Daniel

(judge of God, that is, one who reveals God’s will on His behalf) — a) (Ezek. 14:14) fourth of the major prophets (Matt. 24:15), whose history is related in great detail in the book bearing his name. He was, according to some, a descendant of David, or, at the very least, of royal lineage, and while still a youth was carried off to Babylon among the other captive Jews. Endowed with fine qualities of soul and body, he there learned the language and wisdom of the Chaldeans, and together with his three companions, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, was taken into royal service under the name of Belteshazzar and lived in the royal palace (Dan. 1:1–4).

From his early years he was distinguished by piety and wisdom, to which the writer who was his contemporary, the prophet Ezekiel, testifies (14:14–20; 28:3), and finally he attained a high position at the court of the king of Babylon. Daniel interpreted the king’s remarkable dreams for him, and was himself deemed worthy of repeated visions, in which the most important and remarkable events were revealed to him. Upon the accession of Darius to the throne, he was made first of the three governors of the empire, and was miraculously saved from the mouths of lions, having been cast into the lions’ den for his devotion to the faith of his fathers (Dan. 6:10–24).

It is not known where Daniel died, though it is supposed that he died at the age of 90 in one of the regions of Chaldea. The fame of Daniel’s wisdom and righteousness spread far even during his own lifetime. He is placed alongside Noah and Job (Ezek. 14:14–20). The Lord Himself draws particular attention to Daniel’s prophecies, showing both the historical reality of his person and the great significance of his prophecies (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20).