The Medes and Persians were once servants of the Assyrians. Then, they were allies of Babylon in revolt led by Nabopolassar. During their period of independence, they became united under the vision of Cyrus. He was Pesian, and it serves best to think of his home kingdom as roughly equivalent to modern Iran, though mostly an area east of the Zagros Mountains, which mountains formed the eastern high wall of the Mesopotamian Valley. The vision of Cyrus was largely fired by his Zoroastrian religion. While possessed of a distinct collection of legends, this was a broadly syncretist faith; all other gods were associates of Ahuramazda, and most were his friends. However, the Persian rulers developed a taste for being treated as semi-divine, and the Medes picked up on it. The two kingdoms united by intermarriage, with various treaties to prevent unfair treatment, allow for a rotating throne, and so forth.
It seems to make better sense if we see the Darius in this chapter as the immediate ruler (the Hebrew word for "king" is quite elastic in meaning) of the Babylonian district, that large flat plain at the lower end of the valley, over which the twin rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates wandered slowly. Thus, Darius appointed 120 ministers over this rather large and wealthy district. That he would employ Daniel should surprise no one. This was the man who was originally chosen by Nebuchadnezzar, in part because as a foreigner he had no local political interest. As a major figure in Babylonian administration, his fame spread to Imperial allies, including the Medes and Persians. At least one Imperial edict named him specifically (ch. 4). It's quite likely they knew of his prophecy regarding their conquest of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar's dream in ch. 2). How could they not want to use his wise counsel? In this case, the narrative mentions a concern for the royal treasury. We know from hints here and in Esther the Medo-Persians gave much concern to monetary profit, and the rulers were as much businessmen as warriors. Many decrees included considerations of expense and profit. Apparently Daniel was exceptionally suited for this position of trust, and any audits showed him utterly faithful in handling the King's money.
The nature of the minister's resentment is not stated, though the context hints they found it hard to embezzle with Daniel watching. It appears even Zoroastrian religious concerns included profit as a major consideration, based on assumptions the gods would reward them financially. When they brought their bogus petition to Darius, we must assume it included a profit motive. Darius was obviously a better man, not a gold-digger. His concerns would be more about enriching the throne as a part of enriching the Empire. Since almost every pagan ritual of prayer and petition meant bringing an offering, he was being asked to kick off his administration with a boost in income to the throne.
Such concerns were wasted on those who served Jehovah, and it wouldn't be hard for the ministers to find this out from the Chaldean records on religions, if they cared to research it. Daniel's prayer habits were in direct obedience to 2 Chronicles 6:36-39, where Solomon predicted such an exile, and asked Jehovah to regard the prayers of the faithful. Facing Jerusalem was not physically necessary, but a symbolic act. Daniel was neither hiding from nor mocking the edict. When the ministers brought this violation to the attention of Darius, he was visibly perturbed, but backed into the proverbial corner. Those who should have informed of the implications of such an edict instead hid it from him, because he had no intimate knowledge of Daniel's religion, yet. The legal customs of the Persians was a bit more fair than the Babylonian model of absolute monarchy without limits, but also hindered the rulers personally, because they couldn't unilaterally rescind edicts of this class. Something like this would require the consent and review of the nobles involved in supporting it. For all his efforts to negotiate a change, Darius failed to persuade them to rescind it.
For the Zoroastrians, fire was sacred, not to be used in torture or execution. Even today we know they expose their dead to carrion eaters, so it's no surprise animals figured large in execution. Lacking the rocky caves and pits of their homeland, they probably converted an old clay pit to the purpose. From what we can discern today, it would have been ringed with a wall, over which witnesses could see. At one end of such a pit would be a removable stone which opened onto a long, slimy clay slide. Neither lions nor humans could turn and scramble back up this slope very far, nor for very long. Perhaps the efforts of victims and predators would serve to entertain some watching. However, the final commitment of Daniel to this fate took place after dark, so no witnesses stayed. The stone was sealed in place so no rescue was possible by human hands. However, Darius was devout enough about religion to be certain whatever God Daniel served was more than able to rescue him. He offered in essence his blessing in that name of that God.
For Darius, this could easily have been the worst night of his life. He hurried out at dawn, and would have called out in a high-pitched, plaintive voice. Daniel answered, and his survival could only be seen as proof he was not guilty. Thus, he was falsely accused, and his accusers were required to pass the same test. While we grimace at the idea of tossing in family members, even Israel carried out similar punishments. Some crimes were such a threat, the man was held responsible for corrupting his own household in the process. There was also the practical consideration surviving children might feel obliged to seek revenge later. At any rate, these hardly reached the bottom before lions pounced, thus proving even more strongly Daniel's survival was a miracle of his God. To prevent any chance of a replay, Darius promptly issued an edict which officially placed Jehovah among the closest friends of Ahuramazda.
We would miss much if we ignored how this narrative is closely related to the next chapter. Nebuchadnezzar was the soul of the Babylonian Empire. Daniel indicates he was truly royal of character and intellect. His successors shared little of that, and Babylon fell to a less noble empire. In our Western minds we would be troubled by the absolute power held by Babylon's rulers, and would be slightly more comfortable with the shared power system in Medo-Persia. With that shared power comes bureaucracy, which is fundamentally the enemy of humanity -- humans are inherently individual in their concerns, whereas bureaucracy demands maximum dehumanizing conformity. In that sense, something truly great passed from the scene of humanity, for it ended with the most bureaucratic empire of all, Rome. All modern governments simply vary the flavor of crushing Roman-style bureaucracy, and precious few genuine monarchs since Nebuchadnezzar were truly great men. For the sake of the Nation of Israel, Rome was the end of the line.
Even though Cyrus was solicitous in returning the Jews to their home, few went. For one thing, far too many adopted the religion-wealth nexus of the Zoroastrians, and mixed it into their understanding of the Messianic Expectations. Hebrew culture, as a branch of Eastern Mysticism, with all it's use of paradox and symbolic logic, essentially died in Babylon, and never recovered. It opened the door to receiving the corrupting influence of Greek linear rationalism and abstract logic. While in one sense the Lord had relented and allowed the rebuilding of the Temple and worship, Israel never again understood properly what they were doing, as a nation. Surely a few prophets and leaders saw clearly, but their influence was eclipsed by the exotic elements Zoroastrianism, and visions of "paradise" (a Persian word) on earth. Thus, the Nation of Israel corrects one mistake: They never again allow themselves to slip into idolatry. However, they make a much greater mistake of never again understanding their God, but twist all His commands and warnings into a materialist mess, taking them ever farther from their original Old Testament faith. Much of what follows in Daniel's prophet visions will be horribly misleading if the reader fails to understand this.
Return to Index
[<-- Previous Lesson]
[Next Lesson -->]
Ed Hurst
26 November 2007
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: People of honor need no copyright laws; they are only too happy to give credit where credit is due. Others will ignore copyright laws whenever they please. If you are of the latter, please note what Moses said about dishonorable behavior -- "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23)