Daniel Bible Trivia: 35 Questions and Answers for Kids

These 35 Daniel Bible trivia questions cover the lions' den, the fiery furnace, the writing on the wall, and the dreams that troubled two Babylonian kings -- with answers and verse references after every question. They're sorted into easy, medium, and hard rounds so ages 5 through adult can play the same game.

Daniel is the perfect trivia book because it's really six unforgettable stories plus four wild visions, and almost every question has a one-word answer kids can shout out. But watch the hard round -- most adults can't name the angel in question 28 or the language in question 31.

What Is the Book of Daniel About?

The book of Daniel tells the story of a Jewish teenager taken captive to Babylon around 605 BC who stayed faithful to God for seventy years while serving pagan kings -- and rose to the top of two empires doing it. The first six chapters are the famous stories: the food test, the statue dream, the fiery furnace, the king who ate grass, the writing on the wall, and the lions' den. Chapters 7-12 record Daniel's own visions of future kingdoms and God's everlasting one.

The book's big idea is that God rules over every empire, and ordinary faithfulness -- what you eat, when you pray, whom you bow to -- is how his people stand firm inside one. For the full character profile before you play, read who was Daniel.

Easy Daniel Trivia Questions (Ages 5-8)

1. Who was thrown into a den of lions? Daniel (Daniel 6:16)
2. Why was Daniel thrown to the lions? He kept praying to God even after the king's law said not to (Daniel 6:7-11)
3. How did God protect Daniel in the den? He sent his angel to shut the lions' mouths (Daniel 6:22)
4. What were the Babylonian names of Daniel's three friends? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 1:7)
5. What did the three friends refuse to do? Bow down to the king's gold statue (Daniel 3:12)
6. Where were the three friends thrown as punishment? Into a blazing furnace (Daniel 3:20-21)
7. How many men did the king see walking around in the fire? Four -- and the fourth looked "like a son of the gods" (Daniel 3:25)
8. Which empire took Daniel captive from Jerusalem? Babylon (Daniel 1:1-2)
9. What did Daniel ask to eat instead of the king's rich food? Vegetables and water (Daniel 1:12)
10. How many times a day did Daniel pray? Three (Daniel 6:10)

Medium Daniel Trivia Questions (Ages 9-12)

1. Which king dreamed of a giant statue made of different metals? Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:1, 31-33)
2. What was the statue's head made of? Gold (Daniel 2:32, 38)
3. What smashed the statue to pieces? A rock cut out, but not by human hands (Daniel 2:34-35, 45)
4. How much hotter did the king order the furnace heated? Seven times hotter than usual (Daniel 3:19)
5. What were the Hebrew names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Daniel 1:6-7)
6. What Babylonian name was Daniel given? Belteshazzar (Daniel 1:7)
7. Which king saw a human hand writing on the palace wall during a feast? Belshazzar (Daniel 5:1, 5)
8. What words did the hand write? Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin (Daniel 5:25)
9. Which proud king lost his mind and ate grass like an ox until he honored God? Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:33-34)
10. Which king was tricked into throwing Daniel to the lions -- and stayed up all night worrying about him? Darius (the Mede) (Daniel 6:9, 16-18)
11. Which direction did Daniel face when he prayed at his open window? Toward Jerusalem (Daniel 6:10)
12. How long did Daniel's vegetable-and-water test last? Ten days (Daniel 1:12-14)
13. What happened to the men who had accused Daniel? They were thrown into the lions' den themselves (Daniel 6:24)

Hard Daniel Trivia Questions (Teens and Adults)

