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The Book of Daniel, written in sometime around the 2nd Century B.C., is an influential scripture in both the Christian and Jewish tradition. The Book of Daniel concerns the life and visions of Daniel, a Jew exiled in Babylon in the 6th Century B.C. Daniel, like many Jews, was exiled from the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II. Daniel’s visions of the apocalypse had a profound impact on Jewish and later Christian beliefs. Read on if you’re ready to venture into the lion’s den!
By analyzing questions, you can see patterns emerge, patterns that will help you answer questions. Qwiz5 is all about those patterns. In each installment of Qwiz5, we take an answer line and look at its five most common clues. Here we explore five clues that will help you answer a tossup on The Book of Daniel.
SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO
According to the Book of Daniel, Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar persecuted the Jews he had taken from Judah to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar at one point erected a giant golden statue and commanded that his subjects bow down and worship it. Three Jewish youths—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—refused to commit this act of idolatry. As punishment, Nebuchadnezzar had them thrown into a furnace, heated seven times hotter than normal. To Nebuchadnezzar’s surprise the youths were completely unharmed by the flames. Nebuchadnezzar then sees a fourth man in the flames “like the Son of God.”
KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM
Chapter 4 of the Book of Daniel concerns a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. The King dreams of a mighty tree so vast that “all flesh was fed from it.” A messenger from heaven appears and shouts that the tree will be cut down and addresses the King, saying: “Let him live with the wild animals…for seven periods of time, let him have the mind of a wild animal.” Nebuchadnezzar summons Daniel, who interprets the dream by identifying the King with the tree and warning him that unless he stops his sinful ways he will be cut down and cast into the wilderness. Nebuchadnezzar fails to change, and is driven insane for seven years, becoming so humbled that he is forced to eat grass like an ox.
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
The last king of the Babylonian Empire was Belshazzar, about whom a notable anecdote can be found in the Book of Daniel. During a feast, Belshazzar was terrified to see a hand appear from thin air and write the words “mene, mene, tekel upharsin” on the wall. Unable to interpret the message, Belshazzar recruited Daniel to interpret it for him. Daniel informed the king that he had been “weighed and found wanting.” The King’s moral failings would result in his kingdom falling to the Medes and the Persians.
DANIEL IN THE LIONS’ DEN
According to the Book of Daniel, Belshazzar was overthrown by Darius the Mede. While King, Darius appointed Daniel as one of the administrators over his satraps, or royal governors. Jealous of Daniel’s success, these satraps convinced Darius to enact a law demanding all subjects pray to him or be thrown into the lions’ den. Daniel refused to pray to Darius and was thrown into the lions’ den as punishment. When he emerged unscathed, Daniel reported that an angel had shut the mouths of the lions. This miracle so impressed Darius that he repealed his edict and praised the God of Daniel.
THE FOUR BEASTS
The Book of Daniel relays several prophetic visions. In one vision, Daniel sees four beasts come out of the sea. These beasts, one like a lion, one like a bear, one like a leopard, and one with iron teeth and ten horns are said to represent four great kingdoms. The kingdoms are thought to represent the Babylonian, Median, Persian, and Greek empires respectively. Some theories, however, combine the Median and Persian empires and view the last beast as representing the Roman Empire. Similar imagery is seen earlier in the book, when King Nebuchadnezzar has a vision of a statue made of four materials.
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Quizbowl is about learning, not rote memorization, so we encourage you to use this as a springboard for further reading rather than as an endpoint. Here are a few things to check out:
Despite the mystical visions, the Book of Daniel could also be quite rational. Read more about it here.
To learn more about the Babylonian Exile in the context of the Ancient World read this article.
The man who eventually conquered Babylon, Persian king Cyrus the Great, was called the Messiah by certain Jewish authors. Read more about him here.
To learn more about Daniel’s visions, watch this video.
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