A Hostage in Babylon
Author’s note: The description of Daniel’s life which follows necessarily contains a certain amount of speculation. This comes from the fact that a detailed biography of Daniel does not exist in scripture, papyrus, or cuneiform records. As far as possible, the existing records are used to give an accurate chronology. Any supplied details are present to aid the narrative, and will not have any effect on theological or prophetic understanding.
608 BC was not a good year for the people of Judah. Josiah, who had ruled for eighteen years as a faithful servant of God, died fighting Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo. His son Joahaz ruled for only three months, then Neco deposed him. Neco installed Joahaz’ brother Eliakim as king, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Then, just to keep Jehoiakim in line, Joahaz and some of his family were taken to Egypt as royal hostages. His life there would be comfortable as long as Jehoiakim behaved, but if he failed to do as Neco instructed, Joahaz would be killed. This arrangement allowed Neco to keep Judah in line without the need to occupy the land with a large force of soldiers.
Daniel watched this political maneuvering with interest, since Joahaz and Jehoiakim were his kinsmen Any missteps by Jehoiakim could lead to Daniel either being killed when Neco returned, or being taken to Egypt as the next hostage.
But Daniel could not allow himself to be too preoccupied with politics. As a fifteen year old member of the royal family, he had school to attend. He and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were all working through their classes in history, government, and language. It wasn’t enough for them to learn a trade. Their position in the royal family would obligate them to carry out tasks in government, and this required a broad education in many areas. Their native language of Hebrew would not be enough for this. They would also need to learn Aramaic, since this was the lingua franca of international business and diplomacy.
Training for daily duties was intense, but their religious duties were equally important. Great uncle Josiah had been a righteous and just king, bringing the people back to God. This meant that Daniel and his friends attended the daily temple services, learning from them about the mission of the Messiah who was to come. They also learned through their study of the scrolls of Moses of how God delivered Israel from captivity in Egypt, and how the people rejected God. Even the final rejection of God by their own people was seen in the writings of Moses. Nothing was being omitted from their education.
Because of Josiah’s devotion to God, Daniel learned not only the facts of the temple, but the love of God. He grew up in the devotion of faith, and became a true servant of God. This devotion to duty was seen in his study and service, and his future seemed assured.
Three years went by, and even though Judah was a vassal of Egypt, they were good years. Daniel and his friends began to be given duties in the administration of the kingdom. Then, just as it seemed that their futures were secure, everything was turned upside down. In 605 BC, a "lion came down from the North".
Nabopolassar, the king of Babylon, was intent on expanding his empire. He already controlled present-day Iraq and parts of southern Turkey and Palestine. He sent his armies south along the fertile crescent toward his arch-rival Egypt and the riches of Arabia. Along his route was Palestine. He already controlled Israel (the northern kingdom), but had to pass through Egyptian-controlled Judah.
Nebuchadnezzar was in command of the armies of Babylon. He had little interest in wasting time or men on the conquest of a minor vassal state. So in the summer of 605 BC he presented an ultimatum to Jehoiakim: Surrender or be destroyed. Jehoiakim had neither the army nor the will to defend against Nebuchadnezzar. Whether he was subservient to Egypt or Babylon did not matter to him. In either case, he would pay taxes to his overlord and otherwise have his way. Jehoiakim took the path of least resistance. He capitulated. After all, he reasoned, Nebuchadnezzar would soon be on his way to Egypt, and he wouldn’t have to worry about Neco anymore.
So Jehoiakim surrendered. Nebuchadnezzar secured his victory with hostages, just as Neco had done. Another set of royal cousins was on the way to a foreign country as security against the behavior of the king. Daniel, now eighteen years old, and his three friends were on their way to Babylon. As they were about to depart, a messenger arrived from Babylon. Nabopolassar had died, and Nebuchadnezzar had to come to Babylon immediately to become king.
While the last preparations for Daniel’s trip were being made, Nebuchadnezzar and a detachment of soldiers made a forced march directly across the desert to Babylon. They made the thousand mile trip in twenty days, arriving on September 7, 605 BC. The throne was vacant, being held for his arrival. He became king, and peace continued in Babylon.
In the meantime, Daniel and his friends began their trek to Babylon. Their route went back along the fertile crescent, first north through Lebanon to the headwaters of the Euphrates river near Turkey, then southeast to Babylon along the river. This painful journey was made on foot, and it was difficult to make more than fifteen miles a day. Every day the hostages were reminded of what they were being taken from, since Nebuchadnezzar’s army had taken some of the holy vessels from Solomon’s temple with them to be placed in the temples of the Babylonian Gods Sin and Bel. How would they be able to able to properly worship God when they could not go to the temple? (see Psalm 137:4)
When Daniel and his friends arrived in the late fall of 605 BC, they were immediately sent to school. Nebuchadnezzar was a very practical man, and did not wish to squander the talents of these bright young men. They were assigned to learn the Akkadian (Babylonian) language, and were given instruction in all of the other subjects needed to become officials of the Babylonian government. This was to take three years.
