Bible Timeline ExplorerBible Timeline Explorer

Exile in Babylon

Daniel in the lions' den

538 BCUssher date

Daniel 6; Hebrews 11:33

Jealous officials tricked Darius into banning prayer to anyone but the king; Daniel kept praying toward Jerusalem, was thrown to the lions, and God shut their mouths.

My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me, because innocence was found in me before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.

Daniel 6:22 (World English Bible)

Daniel, now past eighty, opened his windows toward Jerusalem and prayed three times a day as he always had. The king spent a sleepless night and ran to the den at dawn. Daniel was unhurt, and Darius decreed that everyone should fear Daniel's God.

Dating notes

Under Darius the Mede, whom Ussher places in 538 BC. His identity outside Scripture is debated; proposals include Cyrus's general Gubaru or Cyrus himself under another title.

Open on the timelineRead Daniel 6