³ tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”

¹ tn Aram “Daniel answered and said.”

³ tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”

¹ sn The question is rhetorical, intended to encourage reflection on Daniel’s part.

¹ tn Aram “and Daniel sought from the king and he appointed.”

³ tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, suggesting that Michael is the angelic prince of Daniel and his people.

¹ tn Aram “Daniel.” The proper name is redundant here in English and has not been included in the translation.

¹ tn Aram “a revealer of mysteries.” The phrase serves as a quasi-title for God in Daniel.

⁴ sn The deuterocanonical writings known as the Story of Susanna and Bel and the Dragon appear respectively as chapters 13 and 14 of the book of Daniel in the Greek version of this book. Although these writings are not part of the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, they were popular among certain early communities who valued traditions about the life of Daniel.

¹ sn The antecedent of the pronoun “I” is the angel, not Daniel. The traditional chapter division at this point, and the presence of a chronological note in the verse similar to ones used elsewhere in the book to position Daniel’s activities in relation to imperial affairs, sometimes lead to confusion on this matter.

¹ sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or absence prompted by business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.

² sn Various reasons have been suggested as to why such food would defile Daniel. Perhaps it had to do with violations of Mosaic law with regard to unclean foods, or perhaps it was food that had been offered to idols. Daniel’s practice in this regard is strikingly different from that of Esther, who was able successfully to conceal her Jewish identity.

² sn Cyrus’ third year would have been ca. 536 b.c. Daniel would have been approximately eighty-four years old at this time.

⁴ sn The tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters that constitute the divine Name, YHWH) appears 8 times in this chapter and nowhere else in the book of Daniel.

¹ tn Aram “The king answered and said to Daniel.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is redundant in English.

⁴ sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.

² tn The impersonal active plural (“they sought”) of the Aramaic verb could also be translated as an English passive: “Daniel and his friends were sought” (cf. NAB).

¹ sn Having failed to convince the overseer, Daniel sought the favor of the warden whom the overseer had appointed to care for the young men.

⁵ sn The goat of Daniel’s vision represents Greece; the large horn represents Alexander the Great. The ram stands for Media-Persia. Alexander’s rapid conquest of the Persians involved three battles of major significance that he won against overwhelming odds: Granicus (334 b.c.), Isus (333 b.c.), and Gaugemela (331 b.c.).

¹ tc The present translation assumes the reading חֲזִי (khazi, “consider”) rather than the MT חֶזְוֵי (khezve, “visions”). The MT implies that the king required Daniel to disclose both the dream and its interpretation, as in chapter 2. But in the following verses Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream, while Daniel presents only its interpretation.