HISTORY OF THE SELEUCIDAE AND PTOLEMIES. REIGN OF ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES, AND HIS TREATMENT OF THE JEWS. ADVENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD These three Chapter s form a whole, describing a vision of Daniel in the third year of Cyrus, by the Ḥiddeḳel (the Tigris), and (ch. 11, 12) the revelations respecting... [ Continue Reading ]
_king of Persia_ A title, not borne by the Persian kings while the Persian empire still lasted, though often given to them after it had passed away, as a mark of distinction from the Greek rulers who then followed [356]. [356] See the writer's _Introduction_, p. 511 f. with p. 512, _n._3 (Exodus 6,... [ Continue Reading ]
_was mourning_ or, _continued mourning_. The motive of Daniel's mourning is not stated; but it may be inferred from Daniel 10:12 (cf. Daniel 9:3) to have been grief for his people's sin (cf. Ezra 10:6), and anxiety about its future (cf. Nehemiah 1:4). _three full weeks_ THREE WEEKS LONG. Lit. _three... [ Continue Reading ]
_pleasant bread_ lit. _bread of desirablenesses_(Daniel 9:23). Daniel did not fast absolutely; he only abstained from -pleasant" food. _Flesh_and _wine_would, in the East, not be indulged in except at a festivity, or on other special occasions (e.g. Genesis 27:25; 1 Samuel 25:11 [where LXX. followed... [ Continue Reading ]
_the first month_ Abib (Exodus 23:15), or (as it was called by the later Jews) Nisan (Nehemiah 2:1), the month in which the Passover (on the 14th day) and feast of Unleavened Cakes (15th 21st) were kept (Exodus 12:1-20). These sacred seasons thus fell within the period of Daniel's fast. _the great r... [ Continue Reading ]
_lift up mine eyes_ in the vision: cf. Daniel 8:3. _and saw_ Daniel (Daniel 10:4) was on the side of the river; and it appears from Daniel 12:6-7, that the figure which he beheld was directly above the river itself, and consequently (Daniel 10:16) -in front of" him. The description of the shining b... [ Continue Reading ]
The dazzling being seen by Daniel in his vision, and the effects of the spectacle upon him. For a vision following a _fast_, cf. Apoc. of Baruch Daniel 10:7, ix. 2, vii. 5, x. 5, 6, xxi. 1, xliii. 3, xlvii. 2; Esther 5:13; 2Es 5:20; 2Es 6:31; 2Es 6:35; Esther 9:24; Esther 9:26; 2Es 12:51 : also Acts... [ Continue Reading ]
The dazzling appearance of his person. _His body_ The word used in Ezekiel 1:11; Ezekiel 1:23. _the beryl the_ CHRYSOLITH (as LXX. in Ex. and Ezekiel 28:13) said (see Smith, _D. B_., s. v. beryl) to be the topaz of the moderns a flashing stone, described by Pliny as -a transparent stone with a refu... [ Continue Reading ]
Cf. Acts 9:7; Acts 22:9. HOWBEIT (Daniel 10:21) _a great quaking_ or _trembling_: the Heb. is the same as in Genesis 27:33 (lit. -Isaac trembled with _a great trembling_"). They may have seen the effects of the vision upon Daniel (cf. Daniel 10:8).... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I (emph.) _was left alone, and saw this great vision_ -great," on account of the majestic appearance of the angel. _and there_ WAS LEFT (Daniel 10:17) _no strength in me_ Cf. 1 Samuel 28:20. The vision itself is more impressive than that of Gabriel in Daniel 8:16-18, and its effects upon Danie... [ Continue Reading ]
Daniel was left alone, and fell motionless, as if stunned, upon the earth.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND _I heard the voice_, &c. or, _the_ SOUND (twice): see on Daniel 10:6. _then was I in_, &c. R.V. _then was I_ FALLEN INTO _a deep sleep_. The clause appears to describe, not the effect of the words which Daniel heard, but the state in which he already was, when he heard them. On the expression _... [ Continue Reading ]
Daniel is gradually revived and reassured.... [ Continue Reading ]
