Daniel 1:21

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

Daniel 9:2

9:2 in the first year of his reign ²  I, Daniel, came to understand from the sacred books ³  that, according to the word of the LORD ⁴  disclosed to the prophet Jeremiah, the years for the fulfilling of the desolation of Jerusalem ⁵  were seventy in number.

Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2:1 In the second year of his ⁶  reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. ⁷  His mind ⁸  was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. ⁹ 

Daniel 9:1

Daniel Prays for His People

9:1 In the first year of Darius ¹⁰  son of Ahasuerus, ¹¹  who was of Median descent and who had been ¹²  appointed king over the Babylonian ¹³  empire –

Daniel 11:1

11:1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I ¹⁴  stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.)

Daniel 1:1

Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon

1:1 In the third ¹⁵  year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar ¹⁶  of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem ¹⁷  and laid it under siege. ¹⁸ 

Daniel 1:5

1:5 So the king assigned them a daily ration ¹⁹  from his royal delicacies ²⁰  and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained ²¹  for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service. ²² 

Daniel 8:1

Daniel Has a Vision of a Goat and a Ram

8:1 ²³ In the third year ²⁴  of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously. ²⁵ 

Daniel 11:8

11:8 He will also take their gods into captivity to Egypt, along with their cast images and prized utensils of silver and gold. Then he will withdraw for some years from ²⁶  the king of the north.

Daniel 11:13

11:13 For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ²⁷ In the third ²⁸  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. ²⁹  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

Daniel 11:6

11:6 After some years have passed, they ³⁰  will form an alliance. Then the daughter ³¹  of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power, ³²  nor will he continue ³³  in his strength. ³⁴  She, together with the one who brought her, her child, ³⁵  and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time. ³⁶ 

[1:21]  ¹ 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.

[9:2]  ² tc This phrase, repeated from v. 1, is absent in Theodotion.

[9:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has “books”; the word “sacred” has been added in the translation to clarify that it is Scriptures that are referred to.

[9:2]  ⁴ sn The tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters which constitute the divine Name, YHWH) appears eight times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the book of Daniel.

[9:2]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “dreamed dreams.” The plural is used here and in v. 2, but the singular in v. 3. The plural “dreams” has been variously explained. Some interpreters take the plural as denoting an indefinite singular (so GKC 400 §124.o). But it may be that it is describing a stream of related dreams, or a dream state. In the latter case, one might translate: “Nebuchadnezzar was in a trance.” See further, J. A. Montgomery, Daniel (ICC), 142.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “his sleep left (?) him.” The use of the verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) here is unusual. The context suggests a meaning such as “to be finished” or “gone.” Cf. Dan 8:27. Some scholars emend the verb to read נָדְדָה (nadÿdah, “fled”); cf. Dan 6:19. See further, DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3; HALOT 244 s.v. היה nif; BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2.

[9:1]  ⁴ sn The identity of this Darius is a major problem in correlating the biblical material with the extra-biblical records of this period. Most modern scholars treat the reference as a mistaken allusion to Darius Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.). Others have maintained instead that this name is a reference to the Persian governor Gubaru. Still others understand the reference to be to the Persian king Cyrus (cf. 6:28, where the vav (ו) may be understood as vav explicativum, meaning “even”). Under either of these latter two interpretations, the first year of Darius would have been ca. 538 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately eighty-two years old at this time.

[9:1]  ⁵ tc The LXX reads “Xerxes.” This is the reading used by some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV). Most other English versions retain the Hebrew name “Ahasuerus.”

[9:1]  ⁶ tc The present translation follows the MT in reading a Hophal (i.e., passive). Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate all presuppose the Hiphil (i.e., active). Even though this is the only occurrence of the Hophal of this verb in the Bible, there is no need to emend the vocalization to the Hiphil.

[9:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.”

[11:1]  ⁵ sn The antecedent of the pronoun “I” is the angel, not Daniel. The traditional chapter division at this point, and the presence of a chronological note in the verse similar to ones used elsewhere in the book to position Daniel’s activities in relation to imperial affairs, sometimes lead to confusion on this matter.

[1:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 B.C.

[1:1]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ⁹ 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.

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”

[1:5]  ⁹ tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.

[1:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “stand before the king.”

[8:1]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the beginning.” This refers to the vision described in chapter seven.

[11:8]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew preposition מִן (min) is used here with the verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It probably has a sense of separation (“stand away from”), although it may also be understood in an adversative sense (“stand against”).

[10:1]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tc The LXX has “first.”

[10:1]  ¹² 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.

[11:6]  ¹¹ sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 B.C.) and Antiochus II Theos (ca. 262-246 B.C.).

[11:6]  ¹² sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.

[11:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”

[11:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.

[11:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.

[11:6]  ¹⁶ tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yolÿdah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.

[11:6]  ¹⁷ sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 B.C.), as the Seleucid king.