Commentary on the Apocalypse and commentary on the Book of Daniel
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1910
Daniel: in Lions' Den (Bel and Dragon, 31, 36-38) -- Habakkuk holding bowl, carried by hair by nimbed angel holding staff; below, Daniel nimbed, orant, flanked by two lions licking his feet;
Darius the Mede: Sleep troubled (Daniel 6:18) -- Darius crowned, reclining on bed in architectural frame flanked by two soldiers in coats of mail, armed with spears and shields.
Text is Jerome, In Danielem VI.
Darius appointed Daniel as one of three leaders to which the governors of the kingdom would be accountable. But others, envious of Daniel, had Darius publish a decree so that all who ask any petition of any god or man for thirty days will be cast into the den of lions. They then informed Darius that Daniel prayed three times daily, and the king had no choice but to cast him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, "Your God, whom you always serve, he himself will free you." And the king could not eat or sleep, going quickly to the den at sunrise. He tearfully cried out to Daniel, "Has your God freed you from the lions?" And Daniel answered, "O king, live forever. My God has sent his angel, who closed the mouths of the lions, and they have not harmed me, because before him justice has been found in me, and, even before you, O king, I have committed no offense." (Dan. 6)
Darius lies sleepless while Daniel's feet are licked by the lions. The hovering angel transports Habbakuk by the hair so that he can bring a bowl of food to Daniel. This episode is derived from earlier illustrated Bibles, as it is not mentioned in the manuscript. (It was later added to the Book of Daniel, at the end of the story of Bel and the Dragon; Dan. 14:32–36).