Daniel left Belshazzar and fled to Shushtar, where he was kindly
received by Cyrus, who promised him to have the Temple vessels taken
back to Jerusalem, provided Daniel would pray to God to grant him
success in his war with the king of Mosul. God gave Daniel's prayer a
favorable hearing, and Cyrus was true to his promise.
Daniel now received the Divine charge to urge Cyrus to rebuild the
Temple. To this end he was to introduce Ezra and Zerubbabel to the
king. Ezra then went from place to place and called upon the people to
return to Palestine. Sad to say, only a tribe and a half obeyed his
summons. Indeed, the majority of the people were so wroth against Ezra
that they sought to slay him. He escaped the peril to his life only by
a Divine miracle. (5)
Daniel, too, was exposed to much suffering at this time. King Cyrus
cast him into a den of lions, because he refused to bow down before the
idol of the king. For seven days Daniel lay among the wild beasts, and
not a hair of his head was touched. When the king at the end of the
week found Daniel alive, he could not but acknowledge the sovereign
grandeur of God. Cyrus released Daniel, and instead had his
calumniators thrown to the lions. In an instant they were rent in
pieces. (6)
In general Cyrus fell far short of coming up to the expectations set in
him for piety and justice. Though he granted permission to the Jews to
rebuild the Temple, they were to use no material but wood, so that it
might easily be destroyed if the Jews should take it into their head to
rebel against him. Even in point of morals, the Persian king was not
above reproach. (7)
Another time Cyrus pressingly urged Daniel to pay homage to the idol
Bel. As proof of the divinity of the idol the king advanced the fact
that it ate the dishes set before it, a report spread by the priests of
Bel, who entered the Temple of the idol at night, through subterranean
passages, themselves ate up the dishes, and then attributed their
disappearance to the appetite of the god. But Daniel was too shrewd to
be misled by a fabricated story. He had the ashes strewn upon the floor
of the Temple, and the foot-prints visible the next morning convinced
the king of the deceit practiced by the priests. (8)
Pleasant relations did not continue to subsist forever between Cyrus
and Darius. A war broke out between them, in which Cyrus lost life and
lands. Fearing Darius, Daniel fled to Persia. But an angel of God
appeared to him with the message: "Fear not the king, not unto him will
I surrender thee." Shortly afterward he received a letter from Darius
reading as follows: "Come to me, Daniel! Fear naught, I shall be even
kinder to thee than Cyrus was." Accordingly Daniel returned to
Shushtar, and was received with great consideration by Darius.
One day the king chanced to remember the sacred garments brought by
Nebuchadnezzar out of the Temple at Jerusalem to Babylon. They had
vanished, and no trace of them could be discovered. The king suspected
Daniel of having had something to do with their disappearance. It
booted little that he protested his innocence, he was cast into prison.
God sent an angel who was to blind Darius, telling him at the same time
that he was deprived of the light of his eyes because he was keeping
the pious Daniel in durance, and sight would be restored to him only if
Daniel interceded for him. The king at once released Daniel, and the
two together journeyed to Jerusalem to pray on the holy place for the
restoration of the king. An angel appeared to Daniel, and announced to
him that his prayer had been heard. The king had but to wash his eyes,
and vision would return to them. So it happened. Darius gave thanks to
God, and in his gratitude assigned the tithe of his grain to the
priests and the Levites. Besides, he testified his appreciation to
Daniel by loading him down with gifts, and both returned to Shushtar.
The recovery of the king convinced many of his subjects of the
omnipotence of God, and they converted to Judaism. (9)
Following the advice of Daniel, Darius (10) appointed a triumvirate to
take charge of the administration of his realm, and Daniel was made the
chief of the council of three. His high dignity he was second to none
but the king himself exposed him to envy and hostility on all sides.
His enemies plotted his ruin. With cunning they induced the king to
sign an order attaching the penalty of death to prayers addressed to
any god or any man other than Darius. (11) Though the order did not
require Daniel to commit a sin, he preferred to give his life for the
honor of the one God rather than omit his devotions to Him. When his
jealous enemies surprised him during his prayers, he did not interrupt
himself. He was dragged before the king, who refused to give credence
to the charge against Daniel. Meanwhile the hour for the afternoon
prayer arrived, and in the presence of the king and his princes Daniel
began to perform his devotions. This naturally rendered unavailing all
efforts made by the king to save his friend from death. Daniel was cast
into a pit full of lions. The entrance to the pit was closed up with a
rock, which had all of its own accord rolled from Palestine to protect
him against any harm contemplated by his enemies. (12) The ferocious
beasts welcomed the pious Daniel like dogs fawning upon their master on
his return home, licking his hands and wagging their tails.
While this was passing in Babylon, an angel appeared to the prophet
Habakkuk in Judea. He ordered the prophet to bring Daniel the food he
was about to carry to his laborers in the field. Astonished, Habakkuk
asked the angel how he could carry it to so great a distance, whereupon
he was seized by his hair, and in a moment set down before Daniel. They
dined together, and then the angel transported Habakkuk back to his
place in Palestine. Early in the morning Darius (13) went to the pit of
the lions to discover the fate of Daniel. The king called his name, but
he received no answer, because Daniel was reciting the Shema at that
moment, (14) after having spent the night in giving praise and
adoration to God. (15) Seeing that he was still alive, the king
summoned the enemies of Daniel to the pit. It was their opinion that
the lions had not been hungry, and therefore Daniel was still unhurt.
The king commanded them to put the beasts to the test with their own
persons. The result was that the hundred and twenty-two enemies of
Daniel, together with their wives and children numbering two hundred
and forty-four persons, were torn in shreds by fourteen hundred and
sixty-four lions. (16)
The miraculous escape of Daniel brought him more distinguished
consideration and greater honors than before. The king published the
wonders done by God in all parts of his land, and called upon the
people to betake themselves to Jerusalem and help in the erection of
the Temple.
Daniel entreated the king to relieve him of the duties of his position,
for the performance of which he no longer felt himself fit, on account
of his advanced age. The king consented on condition that Daniel
designate a successor worthy of him. His choice fell upon Zerubbabel.
Loaded with rich presents and amid public demonstrations designed to
honor him, Daniel retired from public life. He settled in the city of
Shushan, where he abode until his end. (17) Though he was no prophet,
God vouchsafed to him a knowledge of the "end of time" not granted his
friends, the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, (18) but even he,
in the fulness of his years, lost all memory of the revelation with
which he had been favored. (19)