Daniel in the lions' den the hero because of his reputation as a wise seer in Hebrew tradition. Chapters 2-7 are in Aramaic, and are in the clear form of a chiasm (a poetic structure in which the main point or message of a passage is placed in the centre and framed by further repetitions on either side): The story of Daniel in the lions' den in chapter 6 is paired with the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the "fiery furnace" in Daniel 3. The parallels include the jealousy of non-Jews, an imperial edict requiring Jews to compromise their religion on pain of
Society for Old Testament Study Old Testament at the time of publication, namely The People and the Book (ed. A.S. Peake; Oxford, 1925), Record and Revelation (ed. H.W. Robinson; Oxford, 1938), The Old Testament and Modern Study (ed. H.H. Rowley; Oxford, 1951), Tradition and Interpretation (ed. G.W. Anderson; Oxford, 1979), and Text in Context (ed. A.D.H. Mayes; Oxford, 2000). The Society has also commissioned from time to time other multi-essay volumes devoted to specific topics, namely Documents from Old Testament Times (ed. D.W. Thomas; London, 1958), Archaeology and Old Testament Study (ed. D.W. Thomas; Oxford, 1967), Peoples of Old Testament Times (ed. D.J. Wiseman; Oxford,