Daniel in the lions' den

Daniel in the lions' den refers to a story in Chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel in the Bible. Daniel – a noble Jewish youth and Biblical prophet – continues to pray to the God of Israel instead of his royal master, Darius the Mede. As a result, he is sent into a den of lions to be eaten. However, an angel sent by God saves Daniel and he emerged miraculously unharmed the next day.^[1]

Daniel in the lion's den, as painted by Briton Rivière [en] (1892)

By analogy, Daniel's situation has become an English language idiom for a hostile environment.^[2]