Easton's Bible Dictionary A lair of wild beasts (Psalm 10:9; 104:22; Job 37:8); the hole of a venomous reptile (Isaiah 11:8); a recess for secrecy "in dens and caves of the earth" (Hebrews 11:38); a resort of thieves (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17). Daniel was cast into "the den of lions" (Dan. 6:16, 17). Some recent discoveries among the ruins of Babylon have brought to light the fact that the practice of punishing offenders against the law by throwing them into a den of lions was common. Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks; esp., a cave used by a wild beast for shelter or concealment; as, a lion's den; a den of robbers. 2. (n.) A squalid place of resort; a wretched dwelling place; a haunt; as, a den of vice. 3. (n.) Any snug or close retreat where one goes to be alone. 4. (n.) A narrow glen; a ravine; a dell. 5. (v. i.) To live in, or as in, a den. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia DEN (ma`on, me`onah, "habitation"; me`arah, and spelaion, "cave"; me'urah (Isaiah 11:8), "a light-hole," from 'or, "light," perhaps for me`arah; cokh (Psalm 10:9 the King James Version), and cukkah (Job 38:40), "a covert," elsewhere "booth"; 'erebh (Job 37:8), "covert," as in the Revised Version (British and American); gobh; compare Arabic jubb, "pit" (Daniel 6:7); minharoth, "fissure" or "cleft" (Judges 6:2)): In the limestone mountains of Palestine caves, large and small, are abundant, the calcium carbonate, of which the rock is mainly composed, being dissolved by the water as it trickles over them or through their crevices. Even on the plains, by a similar process, pits or "lime sinks" are formed, which are sometimes used by the Arabs for storing straw or grain. Of this sort may have been the pit, bor, into which Joseph was cast by his brethren (Genesis 37:20). Caves and crevices and sometimes spaces among piled-up boulders at the foot of a cliff or in a stream bed are used as dens by jackals, wolves and other wild animals. Even the people, for longer or shorter periods, have lived as troglodytes. Compare Judges 6:2: "Because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens (minharoth) which are in the mountains, and the caves (me`arah), and the strongholds (metsadh)." The precipitous sides of the valleys contain many caves converted by a little labor into human habitations. Notable instances are the valley of the Kidron near Mar-Saba, and Wadi-ul-Chamam near the Sea of Tiberias. See CAVE. Alfred Ely Day

Multi-Version Concordance Den (19 Occurrences) Matthew 21:13 He said to them, "It is written,'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers!" (WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Mark 11:17 He taught, saying to them, "Isn't it written,'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?' But you have made it a den of robbers!" (WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Luke 19:46 saying to them, "It is written,'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a'den of robbers'!" (WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Job 37:8 Then the animals take cover, and remain in their dens. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV) Psalms 10:9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. (KJV WBS) Isaiah 11:8 The nursing child will play near a cobra's hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV) Jeremiah 7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, says Yahweh. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Jeremiah 9:11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. (KJV WBS) Jeremiah 10:22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons. (KJV WBS) Daniel 6:7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the satraps, the counselors and the governors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong decree, that whoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of you, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Daniel 6:12 Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree: Haven't you signed an decree, that every man who shall make petition to any god or man within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which doesn't alter. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Daniel 6:16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said to Daniel, Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Daniel 6:17 A stone was brought, and laid on the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Daniel 6:19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Daniel 6:20 When he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the king spoke and said to Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions? (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Daniel 6:23 Then was the king exceeding glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Daniel 6:24 The king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Amos 3:4 Will a lion roar in the thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV) Nahum 2:11 Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, the lion's cubs, and no one made them afraid? (WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV)