Starlight Book Review – Old Testament – Book of Daniel – Major Prophets

Daniel refusing to eat at the King’s table (early 20th-century American illustration)
by Otto Adolph Stemler (1872–1953) on a Dark Blue Background.
Painting Image Source: Public Domain Clipart Collection #48 | © Starry Night Elf

Part of a series of Starlight Book Reviews (SBR) on Old Testament (OT) Books. Click here to see other OT SBR.

* The following post transparently exhibits my Christian faith.

5/5 Gnomies, I continue my Starlight Book Reviews (SBR) for the 2023 Sacred Texts Journey Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). This SBR pertains to the last of the Major Prophets — the Book of Daniel.

Click here to check out the Sacred Texts Journey SRC.

The Major Prophets is a grouping of books in the Christian Old Testament that does not occur in the Hebrew Bible. All of these books are traditionally regarded as authored by a prophet such as Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. The term “major” has nothing to do with the achievement or importance of the prophets, rather with the length of the books. In comparison to the books of the Twelve Minor Prophets, whose books are short and grouped together into one single book in the Hebrew Bible, these books are much longer.

“The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly “an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon”, it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a portrayal of end times) both cosmic in scope and political in focus, and its message is that just as the God of Israel saves Daniel from his enemies, so he would save all Israel in their present oppression.

As a girl, I remember my Sunday School teachers held me in their thrall with the passages of Daniel in the lions’ den as well as those of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Yet, early in my faith, I read the Book of Daniel and the more prophetic verses scared me. Many years later, with each read of this book, I find bits and seeds of hope. The following verse serves as a great example of the promises within Daniel:

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

Daniel 2:44

Select Bibliography (Alphabetical Order by Author’s Surname)

• Brettler, Mark Zvi (2005). How To Read the Bible. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 9780827610019.
• Collins, John J. (1984). Daniel: With an Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802800206.
• Reid, Stephen Breck (2000). “Daniel, Book of”. In Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C. (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9789053565032.