Renate R – How did the book of Daniel get into the Bible, and did Daniel keep it a secret until a certain time?

Dave – The Book of Daniel was canonized without any reported opposition. It was, however, denied a place among the Prophets and was placed instead among the books of the Hagiographa (the third division of canonized Hebrews Books set apart from Books of the Law and the Prophets). A man named Rashi, in his commentary to the Talmud, thinks this occurred because Daniel did not share his visions with the Jewish People as the prophets of his and earlier generations had done. The criterion of prophecy, according to this statement, appears to be the dissemination of the prophetic insight to the public. Daniel, so the sages of the Talmud suggest, was not charged with the task of doing so. Indeed, after one of Daniel’s visions, this non-prophetic reaction is demonstrated in his own words: ‘And I, Daniel, felt very weak and then arose and performed the work of the king (8:27).

If Daniel was not sent as a prophet to the people, why was his book included in the Bible? The Talmud teaches: “Prophecy that is needed for the generations was written down; that which is not needed for the generations was not written down.” The sages who canonized the Book of Daniel must therefore have seen a permanent value in the record of Daniel’s life and his visions. Source: Fred Blumenthal

I think all OT Books were canonized by 400 BC. Hundreds of years later, early church fathers knew Daniel was from God because Jesus quoted from it, it was historically accurate, no contradictions, and the Jewish scholars recognized it being from God. Hope this helps.

Feedback:

Alona R – Very interesting – thanks for the research.