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Daniel
(דָּנִיּ
ֵאל, Standard Hebrew Daniyyel,
Tiberian Hebrew Dāniyyêl) is the name of two
people from the Bible. The name means "My judge is
Elohim|God", or "God has judged".

# David's second son, "born unto him in Hebron, of
Abigail the Carmelitess" (1 Chr. 3:1). He is
called also Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3).
# Jewish exile in Babylon, subject of Book of
Daniel

Christians consider Daniel to be one of the four
great prophets, whose life and prophecies line the
Book of Daniel although he is not once spoken of
in the Old Testament as a prophet. Judaism does
not consider Daniel to be a prophet.  In the
Christian Old Testament Daniel appears in
"Prophets" but in the Jewish Tanach he appears in
"Writings."  There are two reasons Jews do not
consider Daniel to be a prohet.  

#  Daniel never spoke directly to God.  Per Torah
prophets (navis) speak to God, not to
intermediaries like angels.  Daniel saw angels and
never spoke to God. This is the primary reason
Daniel is not considered a prophet.   
#  In Judaism a prophet (navi) speaks to his or
her generation, not to future generations.  The
Prophets in the Jewish Tanach (e.g., Isaiah,
Ezekiel) spoke primarily to their generation, but
their message was also pertinent to the future. 
Daniel's visions were for the future, not for his
generation.  The Men of the Great Assembly
(Sanhendrin) who codified the Jewish bible
(Tanach) argued about including Daniel in the
bible and placed him in Writings, not Prophets.

The remainder of this article describes the
character Daniel, from the Book of Daniel, who
may, or may not, be an historical figure. The
historicity of Daniel is discussed at Book of
Daniel. This article describes him within the
setting of the history that the Bible describes.

Daniel was descended from one of the noble
families of kingdom of Judah|Judah (Dan. 1:3), and
was probably born in Jerusalem about B.C. 623,
during the reign of Josiah. 



At the first deportation of the Jews by
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon|Nebuchadnezzar (the
kingdom of Israel had come to an end nearly a
century before), or immediately after his victory
over the Egyptians at the second battle of
Carchemish, in the fourth year of the reign of
Jehoiakim (B.C. 606), Daniel and other three noble
youths were carried off to Babylon, along with
part of the vessels of the temple, having been
chosen for their intellect and beauty. 

There he was obliged to enter into the service of
the king of Babylon, and in accordance with the
custom of the age received the Chaldean name of
Belteshazzar, i.e., prince of Bel, or Bel protect
the king! His residence in Babylon was very
probably in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, now
identified with a mass of shapeless mounds called
the Kasr, on the right bank of the river. 

His training in the schools of the wise men in
Babylon (Dan. 1:4) was to fit him for service to
the empire. He was distinguished during this
period for his piety and his strict observance of
the Mosaic law (1:8-16), and gained the confidence
and esteem of those who were over him. 

At the close of his three years of discipline and
training in the royal schools, Daniel was
distinguished for his proficiency in the "wisdom"
of his day, and was brought out into public life.
He soon became known for his skill in the
interpretation of dreams (1:17; 2:14), and rose to
the rank of governor of the province of Babylon,
and became "chief of the governors" (Chald.
Rab-signin) over all the wise men of Babylon. He
made known and also interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's
dream; and many years afterwards, when he was now
an old man, amid the alarm and consternation of
the terrible night of Belshazzar's impious feast,
he was called in at the instance of the
queen-mother (perhaps Nitocris, the daughter of
Nebuchadnezzar) to interpret the mysterious
handwriting on the wall. He was rewarded with a
purple robe and elevation to the rank of "third
ruler." The place of "second ruler" was held by
Belshazzar as associated with his father,
Nabonidus, on the throne (5:16). Daniel
interpreted the handwriting, and "in that night
was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain."



His fidelity to God exposed him to persecution,
and he was cast into a den of lions, but was
miraculously delivered; after which Darius issued
a decree enjoining reverence for "the God of
Daniel" (6:26). He "prospered in the reign of
Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian,"
whom he probably greatly influenced in the matter
of the decree which put an end to the Captivity
(B.C. 536).

The time and circumstances of his death are not
recorded. He possibly died at Susa, at about
eighty-five years of age, where a tomb presumed to
be his is also located, the site of which is known
as Shush-Daniel.

Ezekiel, with whom he was contemporary, mentions
him as a pattern of righteousness (14:14, 20) and
wisdom (28:3). Those scholars that consider the
Daniel of the Book of Daniel as unhistorical,
usually contend that Ezekiel meant another figure
that is now forgotten, and that the author of the
Book of Daniel took up this clue from Ezekiel to
name his alleged prophet, to bind him to the older
books of the Bible.

== See also ==
* Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon
* Book of Daniel (book of the Bible)
* List of names referring to El

== References ==

Eastons
* Variations: Daniell (male); Danielle (female)

== External links ==

*
http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language
=english&version=NIV&passage=daniel Daniel at
Bible Gateway

* http://www.jewfaq.org/prophet.htm