PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel
John Ebenezer Honeyman Thomson [1841-1923] · 367,027 words · 376 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 1
THE PULPIT COMMENTARY, EDlTED BY THE VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D., DEAN OF GLOUCESTER; AND BY THE REV. JOSEPH S, EXELL, M.A. WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY THE VERY REV. F. W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., DEAN OF CANTERBURY. RIGHT REV. H. COTTERILL, D.D., F.R.S.E. VERY REV. PRINCIPAL J. TULLOCH, D.D. REV. CANON G. RAWL…
604 wordsSECTION 2The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 2
tbt draws the tender love or this chief of lhe eunuchs. It ie the youth who givca hie name to the book. Soon Ashpenaz hae to observe this youth and hie three compnnione for another reason. They have scruples, and will not eat of the meat from the king's table. He does not consent to the request of this youth, favour…
726 wordsSECTION 3The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 3
fulfilled. For seven months he is & m11niac, and one of his own household acta p,s king. 'fhe king &t length is restored to bis senses, and decrees yet further honours to the God of heaven, without, however, declaring thnt the gods of Babylon were no gods-that is to say, without at all becoming a monotheist. The next …
723 wordsSECTION 4The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 4
the midet of the ten, and dieposseesed three of these. Then the Anoient of Days sat for judgment, and one like a son of man appeared, and a new Divine kingdom waa established. Not only is the vision narrated, but the interpretation ia given also. The next vieion is dated the third year of the reign of Delshazzar. D…
1,457 wordsSECTION 5The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 5
prophets that were Daniel'& oont.emporaries, a.s Ezekiel, are largely impregnated with the apocalyptic manner. Along with the description of what they saw, it is to be noted that apocalyptists made a much larger use of symbol than did the prophets. The symbols of Lhe apocalyptist are largely logical symbols built up by…
712 wordsSECTION 6The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 6
clroumstancee such a mode of composition. The character of apocalypse, as a mode of writing, mite the date assigned to it by tradition. When the species of prophetic composition to which Daniel belongs is determined, the further question of its unity emerges. Are we to regard it as one book, CODlpol!ecl as such by its…
1,441 wordsSECTION 7The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 7
symptoms of tbo mndness, such as it we.a, of Antiochus were totally different from those of that or N ebucbadnezzar. There is little resem hie.nee between tbo ma.d pmnks of e. Marquis of Waterford and the antics of e. lunatic that imagines hirmelf e. beast. Belsbnzzar's feast, we are told, was intended to be a picture …
727 wordsSECTION 8The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 8
character of De.niel is modelled on that of Joseph. Certainly there are not a few points of rel!emblance between the two OAreere. If Joseph goee down to Egypt a elavo, Daniel goes to Babylon a hoetag£'. If Joseph becomes governor of the land by Inter- preting the dream of Pharaoh, Daniel is admiUed into the counsel …
717 wordsSECTION 9The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 9
roe11ns "the Divine Judge," nncl such names as Gabriel support this view. On this eupposiUon the book is still less like one written up to the nBme. In the story of Susnnn11 and the elders wo see what the imagination of the Jew produced when writing up to that idea; indeed, so well does the story suit the name, that M.…
764 wordsSECTION 10The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 10
Thie e~ent he.ppened in the yee.r B.o. 168, the date when, e.ccordlng to critics, Daniel was written. If it be granted that the same mistaken idea, as led to the dise.ster to which we have just referred, might be supposed to be dominant in the mind of the writer of Daniel, it is, on the.t supposition, impossible to …
747 wordsSECTION 11The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 11
kingdom of God; and that the second, the Hebrew portion, represents the develop- ment of the kingdom of God in relation to the world-power. Against this view it may be effectively urged that the eighth chapter gives the development of the world- power of Macedonio. over against the kingdom of God, as much as do the sec…
695 wordsSECTION 12The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 12
"excerpts from " larger work (partly pre3erved in the original langungP,, and p1utly tran~lated)." 1 While there is, in favour of this view, the fact that the canonical books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles seem to have resulted from a process analogous to this, against it ie the fact that them are no links of conn…
