n.
One of the Prophet s of the Hebrew scriptures, the central figure in the book of Daniel.
The book is a composite work, written partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic. The first six chapters tell of Daniel and his adventures in Babylon , including the stories of Daniel's delivery from the lion's den, the Jews in the fiery furnace, and the writing on the wall at Belshazzar 's feast. The rest of the book offers apocalyptic visions of the end of history and the last judgment. Though it contains references to rulers of the 6th century BC, the book is thought to have been written in the 2nd century BC during the persecutions of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes . Daniel's upright character made him a model for a persecuted community.