Daniel 1:21

A remark on the long continuance of Daniel with the reputation, it is understood, implied in Daniel 1:20 in Babylon. The first year of Cyrus (b.c. 538) would be nearly 70 years after the date of Daniel's captivity (Daniel 1:1), so that he would then be quite an aged man.

continuedeven unto lit. was until. The expression is an unusual one; but the meaning, it seems, is that Daniel survived the fall of the empire of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, and remained, unaffected by the change of dynasty, till the first year of Cyrus, the year in which (Ezra 1:1; Ezra 5:13; Ezra 6:3) the Jews received permission to return to Palestine. He is mentioned indeed as still alive in the third year of Cyrus (Daniel 10:1); but that fact is here left out of consideration.

Cyrus Heb. Kôresh, as regularly. The Persian form is Kuru(sh), the Babylonian Kurâsh.

Additional Note on the term -Chaldaeans"

The term -Chaldaeans" (Heb. Kasdîm) is used in the Book of Daniel in a sense different from that which it has in any other part of the Old Testament. In other parts of the Old Testament (e.g. in Jeremiah, passim) it has an ethnicsense: it denotes a people which (in the inscriptions at present known) is thought to be first alluded to about 1100 b.c., and is certainly named repeatedly from 880 b.c.: they lived then in the S.E. of Babylonia, towards the sea-coast; afterwards, as they increased in power, they gradually advanced inland; in 721 b.c. Merodach-baladan, -king of the land of the Kaldu," made himself king of Babylon; and ultimately, under Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar, they became the ruling caste in Babylonia. In the Book of Daniel (except in Daniel 5:30; Daniel 9:1, where the term plainly has its ethnic sense), -Chaldaean" is the designation not of the ruling caste at large, but of the class or one of the classes of wise men(Daniel 1:4; Daniel 2:2; Daniel 2:4-5; Daniel 2:10; Daniel 3:8 (prob.), Daniel 4:7; Daniel 5:7; Daniel 5:11). Of this sense of the word there is no trace in the inscriptions; it is first found in Herodotus (c.440 b.c.), and is common afterwards in the classical writers; and it dates really from a time when -Chaldaean" had become synonymous with -Babylonian" in general, and when virtually the only -Chaldaeans" known were members of the priestly or learned class. The following passages will shew how the classical writers understood the term.

Hdt. i. 181 (in the description of the -ziggurat" of Bel, i.e. [Tiele] Merodach, in Babylon): -as the Chaldaeans, being priests of this god, say."

i. 183: -On the greater altar [in the precincts of the temple at the foot of the -ziggurat"] the Chaldaeansburn also 1000 talents of frankincense every year, when they celebrate the festival pf this god."

Also, in the same chapter, -as the Chaldaeanssaid," and -I did not see it, but I say what is said by the Chaldaeans."

Strabo (1 cent. b.c.) xvi. 1 § 6: -There is also a quarter reserved in Babylon for the native philosophers called "Chaldaeans," who pursue principally the study of astronomy. Some claim also to cast nativities; but these are not recognized by the others. There is moreover a tribe of the Chaldaeans, and a district of Babylonia, inhabited by them, near the Arabian and the Persian Gulf [189]. There are also several classes (γένη) of the astronomical Chaldaeans, some being called Orcheni [i.e. belonging to Orchoe, or Uruk], others Borsippans, and others having other names according to the different doctrines held by their various schools."

[189] This sentence (cf. § 8 and 3 § 6) is interesting, as it shews that -Chaldaeans," in the original ethnic sense of the name, were still resident in their ancient homes.

Diodorus Siculus (1 cent. b.c.) describes them at greater length. The -Chaldaeans," he says (Daniel 2:29), -form a caste, possessing a fixed traditional lore, in which successive generations are brought up, and which they transmit unchanged to their successors. They are among the most ancient of the Babylonians, and hold in the state a position similar to that of the priests in Egypt. Appointed primarily to attend to the worship of the gods, they devote their lives to philosophy, enjoying especially a reputation for astrology. They are also much occupied with divination (μαντική), uttering predictions about the future; and by means partly of purifications, partly of sacrifices, and partly of incantations (ἐπῳδαί), endeavour to avert evil [cf. Isaiah 47:9; Isaiah 47:11-13] and to complete happiness. They are moreover experienced in divination by means of birds, and interpret dreams and omens (τέρατα); they are also practised in the inspection of sacrificial animals (ἱεροσκοπία), and have a character for divining accurately by their means." And he proceeds (cc. 30, 31) to give some account of the astronomical doctrines of the -Chaldaeans," and to speak of their remarkable skill in predicting the destinies of men from observation of the planets [190].

