God’s hand steers the events of this chapter, from the defeat of King Jehoiakim to the treatment of Daniel in exile to the success of the Hebrew youth in the king’s court. Although the historical circumstances may have suggested otherwise, the God of Israel had not been defeated. Instead, he was the one in control. The explicit statement “God gave” at three key points in the chapter serves to relativize “military power, political power, and the power of human wisdom.”29 As he did in Genesis 11, the