Daniel's final vision, chapters 10, 11 and 12 in the Book of Daniel, describes a series of conflicts between the unnamed King of the North and King of the South leading to the "time of the end," when Israel will be vindicated and the dead raised to shame or glory.
The book of Daniel was written in reaction to the persecution of the Jews by the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167-164 BCE. Its authors were the maskil, the "wise", of whom Daniel is one: "Those among the people who are wise shall make many understand ...", and its fundamental theme is God's control over history. The climax comes with the prophecy of the resurrection of the dead: chapter 7 spoke of the coming "kingdom of heaven", but Daniel 10-12 does not say that history will end with the coming of the Jewish kingdom; rather, the "wise" will be brought back to life to lead Israel in the new kingdom of God.
In contemporary Christian millennialism, Daniel 11:36-45 is interpreted as a prophecy of the career and destruction of the Antichrist, and Daniel 12 as concerning the salvation of Israel (the modern State of Israel) and the coming kingdom of Christ.
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means, "God is my judge", and derives from two early biblical figures, primary among them Daniel from the Book of Daniel. It is a common given name for males, and is also used as a surname. It is also the basis for various derived given names and surnames.
The name evolved into over 100 different spellings in countries around the world. Nicknames (Dan, Danny) are common in both English and Hebrew, although in some instances "Dan" may be a complete given name rather than a nickname. The name "Daniil" (Даниил) is common in Russia. Feminine versions (Danielle, Daniela, Daniella, Dani, Danitza) are prevalent as well. The Dutch names "Daan" and "Daniël" are also variations of Daniel. A related surname developed as a patronymic, Daniels. Other surnames derived from "Daniel" include McDaniel and Danielson.
In the United States, the U.S. Social Security Administration reports that Daniel has peaked as the fifth most popular name for newborns in 1985, 1990, 2007, and 2008. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in the 2000 census, "Daniels" was the 182nd most common surname in the U.S., while "McDaniel" was ranked at 323, and "Daniel" (without a final "s") was ranked at 380.
"Daniel" is a song by English recording artist Bat for Lashes, from her second studio album, Two Suns. It is her best selling single to date, selling over 46,000 copies worldwide. The song was announced as the lead single from Two Suns in January 2009, then released as a digital download single on 1 March 2009, and as a 7" vinyl single on 6 April 2009. The track was written by Natasha Khan and produced by David Kosten, as with all tracks on the album. Ira Wolf Tuton from Yeasayer provided the bass lines for the song and Khan did the rest of the instrumentation herself. Khan said in an interview with The Sun newspaper that "Daniel" is based on a fictional character that she fell in love with as a teenager. The single's cover features Khan with an image of the character Daniel LaRusso, from the film The Karate Kid, painted on her back. A character much like LaRusso also features at the end of the music video which goes with the song. The B-side of the 7" is a cover version of a 1980 single by The Cure.
Daniel is an English department store chain and Royal Warrant holder, with its flagship store situated in central Windsor. It was established in 1901 by Walter James Daniel, and is privately owned.
Coordinates: 51°28′55″N 0°36′35″W / 51.4820°N 0.6097°W / 51.4820; -0.6097