I. The character of Daniel ch. 1
A. Historical background 1:1-2
B. Nebuchadnezzar's training program for promising youths 1:3-7
C. Daniel's resolve to please Yahweh 1:8-13
D. The success of the test 1:14-16
E. God's blessing of Daniel and his friends 1:17-21
II. The Times of the Gentiles: God's program for the world chs. 2-7
A. Nebuchadnezzar's first dream: the big picture ch. 2
1. The king's dream 2:1-3
2. The failure of the king's wise men 2:4-13
3. Daniel's request for time 2:14-16
4. Daniel's reception of a revelation and his thanksgiving 2:17-23
5. Daniel's appearance before Nebuchadnezzar 2:24-30
6. What Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream 2:31-35
7. The interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream 2:36-45
8. The consequences of Daniel's interpretation 2:46-49
B. Nebuchadnezzar's golden image ch. 3
1. The worship of Nebuchadnezzar's statue 3:1-7
2. The charge against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego 3:8-12
3. The response of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego 3:13-18
4. The execution of the king's command 3:19-23
5. God's deliverance of His servants 3:24-27
6. The consequences of God's deliverance 3:28-30
C. Nebuchadnezzar's pride and humbling ch. 4
1. Nebuchadnezzar's introductory doxology 4:1-3
2. The king's frustration over his second dream 4:4-8
3. Nebuchadnezzar's account of his dream 4:9-18
4. Daniel's interpretation 4:19-27
5. The fulfillment of threatened discipline 4:28-33
6. Nebuchadnezzar's restoration 4:34-37
D. Belshazzar's feast ch. 5
1. Belshazzar's dishonoring of Yahweh 5:1-4
2. God's revelation to Belshazzar 5:5-9
3. The queen's counsel 5:10-12
4. Belshazzar's request of Daniel 5:13-16
5. Daniel's rebuke of Belshazzar 5:17-24
6. Daniel's interpretation of the writing 5:25-28
7. Daniel's rise and Belshazzar's fall 5:29-31
E. Darius' pride and Daniel's preservation ch. 6
1. Daniel's promotion in the Persian government 6:1-3
2. The conspiracy against Daniel 6:4-9
3. Daniel's faithfulness and Darius' predicament 6:10-15
4. Daniel in the lions' den 6:16-18
5. Daniel's deliverance and his enemies' destruction 6:19-24
6. Darius' decree and praise of Yahweh 6:25-28
F. Daniel's vision of future world history ch. 7
1. The four beasts 7:1-8
2. The Ancient of Days and the destruction of the fourth beast 7:9-12
3. The Son of Man's kingdom 7:13-14
4. The interpretation of the four beasts 7:15-18
5. Daniel's request for interpretation of the fourth beast 7:19-22
6. The interpretation of the fourth beast 7:23-25
7. The end of the fourth beast and the beginning of the everlasting kingdom 7:26-28
III. Israel in relation to the Gentiles: God's program for Israel chs. 8-12
A. Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat ch. 8
1. The setting of the vision 8:1
2. The ram 8:2-4
3. The goat 8:5-8
4. The little horn on the goat 8:9-14
5. The interpretation of this vision 8:15-26
6. The result of this vision 8:27
B. Daniel's vision of the 70 sevens ch. 9
1. Jeremiah's prophecy of Jerusalem's restoration and Daniel's response 9:1-3
2. Daniel's prayer of confession 9:4-14
3. Daniel's petition for restoration 9:15-19
4. God's response to Daniel's prayer 9:20-23
5. The revelation of Israel's future in 70 sevens 9:24-27
C. Daniel's most detailed vision of the future chs. 10-12
1. Daniel's preparation to receive the vision 10:1-11:1
2. The near future 11:2-35
3. The distant future 11:36-12:4
4. The end of Israel's trials 12:5-13
This outline reflects the linguistic divisions of the book, chapters 1 and 8-12 having been written in Hebrew, and chapters 2-7 in Aramaic.
Many students of the book simply divide it into two parts.
I. The history of Daniel chs. 1-6
II. The prophecies of Daniel chs. 7-12
