Authorship-

There are two basic views held concerning the authorship of this book. There are those who hold that Daniel, a Jewish captive in Babylon between 605 and 536 B.C., wrote this book that bears his name. Those who hold this view are primarily of the conservative or fundamental view. There are those who hold that the book of Daniel was written later following the period of Antiochus Epiphanes. Those who hold this view are individuals who do not believe in miracles and apply destructive criticism to the Bible.

A. Arguments against Daniel authorship-

1. In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Daniel is not found in the prophetic section. It is found in the section called the writings. They would say that this suggests a later date of writing and addition to the Bible.
2. The destructive critic argues that there is no such thing as predictive prophecy, and therefore the book of Daniel had to be written after the prophecies that it mentions were fulfilled.

B. Arguments for Daniel authorship-

1. Traditional evidence - The Jews and the church held universally to the Daniel authorship until modern times.
2. Scriptural Evidence.

a. The book claims to be written by Daniel. Daniel 7:28;
    8:1,15; 9:2; 10:2.

b. The Lord Jesus declares Daniel to be the author of the
    book that bears his name. Matthew 24:15.

Language-

It is mainly written in two languages (Hebrew and Chaldean). Chapters 2:4 through 7 are written in Chaldean. The rest of the book is written in Hebrew. The section, written in Chaldean, deals primarily with God’s dealings with the Gentile powers.The Hebrew section deals with the Jews and their relationship to other nations.

The date-

Daniel was taken captive into Babylon in the first deportation which occurred in the year 605 B.C. The captivity lasted for seventy years. It was during this period that Daniel wrote the book that bears his name. The following evidence supports this view:

1. Josephus, who is the Jewish historian who lived in the 1st century A.D. stated that, in 332 B.C, Alexander the Great was shown the prophecies of Daniel. This was approximately 200 years before the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.
2. The first book of Maccabees written during the 1st century B.C. gives evidence of an acquaintance with the Septuagint version of Daniel.
3. The Septuagint which was written before the time of Antiochus Epiphanes contains the book of Daniel.
4. Ezekiel in his prophecies makes mention of Daniel. Ezekiel 14:14, 20; 28:3.
5. The book of Daniel shows intimate acquaintance with the Chaldean manners, customs, history, and religion as none but an eye witness could be expected to know.
6. The Hebrew and Aramaic of the book is that of the Babylonian period instead of the Maccabean period. The Hebrew of the Maccabean period was a dead language.

The Outline-

I. Historical data of the period of Daniel and prophetic information received by the gentile rulers
   chap. 1-6

Chap. 1:1,2  Historical location and introduction to the book.
Chap. 1:3-1:21  The faithful character and elevation of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
Chap. 2  Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great image and Daniel’s interpretation.
Chap. 3  Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold and the fiery trial of Shadrach, Meshach, and
              Abednego.
Chap. 4  Nebuchadnezzar’s dream concerning the tree, his insanity, and recovery.
Chap. 5  Belshazzar’s feast, the handwriting on the wall, Daniel’s interpretation, and Belshazzar’s
              death.
Chap. 6  Darius’ decree and Daniel’s deliverance from the lion’s den.

II. Prophetic visions and messages received by Daniel. Chap. 7-12