Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Daniel Chapters 5&6

Some Historical Notes

Before considering the very familiar stories contained in these chapters, we must first take note of historical references which raise some issues. First, there is the mention of Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, who succeeded his father as king. There is no historical support for the existence of this Belshazzar. Instead, there is a record of a Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, one of the kings of Babylon. There are other aspects, such as the madness of Nebuchadnezzar described in Chapter 4, which are historically similar to Nabonidus, and these lead some scholars to believe that there is some confusion of names in Daniel between the two kings.

There is also the succession from Belshazzar to Darius the Mede, and the concept of the Median rule of Babylon before its conquest by the Persians. Again, this goes against current historical evidence. There is a Darius mentioned in Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah, but this seems to be Darius I, the first of three Persian rulers, not a Mede.

The resolution of historical discrepancies like these is certainly beyond the scope of this discussion, but we should never be ignorant of their existence. Still, the Bible is not, primarily, a historical document. Not, at least, in the common sense. To the extent that it is a history, it presents the history of God’s interaction with man. But it is more than that. Through the Bible, God continues to interact with us and reveal himself to us.

These two stories, though very familiar, have meaning that has an impact on our daily lives, and they are worth reading again and again. These historical issues do not lessen the meaning of the stories in any way.

The Handwriting Is on the Wall

Though the story in Chapter 5 is not quite as familiar to us as the other narratives in Daniel, it has given us an idiom that has become a very familiar part of our English usage. In fact, we use it in two ways. We say “The handwriting is on the wall” when we mean that the outcome is definite, and “He cannot see the writing is on the wall” when we mean that someone is not aware of the fact that their outcome is definite.

As we can see from verses 1-9, the latter usage does not quite fit the story, as Belshazzar was in the middle of a banquet and enjoying the good life of being a king when, in fact, he did see the writing on the wall, but he could not understand it. As is the pattern in the Daniel stories, he called all his wise men, but they could not interpret it, either, and the king was greatly troubled.

The queen, or possibly the queen mother, intervenes and tells Belshazzar that there is a wiser wise man, Daniel by name, who can surely interpret the writing. Daniel is brought forth, makes a lengthy address to the king, and in verses 25-31, interprets the writing.

The choice of words in the writing is very interesting, they are all words for coins, but which also have other meanings. The words are as follows.

Mene: This is the word for mina, a unit of money, but it also meant numbered.

Tekel: This is the word for shekel, but it also meant weighed.

Peres: This is the word for half mina or half shekel, but if can also mean divided or Persia. It appears in three forms in the text: Peres, the singular form, Parsin, the plural form, and, in the KJV, Uparsin, which means “and Parsin”.

Daniel tells the king that his days are numbered, he has been weighed in the balance and found wanting, and his kingdom will be divided among the Medes and Persians. The king acknowledges Daniel, but we are not told that he acknowledges the authority of the Lord in any way.

This story is reminiscent of two passages from the New Testament, both from Luke Chapter 12. In verses 16-21, there is the story of the Rich Fool, who made plans for himself on this earth, but like Belshazzar, was not rich towards God. In verses 54-56, Jesus calls the crowd hypocrites, because they could interpret the simple signs that affected them materially, but not the greater signs that affected them spiritually.

Perhaps some of us are like Daniel and have the gift to help others see the handwriting on the wall, but all of us are like Belshazzar, the Rich Fool. We are weighed in the balance and found wanting. We have no means to restore the balance ourselves, but it has been restored for us through the grace of God.

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Chapter 6 has what is most certainly the most famous story in Daniel: Daniel in the lion’s den. Like the rest of the narrative in Daniel, it is quite wordy. In the beginning verses, there is jealousy brewing against Daniel among the other administrators and satraps (provincial governors). These schemers look for a weakness in Daniel, but find none. Finally, as recorded in verses 5-9, they decide the only way to trap Daniel is through “the law of his God.” So, they convince the king to issue a decree forbidding anyone but himself to pray for the next thirty days.

In verses 10-18, we read that the trap works perfectly. The king, who does not appear to have asked many questions when the subject first came up, is distressed when he hears that Daniel will be sent to the lion’s den. But, the law is the law, what can be done?

In verses 19-28, we read what we already know from this very familiar story. Daniel is saved from the lions and prospers, the schemers (along with their wives and children) are killed by the now very hungry lions, and the witness of Daniel causes the king to praise the living God.

Of course, there is no way that the king could have said “I made a mistake!” That is not the order of things any more than it is the order of things for a den of hungry lions to sit all night and stare at a fine specimen. It is comforting to know that our God is the God, not only of the natural world he created for us, but of that complex of society and ego we create for ourselves.