Apocryphal Books > Additions to the Bible > Apocryphal Daniel
Apocryphal Daniel
The Septuagint (LXX) version of Daniel
contains three sections not found in the
Hebrew version of the text. These are
known as “The Prayer of Azariah and Song
of the Three Holy Children” (often placed as
vv. 3:24–90), “Susanna and the Elders” (Ch.
13), and “Bel and the Dragon” (Ch. 14). All
three are included in the LSV, with “The
Prayer of Azariah” versified as 3B:1–68,
which can be read between verses 3:23 and
3:24 of the standard text of Daniel. This
particular book is an account of the prayer
of Azariah (Abednego) while in the midst of
the fire and the song that he and his two
other companions sung in praise to God
while in the furnace. “Susanna and the
Elders” portrays the lovely and virtuous
wife Susanna as sexually accosted by two
conniving elders. They falsely accuse her of
adultery, but the prophet Daniel cross-examines
them, exposing them as liars, and
then they are put to death. “Bel and the
Dragon” recounts Daniel’s confrontation
with the followers of the false god Bel
during the reign of King Cyrus of Persia,
which results in their execution. Later in the
narrative Daniel slays a much-revered
dragon and is thrust into a lion’s den as a
result. God intervenes to deliver him.
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