In his short ministry in Palestine, Jesus referenced more than one Old Testament book, but of only Daniel did he say, “Let the reader understand“ (Matt. 24:15 NIV). Jesus had such a love for this book he wanted His followers to read and understand it. But as every first-time reader will attest, Daniel is not an easy book to understand.

Roy Naden begins his commentary on Daniel (as he did in his Revelation commentary) by unveiling the book’s chiastic structure, an approach common in Jewish writing. At the heart of Daniel’s chiasm, we find the theme of his book—a most important finding to understand its 12 chapters the way the writer planned. Second, Naden provides five interpretive keys including the symbolic meaning of all the book’s many numbers.

The Bible has two apocalyptic books: Revelation, the climax of the New Testament, and Daniel, the messianic heart of the Old Testament. A twin volume to the Daniel commentary published in 1995 under the title The Lamb among the Beasts, was revised and republished in 2016 under the title Revelation. John borrows from Daniel on scores of occasions and includes some of its key symbols. Thus our understanding of both books is enhanced by studying them together and utilizing the same interpretive keys.

Second Edition