Now, this was not three years the way we think of years. Both the Jews and Babylonians used "inclusive" counting. This meant that from the time of their arrival in November until April was one year. The Babylonian new year in April started the second year, and the third year was any amount of time after the next new year. So Daniel would finish his schooling is less than two full years.
Along the way, there were difficulties to surmount. The first was names. Daniel, whose name means "God is Judge", was given the Babylonian name "Belteshazzar", "Prince of Bel" (a heathen god). Hananiah, "gift of the Lord", became Shadrach, "servant of Sin" (another heathen god). Mishael, "who is what God is", became Meshach, "who is what Aku is" (Aku was the Sumerian equivalent of the Akkadian Sin). Azariah, "whom Jehovah helps", became Abednego, "servant of Nebo" (another heathen god). Every time they spoke to a member of the court, their new names, honoring heathen deities, reminded them of their exile so far from God’s temple in Jerusalem.
The second problem was the king’s food. The royal court had the finest foods and wines, with no regard for God’s prescriptions on unclean meats or the offering of meat to idols. So, over the objections of the chief official supervising them, Daniel bargained for a vegetarian diet for the hostages. The price was a royal inspection in ten days. When the ten days were up, God’s providence could be seen, since Daniel and his friends looked better than the Babylonians. The chief of the officials allowed them to continue their diet.
At the end of the time of training, they were presented to Nebuchadnezzar. God had given them "knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams." Nebuchadnezzar was pleased with the Hebrew youths, and they entered the king’s service in 603 BC. God had honored their faithfulness. Daniel was only twenty years old, and was already an official in the court of a foreign king.
This was an auspicious beginning for what was to become a career without peer in the ancient world. Daniel was to serve the kings ruling Babylon until 537 BC, a span of 66 years and seven kings, finally retiring a year after Cyrus conquered Babylon. At age 86, it was a well deserved retirement.
Daniel was not given much opportunity to fall into bureaucratic obscurity. Less than a year after Daniel graduated into the king’s service, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. It worried the king greatly, because he did not understand it. Even worse, he could not remember what it was to ask his magicians and conjurers to interpret it. Suspecting that these advisers were nothing more than fakers, Nebuchadnezzar demanded that they tell him both the dream and the interpretation. When they could not do as demanded, the king ordered that all the wise men should be killed. It would seem that Daniel’s career would be cut short.
Daniel was just another bureaucrat in a large government, and he didn't get all the interoffice memos that the higher-ups got. So, when Arioch, captain of the king's bodyguard, arrived to carry out the death sentence, Daniel was, to say the least, surprised. Why was he being punished when he didn't even know about the dream, much less had a chance to interpret it? Perhaps Arioch could be persuaded to allow a stay of execution. After all, if Daniel failed, there would be no loss to Nebuchadnezzar, and if he succeeded, Nebuchadnezzar would get what he wanted. Drastic action was called for. Daniel told Arioch that if he would delay the execution of the wise men of Babylon, Daniel would tell the king the meaning of the dream.
Arioch saw the opportunity to further his own career. Saying that he had found someone who could interpret the king's dream, he took Daniel with his petition to Nebuchadnezzar. After Daniel, speaking in faith, told the king that God definitely would reveal the dream, the king agreed to a delay, and Daniel and his friends prayed for God’s power to reveal the dream and its meaning. That night God revealed the dream and its interpretation to Daniel. The next day Daniel explained how the true God had revealed to Nebuchadnezzar the future of the world. The king paid homage to the true God. He was so grateful that he promoted Daniel to be the chief administrative officer over the province of Babylon at the age of twenty-one. He was also made supervisor of all the wise men of the kingdom.
All this passed into the background as new problems arose in Palestine. In 597 BC, when Daniel was 26, Jehoiakim finally goaded Nebuchadnezzar into action. He deposed Jehoiakim and brought him to Babylon. Jehoiakim’s eight year old son Jehoiakin became king.
Jehoiakin had learned from his father, and was evil. After three months and ten days, he, too was deposed and brought to Babylon. Daniel was in mourning. How could it be that the Lord would forsake his people so that they would not have their own king in Palestine? Couldn’t anyone do the job properly as his great-uncle Josiah had done? Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah, another of Daniel’s cousins, as king.
