1 It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they should be in charge of the whole kingdom, 2 and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. 4 Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.” 6 Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: “King Darius, live forever! 7 “All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den. 8 “Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.3
Daniel 5 informs the reader of Belshazzar’s defeat and the end of the Babylonian kingdom, the “head of gold” of Daniel 2. The kingdom of the “Medes and the Persians” commences at the end of chapter 5, when Darius becomes the first king of this new empire at approximately 62 years of age (Daniel 5:31).
Chapter 6 accounts Daniel’s rapid rise to power, the threat it posed to his peers, and ultimately to his own life. Verses 1-9 depict a sequence of events which give birth to a conspiracy against Daniel, leading to a law which makes Daniel a criminal and sentences him to the death penalty.
1-3
Why are we given Darius' age?
Go back 62 years - what happened when Darius was born?
Nebuchadnezzar entered the temple (II kings 24:10-13) the very day Darius - the one who would take his throne and end the Babylonian dynasty - was born ! This was in the days of Yehoyachin. Eight years after Nebuchadnezzar began his rule is when he exciled Jahochin. So, this would bring us to the 70th year of captivity - the year they would be free to return when Cyrus takes the throne in about 6-8 months from now.
Vs. 2
The critics also say their were only 20-29 provinces in Babylon and the Medo Persian empire. This is from the secular historian Herodius. Most feel he only mentioned the 20 main provinces - much like people in the east separate California into two major sections - northern and southern - yet for those of us who life in California we know of many more divisions.
Interestingly, Esther states their were 127 provinces.
Did Daniel make a mistake? The Talmud states that Ahasuerus' empire in Esther was larger than Darius (his son's) empire in Daniel, and this is why Esther has 7 more provinces than Daniel.
One theory is that some of the Provinces were combined, and this accounts for the descrepincy.
Here in Daniel the ahasdarpenayya ("satraps") or (policemen per the Mishnah) must have been in charge of all the smaller subdivisions. But over these 120 there were three commissioners (sarekin, v. 2), of whom Daniel was chairman (v. 3).
Darius may have been new at the task of ruling an empire, but he was far from naive. To establish himself and his rule over the territory formerly ruled by Babylon, he appoints 120 satraps, each responsible for a certain geographical region. The king’s major concern was corruption. He knew that political power afforded the opportunity not only for oppression but for corruption. Darius feared he would not be able to adequately supervise the satraps with such a large kingdom,4 and they would enrich themselves at his expense. For this reason, the king appointed three governors over the one-hundred and twenty satraps. He wanted to create a system of accountability which would prevent him from suffering loss.
Darius may have become familiar with Daniel in a number of ways. It certainly appears unusual for this Hebrew, who had been so intimately associated with the Babylonian kingdom Darius had just overthrown, to rise so quickly to a position of power under this Mede. While the text does not say, we would hardly be wrong to conclude that, as before, God gave Daniel favor in the sight of this king.
4 "The administrators" (sarekayya, from sarak, "high official" [a possible cognate of Arab. sarikun, "partner," "companion," though etymologies from Persian and Hittite have also been suggested]) "and satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs [lit., `the kingdom']."
Time line!
Darius takes Babylon - acting king from 10-11-539bc for approx. 6 months
Cyrus assumes the Throne 538 bc Ezra 1:1-4
All predicted in Is. 44:28-45:4
Cambyses 530-522
Darius I 522-486
Xerxes 486-464
Artaxerxes I 464 to 423
Darius II 423-404, Artaxerxes II 404-359, Artaxerxes III 359-338, Arses 338-335, Darius III 335-331, Alexander the Great (rules Greeks from 336, overthrows the Medo Persian Empire 331 and rules till 323, when he splits the empire 4 ways.
Daniel’s rise to power under Darius did not rest upon his remarkable accomplishments of the past. We are told Daniel “began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps” because of the “extraordinary spirit” he possessed. I believe Darius recognized not only Daniel’s wisdom but his integrity and faithfulness. Here was a man he could trust in a leadership position who would not cause him to “suffer loss.” Recognizing his unique abilities, Darius planned to promote Daniel, placing him in charge of all the commissioners and the satraps.
Daniel’s testimony is awesome, his character and ability unsurpassed. His work is such that not even his enemies can bring a charge against him. His flawless faithfulness to the king and his obedience to the laws of the land forces his enemies to pass a new law aimed directly at him and his destruction.
Daniels peers were Jealous of him. Keeping Daniel from rising above them and ruling over them would be no easy task.5
What does Jealously do to normally rational individuals? Pure logic is applied to everything, even when logic is not the tool needed to understand the situation.
Example: Man is driving home from work and hits every light - is low on gas so he stops to fill up and washes the windows of the car so that they are clean to take his wife to dinner. He’s late and his wife assumes the worst….
Though these men could find no guile in Daniel, they still want him dead because he is jealous.
We may now better understand Daniel’s situation. These politicians, skilled in corruption, saw an end to their positions and profits should Daniel be appointed over them.
Yet, as hard as they tried to find some basis for accusing Daniel to the king, they could not do so. To achieve their purpose of doing away with Daniel, they must achieve three goals:
(1) They must discredit Daniel in relationship to his religion and the Law of Moses by which he lived.
(2) They must discredit Daniel by passing a new law, which was purposely designed to lead to Daniel’s death.
(3) They must do away with Daniel against the king’s will. They would have to do away with Daniel in a way that forced the king to eliminate Daniel, a way which he could not escape.
To do this, the conspirators found it necessary to deceive the king. A group seems to have come before the king as a delegation, representing themselves as the spokesmen for the entire number of prefects, satraps, officials, and governors. Their deception led the king to conclude that Daniel too agreed with their proposal.6
vs. 7-9
assembled around the king - Rashi " they felt out the king" ie discerning if he would make the decree. Rabinic sources say they 'preped' him .
The government overseers (v. 6) came to the king "as a group" (hargisu, from regas, presumably cognate with Heb. ragas, "be in commotion," "throng," and Arab. ragasa, "to thunder").
Some render this - 'they thronged the king tmultuously (loudly) same word as that in Ruth 1:19, Psalm 55:3
Probably so the king wouldn't relize that Daniel was not there.
Some critics indicate such a decree is complete fantasy and would never be given. History notes that Kings often were the intermidiary between god and his people.
The Mishnah state that the wise men woo'ed the king into making this decree because it was commen for new kings to handle all petitions for a short length of time to gain the trust and respect of the people.
The laws of the Medes and the Persians could not be over thrown - or done away with because the king was supposed to be infalible, and if he had to rescend a law he would not rightly be king.
Esther also mentions this in 8:8
Of course, we must have an extra biblical source as well. A 4th century historian Diodorus Siculus XVII 30 states: " a royal edict can not be revoked as stipulated by Medo-Persian law."
As to the punishment - the Mede's and the Persians worshiped the elements - earth, fire, water, and would not dare defile fire with infidels.
A pit with wild animals would be prefered, and we have found such a pit with the inscription, " this is where those who transgress the laws of the Medes and the Persians are torn apart by wild beasts.
The law was for a limited time—30 days, a short enough period that the king might not scrutinize the plan carefully. It would be temporary, setting a precedent. The conspirators insisted the decree be a law of the Medes and the Persians so it could not be revoked. This would prevent the king from reversing the law once he realized Daniel was the victim of this proposed legislation.
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