The Book of Daniel, Chapters 1–6
in New International Commentary on the Old Testament
Pages
960
Publisher
Eerdmans
Published
11/20/2025
ISBN-13
9780802875990
An indispensable resource for preaching and teaching the book of Daniel
In this volume of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, scholars Aubrey E. Buster and John H. Walton guide readers through chapters 1–6 of the book of Daniel. They provide historically informed, theologically sound interpretations of some of the most memorable stories and imagery in the Old Testament, including Daniel in the lion’s den, the fiery furnace, the figure with feet of clay, and the writing on the wall. Buster and Walton also help readers understand the significance of the text’s composition, audience, historical context, genre, and structure. Accessible and insightful, this well-researched volume is an essential resource for preaching, teaching, and study of the book of Daniel.
In this volume of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, scholars Aubrey E. Buster and John H. Walton guide readers through chapters 1–6 of the book of Daniel. They provide historically informed, theologically sound interpretations of some of the most memorable stories and imagery in the Old Testament, including Daniel in the lion’s den, the fiery furnace, the figure with feet of clay, and the writing on the wall. Buster and Walton also help readers understand the significance of the text’s composition, audience, historical context, genre, and structure. Accessible and insightful, this well-researched volume is an essential resource for preaching, teaching, and study of the book of Daniel.
Reviews
DavidH
August 9, 2026
August 9, 2026
Buster and Walton provide an outstanding commentary on the first half of Daniel, particularly distinguished by its ancient Near Eastern contextualization and its attention to historical memory, social identity, court culture, and the realities of faithful life under empire. Their treatment of the court tales moves beyond simply asking whether miraculous events occurred to ask how these narratives form and sustain diaspora identity, while their work on Daniel 2–6 repeatedly brings historical and cultural material into fruitful dialogue with the biblical text. Some readers will question aspects of their compositional reconstruction and understanding of authorship, but the contextual and exegetical work is first-rate. If evaluating Daniel 1–6 alone, this belongs among the very best available commentaries; its only limitation for an overall Daniel ranking is that it does not cover chapters 7–12.