Daniel

A judge (is) God. (1) The second son of David, by Abigail the Carmelitess (1 Chr. 3:1); also called Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3).

(2) The hero of the book of Daniel. Nothing is known of his parentage, though he appears to have been of royal descent (Dan. 1:3); he was taken captive to Babylon and received the name of Belteshazzar (1:6–7). Along with three others he refused the “king’s meat” from fear of defilement (1:8–16). He then won the favor of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius by his power of interpreting dreams (Dan. 2; 4) and the handwriting on the wall (Dan. 5). In consequence of a plot on the part of his enemies he was thrown into a den of lions (Dan. 6), but his life was preserved. There are references to him in Ezek. 14:14, 20; 28:3; Heb. 11:33. Interesting points of resemblance may be noticed between the history of Daniel and that of Joseph.