The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 64

xxii. 1," God <lid pro,•c, Abrnhrtm," Calvin and <'Ummin. The English versions and thinks tlwt Drmid mn.dc this rcqnret be- the Septur1g:int ngree in rcgnnling the C"Un~e he had ~on directed by the DiYine S('('()nd of these classes 11e here intont!ed. Spirit.. ·we wouhl not for one moment deny There is this to bo &Rid, that seede are the Urnt all wisdom comes down from 1tbove, most nourishing form of vegetable diet and tlmt it is the Spirit of the Almighty Aben Ezra ~uggests "rice" RB the seeds thnt giveth und .. rstanding, yet tho sug-ges- use,l for I.his purpose; but ne, just ns iu tion was n rensonl\hle onl', the period was e.11 bot climntes, vegetables nnd fruits of long enough to h11ve given eigns that it e.11 sorts were largely cousnmed in Babylon, Rff<'<lted them injnrionsly, and yet not so definition ie unnecessary, 'fo the present Jong bm the evil effects might ee.sily be day among the iuhe.bito.nts of the district removPd. Tc" days. It may be that this around ancient Babylon, indeed, over the is merely a round number-an easily marked Levant generally, de.tee o.nd raisins, with period-hut e.n experiment wou\rl havo a grRin, and in the seRBon fresh fruit, form definite period. It is approximately the the staple food. Daniel renlly prayed to third of e. revolution of the moon, and e.s live e.s the common people. the Babvlonie.ns were attentive observers Ver. 13.-Then let our countenances be of the movements of the heavenly bodies, looked npon before thee, and the cour.tene.nce especiD.lly of the moon, " ten days" is likely of the children that eat of the portion of enough to be a period with them, e.s certainly the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal a week was. Moreover, among all the with thy servants. The Septuagint Version nations of antiquity numbers were credited herediffers considero.blyfrom the Mnseoretio with epeoie.l powers, as all who have studied text; it is as follows : "And should our Greek philosophy know. Pythagoras rested countenance appeo.r more downcast tho.11 the whole'IIIliverse on number. This theory, (8,a.-,-rpaµµ,v71 ,rapa.) those other youths who in which to eome extent he was followed by ee.t of the roye.l fen.et, according o.s thou Pie.to, seems to have been derived from seest good (9•~!1•), sodce.l with thyserve.nts." A.ssyriD.n, if not Be.bylonio.n eonrces. Thus In the text before the Septuagint tro.nsle.tor Lenorme.nt, in' La Mngie,' gives a dialogue "('l!?~ (l'phanika), " before thee," is omitted, between Heo. and hie son BiUq-mulu-qi. and 'instead of ;'1!!".11':? (mareh), "appee.1'11,nce," Evc-rything depends on knowing "the num- ls read C';;>)!! (zo'aphim), o.nd e.fter is iDserted ber." 1 It may be noted, as beariDg on this, that in the bas-reliefu portre.ying e. feast JI? (min), "from,'' the sign of the comparative, from the palace of Asshurbanipal, the guesis equivo.lentto "than." Theodotion, Jerome, are seated in meescs of four round small and the Peshitte. represent accurately the tables. If, then, as is probable, nll these Massoretio text. Against the Septue.gint young cedets at the Babylonian court sat rea.diDg is the fact that in the Ma.ssoretio, in the royal presence, they would have a marayeenen is construed o. singulo.r, but in table to themselvei!, and thus the pecnlio.rity Ezek. xv. 10 it is plural. The vocalizo.tion of their meal wonld not be patent to the whole of tirayh, "thon shalt see," is Aramme.n,1 company. Had the number t•f friends been and therefore confirms the ide11 that this more, they would have been conspicuous ; chapter is a translation in which the original had th<.>y been fewer, they would have been shiDes through. The readiDg of the observed by those added to make up the Septuagint implies that II different meaning number. '£heir request to be allowed to must be put on the la.stole.use from that in the eat only pulse and to drink only water, had English Version. It means that, should the not, BS we ho.ve nlrea.dy eaid, anything experiment prove a failure, they were will- necc.,Sll.rily of the asceticism of the Essenes. ing to suffer any punishment that the offioie.1 They, the Essence, rather etarted from in question saw good. Such an interference Dauiel and his friends. Maimonides tells with the arrangements of the king would be 11 us that thert: were three kinds of ziiriinim- crime to he punished with etri pee. Although tbu'ah, "crope," wheat, barley. millet, etc.; a perfectly consistent sense can be brought galo11ith, "small crops," peas, beans, lentil;; from the text behind the Septue.gint, yet, gceiiah, "garden seeds," such as mint, anise, from the fo.ct that the phrase, c•:,7;1J7r;> c•;;iPt (zo'•pheem min-hay'ladeem), occurs in the 1 Rawlinson (' Five Great Monarchies,' tenth verse, and therefore mo.y be repeated iii. 31) mentions that certain numbers were here by accident, we would not definitely pre- s::icred to certain deities. Lenormant (' Le. fer it. Further, the Massoretic text follows IIL;;i•·,' 2:i) says tile numerical system of more naturally from tlte context. Let the the JJuLyloni11os wad founded on a sexe.gintal eteward see the result of the experiment syst<;m ; hence the powerful numbers were after ten days, and, as he eees, so let him = = = fraction.s of this, as A ~ i t8, j ill, and judge and act, Do.niel and his companions eu,cb of these fractious represented different classes of drewue. 1 Ewald, • Lehrbuob,' 224, note. OH, t. 1-21.] 'flIE BOOK OF DAN !EL.