Jensens survey of the old testament adam 223
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III. THE MAN DANIEL
A. NAME
The name Daniel translates the Hebrew
w o r d Daniyye’l, meaning “God is Judge
[Prince]” or “God is my Judge [Prince].”
The name given Daniel by Nebuchadnezzar’s
o cer (1:7) was Belteshazzar, meaning
“Bel’s prince.” It was a name honoring one
of the pagan gods of Babylon (cf. 4:8; also
Isa 46:1; Jer 50:2; 51:44).
B. CHARACTER
Daniel is usually remembered for his
courage and faith, displayed in the
experience in the lions’ den. He had many
other outstanding traits as well. He was
strong of purpose, wise, tactful, courteous,
brave, modest, humble, and a man of faith
and prayer. It is not without signi cance
that three times heavenly messengers refer
to him in visions as a man of “high esteem”
(9:23; 10:11, 19).
C. BIOGRAPHY
Daniel was born into a Judean family of
nobility, around the time of the reformation
under King Josiah (621 B.C.). Some identify
Daniel as one of King Hezekiah’s
descendants, who was prophesied about in 2
Kings 20:17-18 and Isaiah 39:7 (cf. Dan 1:3).
He was in his late teens when taken captive
in the rst deportation of 605 B.C. In the
same group were three other young men no
less noble than himself in character. These
were four handsome, intelligent, and welleducated youths (1:4), whom King
Nebuchadnezzar selected to be trained for
his service. The king gave them names
associated with the gods of Babylon, but
they had no intention of worshiping those
gods. They remained true to Jehovah. The
book of Daniel tells the story of the years
that followed.
Daniel served as God’s prophet at least
until 536 B.C. (10:1).4 Soon after this he
wrote his book, which no doubt was brought
back to Jerusalem when the exiles returned
to their homeland. The date and
circumstances of his death are unknown.
D. MISSION
The prominent aspects of Daniel’s mission
already have been discussed earlier in the
chapter. There it was shown that Daniel’s
mission was:
1. to Gentiles of Babylon, and to Jews in
exile
2. concerning Gentile nations and Israel
3. with respect to the succeeding centuries,
leading up to the end times
Daniel was a unique prophet among the
prophets for various reasons, some of which
are listed here:
1. He may not have had a special call to the
prophetic ministry, as did Isaiah and
Jeremiah.
2. He was given the prophetic gift, but not
the prophetic office as such.
