Abstract Interpreters of Daniel have noted that the Aramaic word דורא (dûrā’) in Dan 3:1 is related to the Akkadian noun dūru (“wall” or “fortification”), typically identifying the “plain of Dura” with a fortification outside the city of Babylon that fits the description of a plain. In this article, we advance and modify the arguments of Theophilus Pinches (1929) and Edward M. Cook (1989) that the “plain of Dura” in Dan 3:1 should instead be located within Babylon, and that דורא should thus be identified with one of Babylon’s city walls. We argue that דורא most probably refers to Nebuchadnezzar II’s eastern outer wall and that the expansive area between the older, square city wall system of Babylon and the huge outer city wall constructed by Nebuchadnezzar fits ancient descriptions of a “plain.” This argument fits well with the archaeological and literary evidence from Babylon, as well as with ancient accounts of the city, such as that of Herodotus. It also coheres with the terminology in Dan 3:1. The story of Daniel’s friends itself recommends a location for Nebuchadnezzar’s statue within the city, wherein officials are frequently summoned to worship the statue. Thus, a location within Babylon’s expansive outer wall suits the terminology and description of Daniel’s “plain of Dura.”
Corcho et al. (Sun,) studied this question.