Daniel (biblical figure)

"Belteshazzar" redirects here. Not to be confused with Belshazzar.
This article is about the biblical prophet. For the second son of David also known as Chileab, see Daniel (son of David).

Daniel
Daniel in the Lions' Den (c. 1640 – c. 1616) by Peter Paul Rubens
Prophet
Venerated in
Major shrineTomb of Daniel, Susa, Iran
FeastJuly 21: Roman Catholicism
December 17: Greek Orthodoxy
Tuesday after fourth Sunday of Pentecost: Armenian Apostolic Church
AttributesOften depicted in the den of the lions
Tradition or genre
6th century BCE

Daniel (Aramaic and Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל, romanized: Dānīyyēʾl, lit. 'God is my Judge';[a] Greek: Δανιήλ, romanized: Daniḗl; Arabic: دانيال, romanized: Dāniyāl) is the main character of the Book of Daniel. According to the Hebrew Bible, Daniel was a noble Jewish youth of Jerusalem taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, serving the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the Persian conqueror Cyrus, all the while remaining true to the God of Israel.[1] While some conservative scholars hold that Daniel existed and his book was written in the 6th century BCE,[2][3] most scholars agree that Daniel is not a historical figure and that much of the book is a cryptic allusion to the reign of the 2nd century BCE Hellenistic king Antiochus IV Epiphanes.[4][5]

Six cities claim the Tomb of Daniel, the most famous being that in Susa, in southern Iran, at a site known as Shush-e Daniyal.[6] He is not a prophet in Judaism,[7] but the rabbis reckoned him to be the most distinguished member of the Babylonian diaspora, unsurpassed in piety and good deeds, firm in his adherence to the Law despite being surrounded by enemies who sought his ruin, and in the first few centuries CE they wrote down the many legends that had grown up around his name.[8] He is considered a prophet in Christianity, and although he is not mentioned in the Quran, Muslim sources describe him as a prophet.


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  1. ^ Redditt 2008, pp. 181–82.
  2. ^ Sprinkle 2020, p. 6.
  3. ^ Tanner 2021, p. 39.
  4. ^ Collins 1999, p. 219.
  5. ^ Noegel & Wheeler 2002, p. 74.
  6. ^ Gottheil & König 1906.
  7. ^ Noegel & Wheeler 2002, p. 76.
  8. ^ Ginzberg 1998, p. 326.