Texts in Conversation
Bel and the Dragon tells how Daniel, left in the lions’ den, receives food from Habakkuk who is miraculously transported by an angel and later found alive by the king. The Christian theologian Ambrose refers to this narrative as authentic history.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Bel and the Dragon 1:39
Deuterocanon
37 Habakkuk cried, saying, “O Daniel, Daniel, take the dinner which God has sent you.” 38 Daniel said, “You have remembered me, O God! You haven’t forsaken those who love you!” 39 So Daniel arose and ate; and the angel of God set Habakkuk in his own place again immediately. 40 On the seventh day, the king came to mourn for Daniel. When he came to the den, he looked in, and, behold, Daniel was sitting. 41 Then the king cried with a loud voice, saying, “Great are you, O Lord, you God of Daniel, and there is no other besides you!”
Date: 300–101 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Early Christian
178 But this is not the only kind of fortitude which is worthy of note. We consider their fortitude glorious, who, with greatness of mind, through faith stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong. They did not gain a victory in common with many, surrounded with comrades, and aided by the legions, but won their triumph alone over their treacherous foes by the mere courage of their own souls. How unconquerable was Daniel, who feared not the lions raging round about him. The beasts roared, while he was eating.
Date: 390–395 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The apocryphal texts are quoted by the church fathers as authoritative scripture, particularly by those who did not know Hebrew and relied on the Septuagint alone. In preparing the Vulgate, however, Jerome distinguished between biblical texts that could be used as a basis for establishing doctrine, and apocryphal texts that are edifying but not decisive from a doctrinal perspective ... Two other additions to Daniel, Bel and The Dragon, are stories that ridicule idolatry. In Bel, Daniel uncovers the artifice which made it appear that the idol Bel was consuming copious amounts of food and drink, thereby proving to Cyrus of Persia that Bel is a mere statue unworthy of worship. In The Dragon, Daniel proves that the revered dragon is mortal by feeding him a concoction of boiled pitch, fat, and hair and thereby causing the dragon to burst. As punishment, Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den, where he survives a week with God’s assistance ..."
Adele Reinhartz, “The Apocrypha,” in The Biblical World, ed. John Barton (London: Routledge, 2002), 1:16–28.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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