Daniel
Daniel got the genre of apocalyptic literature going, the line that runs straight to Revelation.
Read this if you…
- want the source for the lion's den, the fiery furnace, and the writing on the wall — three of the most-painted scenes in Christian art
- like apocalyptic literature: world empires as beasts, visions of the end, the Son of Man on clouds
- care about a Jewish exile story written to encourage Jews under Greek persecution — a coded protest book
Skip this if you…
- don't want to read explicitly religious/Christian texts
Why It Matters
Daniel got the genre of apocalyptic literature going, the line that runs straight to Revelation. Its idea of world empires rising and falling until God steps in shaped political theology in the medieval and Reformation periods, and it still drives a lot of end-times thinking.
Where to go next
- The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. Daniel shaped it. - Daniel judging Susanna — the wise young judge who turns a trial inside out — is the figure Shakespeare summons for the *Merchant of Venice* courtroom - Shylock hails Portia twice: "A Daniel come to judgment! Yea, a Daniel! O wise young judge" - Portia even tries the case under Daniel's Babylonian name, Balthasar — the borrowing runs that deep
- Moby-Dick or, The Whale by Herman Melville. Daniel shaped it. - Daniel 5's writing on the wall — "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," the verdict that Belshazzar has been weighed and found wanting — becomes Melville's image for doom foreseen and unread - The Bible was Melville's foremost source, and *Moby-Dick* hangs the Pequod's fate on this scene - In the doubloon chapter, Starbuck watches Ahab and says "the old man seems to read Belshazzar's awful writing" — Daniel's prophecy of a kingdom already condemned
Depicted in Art
Daniel sits among nine life-size lions in a rocky den, hands clasped in prayer, his eyes turned up to a shaft of dawn light.
Peter Paul Rubens, 1615
A bearded creator god kneels in a fiery red sun, leaning down through clouds to measure the dark void below with a pair of golden compasses.
William Blake, 1794
Daniel stands with his back to the viewer in a shadowy underground pit, surrounded by quiet lions; a single beam of light falls from above.
Briton Rivière, 1872
Daniel stands among the lions at the pit's mouth, looking up to address the king above; the lions are calm and watchful around him.
Briton Rivière, 1890
Daniel stands at the center of a shadowy stone pit, the lions tame around his feet, light streaming down through a narrow opening above.
Gustave Doré, 1866
A vast columned hall opens onto Babylon at night; tiny figures recoil from a wall of fiery Hebrew letters as the city burns in the distance.
John Martin, 1820
Recommended Editions
King James Version
Cambridge University Press · 1611
The most influential and commonly quoted translation in English. The prose rhythm everyone else is responding to, even modern translations.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.”
“Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”