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 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: to Gentiles of Babylon, and to Jews in exile concerning Gentile nations and Israel 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: He may not have had a special call to the prophetic ministry, as did Isaiah and Jeremiah He was given the prophetic gift, but not the prophetic office as such ... 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... 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... 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