Ep. 196. Daniel 1-3 | The King Has a Dream

EPISODE 196

THE KING HAS A DREAM: DANIEL 1-3

The book of Daniel begins in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, King of Judah. Jeremiah has been a prophet for 21 years. Jehoiakim will be King for another eight years, then Jehoiachin for three months, then Zedekiah for eleven years. After that, Jerusalem will fall to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim is also the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel is of the royal family in Judah and is taken captive to Babylon, where he and the other nobles are to be trained in the language and arts of the Babylonian people for three years. But just one year into his three-year training, Daniel interprets a dream for the King, which elevates him to a place of power along with his three friends, later renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Daniel's chapter three does not give us any indication as to where it fits in the timeline. It could have been a year later or 42 years later, since Nebuchadnezzar was King for approximately 43 years. We often picture Daniel and his friends as little boys when they were first taken into captivity, but since the four of them are in leadership positions within a year, it is doubtful that they are too young. In this third chapter, we do see the resentment the Babylonian people felt for the Jewish exiles now in leadership. It is similar to the Babylonians' contempt for Daniel in Chapter 6.

ADDITIONAL READING: NONE