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Board of Trustees of the National. Museums and Galleries in Merseyside/Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Cast into the lion’s den because he refused to worship the Persian king Darius, Daniel survives unscathed: Though Daniel’s hands are bound behind his back, the beasts do not touch the prophet, as painted by Briton Riviere (1840–1920). “My God sent His angel,” Daniel later tells the king, “who shut the mouths of the lions so that they did not injure me, inasmuch as I was found innocent by Him” (Daniel 6:23).

Placed among the Writings in the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Daniel provides a lesson to all Jews living in foreign hostile environments, encouraging them to sustain their belief in the Israelite God, who will protect them.