15 Facts About Daniel In The Bible You Probably Didn't Know

Daniel is the prime biblical figure from The Book of Daniel.

Daniel is believed to have been a descendent of the royal family of Israel. He is the second son of the King of Israel, David.

Christianity believes this wise man to be a prophet, for he had wondrous abilities and qualities that remained unrivaled for as long as he lived.

The later world, one without Daniel and his marvels, also recognized him for all of his righteousness, his rare powers, and his steadfast faith in God that never wavered. Daniel was a man of wisdom, his intelligence stunned the entirety of land he walked on.

Thus, it is no mystery that King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon had stolen him from Jerusalem while he was still unconscious of his value.

In the days of his youth, the Babylonian Emperor had struck the home kingdom of the princely Daniel, Jerusalem. Apart from the treasures he picked up from the temple of God, Nebuchadnezzar also rode off with several young men to breed them to serve in the Royal Court as slaves.

There, they were all made to change their names. Daniel's Chaldean name was 'Belteshazzar', it was to convey the meaning 'Bel protect him', Bel being a God of Babylon.

Four Kings made Daniel a Babylonian officer during their reign. It was after he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream for the first time that the Emperor awarded his qualities with a high status in Court.

Belshazzar, son of King Nebuchadnezzar II, was also awed by Daniel for his magical display of supreme abilities when he read a message written on a wall meant to warn the Babylonian successor.

King Darius had always been fond of Daniel's unique sort of spirit, it came as no surprise when the former wanted to appoint the latter over the whole kingdom. Lastly, Emperor Cyrus, another one of the Persian Kings, had also praised Daniel with an office for a reason that remains unknown.

You can also read facts about David in The Bible and facts about Esther from The Bible, here on Kidadl.

Qualities Of Daniel In The Bible

The Book of Daniel, in the Old Testament, mentions quite a few qualities about Daniel that have remained matchless.

Daniel's steadfast faith in God is a quality that is highlighted throughout the tale of his life.

Life in Babylon was divergent from Jewish tradition, it was not easy for the Jews held slaved to adjust to several customs and habits that went against their beliefs. Daniel, though, was unbreakable throughout his period in Babylon, there was not a moment where he lost faith in God as a response to his captivity.

He did not stop praying to the Lord even during the decree that deemed all acts of worship not dedicated to the Persian King sinful and punishable.

Another majestic quality that this righteous man of unparalleled wisdom possessed was the ability to interpret dreams that belonged to others. He had the power to explain the meaning of the message that the tiniest spec of an individual's dream was trying to convey.

Daniel continued interpreting dreams for about half a century before Christ.

As a prophet, as Christianity regards him, he was also capable of having visions that allowed him to look into what the future held for the kingdom. One of the visions he had was of four beasts representing the four successive kingdoms of Rome, Greece, Babylon, and Persia that were to rise in the future.

Daniel's wisdom and intelligence were of an extremely rare kind, for there was only one of them. Every person that came across this righteous man was left stunned at his wonders.

Daniel affected the people of Babylon in every kind of way, some favored him, some deeply disliked him, but it was all because of his undying faith and unrivaled intelligence that tickled men to interpret him in a way that comforted them best.

Story Of Daniel In The Bible

Daniel was a young Jewish man living in the kingdom of Jerusalem. He was of princely descent, for his father was David, the second King of Israel.

Daniel was in his Jewish youth when Nebuchadnezzar the Great, Emperor of Neo-Babylonian Empire, struck the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He nabbed certain treasures that belonged to the temple of God to carry back to his kingdom and even stole several young men to hold captive in the Babylonian Court.

Daniel and a few of his friends had been part of those young men that had been forced into Babylonian captivity to serve the King in his Royal court.

In his youth, Daniel had been blessed with the ability to interpret dreams. He could explain the meaning behind a person's dream and defog the true meaning concealed beneath the hidden message that the person was unable to decode.

The Royal Court of Babylon recognized this rare quality that Daniel possessed. He was summoned by King Nebuchadnezzar to interpret a dream he had.

The Emperor had seen an enormous statue made of four metals, its head entirely of gold and feet a blend of clay and iron towering over land. Then, a stone, one beyond the understanding and capability of man, came colliding with the statue, crushing it till nothing was left of it.