It wasn’t long before Nebuchadnezzar forgot which God it was that revealed all things. To commemorate his great victories in battle, and to honor the god Sin he credited for his victories, Nebuchadnezzar erected an obelisk ninety feet high and nine feet wide on the plain for Dura. On it were inscribed the greatness of Sin and Nebuchadnezzar. It was then covered with gold. When this monument was completed in 595 BC, as many of the government officials as could be assembled were gathered together for the dedication. Daniel could not be spared from his post, but his friends were there.
When the musicians played, everyone was to worship the monument, paying homage to Sin and Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel’s friends followed God’s commandments, and refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s god. This infuriated the king, who ordered the three Hebrews were thrown into a furnace. It had been heated so hot that the guards were killed, but not one hair on the Hebrews’ heads was singed. Three had been thrown into the furnace, but Nebuchadnezzar saw four walking around, and the fourth looked like "a son of the gods". The Hebrews walked out free men, and the true God was again honored by Nebuchadnezzar. He promoted God’s servants. Daniel missed all this activity, but was told of it. He knew that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten God once, and could do it again. Daniel would have to be careful.
Back in Palestine, Zedekiah had been required to swear allegiance to Babylon by the true God. He paid no attention to his vows, and did evil in both God’s and Nebuchadnezzar’s eyes. He negotiated with Egypt to get troops to allow him to throw off the Babylonian yoke. Nebuchadnezzar had had enough of the rebellious province beyond the river. He sent his army to permanently deal with the problem.
When news of the king’s solution came to Daniel, he was ill. His cousin Zedekiah’s eyes were put out and he was brought in chains to Babylon. Daniel could understand the punishment of one man for his disobedience. But the rest of the news was crushing. Almost all of the people were brought back to Babylon as well. And Nebuchadnezzar was not content to stop at this. His army broke down the walls of Jerusalem, and destroyed the city. Solomon’s temple was looted of everything valuable and the structure was demolished.
Daniel understood properly that the destruction of his beloved home and the house of God was the result of the wickedness of the people. God had brought a great punishment on the Jews for their iniquity and had used Nebuchadnezzar as the instrument of that judgment. The calamity foretold by Moses had come to pass. From this time on, the thought of restoration of God’s people to righteousness and to their land was never far from Daniel’s heart.
Daniel continued to serve his king with distinction. The years passed. Then God called Daniel for another task. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom had grown in greatness, and Nebuchadnezzar took all the glory for himself and the heathen god Sin. He had to be brought back to the true God whom he had forgotten again. Once again Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and all the wise men of Babylon were unable to interpret it. And again God gave Daniel the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar was to recognize the true God, or he would become insane for seven years.
It didn’t take Nebuchadnezzar long to forget God. A year later, while admiring "great Babylon" which he took credit for building, God struck him down, and for seven years he roamed the fields with animals, eating wild fruits and grasses. Nebuchadnezzar’s son Amel-Marduk ruled the kingdom during this time. Daniel’s help as governor was invaluable.
When the seven years was completed, God gave Nebuchadnezzar’s mind back. He praised God, and ruled the kingdom till his death in 562 BC. The long period of Babylon’s peace and prosperity was coming to an end. Daniel’s challenges were resuming. Amel-Marduk resumed the throne on his father’s death, but this didn’t last long. The peaceful palace became a place of intrigue where everyone was at risk. Daniel did have hope momentarily when Amel-Marduk released Jehoiakim from prison, but, in two years, this bit of tolerance died.
In 560 BC, Amel-Marduk was murdered by his brother-in-law Neriglassar. The royal offices were shaken up, and anyone suspected of disloyalty to the new king was fired or killed. Daniel was able to continue because his service was exemplary and he stayed out of palace intrigue. Four years later, Neriglassar died, leaving his son Laborosoarchod in charge. After only a few months, in 556 BC, Nabonidas, another son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar murdered Laborosoarchod. Again, only Daniel’s exemplary service allowed him to keep his head.
By this time, Daniel was getting old. Any sane person would be considering retirement at 67, but Daniel continued in the spirit of service to God and man. His task was just beginning! After three years ruling Babylon, Nabonidas went on what was to be a ten year expedition to capture the riches of Arabia. He left Babylon in the hands of his son (Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson) Belshazzar.
Belshazzar had little regard for anyone. The servants of his father were disregarded as he put his own cronies into positions of power. Daniel, since he had no interest in any of the palace politics, was left tending to administrative duties far removed from his earlier positions of great respect. But, Daniel carried out whatever jobs he was given too well to be simply killed. He was ignored.
