The author of the book of Daniel has been traditionally recognized as the prophet Daniel himself. While most of the book appears written by an unnamed third-person narrator, Daniel speaks in the first person in chapters 9 and 10. A reliable source for accepting Daniel as the author is Jesus, who, in Matthew 24:15, cites to prophecies spoken “by the prophet Daniel.”
One unique feature of the book of Daniel is the original language. Well, languages, as in more than one. The book begins in Hebrew, but abruptly switches to Aramaic in chapter 2, and then back to Hebrew in chapter 8 through the end. Hebrew, of course, was the language of the Israelite people, but it was unique to the Jewish people at that time. The native language of the Babylonians was Aramaic. At the time of the Exile, when the book of Daniel takes place, Aramaic was accepted as the “international language;” it was the primary language of commerce, politics, and higher learning throughout the world, in the way English is today. Later, this would change, as Alexander the Great’s Greek empire swept through the region, and by the time of Christ, the Roman Empire forced its conquered people to speak Latin. Yet, Aramaic endured.
Indeed, by all accounts, Aramaic was the native language of the Jewish people after the return from exile, and was the everyday language Jesus would have used. (Interestingly, all the nations involved in this discussion are part of the King’s dream Daniel interprets in chapter 2).
The reason for the book of Daniel’s language shift may be because of its subject matter. Chapters 2-7 discuss the destiny of the nations of the world. Therefore, it is relayed in the common language of the world. Chapters 8-12 are filled with apocalyptic prophecy about the ultimate destiny of Israel and the people of God, so the language shifts to the language of the people of God.
