Ezekiel refers to Job, Noah, and Daniel as an indication that Daniel was a real person. Some counter that this was not the Old Testament Daniel that Ezekiel refers to, but rather a pagan wise man of mythology from the Ras Shamrah texts concerning a divine hero named Dan'el.

The idea that Ezekiel would appeal to a pagan hero who was closely associated with Baal and Anat, and who did not believe in the God of Israel, as a way of encouraging Israelites is highly improbable. It is also objected that Daniel would not have been as famous as Noah or Job at the time Ezekiel was writing, but this too is unwarranted. Daniel would have been the highest-placed and most recognized of the Jews of the Exile; he was taken to Babylon around 605 BC, and Ezekiel started his ministry in 593 BC. This provided plenty of time for Daniel to gain a remarkable reputation. Furthermore, the linguistic data argues against identifying him with the Ugaritic Dan'el.