Book of Daniel 1-14

There's an alternate account of how the Babylonian exile came about to start off Book of Daniel.  Later, Daniel himself is introduced as a select group of exceptional, handsome youths (such a biblical trend!) who are to be trained and educated to serve Nebuchadnezzar.  He opts to remain religiously pure, overcoming the first of many such challenges.  He's the only one to who can interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream, which creates a parallel with Joseph.  There are tons of parallels in this book, as in virtually every other narrative book of the Bible.

This just in: apparently the Babylonians had bagpipes.

There's the famous Daniel's-companions-in-the-fiery-furnace episode.  Then the writing-on-the-wall episode.  This one features Nebuchadnezzar's successor and son, Belshazzar.  Then Darius of the Persians takes over.

It's under Darius that perhaps the most compelling parallel can be found.  See if you can't tell me what it reads like: "Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.  Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom; but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.  Then these men said, 'We shall not not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.'"

Daniel is subsequently sent into the lion's den, another classic episode from the book.

Then the book shifts (there's clear signs that several different works even before this point have been soldered together) into some outright prophetic talk.  "There came one like a son of man."  Yes, Daniel is another book that features this phrase.  There's one sequence that sounds like it could have come from the much later prophecies of Nostradamus.

And then there's a flashback to Daniel saving Susanna from some lecherous old men who attempt to damn her with false witness.  Then Daniel exposing the mischief of the priests of Bel.  Then Daniel defeating a dragon.  (As far as I know, even if I try to say otherwise in some of my fiction, dragons are completely fictional, for the record.)

And then it ends with an alternate version of the lion's den story, featuring Habakkuk.