Who was king when Daniel the prophet was alive?

Answer 1

Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus, Nabonidus gave rule over to his son as Nabonidus was busy with religious worship. This is historical and and evidence for this has been around for over a 100 years.

According to tradition, Daniel was written in the 4th century BCE.

Answer 2

According to the Book of Daniel, Daniel the prophet was alive during the times of King Nebuchadnezzar and then King Belshazzar, of Babylon, and King Darius of Persia.

However, we know that Nabonidus succeeded Nebuchadnezzar as king of Babylonia, and that Cyrus, king of Persia, defeated Nabonidus in 539 BCE. Neither Belshazzar nor Darius could have been king during the life of Daniel, if as stated, he grew up during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. The second-century-BCE author of the Book of Daniel simply did not have a good grasp of what was by then already ancient history.

Answer 3

Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius.

Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus, who handed over the rulership over to him, since he (Nabonidus) was busy with religious worship. This is historical and and evidence for this has been around for over a hundred years.

According to traditional chronology, Daniel lived from about 435 BCE to about 340 BCE. His gravesite is known to this day, in Susa, Iran. (See also: Jewish history timeline)

Ch.1 - Daniel in Nevuchadnezzar's palace; insists on kosher food.
Ch.2 - Daniel interprets the king's (Nevuchadnezzar's) dream, of a beast made of gold, silver, brass, iron and clay. It hints to four kingdoms.
Ch.3 - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Daniel's young friends, refuse to bow to a statue put up by the king. They are cast into a furnace but God prevents the fire from burning them.
Ch.4 - The king dreams of a great tree cut down and a man humbled by losing his sanity and living among the animals. Daniel tells him that this would befall him, the king; and it came true.
Ch.5 - The Chaldean king Belshazzar sees a disembodied hand writing on a wall. Daniel tells him that the mysterious words hint that his (Belshazzar's) rule will not last. Belshazzar is killed that very night.
Ch.6 - Daniel continues his regular prayers despite a decree forbidding such prayers. The king, Darius, has him tossed among hungry lions, but God prevents them from harming him.
Ch.7 - Daniel dreams of four strange beasts, hinting to four kingdoms.
Ch.8 - Daniel has a vision of a ram and a goat, hinting to Persia, Medea and Greece.
Ch.9 - Daniel prays to God.
Ch.10 - Daniel speaks to the angel.
Ch.11 - The angel tells Daniel of future wars between kings.
Ch.12 - Daniel is told that the meaning of the prophecy will remain hidden until the end-times.See also:

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