Bible Study Book Of Daniel Lesson # 2
The book of Daniel is prophetic and apocalyptic literature about a faithful servant of Yahweh living in Babylonian exile. Daniel’s prophetic visions offer hope that God will bring all nations under his rule.
The language of the book—part of which is Aramaic (2:4–7:28) probably indicates a date of composition later than the Babylonian Exile (6th century BC). Numerous inaccuracies connected with the exilic period (no deportation occurred in 605 BC; Darius was a successor of Cyrus, not a predecessor; etc.) tend to confirm this judgment. Because its religious ideas do not belong to the 6th century BC, numerous scholars date Daniel in the first half of the 2nd century BC and relate the visions to the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164/163 BC).