705 wordsSECTION 13The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 13
and diplomacy, The change that had become marked in the de.ye of Neheminh may woll have been exemplified in men like Daniel, though living in an earlier generation. Any one who, unaware of the history of the poets, p&lleed from the study or the Oanterbury To.lea' to peruse 'Piers the Ploughman,' would be ready to asse…
1,497 wordsSECTION 14The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 14
from the Hebrew or Daniel. The third w<,rd, n.;io~;i. is not used in the B.ble; tho corresponding masculine noun does occur, but the feminine never, n'lt even when it is in apposition to a noun feminiue. 'fhe Latin Version, by using abs~ondita, show, that the tre.nsle.tor must he.ve had this word before him as in Bi…
760 wordsSECTION 15The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 15
Ilut it is urged that there are late words in Dani«il, Professor Bevan has made out a li~L uf eight words. ,ve think any one will recognize the relatively small number of these words. In four verses from Ben Sira we found 1e11en, and could easily have increased the number. Surely eight in six chapters, containing a hun…
807 wordsSECTION 16The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 16
eatisfoctorily. The next two oBBeB occur only in eh. xi. There remain only two ea.see, i•9i;,, "continual," for the daily sacrifice, and ii-t;, used for the Nile in most cases in the rest of Scripture, but for" 11 river" in general in eh. xii. 5, 6, 7. As to the first of these, it occurs in eh. viii. 11 and 13, and …
721 wordsSECTION 17The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 17
ancient tongue of Palestine would be spoken. When by the decree of Cyrus they were permitted to return t-0 their own land, the Jews found that mony settlers had pressed in upon the territory which they had previously occupied, .All these settlers could speak Aramaic, whatever tongue they might use besides, and this …
706 wordsSECTION 18The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 18
cannot be fixed with anything like absolute certainty, but it appeMs to have been about the middle of the second century. '1.'he Peshitta is nearly contemporary, but a. shade later. Last of all cotnes the Vulgate in Jerome's revision. Of these the last i 3 in closest agreement with the Maseoretic text, the Peshitta nex…
731 wordsSECTION 19The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 19
particle r,: occurs in Diblical Hebrew; as frequent In the Targume is "'I!• This does not occur in Biblical Are.me.ic; its ple.ce is ta.ken by '!"'I!· In the Targums the negative of this is n•~; in Daniel and Ezra we have instead •i:,•t;t~~. In Dibllcal Aramaic Ji'.! is the word for "if," which does not occur in Tar…
733 wordsSECTION 20The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 20
either to IIA~ert Ezra l11te, or to Bssert tb11t the langnage was stat.irn<try for srimethin-:,: lilte three centuries. If the lBtter hypothesis is assumed, we might assert th11t it hari been etBtionruy for II couple of centnries before the days of Rzrn. The conclusion we come to with regard to the Aramaic of D:i.ni…
1,208 wordsSECTION 21The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 21
II. THE HrsTOBICAL BAcKGBOlTh"D OF THE Boon:, The historical background of the Book of Daniel must embrace a narmtive of the events, actual or assamed, that form the setting of those related in the book itself. It must also contain the fulfilment of those portions which are, or at all events purport to be, prophecies.…
922 wordsSECTION 22The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 22
b)· which the Egyptians maintained their hold of Northern Syria, The Egyptians were ut.terly dE>foatcd, and Nebuchadnezzar pursued their flying forces through Syria and Palestine, receiving the eubmission of the various subject-kings, taking from them hostages. He advanced against Jerusalem, which submitted without …
690 wordsSECTION 23The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 23
(npproxim!llely our June) the murder and the accession must ha.ve taken place. F 0 r the reign of Nabunabid we have the advantage of a long inscription on a. clay tablet, entitled" the annals of Nabunahid." Several other documents have come down to us also throwing light on his character. In several inscriptions he ha…
735 wordsSECTION 24The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 24
hnving given it the new name of Gutium. After this he seem& to have directe,l hi~- march against Crmsus, and subdued LydiB. Then in the year B,o. 638 he turned his- arms towards Babylonia. Nabnnahid now commanded the army in pereon, and sue- tained a defeat at Borsippa, and fled. Gobryas hurried forward to Babylon, …
