What did Daniel write on in the sixthᵉ century BC?
1. Clay tablets: the official Babylonian medium
In Babylon, administrative, legal and scholarly writing was done almost exclusively on clay tablets, inscribed in cuneiform.
- It was the standard medium for royal archives.
- Babylonian scribes had perfect command of this system.
- Daniel, placed in the royal administration (Daniel 1.4), very probably had to read and write on clay as part of his duties.
? Conclusion: For his administrative work, Daniel certainly used clay tablets.
2. Papyrus: a common medium for personal or literary writings
Papyrus, imported from Egypt, was widely used throughout the Near East from the 7th–6th century BC.
- Lighter and more practical for long texts.
- Used for letters, narratives, and religious or literary documents.
- The exiled Jews were already using it (as we see later at Elephantine).
? Conclusion: To write a long text like the book of Daniel, papyrus is the most likely medium.
3. Parchment: possible but less common at that time
Parchment already existed, but:
- it was more expensive,
- less widespread than papyrus,
- and used mainly for prestigious documents.
It is not impossible that some later copies of the book of Daniel were made on parchment, but the original text was more probably written on papyrus.
Synthesis
| Medium | Probability | Use by Daniel |
| Clay tablets | Very high | Babylonian administration, official documents |
| Papyrus | Very high | Writing of the book of Daniel, personal or religious writings |
| Parchment | Possible but less likely | Later copies, not the original medium |
Conclusion
Daniel very probably:
- worked on clay tablets in his role as a high Babylonian official,
- written his book on papyrus, the medium best suited to a long narrative text.