Daniel

by Sinclair B. Ferguson, Lloyd John Ogilvie

"Daniel was a visionary," the author says, "a man who received revelations of the future in a form that is always dramatic and at times almost grotesque in its unveiling of the bestial nature of evil. What impresses the reader above all else, however, is how God-centered Daniel is and how God-centered his view of the political stage on which he plays his part." The author supports his interpretation of the text with research and illustrations that equip pastors and teachers to give informed presentations of the book to their churches and fellow students. At the same time, he has made an effort to be "suggestive rather than exhaustive" in his handling of the Daniel material, providing as well for creative applications on the part of the reader.

Genres: Old Testament, Christian

258 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1988

About the author

Sinclair B. Ferguson is Associate Preacher at St Peter's Free Church in Dundee and also Distinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina and prior to that, he was minister of St. George's-Tron Church in Glasgow.

Reviews

[Alex]

Extremely helpful survey of Daniel. As Sinclair explains in the introduction, he prefers commentaries that don't do all the work for you so that's the type he's written. He gives you a bit of a start, then hands the spade off to you for further digging.

[Josh]

A very solid exposition and application of the book of Daniel.

[Jonathan Ginn]

As to be expected from Sinclair Ferguson, this commentary was insightful, pastoral, and refreshingly straightforward. A useful work for laymen seeking to navigate a tricky book.

[David]

Great commentary that gives you the large idea and equips you to study the text in greater detail yourself. His focus on the apocalyptic prophesies is to focus on how Christ fulfills them instead of identifying every beast and horn. I used this as a resource for preaching through Daniel and thought consistently found it helpful. It often feels sermonic even though it is not. I think both preachers and lay people would be encouraged by it.

[Peter Krol]

Good analysis. Very helpful on historical background.

[Ronnie Nichols]

This was a great commentary on the book of Daniel. Sinclair Ferguson is one of my favorite expositors and once again he has helped me tremendously in my understanding of God's Word. This commentary is pastoral and not technical. I would highly recommend it to those young in the faith who are seeking a better understanding of one of the toughest books in the Bible. Ferguson sticks to the text and expounds it wonderfully.

[Zacarias Rivera, Jr.]

Excellent exposition of Daniel. Very insightful in sharing what other critics have stated about this book. Ferguson focuses primarily on what we practical applications we can glean from the life of Daniel.

[Andrzej Stelmasiak]

3.7 out of 5.

Worth having because even if he is quite predictable, he's going to have one or two home runs that open the passage.
His comments in the ivp whole Bible commentary are quite different to what is here, they're succinct and dry with less theological reflection.

[Steven]

Ferguson's commentary ought to be in the top five picks for those preaching through Daniel and for those who want to study Daniel. It is vintage Ferguson, so you can expect the same exegetical and theological rigor mixed with pastoral and practical application found in all his works.

[Charles Williams]

My favorite commentary on Daniel.

[Jeanne Modisett]

A wonderful addition to my library!

[Marc]

Ferguson is always solid. Like Davis in many respects (though lighter on the scholarly treatment and literary observations), he is a gift to the church for hermeneutic reliability and application.

[Daniel Harding]

Simple to read. Open to the reader. A little upset with myself that I've overlooked these for so many years.

[Sean McGowan]

Good

[Leslie Christopher]

First of all, I love Sinclair Ferguson. I have listened to him on podcasts for so long that I can hear him speaking (in that rich Scottish brogue) while reading his books. I agree with him theologically so for me this was a very pleasant way to spend a week at the beach--his warmth and pastoral heart come through in his writing just as in his speaking. Ferguson is a theologically conservative Presbyterian, committed to sound exegesis and being a Covenant Theology man, NOT dispensational. This book was interesting...not exactly light reading but not so heavy that you feel like you are "studying" for exams. He does bring to light how many of the prophecies in Daniel were fulfilled back then, e.g., he identifies the "notable horn" in 8:25 as Alexander the Great.

Ferguson is an exegete. His goal is to get out of scripture what it actually says, not to impose some already held belief upon scripture. Excellent read.

[Clara Roberts]

I would have given this book a rating of ten if one was available. This book in the Bible is so much more than Daniel in the lions den and the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace and some visions that Daniel had. It is about man make plans, often evil plans but God intervens with His plan. "The kindoms of the world are unstable because their gods are also unstable..." "Everything to which this world's kindoms are devoted is ultimately ephemral" "...the wordly kings plot their schemes...God brings them to naught." In this time of great unrest in the Middle East, Europe, and the USA I found that Daniel spoke to the events of this day.

[Kenneth Garrett]

Good amillennial commentary on Daniel--encouraging to the believer to remain faithful in the midst of our own, present exile. As with many amillennial interpretations, this commentary stumbles in its treatment of the many prophecies in Daniel that, which interpreted simply, would likely lead to a premillenial understanding of the text. Not much of a prophetic future for the nation of Israel here, as one might expect...

[Jacob Aitken]

The commentary series itself is fairly useless, aside from a few volumes. Ferguson's volume is quite good, though.

[Cameron Barham]

Good introductory level treatment of Daniel that avoids getting bogged down in the controversial topics regarding numbers and dates. Ferguson does provide a way forward on these topics that is sound.