1,167 wordsSECTION 25The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 25
Ill. EXTERNAL RELATIO:S-S OF THE BooK OF DANIEL. 1. External references to the Book of Daniel. Two things are to a certain extent regarded as proved by external references to a book-its date, and the extent of the effect it produced. In regard to both of these, there are various considerations which ought to modify ou…
996 wordsSECTION 26The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 26
in Mo.lochi seems to assume that the iclea of a book of remembrance being kept before the Lord was one well known-as do also the passages in Daniel. The resemblanco between the prayer in N eh. ix. and that in Dan. ix. is too great to be acddento.l. It is impossible to settle with any certo.inty which is the earlieT, bu…
778 wordsSECTION 27The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 27
other hand, the negative evidence is equally valueless. The evidence against the early • xis:ence of Daniel, as derived from Ecclesiasticus, is that Daniel is not mentioned in • •the Hymn of the Fathera." But the argurMntum e Bilentio, at nll times an unsafe one, is strikingly eo in regard to Ben Sira. ,ve have three v…
729 wordsSECTION 28The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 28
still it is difficult to imagine so great a popularity to be attained, in the circumstances, In twenty-four or twenty-five years. This view seems to us to contradict the evidence. Although Daniel is not referred to by Philo-a thing easily to be understood by the subjects treated and the methods employed by this writer…
710 wordsSECTION 29The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 29
In the Septuagint the K'thubim are placed between the hiatoricBl books and the later prophets.1 Of ooul"l!e, the Canon of Alexandria waa a more elastlo thing then that of Jerusalem, still the former was as muoh Jewish aa the latter; lf the chrono• logiMl order were import.ant, and the K'thubim were supposed to be la…
714 wordsSECTION 30The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 30
not enough. Lomentations was in ancient days ascribed to Jeremiah, yet the Book of Lamentations is placed among the K'thubim. It is evident there was some oth,ir reoson why oerlain books were placed among the K'thubim. It was really the style of composition. We have olready seen the difference between the prophetic and…
769 wordsSECTION 31The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 31
to have been completed In 11!81! than half a oentury. Thi.I would plaoe the formation of the canon 1111 early RI! 11.0. 180; that ii to BRY, filleen yean before the oritloal date of Daniel. The other question ....., which we referred is much more import.ant-What was the principle according to which this selection W…
727 wordsSECTION 32The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 32
chnllengod at the time. At all events, the date assumed by the critical school, viz. n.o. 166, le defioitely to be put aside ae clearly fal!l4'. 8. VerBion1 of Daniel. We have four trauelatione, each of which was completed before the MIIIISOretio text of the Hebrew Scripture8 wu fixed-the Septuagint, Tbeo- dotion, the…
693 wordsSECTION 33The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 33
of Ambakoum (Habakkuk), son of Jesus of the tribe of Levi." Thie would seem to indicate that these additions were not in the Tetmpla. but were placed there by the copyist, The esme phenomenon is presented in Bugati's edition of • Paulus Tellensie.' 'l'he Song of the Three Holy Children is on a different footing, Be …
723 wordsSECTION 34The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 34
(2) Tl1eodotion. The writer of this version belonged, according to one IICCOunt, to Ephesus; eccording to another, to Pontus, in Asia Minor. His object w11,11 not to mako B completely new translation, but rather to amend the extant version so as t., bring it into close agreement with the Hebrew text then prevalent. Dr.…
919 wordsSECTION 35The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 35
The idea of commenting on the books of the Bible is one that sprang up early among Christians. Among those of the Old Testament none has had a larger share of attention, and few were earlier commented on, than the Book of Daniel. One of the earliest of the patristic commentaries is that of Hippolytue. He occupies him…
1,066 wordsSECTION 36The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 36
fear for Christianity itself. They have formnlated their ideas of the truth; their notionl' are like Prinoe Rupert's drops-- scientific toy of old days. In their eyes, break off the smallest portion of them, and they sink into dust. In others it is the unwilling- ness that many minds hal'e to researoh; they must follow…
