Daniel 1:7-8

1:7 But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave ¹  Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego. ² 

1:8 But Daniel made up his mind ³  that he would not defile ⁴  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ⁵  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

Daniel 1:17

1:17 Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

Daniel 1:19

1:19 When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group ⁶  anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. ⁷ 

Daniel 8:1

Daniel Has a Vision of a Goat and a Ram

8:1 ⁸ In the third year ⁹  of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously. ¹⁰ 

Daniel 8:15

An Angel Interprets Daniel’s Vision

8:15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision, I sought to understand it. Now one who appeared to be a man was standing before me.

Daniel 8:27

8:27 I, Daniel, was exhausted ¹¹  and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.

Daniel 12:4-5

12:4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, ¹²  and knowledge will increase.”

12:5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. ¹³ 

[1:7]  ¹ tc The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.

[1:7]  ² sn The meanings of the Babylonian names are more conjectural than is the case with the Hebrew names. The probable etymologies are as follows: Belteshazzar means “protect his life,” although the MT vocalization may suggest “Belti, protect the king” (cf. Dan 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is of uncertain meaning; Abednego means “servant of Nego.” Assigning Babylonian names to the Hebrew youths may have been an attempt to erase from their memory their Israelite heritage.

[1:8]  ³ tn Heb “placed on his heart.”

[1:8]  ⁴ tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”

[1:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “from all of them.”

[1:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “stood before the king.”

[8:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the beginning.” This refers to the vision described in chapter seven.

[8:27]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew word here is נִהְיֵיתִי (nihyetiy). Its meaning is not entirely clear. Hebrew הָיָה (hayah) normally has meanings such as “to be” or “become.” Here, however, it describes Daniel’s emotional and physical response to the enigmatic vision that he has seen. It is parallel to the following verb, which refers to illness, and seems to refer to a state of utter exhaustion due to the amazing things that Daniel has just seen. The LXX lacks the word. On the meaning of the word see further, BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2; DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3.

[12:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “will run back and forth”; KJV “shall run to and fro”; NIV “will go here and there”; CEV “will go everywhere.”

[12:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “one to this edge of the river and one to that edge of the river.”