The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Daniel

F.W. Farrar's 1889 commentary on Daniel stands as a monument of Victorian biblical scholarship, written when questions about the book's authorship and date were beginning to shake the theological establishment. Farrar, who would later become Dean of Canterbury, approaches Daniel not as a relic but as a living text whose prophetic visions shaped everything from New Testament eschatology to medieval art. He walks readers through the famous narratives, the three youths in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions' den, while also grappling with the uncomfortable questions his generation faced about when these texts were composed and whether every historical detail could be verified. What distinguishes Farrar is his refusal to choose between rigorous scholarship and spiritual reverence. He treats the book's apocalyptic visions seriously, tracing how Daniel's mysterious kingdoms and cosmic final days influenced the writers of Revelation. For readers who want to understand not just what Daniel means, but how it came to mean so much across centuries, Farrar offers a guide rooted in learning and genuine awe.