Organizing the book of Daniel chronologically
One of the challenges in understanding the story line of Daniel is the chronology of the book. Because the chapters are not laid out in a chronological order it’s difficult to understand the flow of events. The book is actually put together thematically, in two distinct parts: 1) Life in Babylon 2) Prophetic Visions. The time frame of these sections overlap one another. For instance Chapter 6 takes places near the end of Daniel’s life, whereas Chapter 7 takes place nearly 20 years earlier.
Another challenge is the mention of multiple kings whom Daniel served. If you don’t know the times these kings reigned it can be very difficult to understand the order of events since all the time frames in the book reference the reign of one of these kings. But, if you understand who these kings are and when they reigned you can fairly easily identify the timeline of the book. In this blog I’m going to give a very simple overview of the book of Daniel and help you organize it chronologically so that you can understand it a little more clearly.
As we look at the time line, it’s important to note that Daniel began his time in Babylon serving in Nebuchadnezzar’s court but ends up serving under Darius the Mede. The Medo-Persians took over Babylon in 539 BC, which is only explicitly mentioned in Daniel 5:30-31. Here is a simple key of the kings in Daniel:
Nebuchadnezzar – King of Babylon (605–562 BC)
Belshazzar – Grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, Co-Regent of Babylon with his father Nabonidus (553-539 BC)
Darius – Governor of Babylon under Cyrus (~539 – 530 BC)
Cyrus – King of Persia (559 – 530 BC)
Now that we recognize the times of these kings we can put together a chronology of the book. Here’s a simple outline that will help you organize the book chronologically. The dates are approximate as most historians and scholars differ over the exact dates of the respective reigns of the kings.
I. SECTION 1 – Chapter 1-6, Life in Babylon from 606BC – 534BC
A. Three Dramatic Character displays
Chapter 1 – Refuses King’s Delicacies, 605 BC under Nebuchadnezzar
Chapter 3 – Golden Statue/Fiery Furnace, 587 BC under Nebuchadnezzar
Chapter 6 – Prays/Lion’s Den, 538~534 BC under Darius
B. Two Dream Interpretations for Nebuchadnezzar
Chapter 2 – Great Golden Image, 603 BC
Chapter 4 – Nebuchadnezzar’s Judgment, 571 – 562 BC
C. One Vision Interpretation for Belshazzar
Chapter 5 – Writing on the Wall, 539 BC
II. SECTION 2 – Chapter 7-12, Prophetic Visions from 553BC-533BC
A. Two Prophetic Visions w/Angelic Interpretations
Chapter 7 – 4 Beasts, Little Horn, Ancient of Days, 553 BC
Chapter 8 – Ram and the Goat, 551 BC
B. Two Angelic Visitations
Chapter 9 – Seventy Weeks, 539 BC
Chapter 10 – 12 – King of the North and King of the South to 1335 days, ~534 BC
Now, if we take the outline above and organize it chronologically, the chapters of the book of Daniel unfold in the following way:
Chapter 1 – Refuses King’s Delicacies, 605 BC under Nebuchadnezzar
Chapter 2 – Great Golden Image, 603 BC
Chapter 3 – Golden Stature/Fiery Furnace, 587 BC under Nebuchadnezzar
Chapter 4 – Nebuchadnezzar’s Judgment, 571 – 562 BC
Chapter 7 – Four Beasts, Little Horn, Ancient of Days, 553 BC
Chapter 8 – Ram and the Goat, 551 BC
Chapter 5 – Writing on the Wall, 539 BC
Chapter 9 – Seventy Weeks, 539 BC
Chapter 6 – Lion’s Den, 538~534 BC under Darius
Chapter 10 – 12 – King of the North and King of the South to 1335 days, ~534 BC
In my owns studies I found that as I organized the book chronologically it became easier for me to understand the story line. Hopefully this will serve as a helpful tool for you as you study the Book of Daniel.