An invisible hand, touching him, reassured him, and partly raised him up. _set me_ lit. _caused me to move to and fro_or _totter_(see on Amos 4:8), i.e. here, as the context shews, - SET ME TOTTERING upon my knees," &c.: so R.V. _marg._Cf. 2Es 5:15.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said unto me_ The speaker is the dazzling being described in Daniel 10:5. _thou man greatly beloved_ GREATLY DESIRED, lit. _man of desirablenesses:_see on Daniel 9:23. _stand upright_ lit. _stand upon thy standing_, the idiom explained on Daniel 8:18. _for_ NOW _am I sent_ UNTO THEE] _now... [ Continue Reading ]
_set thine heart_ lit. _give thine heart_, i.e. apply thyself: a late idiom, found otherwise only in 1 Chronicles 22:19; 2 Chronicles 11:16; Ecclesiastes 1:13; Ecclesiastes 1:17; Ecclesiastes 7:21; Ecclesiastes 8:9; Ecclesiastes 8:16. _to understand_ viz. the future destiny of Israel. Anxious questi... [ Continue Reading ]
The opposition, for 21 days (cf. Daniel 10:2), of the -prince," i.e. the patron-angel, of Persia, prevented the dazzling being from reaching Daniel sooner. _the prince of the kingdom of Persia_ its patron- or guardian-angel. The doctrine of tutelary angels, presiding over the destinies of particular... [ Continue Reading ]
AND _I am come to make thee understand_, &c. cf. Daniel 8:16; Daniel 9:22; also Daniel 9:23 _b_. _what shall befall thy people_ IN THE END OF THE _days_ The sentence seems to be framed on the model of Genesis 49:1. On the -end (a different word from that occurring in Daniel 8:17; Daniel 8:19) of th... [ Continue Reading ]
In spite of the command not to fear (Daniel 10:12), and the encouraging nature of the words which followed (especially Daniel 10:12), Daniel does not recover his composure; and is only gradually reassured in the sequel (Daniel 10:16). _I set …, and_ WAS _dumb_ As yet, he stood with his eyes fixed o... [ Continue Reading ]
A second touch restores Daniel's power of speech. one _like the similitude_, &c. not an actual man, but a figure or appearance resembling a man. The word rendered _similitude_is the one which in the visions of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:5; Ezekiel 1:10; Ezekiel 1:13; Ezekiel 1:16; Ezekiel 1:22; Ezekiel 1:2... [ Continue Reading ]
_talk with this my lord_ with a being so glorious and terrible. AND _as for me, straightway_&c. either _from now_(i.e. _from just now) there remaineth_&c. (so most commentators); or (Keil) _from now_(i.e. _henceforth) there will remain no strength in me_, so paralysed, viz. am I. The latter renderi... [ Continue Reading ]
one _like the appearance of a man_ -appearance," as in Daniel 8:15, and often in the visions of Ezek. (Ezekiel 1:13-14; Ezekiel 1:26-28; Ezekiel 8:2; Ezekiel 10:1; Ezekiel 42:11). _strengthened me_ i.e. both restored my physical strength, and also -encouraged" me, as the same word is rendered in Deu... [ Continue Reading ]
A third touch (see Daniel 10:10_; Daniel 10:16_), followed by a second reassurance (see Daniel 10:11) on the part of the dazzling being, restores Daniel's composure entirely.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_ HE _said_ The dazzling being described in Daniel 10:5, who has been speaking in Daniel 10:11 _a_, Daniel 10:12, and whom Daniel had addressed in Daniel 10:16 _b_, Daniel 10:17. Not the angel mentioned in Daniel 10:16 _a_, Daniel 10:18. _Fear not_(Daniel 10:12),... [ Continue Reading ]
_Knowest thou_, &c. A rhetorical question, designed to recall to Daniel what had been said in Daniel 10:12_; Daniel 10:14_, and to indicate to him its importance. _and now will I return_, &c. to carry on and complete the successes begun in Daniel 10:13. -Now" must mean, as soon as possible, as soon... [ Continue Reading ]
HOWBEIT] -but" is not strong enough: cf. Daniel 10:7. It is difficult to be sure what the thought tacitly opposed is: it may be, -Howbeit (though I cannot stay long, Daniel 10:20 _a_), I can nevertheless tell thee this (Daniel 11:2 ff.) about the future"; or -Howbeit (though the contest, Daniel 10:... [ Continue Reading ]