Chapter 1
Verse 1, the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim. MSB says 606-605 BC, the third year by Babylonian dating. A little side item: this is by the Babylonian tradition of dating. They never counted the year the King ascended the throne as a year, but made his first year the following year. A year when he was King for the whole year. In the Judean system, the year the king ascended was counted as year one. This explains many things.
In this year Nebuchadnezzar again laid siege to Jerusalem, and took captives and items from the Temple. These he took to Shinar, another name for Babylon, and he put the Temple items in the temple of his own gods. They were Bel, or Marduk (Marduk is the same as Merodach.) The Babylonians believed that stealing other people's gods, or things from those gods, showed the superiority of their gods over those of the conquered.
Nebuchadnezzar has some of the "best and brightest and best looking" singled out and taken to Babylon for training in the ways of Babylon. Among those so taken were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were to be trained at the kings expense for three years and then examined for fitness by him.
In a first act of faithfulness against temptation, Daniel asks to be excused from eating the king's assigned diet and to eat vegetables and drink water instead. The Chief Eunuch says he is too afraid of the King to let Daniel eat different food. If it doesn't work, the Eunuch believes the King will kill him. This is a kind of fear that we don't know about in this country. Daniel does not defy the Eunuch outright, but he does not give up, either. Next, he goes to the steward in charge of their food and asks this man for different food and drink. But only for 10 days as a test. Perhaps for 10 days while the Eunuch was busy elsewhere? So Daniel started at the top, and then came down. He asked for less of the lower official than he had asked of the first . And this time, his request is granted. They look healthier than the others. So Daniel remains faithful, and the eunuch in charge of them learns that Daniel's suggestions can work out very well. During the next three years, the way I read it, God gave them supernatural learning ability. Daniel was adept in visions and dreams, the all of them developed learning and skill in all literature and wisdom. At the end of the three years, they are brought to Nebuchadnezzar. He sees that they are more learned than all the magicians and enchanters that were in his kingdom. They "stood before the king", I think this means they were in the first rank of his advisors. So from slaves to the King's advisors in just three years of captivity. Another example of God turning what was seemingly awful into a unique situation where they could be used by God to directly influence one who was arguably the most powerful man in the world at that time. The chapter ends this way:
21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus. [Dan 1:21 ESV] We see that Daniel is going to maintain his position for a very long time indeed. We should remember this. He earned a very long term position.
So the first chapter covers the taking away to captivity and the first three years that Daniel is in Babylon. Three years seems a long time, but this chapter goes right through it. The story of Daniel's rise in influence - if not in direct power - is off to a fast start.
2025 - Interesting. In 1:12, Daniel asks for some vegetables to eat for he and his friends. Perhaps they were only receiving fatty meat before. Then look at vs 15. On vegetables, they got fat. Fat was the cultural ideal - of the Chaldeans or the Hebrews of that time, or of both. In those days, fat meant healthy. But these young men got fat. It's harder to get a young man fat.