D
aniel 2-6 presents five stories about the four Hebrews in exile. Al- though chapter 1 also contains a story about Daniel and his friends, in this study it is separated from the rest of the stories. This has been done for practical reasons: Chapter 1 's message serves as a summary of the teaching of the whole book.This overview focuses mainly on the literary and historical character of the stories from chapters 2-6. It will also cover the purpose of the stories and their function in the book.
Literary T y p e of t h e Stories
All six chapters in the first section of Daniel (chaps. 1-6) may be identified as "court narratives." As such, they inform the reader of the events that took place following the arrival of the four young Hebrews to the city of Babylon. Each of the stories contains a plot that is directly or indirectly related to the royal palace and the services that the four men pro- vided for the king. In each narrative,
God is shown to be present and actively involved in everyday events, providen- tially intervening in times of crisis.
The stories in chapters 2-6 are clearly bracketed, thus indicating the presence of an inclusion Both the beginning (Dan. 1:21) and the end (6:28) of this literary unit mention Daniel's position in the kingdom of Medo-Persia. Each of the five chapters combines prose and poetry. And each of them, with the exception of chapter 5, contains a hymn of praise that was composed in response to God's supernatural intervention. While Daniel composed the first hymn, the others are found in the mouths of powerful mon- archs and can be considered echoes of Daniel's hymn. Thus, more than one lit- erary type is present in these chapters— all providing the reader with a text that is rich from the literary point of view.
Historical Aspect of t h e Stories
In contrast to chapters 7-12, which are all dated with precision, chapters 3-6
GENERAL OVERVIEW OF DANIEL 2-6 SETTING AND PURPOSE OF THE STORIES
do not make any explicit chronological reference. However, the introductory chapter and the five that follow are all presented in historical sequence. This order is changed in the transition from stories to visions with the placement of chapter 7 after chapter 6, although chap- ter 7 is dated chronologically before chapter 6. Interestingly enough, in the history of the interpretation of Daniel's book, the dating of the visionary chap- ters has been questioned far more often than has the dating of the chapters that contain stories.
What kind of history characterizes the stories in Daniel? Can we refer to them as "historical," or should we perhaps view them as simply didactic and thereby pos- sibly fictional—or, as some scholars have suggested, a product of human fantasy? It is important to state here that the parts ot the Bible that contain historical narra- tive were seldom intended to provide readers with solid facts that could be used for the study of history in a scientific sense. The Bible need not and cannot re- place our contemporary textbooks on history. The reason for this is not that the text of the Bible is historically unreliable. On the contrary, various scholars have pointed to its trustworthiness, and in this study, biblical texts are considered to be reliable. Yet, the primary objective of the author of Daniel was not simply to provide an "objective history" of Ju- dah, Babylon, or Medo-Persia. Instead, through divine inspiration, the author
of the book intended to put together, side by side, historical facts and the spir- itual truths that lay behind them.
The particular purpose of the biblical authors means that it is more correct to refer to the type of history in a biblical book such as Daniel as "sacred history" or "interpreted history." This is clear from a number of passages scattered in the book. Right at the start, for example, the author says that Babylon succeeded in defeating Jerusalem because the Tord allowed it to happen (Dan. 1:2). In chapter 5, not only does the author re- port that Belshazzar was killed at the time Babylon fell into the hands of the Medo-Persians, but he tells the story in such a way as to provide an explanation regarding why that particular event took
place. This style of writing enhances the didactic aspect of biblical narratives in which history teaches divine lessons. The author recorded past events "as warnings for us, on whom the fulfill- ment of ages has come" (1 Cor. 10:11).
S e t t i n g a n d P u r p o s e o f t h e Stories
The evidence derived from the text of Daniel's book places the stories in the context of the Babylonian exile in the sixth century B.C. The fact that most of these stories are not explicitly dated suggests that they hold an underlying timeless value that engages readers in a decision-making process in regard to their attitude toward God and their eternal destiny.
COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF DANIEL
The stories are all centered on the person of God, and they demonstrate his acts of salvation toward the faithful. They portray God as the Creator and the sole Provider of life, health, and wis- dom. He knows the future and commu- nicates it to his servants. He can save his servants from danger when they are in the midst of it. He can humble the proud and grant new blessings to those who turn to him. His care extends even to those who are not members of his chosen people. This is very clear from his dealings with the pagan kings who are mentioned in the book. God dealt with them individually, saving the peni- tent and condemning the arrogant.
Chapters 2-4 present three stories in which King Nebuchadnezzar comes into direct contact with the true God through his interactions with Daniel and his Judean friends. Since the story in chap- ter 4 concludes with Nebuchadnezzar becoming "a captive of the God of his captives," chapters 2-4 unfold the step- by-step process through which this king was converted.
According to chapter 5, in contrast to Nebuchadnezzar's surrender to God, Belshazzar's final encounter with the Lord resulted in his loss of power and his death. He simply ignored the most precious lesson he might have learned from the life of King Nebuchadnezzar, whom he called "my father." For this reason, Belshazzar appears to serve as the author's type of the future anti-God
power that will cause great destruction and in the end be destroyed through God's intervention.
The story in chapter 6 is set during the reign of the first Medo-Persian ruler, who in this chapter is referred to as me-
lek, "king." Darius the Mede has been
identified in history as either Cyrus the Great or a ruler placed immediately sub- ject to Cyrus's authority. This study pre- fers to view him as Cyrus himself (see the Notes and Exposition on Dan. 5:31). The king in chapter 6 is portrayed as very favorable toward Daniel, just as Nebuchadnezzar was in the second phase of his reign. He prays and fasts for Daniel; he openly confesses that only God could save his faithful servant; and in the end, he writes an edict calling on all his subjects to "reverence the God of Daniel" (Dan. 6:26).
In conclusion, it can be stated that in the stories from Daniel's book, "three monarchs are shown with their different responses to the living God."1 King Ne-
buchadnezzar typifies those in Babylon who are penitent in the end and submit to God's rule. In contrast, Belshazzar represents the people who are defiant and thus go to their own destruction. King Cyrus is the ruler who cooperates with God in the work of delivering God's people from their oppressors. Cyrus, in fact, is presented as a type of Messiah in at least one prophetic pas- sage of the Bible (Isa. 45:1-3). Psalm 47:6-9 invites the whole earth to ac-
GENERAL OVERVIEW OF DANIEL 2 - 6
SETTING AND PURPOSE OF THE STORIES
knowledge God as the Supreme King who is worthy of universal praise be- cause all "kings of the earth belong" to him:
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing
praises.
For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
The importance of the stories in the book of Daniel cannot be exaggerated. Their presence is crucial to a proper un- derstanding of the book's message. Not
only that, they also provide the histori- cal and literary setting for the visions and auditions that follow. Unfortunately, the role of the stories in Daniel has often been underestimated; many studies have one-sidedly focused on the visions while almost completely ignoring the crucial role that the stories play in the book. Yet the visions make sense only in the light of the stories. When applied in this case, the famous slogan that "faith is built on history" means that Daniel's visions should never be studied in isolation from the life experiences of the four He- brews in Babylon. The readers of the vi- sions are ready to put their trust in God in regard to their future because God has already demonstrated his supernatu- ral power by protecting the faithful from destructive fire and by shutting the mouths of hungry lions.