Daniel 1 Study Notes: Daniel and His Friends in Babylon
God hands King Jehoiakim of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar, and young Israelites of noble birth are taken to Babylon for training and given new names. Daniel resolves not to be made unclean by food from the royal table, a ten-day trial proves him right, and God gives the four friends unmatched wisdom.
General
According to 1:17, where did the four young men’s knowledge and understanding come from?
Answer: God, who granted them knowledge and understanding
The four young men did spend three years learning the Chaldean language and writings (1:4-5), but 1:17 says plainly that it was God who gave them their learning and skill across every field of study and wisdom. Daniel also had insight into visions and dreams of every sort, which prepares for the king’s dream in chapter 2. Scripture consistently teaches that the LORD is the giver of wisdom, knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6), and that God gives wisdom freely to those who ask Him (James 1:5). Daniel himself later praises God as the one who makes the wise wise (2:21).
- Daniel 1:17 (BSB)“To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.”God gives the four young men knowledge and understanding, and Daniel insight into visions and dreams.
- Proverbs 2:6 (BSB)“For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”The LORD Himself is the giver of wisdom and insight.
- James 1:5 (BSB)“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”Whoever lacks wisdom may ask God, and He will grant it freely.
- Daniel 2:21 (BSB)“He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”Daniel himself later praises God as the source of every wise person’s wisdom.
Theological
To what does 1:17 attribute the young men’s knowledge and understanding?
Answer: God, who granted them knowledge and understanding
Although the four completed the prescribed three-year course in Chaldean letters (1:4-5), 1:17 assigns their learning and discernment to God, who granted them mastery across all learning and wisdom, while Daniel also had discernment in visions and dreams of all sorts. The gift anticipates chapter 2, where Daniel alone can tell and interpret the king’s dream. Wisdom is a gift of God’s grace rather than a product of training or birth: wisdom, knowledge and understanding are the LORD’s gifts (Proverbs 2:6), He grants wisdom generously to those who ask (James 1:5), and Daniel later confesses that God is the source of the wisdom the wise possess (2:21).
- Daniel 1:17 (BSB)“To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.”God gives the four young men knowledge and understanding, and Daniel insight into visions and dreams.
- Proverbs 2:6 (BSB)“For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”The LORD Himself is the giver of wisdom and insight.
- James 1:5 (BSB)“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”Whoever lacks wisdom may ask God, and He will grant it freely.
- Daniel 2:21 (BSB)“He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”Daniel himself later praises God as the source of every wise person’s wisdom.
General
How does 1:2 explain Jehoiakim’s falling into Nebuchadnezzar’s hands?
Answer: The Lord gave the king of Judah into his power
The chapter opens with Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar laying siege to Jerusalem (1:1). The next verse names the real cause of what followed: the Lord handed Judah’s king Jehoiakim over to him, and with him a number of the sacred vessels from God’s temple, which Nebuchadnezzar stored away in his own god’s temple treasury (1:2). Babylon’s power is not the final explanation. Second Kings ties the attacks on Judah in Jehoiakim’s day to the LORD acting as His prophets had warned (2 Kings 24:1-2), Chronicles records the same removal of the temple articles (2 Chronicles 36:6-7), and Jeremiah calls Nebuchadnezzar the LORD’s servant whom God Himself would bring against the land (Jeremiah 25:9). From its first verses, the book shows God ruling over kings and nations, even when His own people are defeated.
- Daniel 1:1-2 (BSB)“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.”Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem, and the Lord hands Jehoiakim and some of the temple articles over to him.
- 2 Kings 24:1-2 (BSB)“During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.”Kings traces the attacks on Jehoiakim’s Judah to the LORD, who acted as His prophets had warned.
- 2 Chronicles 36:6-7 (BSB)“Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon some of the articles from the house of the LORD, and he put them in his temple in Babylon.”Chronicles likewise records Nebuchadnezzar taking articles from the LORD’s house to his own temple in Babylon.
- Jeremiah 25:9 (BSB)“behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”The LORD calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant, whom He Himself would bring against the land.
Theological
What does 1:2 give as the decisive cause of Jehoiakim’s defeat by Nebuchadnezzar?
Answer: The Lord gave the king of Judah into his power
The siege of 1:1 is immediately interpreted in 1:2: the Lord gave Jehoiakim into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand, along with vessels from God’s temple, which the conqueror deposited in his own god’s treasury. The apparent triumph of Babylon’s god is in fact the sovereign act of Israel’s God. Second Kings attributes the assaults on Jehoiakim’s Judah to the LORD, in fulfillment of the prophetic word (2 Kings 24:1-2); Chronicles records the same seizure of the temple articles (2 Chronicles 36:6-7); and Jeremiah names Nebuchadnezzar the LORD’s servant, summoned by God against the land (Jeremiah 25:9). The theme that governs the whole book is set here: God’s providence rules over pagan empires, using them as instruments of His judgment without ever surrendering His throne.
- Daniel 1:1-2 (BSB)“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.”Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem, and the Lord hands Jehoiakim and some of the temple articles over to him.
