Daniel had grown old. He came before the king one last time and asked permission to go home. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, Daniel told the king plainly that he no longer had the strength for active governance. Twice he had been thrown to the lions, and his three friends had been cast into the fiery furnace. Through all of it, they never abandoned their God. Now he wanted to return to his native city to worship in peace.
The king was reluctant. "If thou leavest me, how can my kingdom remain in its integrity?" he asked. But he agreed to let Daniel go if Daniel could find a suitable replacement from among his own people.
Daniel went to the assembly of the exiles and found Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, grandson of Jechoniah, King of Judah. Daniel presented him as a man of royal blood, filled with the spirit of God, equal in wisdom to Daniel himself. The king accepted, embraced Daniel, loaded him with gifts, and sent him to Shushan in the land of Elam. Daniel gave all the king's gifts to the suffering exiles and lived among them until his death.
Zerubbabel quickly rose to prominence. One afternoon, while the king slept off his wine, Zerubbabel and two royal princes grew bored standing guard. They proposed a riddle contest. Each wrote his answer to a single question: what is the most powerful thing on earth? The first wrote "a king." The second wrote "wine." Zerubbabel wrote "woman." They placed the scroll under the king's pillow, not knowing that Darius was awake and listening. When the court assembled, the king called the three young men forward to defend their answers before the entire kingdom.