IN THE THIRD YEAR. — Two questions are involved in this verse. (1) Is it historically true that Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar in the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign? (2) Does the language of the verse imply that he did so? The second question is rightly answered in the negative. The word _ca... [ Continue Reading ]
PART OF THE VESSELS. — Literally, _from one point to another._ He did not take them all at once, but on different occasions. (On Shinar, see Note, Genesis 10:10.) HIS GOD — _i.e.,_ Bel-Merodach, who was originally an Accadian deity, the signification of the second part of the name being “he that me... [ Continue Reading ]
ASHPENAZ... HIS EUNUCHS — _i.e.,_ the courtiers or attendants upon the king. (See marginal translation of Genesis 37:36; and compare Jeremiah 39:3, where a Rab-saris, or chief of the courtiers, is mentioned. See also Isaiah 39:7.) THE KING’S SEED. — According to the story of Josephus (_Ant._ x. 10,... [ Continue Reading ]
CHILDREN. — If the Babylonian customs were similar to the Persian, it is probable that the course of education would commence at an early age. So elaborate a system of science as the Babylonian, whether theological, astronomical, or magical, would naturally require an early training. It is reasonabl... [ Continue Reading ]
A DAILY PORTION. — (Comp. Jeremiah 52:34.) The meat was solid food, as opposed to the wine and vegetables which formed so important a part of Babylonian diet. The food appears to have been sent from the king’s table. THREE YEARS. — The king appears to have had sufficient insight into the extraordin... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW AMONG THESE... — Four persons only are mentioned here, because the narrative of the book is only concerned with four. Daniel calls our attention to the fact that the very four whom Providence had endowed with the greatest natural gifts were those by whose constancy and example the king was conve... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL PURPOSED IN HIS HEART. — He was cautious from the first. He feared that he might eat something that had been consecrated to idols. (See 1 Corinthians 8)... [ Continue Reading ]
INTO FAVOUR. — The close correspondence between Daniel and Joseph has been frequently remarked. Each finds favour with his master, and afterwards with a foreign monarch. The grace of God enables each to overcome the temptations into which his circumstances lead him. The acute natural faculties of ea... [ Continue Reading ]
OF YOUR SORT, _i.e.,_ of your contemporaries, those who are of the same age with you.... [ Continue Reading ]
MELZAR. — (See _Introduction,_ § VI.) Not a proper name (Hamelsar), but a _cellarman._ The appeal of Daniel to the chief chamberlain having proved insufficient, he applies to the man with whom he was on more familiar terms.... [ Continue Reading ]
TEN DAYS. — The number “ten” is treated as a round number here, and in Daniel 1:20. (Comp. Genesis 31:41.) By adopting this mode of life, Daniel resumes the simple diet commonly used by his ancestors previously to their entering Canaan (Deuteronomy 12:15; Deuteronomy 26:5; Deuteronomy 26:9). This si... [ Continue Reading ]
APPEARED FAIRER. — Thus was God beginning to assert His power among the Babylonians. This change in the appearance of Daniel was the effect of his free grace, not of the meat that came from the king’s palace. May it not have been that the young exiles thought of the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 52:11), “... [ Continue Reading ]
LEARNING AND WISDOM. — These appear to be contrasted in this verse. The former refers to literature, and implies the knowledge of secular subjects; the latter implies philosophy and theology, and perhaps, also, an acquaintance with the meaning of portents. Abundant instances of the latter may be fou... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THE END OF THE DAYS, _i.e.,_ the three years specified in Daniel 1:5. Before the conclusion of this time, it appears (Daniel 2:1), Daniel was enabled to give a proof of his wisdom. (See Daniel 2:28.)... [ Continue Reading ]
CONTINUED. — (See _Introduction,_ § I.) The phrase does not mean that “he prophesied,” but that he lived until the time specified; by no means implying that he died in the first year of Cyrus. This year is specified on account of its importance to the Jewish people as the year of their deliverance.... [ Continue Reading ]