[190] Cf. also Cic. Divin. i. i., xli., ii. xli xliii., xlvii.; Tusc. i. xl.; de Fatoviii. (a criticism of their astrological claims); Juv. x. 94, xiv. 248, with Mayor's notes.

In the view of the classical writers, the -Chaldaeans" were thus a caste of priests, who were also diviners, magicians, and (especially) astrologers. Except in what concerns the name -Chaldaeans," the statements of Diodorus, as far as they go, are correct, and substantiated by what is now known from the inscriptions. Here is what is said in the most recent and best work upon the subject [191] :

[191] Jastrow's Religion of Babylonia and Assyria(Boston, U.S.A. 1898), p. 656 f.

"The general name for priests was shangû, which by a plausible etymology suggested by Jensen, indicates the function of the priest as the one who presides over the sacrifices. But this function represents only one phase of the priestly office in Babylonia, and not the most important one, by any means. For the people, the priest was primarily the one who could drive evil demons out of the body of the person smitten with disease, who could thwart the power of wizards and witches, who could ward off the attacks of mischievous spirits, or who could prognosticate the future and determine the intention or will of the gods. The offering of sacrifices was one of the means to accomplish this end, but it is significant that many of the names used to designate the priestly classes have reference to the priest's position as the exorciser of evil spirits, or his power to secure a divine oracle or to foretell the future, and not to his function as sacrificer. Such names are mashmashu, the general term for -the charmer"; kalû, so called, perhaps, as the -restrainer" of the demons, the one who keeps them in check; lagaru, a synonym of kalû; makhkhû[192], -soothsayer"; surrû, a term which is still obscure; shâilu, the -inquirer," who obtains an oracle through the dead or through the gods [193]; mushêlu[194], -necromancer"; âshipu[195] or ishippu, -sorcerer"."

[192] Whence, probably, the -Rab- mag," i.e. -chief of the soothsayers," of Jeremiah 39:3; Jeremiah 39:13.

[193] Cf. the Heb. שׁאל in Deuteronomy 18:11; Judges 1:1; 1Sa 23:2; 1 Samuel 28:6, &c.

[194] Lit. the -bringer up," from elû= עלה : comp. 1 Samuel 28:11.

[195] Comp. on Daniel 1:20.

The antiquity, if not of the -Chaldaeans" under this name, yet of the priests in whose hands the traditional lore mentioned by Diodorus was, is also well established: "the magical texts formed the earliest sacred literature" of Babylonia [196]; and the great astrological work, called Nûr-Bel, -the Light of Bel," is earlier than b.c. 2000.

[196] Sayce, Hibbert Lectures, p. 337.

Babylonia was the land of magic (cf. Isaiah 47:9-13); and a very extensive literature, dealing with different branches of the subject, has been brought to light during recent years. Demons, or evil spirits, were supposed to be active upon earth, bringing to mankind diseases, misfortunes, and every kind of ill; the heavens were supposed to exercise an influence over the destinies of men and nations; all kinds of natural occurrences which we should describe as accidental, such as an animal entering a building, were supposed to be declarations of the will of the gods; and methods had to be devised for the purpose of dealing with the occult agencies concerned, of interpreting all significant phenomena, and of averting, where this was held to be possible, the evils which they portended. The demons were ever present and ever active: so sorcerers and sorceresses sprang up, who, by means of various magical devices, could invoke the demons at their will, and bring such persons as they chose within their power. On the other hand, the priests were ready with means for protecting people who were thus assailed; and many collections of -incantations" have come down to us, each dealing with some particular kind of demonic evil, or providing some particular method of protection against demons. In particular, every kind of disease was attributed to the action of some malignant spirit, either attacking a person spontaneously, or induced to do so by bewitchment; and the cure was effected by exorcising the demon through prescribed formulae of supposed power, accompanied by symbolical acts (e.g. burning the image of the witch) [197]. Omens were also carefully observed, and tables were drawn up describing the significance of all kinds of occurrences, including the most trifling, in heaven and earth. "Fully one-fourth of the portion of Asshurbanabal's library that has been discovered consists of omen-tablets of various sizes in which explanations are afforded of all physical peculiarities to be observed in animals and men, of natural phenomena, of the positions and movements of the planets and stars, of the incidents and accidents of public and private life in short, of all possible occurrences and situations [198]."

