The Babylonian kingdom is divided at this time between the Medes and the Persians. Esther was crowned Queen of Persia; however, she did not come to royal stature until sometime after 486 BCE. The Temple had been restored by that time and the first wave of Jews had been freed from captivity to live in Jerusalem. Many Jews were comfortable with their lives in Babylon and remained there until after the events in Esther when there was a second exodus from Persia back to Jerusalem.
Tag: Daniel
Chapter 2 – The Dream of the Statue
This event was only two years into Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. The time of preparation for Daniel and the other boys was three years. Because of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, their time in preparation was cut short and they were given places of authority, and Daniel became a prominent member of the king’s court. Eunuchs were never made rulers over provinces or given authority over other men. This is where the controversy comes over whether or not these boys of noble birth were made eunuchs.
Chapter 12 – Judgment and Resurrection
Chapter 12 begins with “When that time comes …” referring to the final verse in Daniel 11:45: “Finally, when he pitches the tents of his palace between the seas and the mountain of the holy Glory, he will come to his end, with no one to help him.” Some compare Daniel chapter 12 with Revelation chapter 11 beginning the final judgment and the resurrection. When Micha’el rises up, there will be a time of distress unparalleled between the time they became a nation and that moment.
Chapter 11 – Empires, Politics, and Powers
\This chapter begins in the third year of Darius, the Mede, or Cyrus, King of Persia only a few years before Daniel’s death. According to Ezra 2:64, 42,360 Jews had had already returned to Jerusalem after the decree by King Cyrus.
Everything written in this chapter, like the rest of prophecy, affects the Jews first and then the rest of the world. As Daniel was told in chapter 10, this is “what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come” (Daniel 10:14).