Daniel 1

This chapter opens the Book of Daniel. Its background is found in 2 Kings 24 and 2 Chronicles 36, which describe Judah's subjugation by Babylon. The four young men introduced here become the protagonists of the narratives from Daniel 2 onward.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 In the third year of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem. The Lord gives Jehoiakim and some of the vessels of the house of God into his hand, and Nebuchadnezzar places the vessels in the treasure house of his god in the land of Shinar.
• Verses 3–7 The king commands Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to select young men of Israel's royal family and nobility, teach them the learning and language of the Chaldeans, and nourish them for three years with the king's meat and wine. Among them are Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, whose names are changed to Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
• Verses 8–16 Daniel resolves not to defile himself with the king's food. When the master of the eunuchs expresses his fear of the king, Daniel asks the steward to test them for ten days, giving them only vegetables and water. After ten days the four look healthier than the other young men, and the vegetable diet continues.
• Verses 17–21 God gives the four young men knowledge and understanding, and to Daniel He also gives the ability to understand visions and dreams. The king finds them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers (diviners and sorcerers) in his realm. Daniel continues until the first year of King Cyrus.

Key Verses

• Daniel 1:8 "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank" — a resolve to preserve his identity in a pagan court, and the center of the chapter.
• Daniel 1:2 "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God" — by presenting Judah's defeat as something God permitted, this verse anticipates the book's overarching theme of God's sovereignty.

People and Places

• Daniel: A young man from Judah's royal family or nobility. His Babylonian name is Belteshazzar.
• Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Daniel's three companions, better known by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
• Jehoiakim: King of Judah and son of Josiah.
• Ashpenaz: Nebuchadnezzar's master of the eunuchs (the head of the court officials).
• Cyrus: King of Persia, in whose first year the return from exile was permitted.
• Babylon and Shinar: Shinar is an ancient name for southern Mesopotamia.

Interpretive Considerations

• Why the food was refused: The text speaks only of defilement and does not give a reason. Interpretations include that the food might have violated the purity laws of the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 11), that it had been offered to idols, or that Daniel did not want to become bound to the king's table.
• Vegetables and health: The text presents the result after ten days in connection with God's grace (vv. 9, 17). Generalizing the account into a vegetarian health regimen is a later application.
• Chronology: "The third year of Jehoiakim" in verse 1 differs by one year from "the fourth year of Jehoiakim … the first year of Nebuchadnezzar" in Jeremiah 25:1. Traditionally, this is explained by differing methods of counting regnal years in Judah and Babylon. Critical scholars sometimes cite the discrepancy as one reason for dating the Book of Daniel to a later period (the second century BC).
• Verse 21: Because Daniel 10:1 records events in the third year of Cyrus, verse 21 is commonly read not as marking Daniel's death but as indicating that he remained active until the end of the exile.
• Relationship to the New Testament: The New Testament does not quote this chapter directly. As a story of keeping faith over the question of food in a pagan society, however, it is often compared with the discussions of food offered to idols in Acts 15:28–29 and 1 Corinthians 8.

In the Korean Church

• The phrase "purposed in his heart" in verse 8 is frequently used at youth and young adult retreats and in Sunday schools to emphasize a decisive commitment of faith.
• On the basis of this chapter's vegetable diet and Daniel 10:3, some church members observe a so-called "Daniel fast," abstaining from meat and sweets and eating mainly vegetables. It is practiced as one form of fasting.