Why didn't the king throw Daniel in the fiery furnace along with his three friends?

Answer 1

Fear and jealousy. Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel a great man and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon (Daniel 2:48) because he was able to interpret the king's dream. The Chaldeans probably knew better than to go after Daniel at this time. Instead, they accused those Jews (Daniel 3:8) whom the king had set over certain affairs of the province of Babylon (Daniel 3:12), of not worshiping the image of gold.

Answer 2

The king did not throw Daniel in the fiery furnace with his three friends because Daniel had not violated the king's decree. The king had issued a decree to worship the golden statue, and when Daniel refused to worship it, the king respected his loyalty to his own beliefs.

Answer 3

In Daniel chapter 3, the Chaldeans only accused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego of not worshipping the golden idol, and therefore King Nebuchadnezzar only had them thrown into the furnace, but not Daniel.

The question would be why the Chaldeans did not also accuse Daniel, who would have been equally At Fault. The answer is that the author of Daniel was saving Daniel for the passage about the lion's den, later in the book. To have Daniel too frequently subjected to attempts on his life, and miraculously saved, would have reduced the dramatic impact (Biblical scholars say that Daniel was a Jewish novel, written approximately 167 BCE).

Answer 4

This is one more of the many questions that cannot be answered without access to the Jewish Oral Tradition. The answer is that Daniel was not there. He was instructed to leave before the people were ordered to bow down, for a reason given in the Talmud, Sanhedrin 93a.

Answer 5

The simple answer from Scripture is Daniel was just not involved with this offense of the Kings order:
Daniel 3:12New International Version (NIV)

12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon-Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego-who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up."

Answer 6

Daniel was not part of the incident which primarily led to their being cast into the fire. He isn't mentioned in the story.