Date of composition

• 200 - 1 BC

Type of book

• Deuterocanonical for Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and some Anglican and Lutheran churches. (Means "secondary or less sacred scripture")
• Apocrypha for most Protestant churches.

Length

• In Catholic and some Orthodox Bibles, tt is Daniel 14 and 42 verses long.
• Protestant Bibles have 12 chapters for Danie and do not include Daniell.
• Chapter 13 in Catholic and some Orthodox Bibles is the book of Susanna, described above, and it is 42 verses long.

Summary

• This passage has three stories:
1. Bel, verses 1-22: The Persians worshipped an idol named Bel. Cyrus, the king, laid out food for it each day, and the food was gone the next day. Daniel did not worship the idol, and the king wanted to know why. Daniel told him it was clay and bronze and was not capable of eating. The king approached the priests, who assured him that Bel ate the food every day. The king then challenged Daniel and said that if the food laid out that day was consumed by the next morning, Daniel would be killed. Daniel agreed but secretly scattered ashes on the floor surrounding the idol. That night, the priests and their families entered through a secret door—as they did each night—and ate the food. The next day, Cyrus entered with Daniel and showed him the food was gone. Daniel asked him to look at the scattered ashes, and the king saw the footprints of men, women, and children. The king killed the priests and their families and gave the idol to Daniel, who had it destroyed.
2. The Dragon I, verses 23 - 30: The Persians worshipped a great dragon (some scholars translate the word here as "serpent"). The king asked Daniel why he did not worship the dragon, and he replied that he only worshiped God. Daniel claimed he could kill the dragon without a sword or club, and the king agreed. Daniel made a mixture of pitch, fat, and hair, baked it into cakes, fed them to the dragon, and the dragon "burst" and died. The Babylonians were angry and demanded that the king kill Daniel. The king relented and gave Daniel to them.
3. Daniel in the lion's den, verses 31 – 42: They threw Daniel into a lions' den with seven lions. Meanwhile, back in Judea, the prophet Habakkuk was preparing a meal for those who worked in the field. An angel appeared to Habakkuk and demanded that he take the food to Daniel in the lions' den in Babylon. The angel carried Habakkuk from Judea to Babylon, Habakkuk fed Daniel, and the angel returned Habakkuk to Judea. After Daniel had been in the lion's den for seven days, the king returned to find him still alive. The king released Daniel, had his accusers thrown into the lion's den, and the lions immediately ate them.