- 2 Kings 24:1-2 (BSB)“During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.”Kings traces the attacks on Jehoiakim’s Judah to the LORD, who acted as His prophets had warned.
- 2 Chronicles 36:6-7 (BSB)“Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon some of the articles from the house of the LORD, and he put them in his temple in Babylon.”Chronicles likewise records Nebuchadnezzar taking articles from the LORD’s house to his own temple in Babylon.
- Jeremiah 25:9 (BSB)“behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”The LORD calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant, whom He Himself would bring against the land.
General
Which new name did the chief official give to Daniel?
Answer: Belteshazzar
Daniel and three other young men from Judah, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, were among those brought to the palace (1:6). The chief official assigned each of them a Babylonian name: Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego (1:7). The book goes on to use both sets of names. Nebuchadnezzar later speaks of Daniel as Belteshazzar (4:8), and the three friends are usually called Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, as when the king puts them in charge of the province of Babylon (2:49). The new names marked the young men as servants of the Babylonian court, but they did not change whom these men worshiped.
- Daniel 1:6-7 (BSB)“Among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.”The chief official renames Daniel and his three friends from Judah.
- Daniel 4:8 (BSB)“But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:”Nebuchadnezzar later refers to Daniel by his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar.
- Daniel 2:49 (BSB)“And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.”The three friends appear under their new names when the king gives them charge of Babylon’s province.
Theological
What Babylonian name did the chief official assign to Daniel (1:7)?
Answer: Belteshazzar
Daniel and his three companions from Judah (1:6) received court names from the chief official: Belteshazzar for Daniel, Shadrach for Hananiah, Meshach for Mishael, and Abednego for Azariah (1:7). The renaming was part of their absorption into Babylonian service, alongside instruction in Chaldean language and literature (1:4). The book uses both names thereafter: Nebuchadnezzar calls Daniel Belteshazzar (4:8), and the three friends are known chiefly by their new names (2:49). Their new identity at court did not alter their allegiance to the God of Israel, as the rest of the chapter shows.
- Daniel 1:6-7 (BSB)“Among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.”The chief official renames Daniel and his three friends from Judah.
- Daniel 4:8 (BSB)“But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:”Nebuchadnezzar later refers to Daniel by his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar.
- Daniel 2:49 (BSB)“And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.”The three friends appear under their new names when the king gives them charge of Babylon’s province.
General
What did Daniel make up his mind about in 1:8?
Answer: He would not be made unclean by the king’s food and drink
The king had assigned the young men a daily portion of his own food and wine (1:5). Daniel resolved that he would not make himself unclean with it, and he requested the chief official’s leave to avoid it (1:8). God had given Daniel favor and kindness in the official’s eyes, yet the official was afraid: if the king saw these young men looking thinner than the other trainees their age, the king might hold the official responsible and it could cost him his life (1:9-10). Daniel’s resolve and his respectful request go together, and God was at work in the official’s heart. In the same way the LORD gave Joseph favor with the prison warden in Egypt (Genesis 39:21). The same steady faithfulness marks Daniel years later (6:10).
- Daniel 1:8 (BSB)“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.”Daniel resolves not to make himself unclean and asks the chief official to allow it.
- Daniel 1:9-10 (BSB)“Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official, but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!””God gives Daniel favor with the official, who still fears the king’s anger.
- Genesis 39:21 (BSB)“the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”In Egypt the LORD stood by Joseph and won him the goodwill of the man in charge of the prison.
- Daniel 6:10 (BSB)“Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”Years later Daniel keeps the same steady faithfulness, praying to his God as he always had despite the king’s decree.
Theological
What was Daniel’s resolution in 1:8?
Answer: He would not be made unclean by the king’s food and drink
Assigned a daily ration from the king’s own table (1:5), Daniel set his heart against being made impure by it and sought permission from the chief official (1:8). What follows is God’s doing: He disposed the official to show Daniel goodwill and kindness (1:9), even though the official feared that a visible change in the young men’s appearance would put his own head at risk with the king (1:10). Daniel’s private conviction is joined with courteous petition rather than defiance, and God’s providence works through a pagan official’s goodwill, much as the LORD granted Joseph favor with his keeper (Genesis 39:21). The same unbending fidelity marks Daniel decades later (6:10).
- Daniel 1:8 (BSB)“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.”Daniel resolves not to make himself unclean and asks the chief official to allow it.
- Daniel 1:9-10 (BSB)“Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official, but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!””God gives Daniel favor with the official, who still fears the king’s anger.
- Genesis 39:21 (BSB)“the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”In Egypt the LORD stood by Joseph and won him the goodwill of the man in charge of the prison.
- Daniel 6:10 (BSB)“Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”Years later Daniel keeps the same steady faithfulness, praying to his God as he always had despite the king’s decree.
General
True or False: When the ten-day test was over, Daniel and his friends looked thinner than the others who ate the king’s food, as the chief official feared they would (1:10, 15).
Answer: False
This is false. The chief official feared that the young men would look thinner than the others and that the king would blame him (1:10). So Daniel asked the steward over the four to let them have only vegetables and water for a ten-day trial, then to compare how they looked with the others (1:12-13). The steward agreed, and when the ten days were over, the four appeared in better health and more well fed than every other trainee eating from the king’s table. So the steward kept giving them vegetables instead of the king’s food and wine (1:14-16). Behind the whole episode stood God, who had already given Daniel favor and kindness in the chief official’s eyes (1:9). A related principle appears in Proverbs: the LORD steers even a king’s heart as He wishes (Proverbs 21:1).
- Daniel 1:12-13 (BSB)““Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearances with those of the young men who are eating the royal food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.””Daniel proposes the ten-day test to the steward.
- Daniel 1:14-16 (BSB)“So he consented to this and tested them for ten days. And at the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. So the steward continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and he gave them vegetables instead.”After ten days the four look healthier than the others, so the steward keeps giving them vegetables.
- Daniel 1:9 (BSB)“Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,”God had already moved the chief official to goodwill and kindness toward Daniel.
- Proverbs 21:1 (BSB)“The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.”As a related principle, even a king’s heart is under the LORD’s hand, turned as He wills.
Theological
True or False: When the ten-day trial was over, the four young men appeared thinner than those eating the royal portion, confirming the chief official’s fear (1:10, 15).
Answer: False
This is false. The chief official feared that a visible decline in the young men’s condition would cost him his head (1:10), so Daniel proposed a ten-day trial to the steward: vegetables and water only, followed by a comparison with the young men on the king’s rations (1:12-13). The steward consented, and when the trial closed the four appeared healthier and better fed than the rest, so he continued to withhold the king’s food and wine and to supply vegetables (1:14-16). The favorable outcome sits within God’s providence, for He had already inclined the chief official to goodwill toward Daniel (1:9); a related principle is that the LORD steers even a king’s heart as He wills (Proverbs 21:1).
- Daniel 1:12-13 (BSB)““Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearances with those of the young men who are eating the royal food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.””Daniel proposes the ten-day test to the steward.
- Daniel 1:14-16 (BSB)“So he consented to this and tested them for ten days. And at the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. So the steward continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and he gave them vegetables instead.”After ten days the four look healthier than the others, so the steward keeps giving them vegetables.
- Daniel 1:9 (BSB)“Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,”God had already moved the chief official to goodwill and kindness toward Daniel.
- Proverbs 21:1 (BSB)“The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.”As a related principle, even a king’s heart is under the LORD’s hand, turned as He wills.
General
True or False: When the king questioned the four young men, he judged them ten times wiser and more discerning than every magician and enchanter in his realm (1:20).
Answer: True
This is true. When their training was complete, the young men were brought before Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them and found none of the other trainees to match Daniel and his three friends, so the four took up posts in his service (1:18-19). Whatever question of wisdom he put to them, he rated them ten times above every magician and enchanter throughout his realm (1:20). This was the fruit of God’s gift in 1:17. It recalls Joseph, of whom Pharaoh said no one was as wise and discerning, because God had made things known to him (Genesis 41:38-39). Daniel stayed on there into the opening year of Cyrus’s reign (1:21). Long afterward, Daniel was still remembered in Babylon for his insight and understanding (5:11-12).
- Daniel 1:19-21 (BSB)“And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”The king finds the four unmatched and rates them far above every adviser skilled in magic; Daniel stays on into the reign of Cyrus.
- Genesis 41:38-39 (BSB)“So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.”Pharaoh likewise found no one as wise as Joseph, because God had made things known to him.
- Daniel 5:11-12 (BSB)“There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king, did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon Daniel, therefore, and he will give you the interpretation.””Long afterward Daniel is still remembered in Babylon for his insight, knowledge and understanding.
Theological
True or False: On examination, the king judged the four young men ten times superior in wisdom and discernment to every magician and enchanter of his realm (1:20).
Answer: True
This is true. Presented to Nebuchadnezzar at the close of their training, the four were found unmatched among their peers and took up royal service (1:18-19); on every question of wisdom and discernment he put to them, he rated them tenfold above every magician and enchanter in the realm (1:20), and Daniel remained into the opening year of Cyrus’s reign (1:21). The verdict is the outworking of the divine gift recorded in 1:17, not of their Babylonian education. The pattern echoes Joseph in Pharaoh’s court, whose unrivaled discernment Pharaoh traced to God’s revelation (Genesis 41:38-39), and Daniel’s reputation for God-given insight endured into Belshazzar’s day (5:11-12).
- Daniel 1:19-21 (BSB)“And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”The king finds the four unmatched and rates them far above every adviser skilled in magic; Daniel stays on into the reign of Cyrus.
- Genesis 41:38-39 (BSB)“So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.”Pharaoh likewise found no one as wise as Joseph, because God had made things known to him.
- Daniel 5:11-12 (BSB)“There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king, did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon Daniel, therefore, and he will give you the interpretation.””Long afterward Daniel is still remembered in Babylon for his insight, knowledge and understanding.