Daniel 12

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Reading Daniel · Distinguish story from vision

Start anywhere in Daniel. Bring these reading tools with you.

Locate the literary change

Chapters 1–6 mainly present court stories; chapters 7–12 chiefly present visions and their interpretation. The opening visions still overlap the narrative’s royal chronology. Do not assume one unbroken sequence of events.

Keep two historical questions separate

The stories place Daniel in Babylonian and Persian settings. Many historical-critical scholars relate the visions’ final form to second-century BCE persecution under Antiochus IV. Traditional dating and the book’s formation are debated; narrated setting and composition date are different questions.

Try it in Daniel 7

List the creatures and then read the interpretation supplied within the chapter. Compare both lists before assigning a contemporary identity to an image.

Read symbols with their literary relatives

Compare Daniel’s imagery with other biblical visions and later apocalyptic texts. Numbers, beasts, and heavenly scenes belong to a symbolic literary world; interpretations should state their assumptions and uncertainty.

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1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.

6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

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Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Daniel 12.

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QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING

How important is Daniel 12 for the history of resurrection language?

Daniel 12:2 is among the Hebrew Bible’s clearest statements of a future awakening of the dead, making the chapter important for tracing the development of Jewish ideas about resurrection.

What do the 1,290 and 1,335 days mean?

WHAT REMAINS UNCERTAIN

The numbers are connected to the removal of regular sacrifice and the “abomination,” but their exact calendrical relationship remains unresolved.

What does it mean to “seal the book”?

SCHOLARLY DEBATE

Sealing language can indicate preservation, authentication, restriction, or deferred disclosure. Daniel 12 uses it as part of the book’s self-presentation and future-oriented ending.

Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3
Language & Literature2
  • Daniel 12 with Steinsaltz CommentarySefaria

    Browser-readable Jewish commentary on Michael’s appearance, unparalleled distress, awakening from the dust, everlasting life and disgrace, the shining wise, sealing the book, and the chapter’s difficult time periods. It preserves the chapter within Jewish interpretation without requiring a PDF download.

  • From the Tablet of Destinies to the Book of LifeIntertextual Bible

    Traces the ancient motif of heavenly books that record destinies, deeds, membership, or judgment. The study provides literary context for Daniel 12’s people being delivered because they are written in the book, while distinguishing biblical imagery from older Mesopotamian concepts.

Artifacts & Manuscripts1
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