102,829
edits
Changes
no edit summary
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Bel_and_dragon.jpg|right|frame]]
א בִּשְׁנַת שָׁלוֹשׁ, לְמַלְכוּת יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ-יְהוּדָה--בָּא נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל יְרוּשָׁלִַם, וַיָּצַר עָלֶיהָ.
Bel.1
----
The third Greek addition to the Book of Daniel is the story of Bel and the Dragon. The Babylonians worshipped the idol of the god Bel and daily provided him with much food, but Daniel proved to the King that the food was in reality eaten by the priests. The priests were punished by death and Bel’s temple destroyed. The Babylonians also worshipped a dragon, but Daniel declined to worship him. To destroy the beast, Daniel boiled pitch, fat, and hair together: the dragon ate it and burst asunder. After Daniel’s sacrilege of slaying the dragon, the King was forced to cast Daniel into the lions’ den, but nothing happened to him. Indeed, he was given a dinner by the prophet Habakkuk, who was brought there by the hair of his head by an angel. On the seventh day the King found Daniel sitting in the den; so he led Daniel out and cast his enemies into the den, where they were devoured.
The two stories are an attack against idolatry. As the addition ends with the story about Daniel in the lions’ den, which is also narrated in the canonical Book of Daniel with another motivation, it is probable that this short treatise originated in a tradition that was parallel to the canonical Book of Daniel and that the two stories were translated from a Hebrew or Aramaic original.
==Chapter .1==
[1] When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom.
[1] When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom.
[2] And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends.
[2] And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends.