Daniel FAQ

 Questions and Answers

1. How do Babylonians, Persia, Greeks, and Romans treat their exiles? 

Babylon:

In the Babylonian Empire, conquered peoples were often taken into captivity and transported to other parts of the empire. The Jews were among the peoples who were taken captive by the Babylonians after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. While the Babylonians did not typically attempt to assimilate or integrate these exiles into Babylonian society, they did allow them to form their own communities and maintain some degree of autonomy.

Persia:

In contrast to the Babylonians, the Persians were known for their relatively lenient treatment of conquered peoples. The Persian king Cyrus the Great, for example, famously allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem after he conquered the Babylonians. The Persians generally allowed conquered peoples to maintain their own religious and cultural practices, and they often employed local officials to govern conquered territories.

Greek:

Under the Greek Empire, conquered peoples were often forced to adopt Greek culture and language. The Greeks believed that their culture was superior to others, and they sought to spread Greek language, religion, and philosophy throughout their empire. This policy of cultural assimilation was known as Hellenization, and it was particularly pronounced under Alexander the Great and his successors. While the Greeks did allow some degree of religious freedom, they generally expected conquered peoples to adopt Greek cultural practices.

Roman:

The Roman Empire was known for its policy of integration, which involved incorporating conquered peoples into Roman society and culture. The Romans allowed conquered peoples to maintain their own religions and cultural practices, but they also expected them to adopt Roman law and language. The Romans were known for their infrastructure projects, such as roads and aqueducts, which helped to connect different parts of the empire and promote cultural exchange.

Overall, the treatment of exiles varied widely depending on the empire and time period in question. Some empires, like the Persians and Romans, were relatively tolerant of conquered peoples and allowed them to maintain their own cultural practices. Others, like the Greeks, sought to spread their own culture and language throughout their empire. The Babylonians, meanwhile, allowed conquered peoples to form their own communities but did not attempt to assimilate them into Babylonian society.

2. How long did each of these kingdom have control over Israel?  

a) Babylonians - 586 BC till 539 BC. Nebuchadnezzar burned down the Solomon's temple and exiled the Jews to the Babylon. 

b) Medo-Persian - 539 BC till 333 BC. King Cyrus allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem to rebuilt their walls, their city and the temple. This is called the "second temple" to replace the one destroyed by the Babylonians. 

c) Greek - 332 BC till 164 BC; The Jews revolted against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who tried to impose Greek culture and religion on them, and established the Hasmonean dynasty in 164 BC. The Hasmoneans ruled until 63 BC, when the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem and made it part of the Roman province of Syria.

d) Romans - 63 BC till 324 AD.  Jesus's birth are agreed to occur on 3 AD or 4 AD. The Romans destroyed the second temple in 70 AD due to the Jew's rebellion. The temple lays in ruins even today, except for one wall, where the Jews prayed to God by that wall. The third temple will be rebuild during the tribulation but may not be complete due to antichrist's control over Israel. The final temple (in Ezekiel) will be built by the Messiah himself. 

Note: The fact that Daniel had visions of these four kingdoms, from the last years of Babylon Kingdom to the Romans empire (minimum of 600 years) is extraordinary and can only be given by God. That's why Daniel had a hard time understanding the vision. It is similar if someone asks us to describe which nation will be the 4th leader in 600 years after USA as the first leader.

3. What is the meaning of BCE, CE, BC and AD that are attached to the years?

BCE and CE stand for Before Common Era and Common Era, respectively. They are secular alternatives to BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini), which are based on the Christian calendar. 

"Anno Domini" means “in the year of the Lord” in Latin. It is used to indicate the years after the birth of Jesus Christ, which is considered the start of the Christian era. However, modern historians generally doubt that Jesus was born exactly in the year 1 AD.

4. What language was Daniel written in? 

All are written in Hebrew, except Chapter 2 to 7 were written in Aramaic.

5. Who was King Darius in Chapter 5? 

In Daniel chapter 5, Daniel wrote that Darius the Mede took over Babylon from Belshazzar - "That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old." (v30-31)

Verse 31 can be confusing as in secular history, it was Cyrus who conquered and ruled over Babylon. There are no record of "Darius" during this time outside of the bible.  

However, Daniel seem to indicate that Darius of Mede was the first king, and Cyrus if Persia was the second. Some scholars suggest that "Darius" could be a title used for Cyrus the Great. However, it is incongruent to Daniel 6:28, that said: "So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian." (Dan 6:28); Those who believed they are the same person had re-interpreted it as ".. reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus."

Others think that Darius was actually Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, who served as a co-ruler of Babylon. 

Another group believes that Cyrus could have appointed the general who conquered Babylon to rule Babylon. His name was Gubaru, as mentioned in Nabonidus Chronicle. In other words, Darius could be the throne name of Gubaru. However, Gubaru died within a year after the conquest of Babylon and was not mentioned in secular history. Thereafter Cyrus took over as the king for Babylon. 

Hopefully, further archeology discoveries that there was a "King Darius" and prove that the scripture is accurate again.