Bible Dictionary
Daniel, Apocryphal Additions To
The apocryphal additions to Daniel are Greek sections absent from the Hebrew text, including the Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon. They recount deliverance, judgment, and Daniel’s wisdom in expanded form.
Definition
The apocryphal additions to Daniel are Greek sections absent from the original text, including the Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon.
Biblical Usage
They expand accounts of deliverance from the furnace, the judgment of Susanna, and Daniel’s wisdom and deliverance.
Historical Background
The Song was understood as a triumphal hymn of the three who were delivered from the furnace and was used as a hymn in the Christian Church from the fourth century.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
The Greek translations of Daniel contain several pieces which are not found int he original text. The most important are contained in the Apocrypha of the English Bible under the titles of The Son of the Three Holy Children, The History of Susannah, and The History of...Bel and the Dragon. The first of these is supposed to be the triumphal song of the three confessors in the furnace, (Daniel 3:23) praising God for their deliverance, of which a chief part (35-66) has been used as a hymn in the Christian Church since the fourth century. The second, called also The Judgment of Daniel, relates the story of the clearing of Susannah from a charge of adultery; and the third gives an exaggerated account of Daniel’s deliverance.