chapters 10-12. The traditional chapter divisions to some extent obscure the relationship of these chapters.

[10:1]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX has “first.”

[10:1]  ¹⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsava’) is uncertain in this context. The word most often refers to an army or warfare. It may also mean “hard service,” and many commentators take that to be the sense here (i.e., “the service was great”). The present translation assumes the reference to be to the spiritual conflicts described, for example, in 10:16–11:1.

[5:29]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “Belshazzar spoke.”

[5:16]  ²¹ tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”

[5:16]  ²² tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir. So also v. 29.

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn Aram “in strength.”

[5:7]  ²⁶ tn Aram “cause to enter.”

[5:7]  ²⁷ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[5:7]  ²⁸ sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

[5:7]  ²⁹ tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).

[7:6]  ²⁹ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

[7:6]  ³⁰ tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

[7:6]  ³¹ tn Or “sides.”

[7:6]  ³² sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.