Daniel 6:1

Daniel in the Den of Lions

1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,

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Daniel 6:1 in Other Translations

KJV

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;

ESV

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom;

NLT

1 Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province.

MSG

1 Darius reorganized his kingdom. He appointed one hundred twenty governors to administer all the parts of his realm.

CSB

1 Darius decided to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, stationed throughout the realm,

Daniel 6:1 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 6:1

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and
twenty princes
This is the same Darius mentioned in the latter part of the preceding chapter; who, as soon as he took the kingdom of Babylon, divided it into a hundred and twenty provinces, as Jacchiades observes; as was the manner of the Medes and Persians. So Darius the son of Hystaspes divided the kingdom of Persia into twenty provinces, and set governors over each, according to Herodotus ^F18; to these hundred and twenty provinces seven more were afterwards added, through the victories of Cyrus and Cambyses, and Darius Itystaspes, ( Esther 1:1 ) . Josephus ^F19, through forgetfulness, makes these princes and provinces three hundred and sixty: which should be over the whole kingdom;
or, "in the whole kingdom" ^F20; in the several parts of it, and take care of all things relative to the civil government of it, both for the honour and advantage of the king, and the good of the subjects.

FOOTNOTES:

F18 Thalia, sive l. 3. c. 89.
F19 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 4.
F20 (atwklm lkb) "in toto regno", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Cocceius; "toti regno", Junius & Tremellius.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Daniel 6:1 In-Context

1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,

2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.

3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.

5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

Cross References 2

1. S Daniel 5:31
2. S Esther 1:1