The Book of Daniel An Introduction

1. The Book of Daniel An Introduction

12. Carcemish *

16. Rulers of Babylon during the Captivity Nebuchadnezzar succeeded by son, Evil-Merodach killed by Neriglissar(Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law) succeeded by son, Labosoarchad succeeded by Nabonidus shared rule with son, Belshazzar

17. Daniel in Babylon, from teen to octogenarian

18. Daniel 5: Belshazzar’s Feast

19. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 7-33) Cyrus:“I am sure I cannot see how any one could take by storm walls so massive and so high…unless you have some other method to suggest, I propose that we use this method of laying siege…”

20. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 8) Chrysantas:“Does not this river flow through the midst of the city? And it is more than two stadia in width.” Gobryas: “Yeah, Ri-ight…”

21. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 8) Chrysantas:“Does not this river flow through the midst of the city? And it is more than two stadia in width.” Gobryas:“Aye, by Zeus, and its depth is such that two men, one standing on the other’s shoulders, would not reach the surface of the water, so that the city is better defended by the river than by its walls.”

22. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 8) • Nonetheless, Cyrus went for the plan. • They dug “an immense trench” around the sides of the city. • The Babylonians were confident, thinking the Persian efforts were a laughable attempt at building siege works. • Cyrus cleverly encouraged the confidence of the Babylonians.

23. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 13) “The enemy upon the walls laughed his siege-works to scorn, in the belief that they had provisions enough for more than twenty years. “Upon hearing of this, Cyrus divided his army into twelve parts as if intending each part to be responsible for sentry duty during one month of the year.”

24. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 14) The Babylonians were further made confident by the composition of Cyrus’ army: They “laughed much more scornfully still, at the thought of Phrygians and Lydians and Arabians and Cappadocians keeping guard against them, for they considered all these to be more friendly to them than to the Persians.”

25. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 15-16) “At last the ditches were completed. Then, when he heard that a certain festival had come around in Babylon, during which all Babylon was accustomed to drink and revel all night long, Cyrus took a large number of men, just as soon as it was dark, and opened up the heads of the trenches at the river. As soon as that was done, the water flowed down through the ditches in the night, and the bed of the river, where it traversed the city became passable for men.”

26. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 24) “And do you, Gadatas and Gobryas, show the streets, for you are familiar with them. And when we get inside the walls, lead us by the quickest route to the royal palace.”

27. The Fall of Babylon Xenophon’s Account(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 33) “And when the day dawned and those in possession of the citadels discovered that the city was taken and the king slain, they surrendered the citadels , too.”

28. The Fall of Babylon Herodotus’ Account(1.190-191) Cyrus “turned the Euphrates by a canal into the basin, which was then a marsh, on which the river sank to such an extent that the natural bed of the stream became fordable.” “...the Persians came upon them by surprise and so took the city. Owing to the vast size of the place, the inhabitants of the central parts...long after the outer portions of the town were taken, knew nothing of what had chanced, but as they were engaged in a festival, continued dancing and revelling until they learnt the capture but too certainly.”

29. 70 years? 47 yrs

30. 70 years? 58 yrs

31. 70 years? 66 yrs

32. 70 years? ? ? 70 yrs

33. 70 years? 516 B.C. 2nd Temple finished 70 yrs

34. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance Remember the Sabbath year... Lev. 25:3-4 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

35. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance …and the Jubilee... Lev. 25:11 You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines.

36. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance Lev. 26 26:14 'But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments...

37. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance Lev. 26:32-35 I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it. You, however, I will scatter among the nations…. Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.

38. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 36:21 Connects JEREMIAH’S PROPHECY OF 70 YEARS with THE LAND ENJOYING ITS SABBATHS

39. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 36:20-21 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

40. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 36:20-21 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

41. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 36:20-21 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

42. 70 years? Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 36:20-21 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

43. The Book of Daniel Contents of the Book of Daniel chapters 1-6, Narrative chapters 7-12, Visions chapters 2-7, language is Aramaic Message of the Book of Daniel “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth”