Commenting on Daniel’s dream in ch. 2 and the question of the accuracy of the text vis-a-vis the timing of the dream, we read the following in a very recent volume on the book of Daniel:
The Timing of the Dream
Porphyry, a third century Christian antagonist, criticized a seeming inconsistency in Daniel’s recorded timeframe. The alleged contradiction lies in the statement that Daniel’s training lasted three-years and the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was in the second year of his reign. The two statements appear to be incongruent. If only two years had passed, Daniel would not have completed the courses and entered the king’s service and therefore could not have provided the interpretation to the king.
A satisfactory explanation comes from the scholar Driver, who asserts that the three-year period merely extended over three years of his reign and was not a full three-year length of time. The death and resurrection of the Lord, for example, spanned from 3 p.m. Friday evening, all day Saturday and into early Sunday morning, which was not a full 72 hours. But by Jewish tradition the duration satisfied three days.
Chaldean kings never considered the inauguration year as the first year of the reign. The inaugural year was filled with ceremony, bureaucratic re-organizations and festivals. Once solidly in office with his own staff, the king formally began his reign. Therefore, the second year of reign would be the third year that Nebuchadnezzar was in power, corresponding with Daniel’s timeframe in Babylon. (See the Table Below).
Nebuchadnezzar’s “Second Year” Daniel 12:1
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May-June 605 B.C.
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Babylonian victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish
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June-Aug. 605 B.C.
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Surrender of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel and his companions take captive.
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Sept. 7, 605 B.C.
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Nebuchadnezzar, the general of the army, made king over Babylon after the death of Nabopolassar, his father.
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September 7, 605 B.C. to April 1, 604 B.C.
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Nebuchadnezzar’s accession year as king and the first year of Daniel’s training.
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April 2, 604 B.C. to March 21, 603 B.C.
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First year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and the second year of training for Daniel.
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March 22, 603 B.C. to April 9, 602 B.C.
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Second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, third year of Daniel’s training and the year of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
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(G. Erik Brandt, The Book of Daniel: Writings and Prophecies [Lehi, Utah: Independent Publisher, 2018], 29-30)
For a book-length defense of the accuracy and reliability of the book of Daniel, see:
Thomas E. Gaston, Historical Issues in the Book of Daniel