During this period, God saw fit to come again to Daniel. In Belshazzar’s first year as ruler of Babylon (552 BC) Daniel had a vision of four beasts. Daniel immediately saw that it was an amplification of the dream given to Nebuchadnezzar, with hope for the people of Israel in the final victory of God over Satan. But all was not good news. Daniel could not see how he would ever be able to get back to his beloved Jerusalem, or how God’s temple might be rebuilt. Four kingdoms before the victory seemed far to long for a man now seventy-two years old. And that "dreadful" fourth beast that "devoured, crushed, and trampled" did not bode well for Israel. Daniel was "alarmed" with good reason.
Two years later (550 BC), Daniel was again given a vision. He had despaired of ever seeing God’s temple raised again, and suddenly his mind was filled with images of the sacrifices. No sooner was this shown to him than two angels told him of 2,300 days until the temple would be "properly restored". Was God playing with a seventy-four year old man? Could it be that there would be only six more years until the temple would be rebuilt? Was there a chance that this old man would live to see God worshipped in His house on earth? Unfortunately, no explanation was forthcoming, and Daniel was "sick for days" afterward. All he could do was to resume the king’s business.
For eleven more years Daniel toiled in obscure corners of the royal bureaucracy. His career was now sixty-three years long, longer than the entire life span of many men of the day. He had outlived four kings of Babylon, and survived the assassination of two of them. He had seen the deaths of four kings of Judah, three of them in captivity. By his eighty-third birthday, it seemed that the time had come for him to pass on. But God still had work for him to do.
The time had come for the second kingdom in Daniel’s visions to come onto the world stage. Just as the Babylonian period was filled with intrigue, so was the Medo-Persian. The king of Medo-Persia was Cyrus the Great, cousin of Babylonian king Nabonidas. Blood was no bond between these relatives, just as had been the case in Babylon. When Cyrus became strong enough, he began a campaign to conquer Babylon. Nabonidas had returned from his campaign against Arabia, and began a defense of Babylon.
In April of 539 BC, Cyrus attacked the Babylonian army on the Tigris river, far from the city. His victory led the fighting closer to the capital. But Belshazzar, dissolute ruler that he was, paid little attention. His father, the king, was certainly the greatest general ever, and would defeat Cyrus. Blissful disregard for the war governed the city.
On September 14, 539 BC, Cyrus defeated Nabonidas at Sippar, very near to Babylon. Nabonidas retreated out of the path of Cyrus’ army, perhaps hoping to regroup and attack from the rear or the flank, but it was not to be.
On September 16, Belshazzar, confident in the strength of his father’s army, put on a huge feast for a thousand of his nobles. The liquor flowed freely. He even called for the gold and silver vessels which had been looted from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. As they drank wine from the holy vessels, a hand appeared and wrote on the wall: MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN. No one could interpret this for Belshazzar.
As Belshazzar’s fear grew, his grandmother, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, reminded him of Daniel, "in whom is a spirit of the holy gods". She told of him interpreting dreams for Nebuchadnezzar. So Daniel was called. By now, Belshazzar was terrified. His fear was so great that he offered Daniel the third place in the kingdom. His father Nabonidas was king, so this was a high as Belshazzar could go and remain ruler of the province.
Daniel turned him down. He had been ruler of the province, and had done his job well to honor God. But time had run out for Babylon. Because Belshazzar, who knew of the true God through the experiences of his grandfather, had "exalted (himself) against the Lord of heaven", God was taking the kingdom from him. He had been "weighed in the balances and found wanting". The kingdom was to be given to the Medes and Persians.
That night, Cyrus’ general Gobryas diverted the river Euphrates and marched on dry land into the city. The guards had been drinking, and he took the city without resistance. Belshazzar was killed. Two weeks later Cyrus himself entered the city. He appointed Gobryas governor, but, on October 11, he died. So Cyrus became king and governor over Babylon. MedoPersia, the second beast of Daniel’s first vision, was now on the scene.
The change of kingdoms did not allow Daniel to retire, even at the age of eighty-four. Officials were needed to manage the daily affairs of the kingdom. 120 satraps were appointed, and three commissioners were appointed over all of them. Daniel was made one of the three commissioners. He soon distinguished himself, and Darius* made plans to appoint him as ruler over the entire kingdom. This angered the other officials, since he was a Jew, not one of them, and yet he was being promoted over them. So they hatched a plot to rid themselves of this meddlesome foreigner. The man who had avoided all palace intrigue was now about to become the target of it.
