The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 174

anc1. an holy one oame down from heaven. ,, (lo). The phrase as it etnnds in the The Septu11,gint Venrion is shorter hero, Rod Greek is not unlike Uev. xiv. 18, "And therefore, other thing!! being equal, is to be 11.nother cried with a loud voice to him thn t preferred, "And I saw in my drPnm, nnd had the sharp sickle." It is, therefore, an angel wn.s eent in power from hea,·en." equall)' possible that 1, (lo) has boon Theodotion ie 11,1; usunl in closer R.Coord with changed into p (1.ayn). The latter part the text of the llla.ssoretic the.n is the Septuagint; yet be omits "of my he11,d." of the verse is more condensed, and The POBbittl\, yet closer to the Me.ssoretio therefore, by that, moro probable; only tho text, only omits "behold." There is now a rooting out commanded seems to con- ohange in the vision. The moue.rob sees " a tradict the fact that it is also commanded to watcher and a holy one desoond." Thie ie leave "one root of it." Theodotion is in rendered rightly by the Septuagint, "e.n much cloeer agreement with the Massoretic, angel." Jephet-ibn-Ali maintains th11.t there save that the beasts, instead of being warned are two, and that the watcher is the higher. to depart from beneath the shadow of the tree, The word ,,p ('eer), "watcher," ooours only are to beshaken(<raAu971ii.<rcw)from beneath in this chapter in the Bible. In the Book it, as aro all tho birds from its branches. of Enoch the ne.me occurs almost e. score of The Peshitta is an accurate translation of times, and is used to designate the arch- the text of the Massoretes. A peculiarity angels. In the present oe.se the word c''"JR to be observed in the Are.maio is the.t the verbs are in the plural, which is retained in (qaddeah ), "a holy one," is in e.11 likelihood Theodotion and the Peshilte.. It seems an explanatory addition, the word being difficult to understand this. Stuart's ex- unknown before-prob11.bly an ad11,pte.tion planation-which is practically that of of 110me ABByrian name. On the other hB,Dd, Hii.vemick and Hitzig-that the com.me.nd in the Book of Enoch every one is supposed is addressed by the ,,l! ('ei:r) to his retinue, to be as well acquainted with the C';'l! of seems highly forced, as there has been no Daniel as with the cherubim and ophe.nim word of a retinue. Keil's and Kliefoth's of Ezekiel e.nd the seraphim of ls11,i11,h. view, that the plural is the impersonal, Does not this imply the.t, at the time the does not suit the ciroumstancee. We have Book of Enoch was written, the Dook of a suspicion tlmt the plural is due to a Da.niel was eqne.lly well know:n with those mistake-thinking the watcher and the of the two other prophets? The le.test holy one were separate persons. Tho conceivable date for Enoch ie B.C. 130, e.nd Septuagint, however, has the plural, which BO le.te e. date never would he.ve been ie all the more extra.ordinary that ahf is thought of bad there not been a neceeeity singular. The function assigned here to to place its date after the.t e.t which critics the angels ·must be observed. Here, as in in their wisdom he.d placed Daniel. The the parables of our Lord, tbo angels are the date above mentioned implies the.t Judas instruments by whom the decrees of pro- Maccabams is unmentioned in a struggle vidence are executed. In our days angels of which he was the crowning hero. are not believed in. It is possible that Even grant that later date, it is incon- materialism he.s muoh of its advantage over ceivable that e. single generation could have us, in that we do not recognize the existence given Daniel such a place of honour as to and activity of angelic forces among the be regarded as the equal with Isaiah and agencies of nature and providence. Ezekiel. In this connection it is to be Ver. 15.-Nevertbelese leave the stump noticed that, though the opltanim, "wheels," of hie roots in the earth, even with a band of Ezekiel are 11,ade use of, the soosim, of iron and braBB, in the tender grass of tho "horses," of Zecbariah do not appear in the field ; B,Dd let it be wet with tho dew of later books. Yet they are declared to be heaven, and let bis portion be with the spirits. If Daniel were a contemporary of bea.sta in the gra.sa of the earth. Again the Ezekiel, and his writings he.d thus bad Septuagint differs considerably from the time to sink into the mind of the Jewish received text, "And thus he said, Leave people, this phenomenon can be understood. one root of it in the earth, in order tl111t it Ver. 14.-Re cried aloud, and said thus, may with the beasts of the earth browse in Rew down the tree, out off his branches, the mountains on grass like an ox." As shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: the reading is the briefer, it is on the whofo let the beasts get away from under it, and to be preferred, the more so that the belt of the fowls from h.u; branches. The Septuagint iron and braes is got rid of. The Septuagint Vtroion is, ".A.nd one called and said to assumes that the work of demolishing tho tree him, Cut it down, and de:stroy it ; for it is had gone on to some ext~nt, and then th_o decr,:,c,d by tl.e HigLest to root it out and watcher intervenes to bnng forwo.rd this dtstroy it." It is possible that av-ri in the limitation to the completeneae of tho de- Greek was due to 12 (hayn) Jx,ing read ns struction o.t first enjoined. Theodotion is in OJI, IV, 1-37,J TIIE BOOK OF DANIEL. Vl7