755 wordsSECTION 37The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 37
of the third year of the training of the Hebrew youths. (4) Chaldee.ne, as a class of magicians, "is an immense anachronism." But the reader may see under the verses where the words are alleged to occur, grave reason for doubting whether the word actually belongs to the text. It seems to a C('rtain extent probable …
1,217 wordsSECTION 38The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 38
VI. CoNOL08ION, Ae our renders will hnve eeen, the Introduction to Daniel is in the main a discussion of the question of its authenticity. Let ue, ln conclUBion, sum up the results we have reached. '£here nre two clearly mnrked parties-the traditional and the critical. The one, the trnditional pnrty, maintain that the…
681 wordsSECTION 39The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 39
easily fit into this idea. We he.ve e.n account of the hero's thl'<'e friends being cast into the fiery fum11ce becsuse they will not be guilty of idol-worship; but we he.ve no explRnRtion given us why De.niel we.s not beside bis three friends, To mention no more, every pious Jew of the time of the Macce.bees would …
924 wordsSECTION 40The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 40
Since the above Introduction was not only in type, but stereotyped, the question of the Hebrew of Daniel has entered into a new phase-Mrs. Gibson and Mrs. Lewis have added to the debt which Biblical science owes them by discovering a fragment of the Hebrew text of Ecclesiasticus. It is a portion of the thirty-ninth cha…
537 wordsSECTION 41The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 41
tbe.t, 68 a rule, the evidence of e. manuscript is to be preferred to tbe.t of a quote.Lion 1 yet there are me.ny exceptions to this rule. Thus, in regard to the doxology at the end of the Lord's Prayer, the uncial manuscript L, d!lted by Tregelles in the ninth century --i.e. three centuries earlier than the manuscript…
747 wordsSECTION 42The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 42
Scripture, are reduced to two. 'fhe Hebrew portion of Daniel is considera.bly longer than this fragment, yet it has fewer unexampled words. He mentions other t'Vo words as common to this fragment and the later parts of the Old Testament. Only ono of these occurs in Daniel, and it also occurs in Ezekiel. If Canon Dri…
588 wordsSECTION 43The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 43
CHAPTER L ferences between the Septuagint Version and the text of the Massoretes, which is followed Vere. 1-7.-OccASION OF DANIEL BEING in our Authorized Version, that there is no word representing Te:ign in the Septuagint. lN BABYLON, Came Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon =to Ver. 1.-In the third year of the reign …
696 wordsSECTION 44The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 44
this event, Egypt, which hRd beon con- if the Babylonian method of rookoning wns quered b~· Esarlmddon and Asshurbanipe.1, applied to Jehoiakim's reign, ,vhot way reR!lserted ilBelf. The Assyrie.ns hRd broken reckoned his fomth yMr in Jerusalom would up Egypt into B(''l'Cral prinoipaliti01l, over be only his thirtl.…
1,012 wordsSECTION 45The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 45
throntenod, ancl therefore it is concluded out allowing himself to be run a.way with tlmt he bad not yet invaded Po.Jestine. Thie by e. prejudico, will see thot there is nothina is o.galn set over against tbo third state- in the chapter which prevents Bllch a.~ ment, and is supposed to provo it untrue. expedition as…
1,063 wordsSECTION 46The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 46
(7) And ye did not hearken unto me. (8) Syria Rnd Palostino, the IRst vcree we hnve Therefore thus Paith the Lord, beoanse ye quoted mther implies t.hRt they had. The have not believed my ""ords, (9) behold, I Rrgument is this : The prophets fore-told. nm sending. and I wi II take' a race (1ra.-p10.v) this dcsol9.tion …
1,016 wordsSECTION 47The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 47
mission of Jehoinkim, and that tho seventy ezlen8o by Josephus, once a1'owedly ,,,rba- yonrs of Jeremiuh reckon from then, we tim, to he" altogether untrustworthy." Dr. have a olosor approximation. N ebuchatl- Jingo Winckler, to whom he refors with nezznr's first year was n.o. G04, the year of respect ( Critical Re'l…
1,008 wordsSECTION 48The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 48
thnt these three yenrs ended with Jehoill• it incorrect. Tho words of Professor Dcv:\n kim's lifo, 11.nd thllt he never rebelled mny iudicnte that it is Derosus he suspcets. Against the Kinn: of Bnbylon. Dr. Htigo It seems haz,mlous for nny one to do so Wi11ekler, 'Gesohiehtc H11.b, und Aesyr.,' in the fe.ce of the …
