Unless otherwise noted, all citations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
Multiple (small) books were added to the canonical book of Daniel: the Prayer of Azariah, the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon.
The Prayer of Azariah forms part of chapter 3 of Daniel. Susanna is listed as chapter 13, and Bel and the Dragon forms Daniel 14 in the Vulgate.
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men
This one chapter book depicts the three young men singing hymns while they were in the fiery furnace (Dan. 3:23).
We have no Hebrew manuscripts for this book. Nonetheless, deSilva states that scholars still believe in a Hebrew original.[1] He writes, “It is not the mere fact of Semitisms but their disproportionately high number that argues most strongly in favor of Hebrew or Aramaic originals for these additions.”[2] On the other hand, Metzger points out that there are two puns in the Greek, which could point to a Greek composition.[3]
Authorship
An anonymous author (or authors) wrote these additions to Daniel.[4]
Date
The latest these books were written must’ve been in 100 BC, which is the “approximate time of translation into Greek (the Septuagint edition).”[5] Metzger writes, “The date of the composition of these Additions may be placed sometime within the second or first century BC.”[6]
Susanna
In this story, two judges are sexually attracted to Susanna (Hilkiah’s wife). They tell her that she has to sleep with them, or they will accuse her as being an adulterer. “Daniel” saves her, and he cross examines the judges separately to expose them as being liars. Metzger writes that this is “among the earliest detective stories ever written.”[7]
Date
The date is unclear. Metzger writes, “No more exact date can be fixed than sometime during the two centuries preceding the Christian era.”[8] Likewise, deSilva writes, “It is difficult to determine the date of this story.”[9]
Church Fathers citations
Irenaeus cites verses 52-56 (Adversus haereses, 4.26.3).
The story of Susanna also appears in early Christian art in the catacombs.[10]
Bel and the Dragon
The same word in Greek can be translated as “dragon” or “snake.”
Like Susanna, this is a detective story. In the story, the Persian king (Cyrus) asks, “Isn’t Bel a great god?” Bel is the God Marduk—the most popular god of Babylon—the patron deity of Babylon. The king asks Daniel why he won’t worship Bel?
Daniel argues that Bel is not a god at all. He is an idol made by human hands.
The king counters by pointing out that Bel eats his offerings. Daniel spreads ashes all over the temple floor, so that only the king can see this. The king seals the room. The next morning he opens the door to find the provisions gone.
Daniel keenly points out that there are footprints in the ashes that he spread on the floor that lead to a trap door in the temple. The king is enraged and kills all of the pagan priests and their families.
Daniel kills the “dragon” (snake) by feeding it fat, hair, and pitch, and its stomach explodes. Thus Daniel exposes the snake for not really being a god.
Authorship and Date
The authorship and date are uncertain. Metzger writes, “When and where the unknown author lived cannot be determined with certainty. If he wrote originally in Hebrew or Aramaic, as a number of present-day scholars believe, he probably resided in Palestine. If he wrote in Greek, he may have lived almost anywhere in the eastern Mediterranean world. In either case it is likely that the stories were composed sometime during the second or first century BC.”[11]
Manuscripts
DeSilva writes, “Bel and the Dragon is not found in the Hebrew canon.”[12]
Church father citations[13]
Irenaeus quotes verses 4-5, 25 (Adversus haereses, 4.5.2).
Clement of Alexandria alludes to this account (Stromata, 1.21).
Tertullian alludes to this book (De idololatria, 18).
[1] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 223-224.
[2] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 224.
[3] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 100.
[4] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 227.
[5] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 227.
[6] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 100.
[7] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 107.
[8] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 108.
[9] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 233.
[10] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 236.
[11] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 119.
[12] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 243.
[13] These citations taken from David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 243.