1. What does the name Daniel mean in Hebrew? "God is my judge"
2. What was placed over the mouth of the lions' den and sealed with the king's signet ring? A stone (Daniel 6:17)
3. Name the four beasts in Daniel's chapter 7 vision. A lion with eagle's wings, a bear, a four-headed leopard with four wings, and a terrifying beast with iron teeth and ten horns (Daniel 7:4-7)
4. Who is "the Ancient of Days" who takes his seat on a flaming throne? God, seated in judgment (Daniel 7:9-10)
5. Which angel -- one of only two named in the Bible -- explained visions to Daniel? Gabriel (Daniel 8:16; 9:21)
6. In chapter 8, the two-horned ram and the shaggy goat stand for which kingdoms? Media-Persia and Greece (Daniel 8:20-21)
7. Whose scroll was Daniel reading when he learned the exile would last seventy years? The prophet Jeremiah's (Daniel 9:2)
8. A long stretch of Daniel isn't written in Hebrew. What language is Daniel 2:4-7:28 written in? Aramaic (Daniel 2:4)
9. Which "great prince" and protector of God's people appears in Daniel 12:1? Michael (Daniel 12:1)
10. According to Daniel 12:3, what will those who are wise do? Shine like the brightness of the heavens (Daniel 12:3)
11. What reward did Belshazzar give Daniel for reading the writing -- on the very night the king died? He was made the third highest ruler in the kingdom (Daniel 5:29-30)
12. In Daniel 7:13-14, who comes "with the clouds of heaven" and receives an everlasting kingdom? One "like a son of man" -- the title Jesus later used for himself (Daniel 7:13-14; Mark 14:62)

Who Are the Four Kings in the Book of Daniel?

Daniel served under four rulers across two empires, and keeping them straight instantly unlocks half the medium round. Here's the cheat sheet:

Notice the pattern kids love to spot: every king learns the same lesson the hard way. Nebuchadnezzar loses his mind until he honors God (Daniel 4:34-37), Belshazzar loses his kingdom in a single night (Daniel 5:30-31), and Darius ends up writing to the whole empire that Daniel's God "is the living God" (Daniel 6:26). The kings change; the King doesn't -- which is the entire message of the book compressed into a dinner-table observation.

One more timeline anchor worth teaching: Daniel 5 and 6 happen back-to-back in history. The night Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians (539 BC) is the night of the writing on the wall -- so the lions' den follows almost immediately under the new government, with Daniel already an old man.

How to Use These Questions

Play it as six story rounds -- food test, statue dream, furnace, grass-eating king, wall writing, lions' den -- and let kids retell each story after its questions. The easy round works from age five up since these are the most-illustrated stories in children's Bibles; the hard round is genuinely hard, so make parents take it. For team formats and scorekeeping, use our family Bible trivia night playbook.

If a story is fuzzy, catch up fast with our kid-friendly retellings of Daniel in the lions' den, the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and the writing on the wall. And our video lessons at Faithful Kids cover the whole book of Daniel as an animated series with a quiz after every episode -- the best trivia prep there is.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the book of Daniel?

The book presents the visions of chapters 7-12 as Daniel's own first-person accounts (Daniel 7:1), and tradition attributes the whole book to Daniel in the 6th century BC. The date and composition are debated among scholars, but the book's hero is not: a Jewish exile who served under Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus.

How many chapters does Daniel have?

Daniel has 12 chapters. An easy way to remember the layout: chapters 1-6 are stories about Daniel and his friends in Babylon, and chapters 7-12 are Daniel's visions of future kingdoms.

What is the most famous story in Daniel?

Daniel in the lions' den (Daniel 6), where Daniel keeps praying despite a royal ban and God shuts the lions' mouths. The fiery furnace (Daniel 3) is a close second -- both are top-five stories in nearly every children's Bible.

What do Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin mean?

Daniel interpreted them as "numbered, numbered, weighed, divided": God had numbered the days of Belshazzar's kingdom, weighed him and found him wanting, and would divide his kingdom between the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:26-28). It happened that same night -- Belshazzar was killed and Darius the Mede took the kingdom (Daniel 5:30-31).

What age can kids start learning the book of Daniel?

Ages 4-5 can enjoy the lions' den and fiery furnace stories, ages 8-11 can handle all of chapters 1-6, and the visions of chapters 7-12 work best for ages 12 and up. Daniel is often the first prophet kids meet because the stories are so vivid.

Was Daniel in the lions' den a kid?

No -- by Daniel 6 he was likely in his eighties, since he was taken captive as a youth around 605 BC and the lions' den happened after Babylon fell in 539 BC. Kids are often amazed that the Bible's most famous "brave moment" belongs to a senior citizen who had been faithful his whole life.