968 wordsSECTION 49The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 49
in tho reign or Jehoinchin; hut in 2 Chron. shut hie gat~s agninst tho conquerord. xxxvl. there le no reference too. siege. As '!'hat ho should bo mnde prisoner withn 11 t tho critico.l decision is that ChronioleA is tho city being captured or plundered, miv\,t derived from Kings, this silence is a thing we have sai…
1,028 wordsSECTION 50The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 50
~YII of reckoning the YMl'B of 11, king's ing the reign of a vassal king ma11 he.ve r1;ign-the Babylouie.n and Aesyrie.n, which beeu need iu Babylon, we know nothing did not begin to reokon till the new yee.r of it ; certe.inly there is no instance iu after the 1..-i.ug's M00811ion; and the Jewish, Scripture of anyt…
1,013 wordsSECTION 51The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 51
case they are Jato lnterpole.tions, and there- house of the Lord, and a. le.rge number of Coro ve.l ueless. Professor Bevnn cannot be hostages, and then returned north. Some- permitted to invalide.te proofs of the e.ntben- thing like this seems to have occurred now. ticity of De.niel drawn from the e.ocure.oy The king …
1,031 wordsSECTION 52The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 52
nsserted here thRt Jehoil\kim. Rlong with Iwa.cl.p. It is omitted by Paulus Tellonsis. the ~-es~els and unmentioned CA.ptives, were The lreaBure-ho11se of his god. The won\ earned to D:<b1'lon. Professor Bevan ad mite rendered " god " here ie the plural form that it is doubtful. Were we dependent ·whioh is ueunlly re…
1,307 wordsSECTION 53The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 53
and of the king's seed, and of the princes; no means an impossible personal name for children in whom was no blemish, but a Persian or Median. In one or two cunei- well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, form inscriptions of the Persian peiio<l the and cunning in knowledge, and under- name occnrs. Nothing can be buil…
730 wordsSECTION 54The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 54
one the.t we.e nee.rly inVRrie.bly preaent, &1 "from the nobles of Israel." Thcodotion .1h,li11r-akhi-iddin-na bece.me Eearhaddon renders, " from the sons of tho Captivity and Sin-al,hi-irba booe.me Sanhlll'ib. Th~ of Isrsel." If the sentence ran ~tt'it.,• ,,r., •i:i onlr exception to this shortening pl0088e one mig…
1,089 wordsSECTION 55The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 55
Ionian oourt, or, again, 11 oopyiet might hBve Ecclesio.etious and the Dook f)f Wisdf)m. lneorted it 8B B more known word th11n that The word translated "skilful," mn,k;/eem, originally in the text. Thie l11tlcr, we think, means, in the first inst<1nce, "attcrnling t,,; ,, ie the probable solution, If the division of t…
972 wordsSECTION 56The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 56
tablet!! have been fonnd ineoribed in As- tbo Hebrew term, In the drtys of Nabo- 6~·rian, but hRving a docquet behind in polnssar, the Chaldeana being supremo in Aramaic, telling the contents. Next there Babylonia, all the inhabitnnts of that pro- Wll.8 the Ae~yrion, a Shomitic tongue, cog- vince may hnve been calle…
1,001 wordsSECTION 57The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 57
l(ou-youn-jik the nature of a roynl feast. and Aze.riah. The versions present no Animal food predominated. We oe.nnot difficulty here, only the BeptuF1gint o.rlds ,.. nvoid referring to a singular nrgumentative clause to bring this verse into harmony nxiom implied in all the discussions on with var. 3: the Septuagint r…
1,057 wordsSECTION 58The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 58
he was a member of the Davidic family. of Hezekie.h (2 Chron. xni. 10-H). There Han11.niah (J!nnanyah; Greek, 'A,,,.vlus: the is e.lso a prophet of this name (2 Chron. xv. HC'brew form, as in the ORBO or other names 1) in 1J,e d1tys of Ase. King of Jurle.h. with the same termination, is sometimes While this name ie …
1,074 wordsSECTION 59The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 59
of Roman Ce.t,holio Christenrlom, who lrns Doe~ t.he 1tuthor of Dnniol ever att.rihnl.e for lhe !net twolve oenlnriee nlwnye osenmed to Nebuchadnezzar th" words on whidt Pro- Bnolher thnn hie originnl nnrno on neocnd- fessor Bevo.n grounds his chr1rge? Thr, ing tho p11pal throne. With members of B words are not in the …
1,032 wordsSECTION 60The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 60
greRt difficulty; it is coneonRnb.lly identic1tl the word is present, as we before said. We with 7::'t:1, "J\fosbC'cb." the n1tme or one of have above lndioe.ted that it Is possible that the sons· or J1tphct. Dr. Delitzsch would the original word we.e not path-bag, but render it Jlfe-~a-al,a, "Who is &a Aku." pathur…
1,063 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.