The native Babylonians cooked up a way to get rid of the pesky Jew who was keeping them from their rightful place as head men of the kingdom. They approached Darius, and, carefully avoiding the true target of their scheme, got him to agree to a simple plan. For thirty days, anyone who made any petition to any god or man other than Darius would be thrown to the lions. Babylon was well furnished with wild animal parks, and any number of miscreants could be properly dealt with in this way. It did not matter to the plotters how many incidental casualties there were as long as their prime target died.
Darius, thinking that it was a good idea to cement loyalty to him in the minds of his new subjects, agreed. The schemers were ready. Their foolproof plan was going to work! They wouldn’t even get their hands dirty.
Daniel heard of the law, but it did not matter. He knew that the God who had rescued his friends from the furnace and who had protected him for eighty-four years would take care of him. If he died, that was well, too, for Daniel was ready to pass on to his reward. He had total faith in his God.
Daniel continued in his worship of God. As before, he refused to hide his light under a bushel. Three times daily he prayed, with his windows open toward Jerusalem. And three times daily, his enemies heard him praying to the true God, not to Darius. Their chance had come. The evidence was presented to the king.
Darius was "deeply distressed". His best administrator had run afoul of the law, which left no chance for a pardon. The sentence would have to be carried out. Daniel was "cast into the lions’ den". Darius personally visited Daniel and told him that the true God would deliver him. But Darius did not know God, and had no faith. His night was miserable, and he did not sleep. At dawn he went back to Daniel. His relief to find Daniel alive and well was immense.
Darius was livid that the plotters had used him to try to get rid of his best administrator. So he had the conspirators and their families thrown to the lions. The lions ate them before "they ... had reached the bottom of the den". Darius then issued a proclamation that all men were to give honor to Daniel’s God.
Daniel continued to serve Darius for a few months, but the time had truly come to retire. Sixty-five years of royal service were enough. But his service to God was not finished. In that same year, Daniel came to know of the prophecies of Jeremiah, who had been brought to Babylon with Zedekiah. In these prophecies, he saw that Israel was to be captive for seventy years. As the year was 537 BC, and the seventy years were completed by Jewish count, it was time for the Jews to be freed, yet no decree had been issued. Was God going to carry out His promise? Or had the Jews been so evil that a new punishment was due to them?
So Daniel did as he had done so many times before. He prayed to Almighty God that He would forgive the iniquity of His people and fulfill His promise to them. God answered his prayer by sending Gabriel to tell Daniel of a deliverance greater than a return from Babylon. The Messiah was coming! Daniel was given the specific date of His arrival, His crucifixion, and the time of the ultimate rejection of the Messiah by the Jews. Daniel was thrilled to know of the Savior, but sick to know that his people would reject Him. How could they be so blind? Did they not know that they were the ones who had caused the destruction of Jerusalem? Why would they do it again?
Daniel continued his prayers for his people. Soon he rejoiced as he saw the first of the exiles leaving Babylon for Judah (536 BC). But, at eighty-seven years old, Daniel was now too old to walk the 1,500 miles home. He was destined to live out his life in Babylon, never to praise God in the temple again. But God had not finished with Daniel. He had one more message for the world.
At the ripe old age of eighty-eight, Daniel was visited one more time, this time by Jesus. Daniel’s prayers for his people had been heard, but the people remained rebellious. This last message was one of "great conflict" for Israel. Jesus presented Daniel with a very detailed picture of the times to come. There would be many evils to fall on the people of God. But, in the end, all those who were faithful would be "rescued". The great controversy between God and Satan would end in victory.
But Daniel, even though he understood what he had been told, was not permitted to tell others. He was to "seal up" the vision until the "time of the end", when the faithful would gain understanding and lead others to the light of the truth. But, until then, Daniel was to "go (his) way to the end; then (he) will enter into rest and rise again for (his) allotted portion at the end of the age."
Daniel remained faithful to the end. Indeed, he is one of the rare people in the Bible about whom nothing bad was ever written. His reward is assured. His faithfulness stands as a shining example to us who are also sojourners in a foreign land. When he died in 530 BC, at the age of ninety-three, he did not simply vanish. He left behind a marvelous blueprint of the future of the great controversy between God and Satan: a temporally framed portrait of the ultimate spiritual victory.
God saw fit to leave us an outline of the future of the world's history, so that we could be secure in our faith. He used the hand of his faithful servant, exiled away from his home, immersed in heathen religion, yet ever true, as a guiding light for his people in this era, the time of the end. Daniel inscribed for us not just the history of the world, but the identity of both God and Satan. It is our task to learn what he wrote, so we may be fully prepared to fight the good fight of faith.
* The account names Darius. The identity of this person is a bit uncertain, but it is likely to be Gobryas. The Septuagint names Cyrus here in place of Darius.
