Here is a discussion about Daniel countering overly critical scholars. I appreciated their humility and faith. They give a range of what can be said from secular records and possible motives.

Can a Christian who doesn’t read cuneiform be knowledgeable about the Babylonian motives for the conquering of Judah? The bible does give answers to many inquiries with careful reading and cross references. In the case of Babylonian motives toward captives, we read that Nebuchadnezzar: And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god (Dan. 1.2 NIV).

Further, this Babylonian king changed Daniel and his friends’ names to reflect and reference Babylon’s dieties: The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego (Dan. 1.7 NIV).

In Ps. 137 the Psalmist prays to the Lord against what both Edom and Babylon did during Jerusalem’s destruction. This psalm recounts Judah’s exile and gives the motive of the Babylonians: By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” (Ps. 137.1-3 NIV).

Given what we read in Dan. 1 and Ps. 137, we see that the Babylonians regarded the captives as trophies of their gods and entertainment resources to revel in the Babylonian ascendancy. Zechariah reveals that Babylon (and probably Assyria) went too far in their treatment of Israel and that Jerusalem and its temple would be rebuilt and would thrive again:

Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’ “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty. “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’ ” (Zech. 1.14-17 NIV)