Dura standard
o the Southeast of Babylon, near a small river and mounds bearing the name of Douair or Duair, where, also, was what seemed to be the base of a great statue (Exped. scientifique en Mesopotamie, I, 238 f).
Where is Dura in the Bible?
Dura was a plain located in the province of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamia, likely situated to the southeast of the city proper or possibly within Babylon's fortified walls. This location is mentioned in the Book of Daniel, where King Nebuchadnezzar erected a massive golden statue on the plain of Dura and commanded all people to bow down and worship it. When three Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to worship the idol, they were thrown into a fiery furnace, an event that became one of the Bible's most famous accounts of divine deliverance and faithfulness. The exact modern location remains uncertain, though archaeologists have identified possible sites near mounds called Douair or Duair in the region, along with ruins that may indicate where such a colossal statue once stood.
In Scripture1 biblical book; 1 with study content
- Daniel
Dura
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)o the Southeast of Babylon, near a small river and mounds bearing the name of Douair or Duair, where, also, was what seemed to be the base of a great statue (Exped. scientifique en Mesopotamie, I, 238 f). Others have believed that name to indicate a portion of the actual site of Babylon within the great wall (duru) of the city--perhaps the rampart designated dur Su-anna, "the rampart (of the city) Lofty-defense," a name of Babylon.
The fact that the plain was within the city of Babylon precludes an identification with the city Duru, which seems to have lain in the neighborhood of Erech (Hommel, Grundriss, 264, note 5). It is noteworthy that the Septuagint substitutes Deeira, for Dura, suggesting that the Greek translators identified it with the Babylonian Deru, a city which apparently lay toward the Elamite border. It seems to have been called also Dur-ili, "god's rampart." That it was at some distance is supported by the list WAI, IV, 36 [38], where Duru, Tutul and Gudua (Cuthah), intervene between Deru or Dur-ili and Tindir (Babylon). "The plain of the dur" or "rampart" within Babylon would therefore seem to be the best rendering.
T. G. Pinches