Daniel 6: A Trial by Ordeal
Who is Darius the Mede?
- Darius I Hystaspes ruled over Persia from 522-486 BCE. But this is not the Darius to which Daniel refers because Darius the Mede is sixty-two years old in 539 BCE and was the son of Ahasuerus and a Mede by birth (Daniel 9:1; see also 5:30; 11:1).
- Some believe the author of Daniel confused the conqueror Cyrus in 539 BCE with Darius I Hystaspes and is therefore historically inaccurate.
- Some suggest Darius the Mede is Gubaru (Greek form is Gobryas) who was the governor of Babylon and its regions after Cyrus returned home shortly after the conquest of the city.
- Some equate him with Cyrus the Great. A possible translation of Daniel 6:28 is “Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, namely, the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” It is the same person who used two dynastic titles “Darius” and “Cyrus.” The Septuagint (ca. second century BCE) has “Cyrus” instead of “Darius” in Daniel 11:1.
Daniel Prospers (6:1-3)
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom.
Opponents Conspire Against Daniel (5:4-9)
So the presidents and the satraps . . . could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. The men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”
So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! . . . the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. . . Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.
Daniel is Accused and Condemned (5:10-18)
Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously. The conspirators came and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. Then they approached the king and said . . . “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day.”
When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”
Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.
Daniel is Delivered (5:19-24)
Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.
Darius Acknowledges Daniel’s God (5:25-28)
Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: “May you have abundant prosperity! 26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:
For he is the living God,
enduring forever.
His kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion has no end.
He delivers and rescues,
he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;
for he has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Theological Emphases
- The living God is the real King who lives forever.
- Deliverance belongs to Yahweh, the God of Israel (cf. Psalm 3:8).
- God’s people are called to faithful endurance and allegiance.