The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 68

fall of Jerns•l('m_" We hmi.r I\ grel\t del\l PepArl\tely '111\B hronght before Nclrnchnd• or the hi•t.oric imngim,tion nnd the neoos- nezzl\T, or whether the whole number of tho s1ty of Rpplying it to quPBtions of Biblfral cadets were presented at once, It is tho criticism. Surolv the miuds mn•t be earllrst instance of promotion by oompetl• ~trnngely deficient in the power of imag-i- tive examination. The clear, sharp eyo of n:lf ive 1-('('~nstr11c,l,ion who otinnot feel the the young ~onque.ror woe probably worth thri 11 of abhorrence of everytliing foreign more thnn all the questions prepared. While lhRt must, have filled the Jews during the certninly the words used seem to imply Mnccabran •truggle. If the critios had thnt the hostages were ORllcd mer!lly to be only re1tlized this, they would have sOtJn bow examined, the occmsion may have been the utterly impossible it is to conceive that a "dream" narrated in the next ohe.pter. religious novel, written at that time, in• tendoo to nerve the Jews for fiercer resist- Ver. 19.-And the kins oomm'lllled with ance to their oppressors, should represent them; and among them all was fo'lllld none the hero complacently acquiring Gentile like Danial, Rananiah, lliahaal, and Alra- lcaruing, Rnd acting the eubmieeive oour- riah : tharefol'e stood they before the king. tior in the tyrant's palace. The word translated " communed " really Ver. 18.-Now at the end otthe daya that means "spake," a.nd is the common word the king had ll&id he should bring them in, for thi& The Septuagint translates here then the prince of the e'llllnchs brought them liiµ.C>..,11.,,, which does mean "commune." in before Nebuchadnezzar. The Septuagint Theodotion renders l>.d>.'ltr•. Jerome has Vers'on here is shorter and simpler: "After locuttu; the Peshitta. has malel; all these these days the king commanded to bring may be rendered "talked." From Nebu- them in, and they were brought in by the cbadnezze.r'a great reverenoe for the nationa.l prince of the eunuche." The only differ- religion and for the national magic, we may be certa.in that much of the conversation ence is that :,71!;:i (liaayle11) is read instead wonld tum on those magical formulm which of ,.:-~ ('asher), and the maqqep1t dropped. ha.ve been to such a large extent preserved Theodolion is in close accordance with the to us. Even if, e.e we think, the imme• Massoretic text. The Peahitta. is also simpler diate occasion of Daniel e.nd his companions &.he.n the Mnasoretic text, though founded on appearing before the king was his " dream," it: " And after the completion of the da.ys still he would not unnaturally examine which the king had arranged, the chief of them further. It is not unlikely that this the eunuchs brought them before N ebnch.3d- conversational examination would involve nezze.r the king." Both the Mn.saoretic nature.Uy the languages they would have and Peshitte. text.a represent the prince of to be proficient in were they to be of the the eunuchs bringing the youthe before royal council. They would have to be ac- King Nebuchadnezzar when the time he.d quainted with Accadian, the original tongue elapsed, without any orders from the king of all the most sacred magical formulm; himBelf. According to i.he Septuagint, it with Assyrian, the ls.ngu.e.ge in which the was the king himself thn.t required them to royal annals were recorded; e.nd with be presented before him. It seems more Aramaic, which was, as we have already like the active-minded king, that he should said, the langu.e.ge of commerce e.nd diplo- rec:a..11 hie purpose of examining these yonthe, macy. Hebrew, the language of I.he four and comma.nd them to be brought in, than in whom we e.re more especially interested, that the prince of the eunuchs should bring was spoken, not merely by the holy people, them trooping in without warning into the but also by the Edomites, Ammonites, Moab- royal presence. Such an examin.e.tion, ites, a.nd the Phmnicians. Further, Egypt whether conducted by the king persone.lly, we.e e. factor that had to be ta.ken into or in his presence, or under his euperin- account, and so, not unlikely, the tongue tendence, would need to be prepe.red for; of Egypt would be known by some, a.t eomething eq ui va.lent to examination papers, any rate, of the court offlcie.ls in Babylon, teat questions, would have to be arranged, or The empire of the Hittites hnd certainly the presentation before the king would be a passed away, but, probably, their la.nguage farce. All this implies ths.t Nebuchadnezzar WBB still known and spoken by a large himself arranged the time of the appear- number of the inhabitants of Nebuchad• ance of those youths before him. We can nezza.r's extensive empire. Not only wore scarcely imngine the awe with which the languages of peoples west of Babylon to those young captives must have looked be considered, but also those to the east ; forward to standing before the terrible con- there were the Aryan tongues too. If the queror who had ewept the army of Egypt tradition is correct that Nebuchadnezzar before liim, and had overthrown all who married a Median wife, the Median tongue, vent1m,d to oppose him, who hod sent home which eeeme to have been the same with hosk c,f capli·,·1:s to tlirongthe slave-markets that of Persia, would be, above nll, im- of Babylon. We are not told whether ea.eh portant. Not unlikely questions of policy on. 1. 1-21.J TmJ BOOK OF DANIEL. 27