Hi James and Ellen,
Daniel is a narrative of miraculous incidents and prophetical dreams. The Daniel Book has been ascribed to an Israelite people group exile whose name was Daniel. Daniel was born in 621 B.C. Daniel’s dad and ma were Judah tribal clan nobility. Daniel and his dad and ma were residents of the city of Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army first overran the city of Jerusalem – which was in 605 B.C. Sixteen year old Daniel and three other young Israelite people group guys – Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, were among the first contingent of guys, gals and kids who were taken by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army to the city of Babylon where they were to live as exiles in the country of Babylonia. Daniel – whose name means ‘God is my judge’, had Babylonians change his name to Belteshazzar – which means ‘protect his life’. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had Babylonians change their names to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Because Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were physically fit, handsome, smart and informed, they ended up being selected by Ashpenaz – who was Nebuchadnezzar’s chief court official, to be taught the language that was spoken and the literature that was read by Babylonian guys, gals and kids. When Daniel was told that their meals and the wine that they were to drink would come from the king’s table, Daniel asked the guard – who Ashpenaz had appointed to guard him, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, if he would let them eat just vegetables and just drink water for ten days, the guard acquiesced. When after ten days Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah looked so much healthier than the other young guys who were in the intro into Babylonian life course studies, they were no longer pressured to eat the king’s food and to drink wine. It was determined by Nebuchadnezzar – after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah for three years ate just vegetables and drank just water, that they were ten times smarter and wiser than all the magicians and enchanters that were in his country of Babylonia.
The first incident that is recounted in Daniel Book’s 12 chapters that had a God sent angel doing intervention involved Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The narrative begins with Nebuchadnezzar ordering a ninety foot tall gold image be erected on the Dura Plain in the country of Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar expected every guy, gal and kid would – with no exceptions, when they heard the sounds of a horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and/or all other kinds of music, would fall down and worship the gold idol that he ordered made. Nebuchadnezzar’s punishment for not immediately falling down to worship his false gold god was to be tossed into a burning furnace. When Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah refused to do what Nebuchadnezzar expected them to do – which was to fall down to worship his new pet gold god, Nebuchadnezzar was so ticked off he had the furnace heated up seven times hotter than what it had been and he had the three guys hogtied before having them thrown into the furnace. The intense heat from the furnace’s blazing fire did a number on the soldiers who threw Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah into the furnace while the furnace’s blazing fire did absolutely nothing to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. A God sent angel took off ropes that had been used to bind Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and protected Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah from the fiery heat. The second incident that is recounted in the Daniel Book that required a God sent angel to do intervention involved Daniel. The country of Babylonia’s army has been recently conquered by the Medes and Persian army that was led by a guy by the name of Darius. One of the first decisions that Darius made was to appoint 120 satraps or regional governors to administrate in their assigned provinces the affairs of his new regime. Darius had Daniel be one of three guys who were to keep an eye on the 120 satraps. When word got out that Darius was going to have Daniel be the only one to oversee the satraps, the satraps hatched a plot to get rid of Daniel – with the plot having every guy and gal bow down for thirty days only to Darius with being tossed into a lions’ den the designated punishment. When Daniel did not comply to the binding decree that Darius had been hoodwinked into making to have every guy and gal bow down to only him over a thirty day period, Darius threw Daniel into a den of lions and sealed the den with a boulder. When the boulder was removed the next morning, Daniel was seen walking around unharmed among the lions. A God sent angel kept the lions’ mouths shut. The guys – along with their wives and their kids, who were responsible for dreaming up the scheme to make Daniel lion food became the lions’ next meal.
The dreams that Daniel interpreted are what leads many guys and gals to want to peruse the Daniel Book. Your grandpaa does not doubt the veracity of the dreams and their interpretations that Daniel had; your grandpa wonders though who actually scribed the Daniel Book. There is a consensus that Daniel is who wrote the Daniel Book. If the Daniel Book was first ‘published’ in 530 B.C. by Daniel, this would make Daniel 75 years old when he scribed has book. Your grandpaa does not have any trouble with that; what he wonders about is whether or not Daniel was the type of guy who would scribe in the third person. The times when I is referred to as being Daniel can be to your grandpaa attributed to Daniel’s personal archived notes that were used by another guy to scribe the Daniel Book.
Daniel