- "My name is Daniel. That much is true. But it is God who gives me wisdom and through me, He will explain your dreams to you."
- — Daniel introducing himself in the King Darius Suite
Daniel (also known by his Babylonian name Belteshazzar) is Larry's first character. He appears in Daniel and the Lion's Den, the second segment of Where's God When I'm S-Scared?, based on the sixth chapter of the Book of the Bible that bears his name, where he serves as the titular protagonist. He is one of the four major prophets, the other three being Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
Backstory[]
Daniel was born around the year 623 BC in Jerusalem, the capital city of the Kingdom of Judah (present-day Israel), in the seventeenth year of the reign of king Josiah of Judah. In 607 BC (the third year of the reign of king Jehoiakim of Judah), when he was 16-years old, he was captured and taken to live in the city of Babylon, the eponymous capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (present day-Iraq), where he went to school in the palace of the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel missed his native home and prayed that God would take care of his friends, family and himself. God heard his prayers and helped him grow wiser and help interpret Nebuchadnezzar's Dreams, most notably, a dream about a statue with a head of gold, chest of silver, hips of bronze, legs of iron and feet of iron and clay, the gold representing the Babylonian empire, silver Medo-Persian empire, bronze Macedonian empire, iron Roman empire and iron and clay the modern countries of North America and Europe that exist today, and how a rock symbolizing the kingdom of God struck the statue, destroying it and the rock grew into a mountain that filled the whole Earth, symbolizing how the earthly kingdoms will not be eternal, but God's kingdom will. Many years after Nebuchadnezzar died, his grandson, Belshazzar was king, but he ignored Daniel. One night, Belshazzar threw a party in his palace, when suddenly, a hand wrote a message on the wall of the palace "Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin", they didn't under stand it until they called in Daniel who told them the message was a warning that the Babylonian Empire was coming to an end, and the kingdom of Babylon would be taken over by the Medes and Persians (who lived in what is now Iran) and at that very night, Belshazzar was killed by the Medes and Darius the Mede took the throne of Babylon.
Role in the story[]
Daniel is first seen as he is summoned to King Darius' palace and is able to explain the king's dream. Happy with Daniel's talents, Darius appoints him as second in command of Babylon. The next morning, Daniel hears about the king's new law that they should pray to him or be thrown into the lion's den. However, he will not compromise to the new law and as always prays to God on a regular basis. While Daniel is praying in his house, the scallions bust Daniel and arrest him. They take him on over to the lion's den, toss him in, and place a rock over the entrance to prevent him from escaping. While down there, Daniel is frightened by the lions but an angel of God comes to tell him that God is always protecting him, even in the lion's den. The next morning, the scallions and King Darius come to see Daniel's fate. But it is revealed that Daniel never got harmed at all, as Daniel and the lions spent some time together enjoying pizza. King Darius, thankful to God for Daniel's safety, declares a new law that every citizen must pray to God. He also finds out of the scallion's crimes and he and Daniel run after them as they head towards Egypt for a new life.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- While Daniel is venerated in all Abrahamic religions and Christians consider him to be a prophet, Jews do not consider him to be a prophet, but the rabbis reckoned him to be the most distinguished member of the Babylonian diaspora, unsurpassed in piety and good deeds, firm in his adherence to the Torah despite being surrounded by enemies who sought his ruin, and in the first few centuries CE they wrote down the many legends that had grown up around his name.