Where the statue had previously stood, was now a mountain, swallowing the world in whole. Daniel's interpretation of the dream vividly explained the strange elements of the King's dream.

The statue stood for four kingdoms succeeding Babylon. The mountain, on the other hand, was a kingdom established by God himself, a land that could neither ever be destroyed nor taken by other people.

Struck by the strength of Daniel's God, the man's own wisdom that rose above every man in the whole kingdom, the King of Babylon wasted no time in raising his rank to a higher office. He was made ruler of the province of Babylon and appointed chief prefect over all the Babylonian wise men.

The reign of Belshazzar had not been the idealist period for Babylon. He had no respect for the Lord whatsoever.

It was at the time of a drunken feat that Belshazzar and his companions had gotten drunk of the vessels that his predecessor had picked up from the temple of God in Jerusalem. In response to this disrespectful behavior, a message addressing the Emperor had been carved on a wall.

Belshazzar had summoned Daniel to translate the message, for he knew of the wondrous abilities of the Prophet. As a reward for his service, Belshazzar appointed Daniel with a higher office.

Persian King Darius, the successor to the throne of Babylon, was most fond of Daniel and his 'extraordinary spirit'. He favored Daniel over most others, and that did not sit well with everyone.

They decided to clap back at Daniel.

King Darius was convinced into passing a decree that permitted people to worship only the King and no other God. Daniel had never given up faith in his Lord, and this decree did not him from praying three times a day with his windows open.

Those who were not fond of him, those responsible for the decree, caught him doing so and immediately reported him to the throne.

King Darius was not at all pleased about having to give Daniel over, but he knew that he could not ignore the broken law. God, however, had sent help for Daniel, the young man remained unharmed in every way, the lions had not touched him at all.

Daniel lived to see the reign of the fourth King of Babylon, Cyrus the Great. Cyrus had also acknowledged Daniel's qualities by promoting him to a higher rank.

Not much of Cyrus and Daniel remains known, though. It was during this time that Daniel's life had been taken by the vile Haman, the Prime Minister of Ahasuerus. Just like that, the memorable life of a man as wise, intelligent, and prime was brought to an end at last.

How old was Daniel in The Bible?

Christian Prophet Daniel, the second son of the King of Israel, is said to have been no more than 18 years old at the time of his captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. He spent the rest of his life being groomed according to the laws of Babylon.

What was remarkable about this was that Daniel did not, never once in his training, agree to taste meat or wine during feasts, holding loyal to the customs of his tradition.

Daniel was around 70 years old when he was thrown into the lion's den during the reign of King Darius. He had not obeyed the decree of worshipping only the King, instead, he did not stop praying to God three times during the day.

King Darius was not happy about having to punish Daniel, but he knew he could not undo or ignore what the decree said.

Meaning Of Daniel In The Bible

'Daniel' is a Hebrew name that occurs repeatedly in The Book of Daniel. It signifies 'God is my judge'.

In the Bible, Daniel appears as a righteous young man whose faith in God remains undying throughout. Despite being held captive at the Babylonian Court, an alien land with divergent traditions, Daniel lived his life respecting the customs he was raised to believe in.

He set a fine example for people with his righteousness and loyalty, heartening them to worship and obey God.

Daniel refused to eat meat or drink wine, they may have been presented to idols, and the act of such ingestion went against the Jewish tradition. Thus, he was deeply devoted to his God, he never broke beneath what his tradition did not support.

God awarded Daniel for his devotion and loyalty in more than just one instance. King Nebuchadnezzar II ordered for three Hebrew men, all of whom were Daniel's friends, to be plunged into a fiery furnace, for they had not obeyed upon being told to bow to the King's image.

The flames, however, did not touch Daniel or his friends. Nebuchadnezzar himself saw four figures walk into the fire and preserve them from damage of any kind.

Another time where God came to Daniel's aid was when he was thrown into the lion's den during the rule of King Darius.

Daniel had not obeyed a decree that Darius was manipulated into passing, which called for punishment, he was offered to a pride of starved lions to be feasted on as they pleased. The lions, however, did no such thing and left him be.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for facts about Daniel in the Bible then why not take a look at facts about Gideon in the Bible, or Abraham facts.