Daniel is Thrown into a Lions’ Den, 1-18

6:1 It seemed like a good idea to Darius to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps who would be in charge of the entire kingdom. 6:2 Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage. 6:3 Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom. 6:4 Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption. 6:5 So these men concluded, “We won’t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is in connection with the law of his God.”

With regard to the historical basis of this story, Nelson says:

‘From what we know of Darius and the Persian kings, it seems incredible both that the king would be duped by his advisers and that he would make an edict requiring such a narrow religious practice. The story may contain a historical kernel about a faithful Jew who was delivered from death, but the final account seems to be fashioned as a well-told story rather than as a historical record.’

Nelson adds:

‘If the book of Daniel was written in the second century B.C., the story of the lions’ pit was likely included because of its relevance to the Jews suffering persecution at the hands of Antiochus IV.’

But Baldwin cites G. J. Wenham to the effect that

‘a book of old, authentic stories would have provided comfort to sufferers of later generations far more convincingly than a book of new parables (cf. Heb. 11, especially verses 33, 34).’

Darius, according to Baldwin, is

‘none other than Cyrus the Persian, using what may well have been his enthronement name during the first year of his reign.’

6:6 So these supervisors and satraps came by collusion to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 6:7 To all the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors it seemed like a good idea for a royal edict to be issued and an interdict to be enforced. For the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than you, O king, should be thrown into a den of lions. 6:8 Now let the king issue a written interdict so that it cannot be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed. 6:9 So King Darius issued the written interdict.

The lion’s den – In the Ancient Near East, lions would often be captured or corralled, in order to provide sport for kings.  So there is nothing intrinsically improbable about Daniel being thrown in to the pit (or ‘pen’ or ‘enclosure’) with them.  According to Brent Strawn, the idea of being ‘thrown into the lion’s den’ already had a metaphorical meaning in those days, and he thinks that it might carry such a meaning here.  Strawn concludes:

‘Perhaps the author of Daniel misunderstood the metaphorical nature of the motif and “literalized” it. Then again, maybe it is no flat-footed misunderstanding at all but an intentional literary device demonstrating how, with God’s help, Daniel triumphed over all sorts of “lions”—the metaphorical ones in the Babylonian and Persian courts (Dan 1-6) and the real ones in the “lions’ den.”’

6:10 When Daniel realized that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times daily he was kneeling and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously. 6:11 Then those officials who had gone to the king came by collusion and found Daniel praying and asking for help before his God. 6:12 So they approached the king and said to him, “Did you not issue an edict to the effect that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than to you, O king, would be thrown into a den of lions?” The king replied, “That is correct, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.” 6:13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.”

6:14 When the king heard this, he was very upset and began thinking about how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon he was struggling to find a way to rescue him. 6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and said to him, “Recall, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.” 6:16 So the king gave the order, and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den of lions. The king consoled Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!” 6:17 Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening to the den. The king sealed it with his signet ring and with those of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel. 6:18 Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions were brought to him. He was unable to sleep.

God Rescues Daniel from the Lions, 19-28

6:19 In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions’ den. 6:20 As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”

6:21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! 6:22 My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king.”

6:23 Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God. 6:24 The king gave another order, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions’ den—they, their children, and their wives. They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

As Harper’s Bible Commentary observes,

‘In many respects the conclusion of this story can be described as a passion narrative hauntingly similar to the great passion account of Jesus in the synoptic Gospels. The king, like Pilate, is uneasy about condemning this man to death because he is blameless (v. 22). However, the crowd of learned doctors and important people demands that the law of the empire be followed, and the hero is condemned to death. Nonetheless, the king’s conscience remains guilty about the matter. Daniel is put in the place of death, and then after a time (in his case one day, not three) he emerges alive from the pit of death because he trusted God (v. 23). A major difference, of course, is that Daniel did not die because “God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths” (v. 22, RSV).’

6:25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and language groups who were living in all the land: “Peace and prosperity! 6:26 I have issued an edict that throughout all the dominion of my kingdom people are to revere and fear the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God;
he endures forever.
His kingdom will not be destroyed;
his authority is forever.
6:27 He rescues and delivers
and performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions!”
6:28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

The reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian – Or, ‘the reign of Darius, namely, the reign of Cyrus’, making them one and the same person.  Such an construction occurs elsewhere in the book.  This is the view of Wiseman, Baldwin, and some others.