Daniel

The book implies that Daniel was its author in several passages, such as 9:2; 10:2. That Jesus concurred is clear from his reference to “ ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel” (Mt 24:15; quoting 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. The book was probably completed c. 530 b.c., shortly after Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, captured the city of Babylon in 539.

Outline
Prologue: The Setting (ch. 1; in Hebrew)
Historical Introduction (1:1–2)
Daniel and His Friends Are Taken Captive (1:3–7)
The Young Men Are Faithful (1:8–16)
The Young Men Are Elevated to High Positions (1:17–21)
The Destinies of the Nations of the World (chs. 2–7; in Aramaic, beginning at 2:4b)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Large Statue (ch. 2)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Making of a Gold Image and His Decree That It Be Worshiped (ch. 3)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of an Enormous Tree (ch. 4)
Belshazzar’s and Babylon’s Downfall (ch. 5)
Daniel’s Deliverance from the Lion’s Den (ch. 6)
Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts (ch. 7)
The Destiny of the Nation of Israel (chs. 8–12; in Hebrew)
Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat (ch. 8)
Daniel’s Prayer and His Vision of the 70 “Sevens” (ch. 9)
Daniel’s Vision of Israel’s Future (chs. 10–12)
Revelation of things to come (10:1–3)
Revelation from the angelic messenger (10:4—11:1)
Prophecies concerning Persia and Greece (11:2–4)
Prophecies concerning Egypt and Syria (11:5–35)
Prophecies concerning the antichrist (11:36–45)
Distress and deliverance (12:1)
Two resurrections (12:2–3)
Instruction to Daniel (12:4)
Conclusion (12:5–13)