The first part of the Book of Daniel (Chapters 1–6) is a narrative about Daniel and his friends. They were young men from Jerusalem who were taken to Babylon as prisoners. These chapters tell how they were faithful to Yahweh while living in a pagan land and serving a pagan king. And it tells how God rewarded them because they were faithful.
The rest of the Book of Daniel is a series of prophetic visions. Chapters 7 and 8 deal with images representing the kingdoms and kings of the major nations. Chapters 9–11 are prophecies and visions about wars and a type of the great enemy of God appearing. Chapter 12 is a vision that describes end times.
The traditional title of this book is "The Book of Daniel" or just "Daniel." Translators may call it "The Book About Daniel" or "The Book About the Deeds and Visions of Daniel." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
Daniel was a Jew who became a Babylonian government official during the exile. He may have written the book himself. Or he may have written the parts of the book and someone else put the parts together at a later time.
Scholars disagree about what appears to be a "missing week" in 9:24-27. It is best for translators to allow this mystery to remain in the text. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/writing-apocalypticwriting]])
The seventy weeks in 9:24-27 begins when a decree is issued to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. But there were several decrees that allowed this to happen.
Darius the Mede was a Babylonian king who sent Daniel into a den of lions. People have not found his name in history outside of The Book of Daniel. Scholars have tried to explain who Darius was, but they are not certain.
Many kings are in the Book of Daniel, but not all of the kings ruled over all of Babylon or Persia. Some of the kings may have ruled over regions or cities.
Daniel has twelve chapters. Some Bible versions include stories called "Bel and the Dragon" and "The Prayer of Azariah." However, few people think that these stories have the same authority as the rest of scripture. Therefore, there is no need to translate them.
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