2. Historical Statements. Daniel, according to 1', began his career as a youthful student at the Bab. court in the 3rd year of Jehoiakim, and lived at least until the 3rd year of Cyrus, i.e. from 606 or 605 to 536 or 535 B.C. Within this period are men- tioned as kings of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar (2'), Belahazzar (5'- *>), Darius the Mede (5^' 6=»- ^), and Cyrus (6**). Events are dated by the years of these kings (2' 7' 8' 9' 10'), showing that the writer mast have regarded all of them as reigning sove- reigns, and not in any way as subordinate rulers. Belshazzar is further described as the son of Nebuchadnezzar (5"' ") and king of Babylon at its capture by the Medes and Persians, when (ace. to 5*''-) he was slain and Darius received the king- dom. But history knows nothing of a Babylonian king Darius the Mede preceding Cyrus. The reigning nionarchs within this period were Nebuch- adnezzar, Evil-Merodacli, Nenglissar, Nabunahid, and Cyrus. No Darius reigned in Babylon until a Bcore of years later. The person whom Belshazzar represents was undoubtenly Bil-sar-usur, son of Nabunahid and commander of the Babylonian army during the last years of his father's reign (COT ii. p. 130 f.). Being more active and energetic
fled and public worship re-pstabliBhed Just thrte yeart »tter iU) ilesccration (1 Mac <3<>-«i), Dn S''"'-. 164 (16.S1. Antiochus dies somewhat suddenly in Persia (1 Mac 6> >«, butseealno Polyb. xxxi. 11), Dn 71'» y^i"- »»•»'>
9»b. 37b n4Bb
(The explanation of ll^a-a* i§ uncertain, for we do not know whether they refer to an EjoT- campaij^n or to conduct in Aseyria. On Antiochus the student should consult J. F. Iloft- mann, Ant. Ejtiph., Leipzi^f, 187;l)
• That of Uesenius, Dc Wettc, lileek, Comill, Kuenen, Driver, Konig, et ai., a« well as Havemick, HenffstenlKrrp, Keil, I'usey, Fuller, ^( 0^. Diversity of authorship has, however, been held, both by those holding the late authorship and by those reffapdinp cha. 7-12 3A genuine. Of the former, llerlholdt Ihoupht the book to have l»een written by nine authors. Strack and Meinhold regard 1*^-^ oji by an earlier writer, al>out B.C. 300. Of the latter, Sir Isaac Newton thouirht Daniel wrote only chs. 6-12. Kuhler (Lf-hrlntch dtr hihUschen Oejichickle, ii. p. 637, 1893) holds that chs. 1-6 were written some time after the rei(;n of Gyrus by the editor of chs. 7-12.
t No reason is clearly perceptible why the book Is partly written in lleb. and partly in Aramaic. The following have been «U(f ifesU'd;(l) Diversity of orik'in (St rack, Meinhold. see fn. above); (2) jmrtinn of the o^i^rt^aI Heb. lost and rep!ace<l by the Aram, translation (I.,enomiant, lievan, Haupt) ; (3) the Aram, lan^ua^'o a secret sij^n that the Ch^ldiDans represented the Syrians, i.e. Antiochus and his followers (mentioned by Kfinijf. A'r'nArif. p. B82) ; (4) author preferred to give the speeches of the heathen In Aram, rather than in the sacred Ileb., and heina more at home in that language continued to use it (Behmiann).
than his father, he seems to have supplanted him in tradition as sovereign. In reality, however, he was never king. This is proved by the long series of contract tablets, 'which, dated month by mouth and almost day by day from the reign of Nebueh adnezzar to that of Xer.xes,' makt. no mention of an intermediate ruler between Nabunahid and Cyrus (Sayce, UCM p. 528). Belshazzar also was not a son of Nebuchadnezzar even by descent, for his fallier, Nabunahid, belonged to a dillerent family.* In introducing Darius the Mede the writer shows t he same conftised idea of the order of events as the Greek writers.t Cyrus, we now know from Iht cuneiform inseription.-i, obtained i)osses.sion oi Babylon peaceably. Duriu" the reign of Darius (B.C. 521-4S6) Babylon rebelled, and Darius was obliged to besiege the city, and took it by strat:i gem. In the tradition followed by Herodotus tin- siege is transferred to Cyrus (Her. i. 191). In Jin both the king and the siege seem to have been trans- ferred to the earlier period. J
A further confusion about Darius appears in !>', where he is called the son of Aliasuerus or Xer.\e.>. Darius I. was the father of Xerxes.
Another apparently inaccurate statement is thai of Nebucliailnezzar's .siege and capture of Jerus. in the 3rd year of .lelioiakim, B.C. 6(J5 (Dn 1')- Tlir historical books relate no such event, and that it did not happen seems implied in .Jer25'"'', and necessary from the movements of Nebuchadnezzar. Shortly after the battle of Carcheniisli (605) he returned lii Babylon to secure liis accession to the tlirone. The conquest of tlie West occupied four years more, .since not until 601 or 600 did Jehoiakim licgin to pay tribute (Tiele, Bab. unci Ansijr. Gcsrh. p. 425 f. ).S
A class of wi.se men or magicians are called Chaldaians (O'^. 4. lo 47 57. uj .xiiis signiUcation is foreign to Assyrian and Babylonian usage, and did not arise till after the fall of tlie Babylonian empire' (COT ii. p. 125). These Chald.-eans are also represented as addressing Nebuchadnezzar in Aramaic (2''), which probably was not spoken then at the Bab. court, and, in no case, in the western Aramaic dialect which the writer gives.H
In y- D. is said to iiave 'understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came toJeremiah the prophet.' Thisexpre.ssion