Who was the prophet Daniel?
The life of the prophet Daniel is recorded in the book that shares his name. Daniel means “God is my judge.” There is not much know about the early years of his life, but he appears to have been of the upper class, perhaps even from a royal family. It is recorded that he was taken to Babylon as a teenager in 605 B.C. He began service to the royal court and abstained from unclean food (Daniel 1:8-16). Three years later, Daniel was brought before the King to interpret the King’s dream. The king was pleased and made Daniel “ruler over the whole province of Babylon” and “chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48). In Chapter 4, we learn that Daniel interpreted another of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. Nelson’s Bible Dictionary comments: “Daniel remained in governmental service through the reigns of the kings of Babylon and into the reign of Cyrus of Persia after the Persians became the dominant world power (Dan 1:21; 10:1). Daniel was also a person of deep piety. His book is c
