The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 66

i.e in abeolnte agreement with the Massoretio 1tancling in all 'Vidom and dream,. Or, text. The Peehitta c:-alle the etc:-ward ma- e.e the words might be more accurate!{ ,ii/~or, and rendeni the laet clause," and he rendered, "these lads, the four of them gave to them seeds to el\t, and water to (Ezek. i. 8-10). This indioates that some- drink," evidently borrowed from the twelfth how they were separated oft' iuto e. quater- verse. The result of the suooeee of the nion. In Ezekiel, where a similar phre.ee experiment is that the youths are no more occurs, the four ohernbim form a quater- importuned to partake of the king's dainties. nion in e. very special way. Ae we have The steward, or the Attendant who looked already seen, the Aeeyrie.ns in a fee.et after their meSB, supplied them with pulse. arranged the guests iu meeees of four. It hM ooourred to two commentators, widely Those tbne seated together would most aeparated from each other in point of time, likely be associated in some other way. In that the consent of the " Melzar" wae ell the case of these youths, who were perma- the more easily gained, that be could utilize nent guests at the table of the King of the e.betemiousness of theee Hebrew youths Babylon, they would most likely be o.seoci- to bis own prive.te adva.nte.ge. Both Jepbet- ated in their studies from the first. The ibn-Ali in the beginning of the eleventh Septuagint Version omits the numeral, but century, and Ewald in the middle of the is pleonastio in e. way that suggests a coa- nineteenth, me.inte.in that the "Melza.r" lescing of dift'erent readings. The rendering used to his own purpo888, possibly sold, the is, "And to the youths the Lord gave under- portion of food and wine that the Hebrew 1te.nding e.nd knowledge and wisdom in the youths abjured. Certainly the verb fUllla art of learning (the grammatio art-gram- mee.ns tbe lifting and carrying away, and mar), and to Daniel he gave understanding suggests that every day the portions of food of every kind (in every word), and in visions. and wine were first carried to the table of e.nd in dree.ms, and in every kind of wisdom." ihese Hebrews, and then, after having been The omission of the word "four," e.nd the placed before them, were removed and pulse insertion of two words, "understanding" and brought instead. When we think of it, "knowledge," suggest that the one hu some such process would have to take somehow ta.ken the place of the other ; it pince. If it had been observed that one may be that the word n;,:,.V we.a ree.d instead table was n,,ver supplied with a portion of np::i,tt. The Massoretic original of the from the king's table, there might have phrase, " skill in all lee.ruing," may be been remarks mo.de, and the "Melzar" rendered literally, "skill in every kind of would ho.ve fallen into disgrace with his books." Thie ha.a a special meaning in re- sovereign, and the Hebrew youths would ge.rd to the Babylonian and Assyrian books, possibly have shared his disgrace. Ae to which were cle.y tablets incised when wet, Low the portions thus retained were dis- and burnt into permanence. Rolls of parch- posed of, we need not be curious; there ment were, ae we see from Jeremiah, the would, no doubt, be plenty of claimants for common material for books among the Jews. the broken victuals from the King of Among the Egyptians, papyrus largely took Babylon's to.hie, without accusing the the place of parchment, so the knowledge •· Melzar" of dishonest motives. The fact "of every kind of books " meant "every that the verbs are in participle implies that language." It is certain that three lan- henceforth it was the regular he.bit of the guages were to a certain extent in use in •· Mt:!zar" to remove from before the four Babylon-Are.mnic, the ordinary language friendE the royal dainties, and supply them of business and diplomacy: Assyrian, the instead with pulse. We have e.lready re- court language, the language in whioh ferred to tbe word used for "pulse;" it is histories and dedications were written : Lek zayrooeem, wberee.s in the twelfth verse Acce.dian, the old sacred tongue, in which it is zayroeem. Not impossibly in the verse all the formula, of worship and the forms before us we have another case of the of incantation had been originally written. original Aramaic shining through the traDB• From the fact that Rabshakeh could talk la.lion ; in tbe Peshitta the word is zer'oona, Hebrew when conversing with Eliakim and l,J~;,. Whatever the word was, it seems Shebna, it would seem that the accomplish- c,;rto.in that originally it was the same in ment required from a diplomat implied the LotL plac.:s, UB in none of the versions is knowledge of the languages of the varioUB 1.Lere an v variation. It is not so impossible nations subject to the Babylonian Empire tliatoriginally the vocalization was Jitforent, or conterminous with it. ".Knowledge o.nd o.ud tlrn.t the word Wo.B the ordinary word skill in all learning and wisdom" would 11:'r'aim, "aeeds." Thie certainly is the seem to mean the complete ourriculum tro.llillation of Theodotion. fitted to make these youths able diplomatists Ver. 17.-A.e for these four children, God and wise councillors. And Daniel had. gave them knowledge e.nd skill in all lee.rn- underBtanding in all viBions and dTeams. i.Dg and wiidom : and Daniel had u.ndtr- All the nations of antiquity 18.id stress on  on. t ">--!1.] THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 25