person · P0072
Daniel דניאל
Daniel is a Judean exile, court sage, dream interpreter, and visionary in the book bearing his name. The narratives portray fidelity under foreign empires, while the visions survey successive kingdoms and divine judgment. Rabbinic tradition distinguishes Daniel's visionary stature from the formal prophetic status of Chaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- דניאל
- Also known as
- Belteshazzar
- Era
- bible
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3320–3390 AM, from the late First Temple through early Persian rule
- Academic
- Narrative setting: 6th century BCE; the book's final form is commonly dated by modern scholarship to the 2nd century BCE.
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈70 years
- Precision
- approximate
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel and his companions were selected for royal training in Babylon; Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food, and God granted the four knowledge and skill.
Directly stated in the cited source. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Daniel sought mercy together with Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, received Nebuchadnezzar's dream and interpretation in a night vision, and blessed God as the revealer of secrets.
Directly stated in the cited source. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Because Daniel continued praying toward Jerusalem despite the royal decree, he was cast into the lions' den and was found unharmed the next morning.
Directly stated in the cited source. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| The Bavli says Chaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were prophets while Daniel was not, even though Daniel saw the vision that caused them to tremble without seeing it.
This claim concerns rabbinic classification, not the power or sanctity of Daniel's visions.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Modern critical scholarship generally dates the final apocalyptic form of the Book of Daniel to the persecution under Antiochus IV in the 2nd century BCE, while recognizing that its narratives are set in the 6th-century Babylonian and early Persian courts.
This claim concerns the scholarly dating of the book's final literary form, not the traditional dating of Daniel as a figure.
|
reconstruction | ★★★★☆ | |
| Nebuchadnezzar appointed Daniel ruler over the province of Babylon and chief prefect over Babylon's wise men after Daniel disclosed and interpreted the king's dream.
The stated offices are explicit within the court narrative. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Belshazzar clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him third ruler in the kingdom after the writing-on-the-wall episode.
The title lasted only until the kingdom's fall that night according to the narrative.
|
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| The book places Daniel at Shushan (Susa) beside the Ulai during a vision in Belshazzar's reign and beside the Tigris during the third year of Koresh.
Whether the Shushan location was bodily travel or visionary setting is not completely explicit in Daniel 8.
|
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| A major Persian tradition identifies a shrine at Susa as Daniel's tomb; the tradition was documented by medieval Jewish and Muslim writers, but several competing tomb traditions exist.
The shrine tradition is historically documented, but the burial identification is not archaeologically authenticated. The iranicaonline.org URL blocks automated access; the link points to an overview of the tomb traditions.
|
tradition | ★★☆☆☆ | |
| The traditional placement c. 3320–3390 AM, from the late First Temple through early Persian rule, is a schematic Mesorah Atlas reconstruction from the narrative's span from Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian court into the rule attributed to Darius; the cited sources do not state an absolute AM range.
The cited sources establish relative chronology or regnal duration; they do not state the absolute AM range.
|
tradition reconstruction | ★☆☆☆☆ |