Daniel in the Lions' Den

Text and Narrative

The account appears in Daniel 6:1–28. After the fall of Babylon, Darius the Mede ruled the kingdom. He appointed 120 satraps and set three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel.

When the king planned to set Daniel over the whole realm, jealous officials looked for grounds to accuse him but found none. They therefore had the king sign and seal a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitioned any god or man other than the king would be thrown into the den of lions. Daniel knew of the decree, yet in his upper room he opened the windows toward Jerusalem. There he knelt three times a day, prayed, and gave thanks "as he did aforetime" (Daniel 6:10).

The king labored to save him. Because "the law of the Medes and Persians" could not be altered, however, Daniel was cast into the den, and its mouth was closed with a stone and sealed. Early the next morning the king came to the den and called out to him, and Daniel answered that God had sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths (6:22). The text explains that he came out unhurt "because he believed in his God" (6:23). Afterward his accusers were thrown into the den together with their wives and children, and the king issued a decree throughout the kingdom that all should fear the God of Daniel.

Background

Daniel 2:4b through chapter 7 is written in Aramaic, and chapter 6 belongs to this section. The story is set in a foreign royal court during the Babylonian exile.

The scene of Daniel praying toward Jerusalem is often read in connection with Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple. Solomon asked God to hear his people if, while in captivity, they prayed toward their land and the temple (1 Kings 8:48).

No figure in extrabiblical sources has been definitively identified with "Darius the Mede." Proposals include identifying him with Gubaru (Gobryas), a general of Cyrus, or regarding the name as another name for Cyrus himself. As for the date of the book's composition, the traditional view places it in the sixth century BC, while most critical scholars date it to the second century BC.

Significance within Scripture

The account forms a pair with the fiery furnace episode of chapter 3. Both stories share the theme of God delivering those who remain faithful under foreign rule. Hebrews 11:33–38 speaks of people of faith who "stopped the mouths of lions," which is understood as a reference to this event. The account is also cited alongside Acts 5:29 on the principle that obedience to God takes precedence over human commands.

Interpretation and Issues

• Typological interpretation: One tradition reads the den sealed with a stone and Daniel's emergence alive at dawn as a parallel to the sealing of Jesus' tomb and his resurrection. The New Testament, however, does not directly link the two.
• State power and faith: Daniel did not fight the law, yet neither did he stop praying, and he accepted the punishment. For this reason the account is frequently cited in discussions of resistance and submission on the part of believers.
• The execution of wives and children: This stands in tension with Deuteronomy 24:16, which states that children shall not be put to death for the sins of their fathers. Many interpreters explain that the punishment was ordered not by God but by a pagan king.
• Extracanonical material: "Bel and the Dragon" (Daniel 14 in the Korean Common Translation), which the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church accept as part of the book of Daniel, contains another lions' den story. In it the prophet Habakkuk brings food to Daniel in the den. Protestants do not include this in the canon. In addition, pictures and teaching materials often portray Daniel as an old man at the time of this event, but the text does not state his age; it is estimated from the chronology of the exile.

In the Korean Church

The story is frequently taught in Sunday school and vacation Bible school. In preaching, the passage describing Daniel praying three times a day "as he did aforetime" is often cited as a model of a consistent prayer life. Many churches also hold prayer meetings or special dawn prayer meetings named after Daniel.