Daniel, ‏דניאל‎—The author of this book is not named. The book is called Daniel because it contains the history and the visions of Daniel. According to a tradition mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Bathra, 15a), the men of the Great Synagogue wrote or edited the book probably from trustworthy traditions, partly written, partly oral. The last six chapters seem to have been written by Daniel himself; he speaks in them of himself in the first person. The object of the book is to show that God is the Ruler of the Universe. The author, therefore, gives, on the one hand, examples of men of great piety and genuine faith in God—Daniel and his friends; and, on the other hand, examples of men of great wickedness—Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar; the former enjoyed glorious victories, the latter received their due punishment. The style is throughout bold and emphatic; the frequent heaping of synonyms is to serve the purpose of emphasis. In the last chapters the author shows that the misdeeds of the wicked and the sufferings of the pious are foreseen by God, and that both the punishment of the former and the redemption of the latter form part of the Divine plan in the government of mankind. We are thus exhorted to remain firm in our faith in time of oppression, and to wait patiently for deliverance, which is sure to come. Although Daniel belonged to those distinguished men to whom God communicated coming events in visions, he is not classed among the prophets, because he had no Divine message to bring to his fellow-men, and he was not charged to address them in the name of God. Daniel was brought to Babylon, together with other captives, in the third year of Jehoiakim, and remained there during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and the first years of Cyrus the Persian. He distinguished himself by great piety and wisdom, so that in a prophecy of Ezekiel (xiv. 14), in the sixth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, he is mentioned, together with Noah and Job, as famous for piety, as one of those whom God protects from danger because of their righteousness, although their piety could not save their fellow-men. The same prophet mentions him as a wise man (xxviii. 3). The book is divided into two parts: (A.) An account written in Chaldee of Daniel’s wisdom and piety, with a Hebrew Introduction (i. to vi.). (2.) The visions of Daniel in Chaldee and Hebrew (vii. to xii.). In the introductory chapter the author narrates the principal facts of the training of Daniel in Babylonian wisdom, and his great success at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Then follows the Chaldee portion, including the following subjects:— (1.) Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream.—The king demands that the sages initiated in Babylonian wisdom shall tell him his dream, which he himself has forgotten, and its interpretation. They cannot do it, and many of them are put to death. Daniel arrests the slaughter; for he prays to God, and God reveals to him the king’s dream.