Daniel in the lions' den (chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel) tells of how the biblical Daniel is saved from lions by the God of Israel "because I was found blameless before him" (Daniel 6:22). It parallels and complements chapter 3, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: each begins with the jealousy of non-Jews towards successful Jews and an imperial edict requiring them to compromise their religion, and concludes with divine deliverance and a king who confesses the greatness of the God of the Jews and issues an edict of royal protection. The tales making up chapters 1–6 of Daniel date no earlier than the Hellenistic period (3rd to 2nd century BC) and were probably originally independent, but were collected in the mid-2nd century BC and expanded shortly afterwards with the visions of the later chapters to produce the modern book.
In Daniel 6, Daniel is raised to high office by his royal master Darius the Mede. Daniel's jealous rivals trick Darius into issuing a decree that for thirty days no prayers should be addressed to any god or man but Darius himself; anyone who disobeys this edict is to be thrown to the lions. Pious Daniel continues to pray daily to the God of Israel; and the king, although deeply distressed, must condemn Daniel to death, for the edicts of the Medes and Persians cannot be altered. Hoping for Daniel's deliverance, Darius has him cast into the pit. At daybreak the king hurries to the place and cries out anxiously, asking if God had saved his friend. Daniel replies that his God had sent an angel to close the jaws of the lions, "because I was found blameless before him". The king commands that those who had conspired against Daniel be thrown to the lions in his place with their wives and children, and that the whole world should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.
It is generally accepted that the Book of Daniel originated as a collection of folktales among the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish community living in Babylon and Mesopotamia, in the Persian and Hellenistic periods (5th to 2nd centuries BC). Chapters 4–6, which includes the tale of Daniel in the lions' den, may belong to the earliest stage, as these differ quite markedly in the oldest texts. Although the entire book is traditionally ascribed to Daniel the seer, the tales of chapters 1–6, including the story of the lion's den, are the voice of an anonymous narrator (except for chapter 4 which is in the form of a letter from king Nebuchadnezzar). It is possible that the name of Daniel was chosen for the hero because of his reputation as a wise seer in Hebrew tradition.
Chapters 2–7 are in Aramaic, and are in the clear form of a chiasm (a poetic structure in which the main point or message of a passage is placed in the centre and framed by further repetitions on either side):
The story of Daniel in the lions' den in chapter 6 is paired with the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the "fiery furnace" in Daniel 3. The parallels include the jealousy of non-Jews, an imperial edict requiring Jews to compromise their religion on pain of death, and divine deliverance. Each story climaxes with the king confessing the greatness of the God of the Jews and issuing an edict of royal protection. In each case life is preserved through divine presence in the fire or the pit.
The structure of Daniel 6 itself is also in the form of a chiasm:
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)
B'. Darius’s edict and doxology (v.25–27)
A'. Conclusion: Daniel’s success (v.28)
According to Josippon, "the beasts in the den received Daniel as faithful dogs might receive their returning master, wagging their tails and licking him". The Midrash Tehillim says that "the mouth of the den was closed with a huge stone, which had rolled of itself from Palestine to Babylon for that purpose" and that "upon this stone sat an angel in the shape of a lion, so that Daniel's enemies might not harass him."[1]
Although Daniel is sometimes depicted as a young man in illustrations of the incident, James Montgomery Boice points out that he would have been over eighty years old at the time.
Painters who have depicted this incident include:
Daniel in the lions den was adapted as a segment in the first episode of Veggietales titled Where's God When I'm S-Scared?