Who is Daniel? Every Christian knows the story of "Daniel and the loin's den," but do we really know him? When was he born? What was his life like? What was his relationship with God? In this paper, I will answer these questions as well as tell what we can learn from Daniel's life.
Daniel's life was subject to violent disruption and tremendous change, yet he was one of the most stable and composed of Bible characters. Although Daniel operated in the fiercely competitive and corruptible political arena, even his enemies admitted that he was totally trustworthy and he was neither corrupt nor negligent in any of his duties (Dan. 6:4).
According to Nave"s Topical Bible, the word "Daniel" means God is my judge or judge of God. He was the fourth of the greater prophets. His life and prophecies are recorded in the book of Daniel. He was descended from one of the royal families of Judah( Dan. 1:3), and was probably born in Jerusalem about B.C. 623, during the reign of Josiah. He was carried captive, along with three of his friends, to Babylon in 604 B.C. He was renamed Belteshazzar, which means "may Bel protect us." He was trained for court service. He quickly established a reputation for intelligence and for absolute loyalty to God. After three years of instruction, he began a court career of 50 to 70 years ( Dan. 1:21). The timing varies according to what source you look at. Daniel had hardly finished his training when he was called on to interpret one of Nebuchadnezzar's dreams. God revealed its meaning to Daniel, who explained it to the king. In gratitude Nebuchadnezzar offered Daniel the job of governor of Babylon. Daniel declined the job but requested that the honor be given to his three frinds who were still in captivity. .
Near the end of Nebuchadnezzar's life, Daniel was able to interpret a second dream ( Dan. 4). After the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562 B.