Dining in the lions' den, an overviewThe story of Daniel in the lions' den is probably one of the best-known Bible stories. However, few people know that there is a second version of this famous story. This second version is found in the Septuagint (LXX). More specifically, it is part of the apocryphal additions to the book of Daniel.
1There are three of these additional stories in the LXX. The first is found in Daniel 3, The prayer of the three men in the fiery furnace. The second is called Suzanna and usually forms chapter 13 in the LXX Greek version of Daniel. The third story is actually a combination of three events (episodes). This third story is called Bel and the dragon and forms chapter 14 in the LXX Daniel.There are two Greek versions of Bel and the dragon. The oldest version (dating from 100 BCE) is that of the LXX and is often called the Old Greek (OG) version. The second version is the Theodotion (Th) version. Not only is it considered to be the younger version (dating from the 2nd century) but also the more elaborate one. Both versions consist of 42 verses. This article mostly refers to the LXX or OG version of the text, but where necessary, references will be made to Th.In the first episode of Bel and the dragon (verses 1-22), the character Daniel uncovers the deceit of the priests of the god Bel. Bel's temple is proven to be a space of fraud and lies, and Bel himself is proven a false and not-living deity. I call this episode the Disempowerment of Bel. The second episode (verses 23-27) demonstrates the character Daniel as a slayer of dragons. I therefore call the second episode Daniel dragon-slayer.However, it is the third episode (verses 28-42) that is investigated in this article. The third episode of Bel and the dragon uniquely recounts the story of Daniel in the lions' den. In Daniel 14, the story is narrated as a consequence of the first two episodes. The Babylonians demanded the death of Daniel after he killed the priests of Bel and their holy dragon (δράκων). The king in this episode is incapable of taking a stand against the mob, and Daniel is thrown into a den (λάκκος) full of lions. Daniel, however, is rescued from death by the intervention of the Jewish deity. The prophet Habakkuk (Αμβακοθμ) is sent with food to nourish Daniel down in the lions' den, which suggested the title for this article: Dining in the lions' den. Thus, although similar to the events of Daniel 6, there are also unique differences between the two narratives contained in Daniel 6 and Daniel 14. One such difference is the reason why Daniel is thrown into the lions' den. In Daniel 6, the 1.Daniel in italics is used in reference to the Book of Daniel. The character Daniel is referred to as 'Daniel' in normal script. This is done for a better distinction between the book and the character.