Daniel in the lions' den

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.

Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1615

Briton Rivière, 1890

Although Peter Paul Rubens' depiction shows Daniel as a young man (top), Daniel would have been over eighty years old at the time of this incident, making Briton Rivière's picture (bottom) more accurate.

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