[197] Jastrow, pp. 253 293.

[198] Jastrow, pp. 352 406. See further Lenormant, La Magie chez les Chaldéens(1874), and La Divination et la Science des Présages chez les Chaldéens(1875); the translations of magical texts in Sayce's Hibbert Lecturesfor 1887, p. 441 ff. (-to be accepted with caution," Jastrow, p. 713); and the literature cited by Jastrow, p. 717 ff. Minuter details would here be out of place, as they would not really illustrate anything in the Book of Daniel.

The principles upon which the explanations of all these phenomena were drawn up were, no doubt, partly the association of ideas (as when the sight of a lion symbolized strength, or success), and partly the extension of a single coincidence between a given phenomenon and a particular subsequent occurrence, into a general law. It is, however, evident to what long and elaborate treatises the systematization of rules for dealing with, and explaining, such an immense variety of phenomena would ultimately lead.

There are six terms used in the Book of Daniel as designations of diviners or magicians, viz. (1) wise men (חכמים), (2) enchanters (אשפים), (3) magicians (חרטמים), (4) -Chaldeans" (כשדים), (5) determiners (of fates) (גזרין), (6) sorcerers (מכשפים), which are distributed as follows:

Daniel 1:20 the magicians and the enchanters.

Daniel 2:2 the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans.

Daniel 2:10 bany magician, enchanter, or Chaldean.

Daniel 2:27 wise men, enchanters, magicians, (or) determiners (of fates).

Daniel 4:7 the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the determiners (of fates).

Daniel 5:7 the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the determiners (of fates).

Daniel 5:11 (of Daniel) -master of magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, (and) determiners (of fates)."

Daniel 5:15 the wise men, (even) the enchanters.

Wise menoccurs besides, alone, in the expression -(all) the wise men of Babylon," in Daniel 2:12-13 (-the wise men"), 14, 18, 24, 48, Daniel 4:6; Daniel 4:18 (-all the wise men of my kingdom"), Daniel 5:7-8 (-the wise men of the king"): -Chaldeans" also occurs alone in Daniel 1:4 -the literature and language of the Chaldeans" (seemingly in a general sense); in Daniel 2:4-5; Daniel 2:10 a(as speaking on behalf of the -wise men" generally); and in Daniel 3:8: and ḥarṭummimis used in a generic sense in Daniel 4:9 (where Daniel is called -master of the ḥarṭummim"; cf. Daniel 2:48 and Daniel 5:11).

A comparison of the passages shews that the terms in question are used with some vagueness. The generic term appears certainly to be -wise men"; but in Daniel 2:27 even this appears to be coordinated with three of the special classes. In Diodorus Siculus -Chaldaeans" is the generic term; but in Daniel that, except once, appears as the name of one class beside others: in Daniel 1:4, however (unless, which is improbable, there was no special -literature" connected with any of the other classes), it is used in a generic sense. In Daniel 4:7 and Daniel 5:11 -determiners (of fates)" appears to take the place of -sorcerers" in Daniel 2:2, although the two terms do not seem to be by any means synonymous. Nor are the several classes of wise men named in Daniel known to correspond to any division or classification indicated by the inscriptions. The attempts which have been made to prove the contrary cannot be pronounced successful. Lenormant, for example [199], observing that the great work on magic preserved in Asshurbanabal's library consists of three parts, dealing respectively with incantations against evil spirits, incantations against diseases, and magical hymns, argued that these three divisions corresponded exactly to the three classes, ḥarṭummimor -conjurateurs," wise menor -médecins," and "ashshâphimor -théosophes," mentioned in Daniel by the side of the astrologers and diviners (kasdimand gâzerin): but the parallel drawn is an arbitrary one; there is no reason whatever for supposing that -wise men" in Heb. or Aramaic denoted -médecins," or "ashshâphim-théosophes." It seems evident that the author simply took such terms denoting diviners or magicians, as were traditionally connected with Babylon, or seemed to him on other grounds to be suitable, and combined them together, for the purpose of presenting a general picture of the manner in which the arts of divination and magic were systematically studied in Babylon.

[199] La Magie, p. 13 f.