Composition and structure Chapters of the Book of Daniel God gave them knowledge and skill, and to Daniel he gave insight into visions and dreams, and when the three years of training were completed none were found to compare with them in wisdom and understanding. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself, and refused the royal food and wine, thriving instead on vegetables and water. Among these young men were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were given new names (Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah became Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, while Daniel's Babylonian name was Belteshazzar) and allocated rations of food and wine. Some young Jews of royal and noble blood, already educated (Daniel 1:4), to be taught the literature and language of Babylon for three years, at the end of which they would be placed in the royal court. In the third year of king Jehoiakim of Judah, God let the kingdom fall 'into the hand' (Daniel 1:1) or under the influence of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, who carried off some of the Temple vessels to Babylon.

Chapter 1 was apparently added as an introduction to the tales when they were collected around the end of the 3rd century BCE. The book of which he is the hero divides into two parts, a set of tales in chapters 1–6 from no earlier than the Hellenistic period (323–30 BCE), and the series of visions in chapters 7–12 from the Maccabean era (the mid-2nd century BCE). The Book of Daniel is 'a composite text of dubious historicity from various genres', and Daniel himself is a legendary figure. Chapter 1 introduces God as the figure in control of all that happens, the possessor of sovereign will and power: it is he who gives Jehoiakim into Nebuchadnezzar's hands and takes Daniel and his friends into Babylonian exile, he gives Daniel 'grace and mercies,' and gives the four young Jews their 'knowledge and skill.' The overall theme of Daniel is God's sovereignty over history.

There they refused to take food and wine from the king and were given knowledge and insight into dreams and visions by God, and at the end of their training they proved ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in the kingdom. Daniel refusing to eat at the King's table, early 1900s Bible illustrationĭaniel 1 (the first chapter of the Book of Daniel) tells how Daniel and his three companions were among captives taken by Nebuchadnezzar II from Jerusalem to Babylon to be trained in Babylonian wisdom.

The book of daniel chapter 1