The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 86

is rnpposrd to pl'Ove the late de.te of Dnniel. it we find that " and t:l were liablo to be It docs seem eomewbe.t strange logio to mistaken, os nlso l and l; we should then n rb"lle, from the preseooe of Persian words have_ 'lt:l (m~1mi), "from me," as o. possible m e. document, the.t therefore it was wrilten readrng winch bad been niisrond by some lnte _in the G~ek period. The prior Pe.leatini1m scribe into •ii, (Bagi), "great," question presents 1ta!'lf-Is the word Persian and the N added to complete the word. Hreek, or Aramnio, rcelly e. pa.rt of th~ The case is only II familiar coso of doublets, originnl text of Danic 1? In regard to this When we have further •~?ini;i, "from me," the Sept.uRgint Ve?'llion is of importe.nce. l ts renclning of this clause is, as we have the change of the preceding is thus in a 6een, '' But if ye shall show me the dream sense necessitated. This mny be regarded as nnd tell ~e the intcrprelation thereof, y~ an indication of age, as the square cho.rnotcr •hall recen·e Rll manner of gifts, and shall had_ begun at least a century before Christ be honoured by me." This interpretation (Driver,• Samuel,' p. xxi.). 1 This leaves but implies a different text-the word n'bisba little timo for moditioations and blunders of <lilll\ppee.re from the text altogether, for no penmanship between this and the oritioul one would tmnslate it ,ro:v.-oiii; evidently date of Daniel. The latter clause of this t.hc tmnslator had before him some com- verse shows us another vo.rintion between bination of eol, "alL" The combination the Massoretio text and thnt lying behind matflltll fl'bizba occUJ'S in the Targum in the Septuagint. The Me.ssoretio recension ,Ter. :i..1. 5, therefore, had it been present, is well represented in the Authorized Ver- ihe translator would have been awe.re of its sion. Therefore ehow me the dream, a11d meaning. Tbeodotion renders it 3mp•d.s. If the interpretation thereof. The version of the phrase occurred elsewhere, there would the Septne.giot indicates a different reading easily be a motive to introduce the word and bas a different poiot, '' Declare to m~ ,i•bizba, but there seems none to substitute the dream, a.od judge." According to the for it another word altogether; certainly :, Maesoretio read.i.Dg, the king merely repeats nnd l are not UI1freqnently confounded, and his _demands, the only reference to the pre- cedrng promises and threa.tenings being in a defeotive ', might be read as a :i. It would not be difficult to reproduce a Hebrew the conjnnotion J;:J? (liihen), "therefore." sentence, the reodering of which would re- Whereas the main reference of the cl,mso, quire ,rav-ro,o:. '.l'bis mnoh is clear--n•buba accord.i.Dg to the Septuagint, is to the iiome- was not before the Septuagint translator. It dia.tely precediog promises, "Show me the is further to be observed that the Septne.!!i.nt dream, and judge if I will do as I he.ve translator has had before him, not the n~un said." Another supposition possible is y"qar-, "honour," but the verb in the passive that there has been a transposition. In or ethpacl. These, however, are not all the the very next verse ilJ';l 0•11ah) is represented point.a where the Septuagintal text must by «plv-in that case it may mea.o "inter- have differed from the text we have re- pret," the rendering then would be, " Show ceived from the Massoretes. The adjective me the dream and interpret.," and represent sagi," great," oconrs in the Authorized Ver- some pa.rt of the verb i1i1D, only there is the sion, but is not represeoted in the Septna- awkwardness of using the same word as gin~. The order of the Greek words suggests equivalent to two di1Ierent Aramaic words o. ddlerent order in the origi.D.al Aramaic. in contignons verses. The difference is not Other things being eqnal, the shorter a of great importance; the king is eager to reading, the more likely it is to be the get the magicians to tell him his dreo.m original ree.dillg. It is clear that this and'. its interpretation, but, having com- advantage is with the Septuagint reading. menced the experiment as to their powers, If there were any likelihood of certe.in words he will not allow himself to be driven from being omitted from aoy probable cause as it. Before leaving this verse, we must note hnmoiotelenton, it would be diiferent. On the presence of certain aig11s of old dnte the other band, the addition of a kind in the Aramaic of the pa~sage. First, the which is frequently seen, the more recent word hen," if," is not used in the Te.rgums; word fl•bizba is pnt alongside its more it is not in Le~y's Dictionary; neither ancient equivalents. In the other case, the Gesenins nor Fiirst gives any non-Biblical adjective Bagi, "gree.t," is inserted. as fre- reference for the use of the word. In the quently happellll, with a view of heightening same way, ii.a derivative 1()7 (liihen), "there- tLe effect. .Another explanation me.y be sug- fore," is equally p~culiar to Biblical Aro.- gested. We kDow the Aromaie docqnets on 1 The introduction of the square character tlie back of the contra.et te.blets a.re written io a script re.eembling Phmnician cba.raclers. seems, in Egypt at any ro.te, to have taken If the original manuscripts were written place considerably earlier than Driver 11t tL,, date assigned by tradition, then it thinks, if we may judge from the papyri wuuld l,~ written in this style of letter. In of the Corp. Ines. Semit. Oil, JI, 1-40,] TUE IlOOK OF DAL\l&L. ,J7