- Daniel in the lions' den
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The story of Daniel in the lions' den is found in the sixth chapter of the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible. Daniel is an official in the Persian empire under King Darius, who (at the instigation of his other officials) had made a decree that no-one was to offer prayer to any god or man except him for a period of thirty days. Daniel continued to pray as was his habit, and for this he was arrested and thrown into a lions' den. However, he was unharmed, and after he was released the following morning, the people who had cajoled the king into making the decree (which was for the sole purpose of getting at Daniel) were thrown into the lions' den themselves.
Contents
Dating the narrative
Critical scholars speculate the dating of the authorship of chapter 6. Paul L. Redditt postulates, "the only issues here are when people in the Diaspora began to tell the story and when its hero became Daniel."[3] Louis F. Hartman and Alexander Di Lella place the story more broadly within the Persian period, basing it on Persian loanwords.[4]
Literary structure
Based on Wayne S. Towner's work,[5] John E. Goldingay outlined the contents of Daniel 2 with the chiastic structure presented below,[6] of which Ernest C. Lucas has supported,[7] as well as critiqued by Tremper Longman and David E. Garland.[8]
- A. Introduction: Daniel’s success (vv.1-3)
- B. Darius’s edict and Daniel’s response (vv.4-10)
- C. Daniel’s opponents plot his death (vv.11-15)
- D. Darius hopes for Daniel’s deliverance (vv.16-18)
- D'. Darius witnesses Daniel’s deliverance (vv.19-23)
- C'. Daniel’s opponents sentenced to death (v.24)
- C. Daniel’s opponents plot his death (vv.11-15)
- B'. Darius’s edict and doxology (v.25-27)
- B. Darius’s edict and Daniel’s response (vv.4-10)
- A'. Conclusion: Daniel’s success (v.28)
Chapter 6
According to the Book of Daniel, Darius the Mede took over the kingdom of Babylon when he was sixty-two years of age.[5:31] This introduces the sixth chapter where Daniel is appointed to serve as one of three royal administrators over the satraps who governed throughout the kingdom.[v.1-2]
Daniel was a distinguished government official who possessed exceptional qualities that won the favor of Darius. This caught the attention of other administrators in the same service as well as the satraps themselves. They investigated Daniel for any corruptible behavior that they could use against him, but found nothing. So, they resorted to conspire against Daniel by urging the king to issue this decree: that anyone in the next thirty days, found praying to god or man, other than the king, shall be fed to the lions.[v.3-8]
Darius put the prayer decree in writing in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians. The conspirators used this as leverage to convict Daniel of treason since they knew he prays to his God, YHVH, three times a day. As soon as they caught him, they apprehended Daniel and addressed the King about what they’ve discovered. Per the law, Darius was forced to have Daniel thrown into the lions’ den.[v.9-15]
Chapters of the Book of Daniel 1: Induction into Babylon
12: Epilogue
2: Nebuchadnezzar's dream of an image
3: The fiery furnace
4: The madness of Nebuchadnezzar
5: Belshazzar's feast
6: Daniel in the lions' den
7: Daniel's first vision
8: Vision of the ram and goat
9: Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
10: Vision of a man
11: Kings of the North and South - A. Introduction: Daniel’s success (vv.1-3)