Guide
What Are the Additions to Daniel?
4th–1st Century BCE
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Although a book about Daniel is included in the Hebrew Bible, other tales about his exploits were not included in the Hebrew canon but did become part of the Jewish Greek canon, the Septuagint. These include Bel and the Serpent and Susanna, which are included as Additions to Daniel in the Apocrypha found in Protestant Bibles, along with prayers by Daniel's companions Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. These texts were probably first composed before 100 BCE in Hebrew or Aramaic, but they are preserved only in the Greek.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
Daniel, the Serpent, and the Lion’s Den
Bel and the Serpent 1–42 (Additions to Daniel)
When King Astyages was laid to rest with his ancestors, Cyrus the Persian succeeded to his kingdom. Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of all his Friends.…
Primary Source
Hymn of the Three Youths
Azariah and the Three Youths 26–68 (Additions to Daniel)
But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace to be with Azariah and his companions, and drove the fiery flame out of the furnace, and made the inside of the furnace as though a moist wind…
Primary Source
Azariah’s Prayer in the Furnace
Azariah and the Three Youths 1–22 (Additions to Daniel)
They walked around in the midst of the flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the Lord. Then Azariah stood still in the fire and prayed aloud:
“Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our ancestors, and…
Primary Source
Susanna
Susanna 1–64 (Additions to Daniel)
There was a man living in Babylon whose name was Joakim. He married the daughter of Hilkiah, named Susanna, a very beautiful woman and one who feared the Lord. Her parents were righteous, and had…