Person Old Testament
Daniel
Daniel, a priest, was among those who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. Mentioned in 2 verses across 2 books, first at Ezra 8:2.
Why it matters. Priest who returned from Babylonian exile
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Daniel
Daniel is mentioned in Ezr.8.2 and Neh.10.6 as a priest who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. In Ezr.8.2, he is listed among the descendants of Ithamar, one of Aaron's sons, indicating his priestly lineage. This Daniel was part of the group that returned to Jerusalem with Ezra, who led a significant return of exiles during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia.
In Neh.10.6, Daniel is mentioned again as one of the priests who signed the covenant to follow the Law of God. This covenant was made after Ezra had read the Book of the Law to the people, and they had confessed their sins and committed to obeying God's commands.
The fact that Daniel is mentioned in both Ezra and Nehemiah suggests that he played a role in the religious life of the Jewish community after the exile. As a priest, he would have been involved in the Temple service and in teaching the people the Law of God.
Apart from these two references, no other details about this Daniel's life or ministry are provided in the Bible. It is important to note that this Daniel is a different person from the more well-known prophet Daniel, who lived earlier during the Babylonian exile.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 2 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.