Discovery BoxDaniel 6:26--7:2 
Context6:26 I have issued an edict that throughout all the dominion of my kingdom people are to revere and fear the God of Daniel.
“For he is the living God;
he endures forever.
His kingdom will not be destroyed;
his authority is forever. 1
6:27 He rescues and delivers
and performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel from the power 2 of the lions!”
6:28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and 3 the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
7:1 In the first 4 year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had 5 a dream filled with visions 6 while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. 7 7:2 Daniel explained: 8 “I was watching in my vision during the night as 9 the four winds of the sky 10 were stirring up the great sea. 11
1 tn Aram “until the end.”
2 tn Aram “hand.”
3 tn Or perhaps “in the reign of Darius, even in the reign of Cyrus.” The identity of this Darius is disputed. Some take the name to be referring to Cyrus, understanding the following vav (ו, “and”) in an epexegetical sense (“even”). Others identify Darius with a governor of Babylon known from extra-biblical records as Gubaru, or with Cambyses, son of Cyrus. Many scholars maintain that the reference is historically inaccurate.
4 sn The first year of Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 553
5 tn Aram “saw.”
6 tn Aram “and visions of his head.” The Aramaic is difficult here. Some scholars add a verb thought to be missing (e.g., “the visions of his head [were alarming him]”), but there is no external evidence to support such a decision and the awkwardness of the text at this point may be original.
7 tn Aram “head of words.” The phrase is absent in Theodotion. Cf. NIV “the substance of his dream.”
8 tn Aram “answered and said.”
9 tn Aram “and behold.”
10 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
11 sn The referent of the great sea is unclear. The common view that the expression refers to the Mediterranean Sea is conjectural.
