Liberal scholars date the Book of Daniel to around 170 BC, because it seems to detail the Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BC) so well. However, evidence would suggest a later date:
*The Book of Daniel is mentioned in the Septuagint, which was written between 300 and 200 BC.
*Jesus validates the Book of Daniel by calling Daniel a prophet (Mat 25:15; Mar 13:14).
*The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus writes of the Book of Daniel being shown to Alexander the Great around 332 BC. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, XI, 337 [viii, 5])
*Contemporary literature such as Sirach and 1 Maccabees essentially declares that prophecy has ceased. If Daniel was written at such a late date, it would have been rejected as being inspired and not included in canon.
*Fragments of the Book of Daniel, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, would place Daniel within 50 years of its supposed origins. Manuscript 4QDanc, specifically, is dated to the late second century BC. Professor Gerhard Hasel writes, "For those supporting the historical-critical date of the book of Daniel, new issues are being raised. Since there is a manuscript of Daniel that supposedly dates within 50 years of the autograph, is there enough time for the supposed traditio-historical and redaction-critical developments allegedly needed for the growth of the book? Supporters of the Maccabean dating hypothesis of Daniel will be hard put to explain all of this in their reconstructions. To express it differently, do the early dates of the fragments from Cave 4 leave enough room for the developments, editorial and redactional as well as others, that are so often proposed (e.g., Koch 1986:20–24)? The verdict seems to be negative, and an earlier date for Daniel than the second century is unavoidable." (Bible and Spade, 1992.)
*Daniel accurately predicts that the Messiah (Jesus) would be cut off (crucified) and the city and sanctuary (Second Temple) would be destroyed, which happened in 70 AD (Dan 9:24–27), demonstrating the prophecies were not after the facts.
*The prophet Ezekiel, who lived from 622 BC to 570 BC, mentions Daniel by name several times. (Eze 14:14, Eze 14:20, Eze 28:3)
*Sir Robert Anderson used the prophecies from the Book of Daniel's Seventy Weeks and known historical dates to accurately calculate when Jesus Christ was crucified, validating the accuracy of the Book of Daniel. Such precision could not have been known if it had been written any time prior to the crucifixion of Christ.
*The Book of Daniel is mentioned in the Septuagint, which was written between 300 and 200 BC.
*Jesus validates the Book of Daniel by calling Daniel a prophet (Mat 25:15; Mar 13:14).
*The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus writes of the Book of Daniel being shown to Alexander the Great around 332 BC. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, XI, 337 [viii, 5])
*Contemporary literature such as Sirach and 1 Maccabees essentially declares that prophecy has ceased. If Daniel was written at such a late date, it would have been rejected as being inspired and not included in canon.
*Fragments of the Book of Daniel, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, would place Daniel within 50 years of its supposed origins. Manuscript 4QDanc, specifically, is dated to the late second century BC. Professor Gerhard Hasel writes, "For those supporting the historical-critical date of the book of Daniel, new issues are being raised. Since there is a manuscript of Daniel that supposedly dates within 50 years of the autograph, is there enough time for the supposed traditio-historical and redaction-critical developments allegedly needed for the growth of the book? Supporters of the Maccabean dating hypothesis of Daniel will be hard put to explain all of this in their reconstructions. To express it differently, do the early dates of the fragments from Cave 4 leave enough room for the developments, editorial and redactional as well as others, that are so often proposed (e.g., Koch 1986:20–24)? The verdict seems to be negative, and an earlier date for Daniel than the second century is unavoidable." (Bible and Spade, 1992.)
*Daniel accurately predicts that the Messiah (Jesus) would be cut off (crucified) and the city and sanctuary (Second Temple) would be destroyed, which happened in 70 AD (Dan 9:24–27), demonstrating the prophecies were not after the facts.
*The prophet Ezekiel, who lived from 622 BC to 570 BC, mentions Daniel by name several times. (Eze 14:14, Eze 14:20, Eze 28:3)
*Sir Robert Anderson used the prophecies from the Book of Daniel's Seventy Weeks and known historical dates to accurately calculate when Jesus Christ was crucified, validating the accuracy of the Book of Daniel. Such precision could not have been known if it had been written any time prior to the crucifixion of Christ.
