The third year of Cyrus' rule as king over Babylon was 536 B.C.381Cyrus had issued his decree allowing the Jews to return to their land and to rebuild their temple in 538 B.C. Some of them had departed that same year under Zerubbabel's leadership. They had reinstituted the sacrifices by 537 B.C. (Ezra 3:6), and by 536 B.C. they had begun to rebuild the temple (Ezra 3:8). Daniel would have been in his 80s in 536 B.C., and his age may account for his not returning to the Promised Land. Daniel remained in government service until the first year of Cyrus (538 B.C., 1:21), but he remained in Babylon for several additional years apparently in retirement.
Critics have attacked the Book of Daniel because, they claim, the title "Cyrus king of Persia"was not a contemporary way of referring to him.382However this would have been a perfectly legitimate way of referring to this king unofficially if not officially.383Perhaps Daniel's Babylonian name appears again here to assure the reader that this was the same Daniel whom we met in preceding chapters (cf. 1:7). He was the Daniel who had unusual skill in understanding visions and dreams (1:17).
The message that came to Daniel was a revelation from God that included a vision. The emphasis on "message"in this verse may indicate that, in contrast to the preceding visions, this one came primarily as a spoken message, perhaps again from an angel. Daniel claimed that the message was true and that it involved a revelation of great conflict to come. The AV translation "the time appointed was long"has less linguistic support, but the message did involve prophecy yet far distant in the future. Daniel apparently understood this vision better than he had some of the earlier ones (e.g., 8:27). This verse as a whole prepares the reader for the revelation itself, which has major significance.
"The revelation in the vision given to Daniel on this occasion shattered any hope the prophet might have had that Israel would enjoy her new freedom and peace for long."384
