The first recorded critic of Daniel was a 3rd century
A.D. philosopher (Porphyry) who claimed that the book of Daniel was a forgery written during the time of the Maccabees
around 165 B.C. to encourage the Jews in their revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes.
The External Evidence
for the Authenticity of Daniel
The first book of the Maccabees describes Daniel's history
as having happened a long time in the past
The book of Daniel is in the Septuagint - a Greek translation
of the Hebrew Scriptures which dates back to 286 B/C. - over 100 years prior to the Maccabean revolt
The Roman Jewish historian, Titus Flavius Josephus, in
his work entitled "Jewish Antiquities" presents the following incident as having taken place in 332 B.C.
(almost 200 years prior to the Maccabean revolt):
"... he (Alexander the Great) gave his hand to the
high priest and, with the Jews running beside him, entered the city. They went up to the temple, where he sacrificed
to God under the direction of the high priest. And when the book of Daniel was shown to him, in which he declared
that one of the Greeks would destroy the empire of the Persians, he believed himself to be the one indicated; and
in his joy he dismissed the multitude for the time being, but on the following day he summoned them again and told
them to ask for any gifts which they might desire ..."
The Internal Evidence
for the Authenticity of Daniel
Daniel is placed in the elite company of the righteous
by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:14,20) and is also described as one who is wise knowing secrets (Ezekiel 28:3)
Ezekiel prophesied at the time of the Babylonian captivity
(Ezekiel 1:1-3) when Daniel was taken captive (Daniel 1:3-6)
Daniel was placed over ALL the wise men of Babylon, because
God revealed to him the king's secret (Daniel 2:47-48)
The Hebrew Scriptures called by the Hebrew acronym (Tanakh)
are subdivided into three divisions:
Torah ("Teaching" known as the Law)
Nevi'im ("Prophets")
Ketuvim ("Writings" or the historical books)
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the book of Daniel is placed
in the third division (the historical books) between Esther and Ezra
The reason for this is that the focus of the book is on
the nations as they affect Israel as opposed to the other prophets who have their focus on Israel and its influence
on the nations
Therefore, the book stands out as the Apocalypse of the
Old Testament as depicted in the great metallic image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:31-45)
Another reason is Daniel's ministry as God's representative
in the royal courts of the nations (Daniel 2:47-48; Daniel 6:1-3), therefore, he is more in line with other of God's statesmen such
as Mordecai (Esther 10:1-3) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:9; Nehemiah 10:1)