The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 155

W<ll'll pl'O!le t.o wol'Bhip were those of the the M11Cc1tbean period, when there Wl\B tl1e nRtions around them. Thie e.poet&ey we.a huge Jewish community of Babylonia, and not connected with e.ny tree.sone.blc enbmie- the equo.lly huge community of Egypt n.nd Pion to the Babylonien princes. So fe.r e.a Cyreno, not to speak of lesser and only lesser we cen d<Jdnoe the politics of tb<J period communities in Asia Minor. We venturo, from the prophecies of Jeremie.h, the idole.- then, from all these grounds, to Resume troue p1trty were pe.triotio eo far e.s their that this composition ia to be de.ted o.s resistance to Be.bylon we.s concerned, though belonging to the Me.coobce.n struggle. they were always prone to ooquet with The liturgice.l song put in the mouths of Egypt. In the ce.se before ne, the enemiea e.ll three he.e nothing to fix its d1Lte by. into whose hands the Minta oe.me were CIOBe e:u.mine.tion eeeme to show tb1Lt it "apostates." If, however, we tum to the may he.ve been written for the occe.sion. A Firet Book of M&00&bees i. 48, we find the.t Jew of le.tar times might easily occupy "me.nv e.lso of the !ere.elites consented to hie mind in imagining what would be n. his (Epiphanes') religion, e.nd sacrificed unto likely form e. song of pre.ise would to.kc in idols, end profaned the se.bbath." When the mouths of men so situe.ted. Looked at we tum to 2 Me.ooa.bees, if we may trnst it, in this light, it on the whole deserves some we find that Je.son, having purche.sed the commende.tion. If these martyrs did sing, high priesthood, encouraged Hellenic cus- of whioh there is not e. single word in the toms, and even sent money to Tyre for e. genuine text of Daniel, it would no.ture.lly sacrifice to Melkarth. These gave entre.noe be e. pso.lm. If they did not take the to Epiphe.nes, e.nd supported him in his hundred and thirty-sixth, with its liturgio cruelties. We ce.n readily understand how refre.in, then something modelled on it a zealous Jew of the Ma.cce.been time would would certainly be their song. Diffuse as regard these "apostates" as greater enemies this song is, there is e. sense of ecstasy in the.n the heathen followers of Epiphe.nee. it which suits the mood of me.rtyrs raised So far e.e we know, right down from by Divine indwelling a.hove pain or fear of shortly after the return from the Exile death. This seems to have been the original on to the period of the domine.tio11 of the e.ddition, bece.use the twenty-second verse of Seleucide, the high priest was =s•' and this portion (ver. 46 in the continuous versi- head of the people. After the Ma.cce.bee.n fice.tfon of the Vulge.te and Septuagint) suite period until the Herodian period, the head the state of matters mentioned in ver. 21 of of the people was the high priest. At the the chapter. In fact, it seems an e.mplified death of Herod the Great, the former rela- e.nd exaggerated version of the twenty- tionship we.e resumed. Even during the second verse. The Song of Aze.rie.h, there- reign of Herod there we.e e. prince, in the fore, is probably e.n insertion of later date Bhape of the king. The mention of e. the.n the interpole.tion of the joint aong. prince, without e.ny mention of e. king, Although its insertion is of later date, it not excludes all after John Hyrca.nn& The improbably had been composed for aome assertion the.t there we.e no longer e. prince, time before it.a insertion. shuts off all the period after Judas Me.cca,- Those connecting verses-the forty-sixth bmus had e.eeumed the high priesthood. to thefiftieth,e.ccording to the Vulge.te-he.ve We e.rc thUB led by another line to fix the come to us in three different versions. The date of this Song of A.ze.rie.h e.s being the vereion of the LXX. is the longest, " The bee.rt of the Ma.cce.bee.n period. guards of the king who threw them into the The following verse bee.re its own testi- fiery fume.ce, cee.sed not ea.using the fume.ea mony to the date we he.ve seen ree.son to fix to burn (1< ..lovns .,.:i,,, "'µu,011), e.nd when on above. The Greek varsions a.re at one they threw the three once for e.11 into the here, and give the verse, " And now we can- furne.ce, and the furne.ce was very fiery on not open:our mouths, we are become e. she.me a.ooount of the sevenfold hee.t: e.nd when and e. reproach to thy servant.a, and to them they co.et them in, those who co.et them in that worship thee." The Syrie.c has a slight were above them ; but those from benee.th difference in the first clause, "It is not for them fed the furnace with naphtha, tow, us to open our mouth before thee." This, pitch, and small wood. And the fie.mes of however, does not affect the me.in reference the furnace went up forty-nine cubits, e.nd of the verse. The weaning of the verse it passed through and burnt up those of the is that the widespread apostasy of the Che.ldee.ns whom it found about the furnace. people nui,de them e. reproe.ch and e. shame .Alld e.n angel of the Lord descended into w those who served the Lord and fee.red the furne.ce a.long with Aze.riah and hie him elsewhere. The only time coincident companions, and smote the fie.me of tire with gre11t persecution and consequent apos- out of the fume.ce, and ea.used in the midst ta.By, when there were large communities of the fume.ce e.s it were o moist whistling fee.ring the Lord who might be scandalized wind ; o.nd the fire did not e.t all touch by the; 111,uctasy of tlie Palestinian J ewe, w11.111 them, or grieve or trouble them." The OIJ. III. 1-30.] TIIF, BOOK OF DANIEL. 117