Editing Book of Daniel (section)

== Structure ==
=== Divisions ===
The Book of Daniel is divided between the court tales of chapters 1–6 and the apocalyptic visions of 7–12, and between the Hebrew of chapters 1 and 8–12 and the Aramaic of chapters 2–7.{{sfn|Collins|1984|p=28}}{{sfn|Provan|2003|p=665}} The division is reinforced by the [[Chiastic structure|chiastic]] arrangement of the Aramaic chapters (see below), and by a chronological progression in chapters 1–6 from [[Neo-Babylonian empire|Babylonian]] to [[Medes|Median]] rule, and from Babylonian to [[Achaemenid empire|Persian]] rule in chapters 7–12.{{sfn|Collins|1984|pp=30–31}} Various suggestions have been made by scholars to explain the fact that the genre division does not coincide with the other two, but it appears that the language division and concentric structure of chapters 2–6 are artificial literary devices designed to bind the two halves of the book together.{{sfn|Collins|1984|pp=30–31}}  The following outline is provided by Collins in his commentary on Daniel:{{sfn|Collins|1984|p=31}}

PART I: Tales (chapters 1:1–6:29)
*1: Introduction (1:1–21 – set in the Babylonian era, written in Hebrew)
*2: Nebuchadnezzar's dream of four kingdoms (2:1–49 – Babylonian era; Aramaic)
*3: The fiery furnace (3:1–30/3:1-23, 91-97 – Babylonian era; Aramaic)
*4: Nebuchadnezzar's madness (3:31/98–4:34/4:1-37 – Babylonian era; Aramaic)
*5: Belshazzar's feast (5:1–6:1 – Babylonian era; Aramaic)
*6: Daniel in the lions' den (6:2–29 – Median era with mention of Persia; Aramaic)
PART II: Visions (chapters 7:1–12:13)
*7: The beasts from the sea (7:1–28 – Babylonian era: Aramaic)
*8: The ram and the he-goat (8:1–27 – Babylonian era; Hebrew)
*9: Interpretation of the seventy weeks' prophecy (9:1–27 – Median era; Hebrew)
*10: The angel's revelation: kings of the north and south (10:1–12:13 – Persian era, mention of Greek era; Hebrew)

=== Chiastic structure in the Aramaic section ===
[[File:Papyrus 967.jpg|thumb|[[Papyrus 967]], a 3rd-century-AD manuscript of a Greek translation of Daniel]]
There is a recognised [[chiasmus|chiasm]] (a concentric literary structure in which the main point of a passage is placed in the centre and framed by parallel elements on either side in "ABBA" fashion) in the chapter arrangement of the Aramaic section. The following is taken from Paul Redditt's "Introduction to the Prophets":{{sfn|Redditt|2008|p=177}}

* A1 (2:4b-49) – A dream of four kingdoms replaced by a fifth
** B1 (3:1–30) – Daniel's three friends in the fiery furnace
*** C1 (4:1–37) – Daniel interprets a dream for Nebuchadnezzar
*** C2 (5:1–31) – Daniel interprets the handwriting on the wall for Belshazzar
** B2 (6:1–28) – Daniel in the lions' den
* A2 (7:1–28) – A vision of four world kingdoms replaced by a fifth