The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 175

agreement with the llfossorctic text, RB also other hand, in the twcnty-tl,ird VP,rso, in the Pcshitta.. l\Joses Stua.rt thinks the belt which wo have tho fulfilmont of th~ r\re,1111 of iron a.nd brnes is represented RB being put the change iR mainly physfoal, and it is t~ round thestumpof tho tree in order to prevent be observed that the change is produced hy H era.eking, and so rotting, in this follow- "tho dew of he11ven." Secen t·imes. The wr,rrl ing von Lnngorke. Koil, with more justice, 'iddflnun, "timea," ie e. mnttcr of some diffi- thin lee thnt this is a. transition from the symbol cu Hy; it rnea.ne really "seasons" or " pc1in I -i '' to the person symbolized; in this view he of time, e,s in Eccles. iii. 2, Tn.rg,1m, an<l 11,grecs with Hengstenbcrg, Kliefoth,Ziickler, Gen. xxxviii. 1, Targum Onkelos, "It crime Dehrmann, Hitzig, Ewa.lu, Kro.nicbfdd, and to pass at this tima." It is purely arbitrary others. There is a further division of to fix the meaning here as "ye11rs," as is opinion as to whether it symbolizes the done by the Septuagint and by many com- mental darkness Nebuchadnezzar will be mentators. Theodotinn keeps the ind,,finite- under, or the limitation of his kingdom, or nese of the original by rendering the word the fact that, as a maniac, he will be bound here ,ca,pol. The Peshitta transfers the with fetters. The fact that. while commen- word. It may be" months" as suggested by ta.tors have devoted so much time to this, Lenormant; it maybe "seasons," in our usual there is no reference to it in the interpreta- sense of the word. Rendel Harri~'e 'Bib- tion, confirms us in our suspicion of the lical Monuments,' p. 73, says, "8ummer and whole clause. The transition to the person, winter are the only seasons counted in if barely doubtful in regard to the belt of Babylonia;" if so, seven 'iddaneen would be iron and br11ss, is obvious in the remaining nearly four years. From the fact that clauses in this verse. Every tree is wet with exposure to weather is the point of impor- the dew of heaven-that would indicate tance, Mr. Harris'e view is not impossihle; neither degradation nor hardship ; and the but pathological reasons sngge,t "months" browsing with the beasts is impossible to a (see Excursus at the end of chapter). Seven, tree. The transition from thing to person with the Babylonians, as with most other is in perfect accordance with what every one Semites, is a round number of sacred im- has experienced in dreams. port, and therefore may not be preeseLI. Ver. 16.-Let hie heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto Ver. 17.-This matter is by the decree of him ; and let seven times pass over him. the watchers, and the demand by tha word The Septuagint rendering· seems to be taken of tha holy O!les: to the intent that the living from the previous verse, •• And let hie body may know that the Most High rnleth in the be changed by the dew of heaven, and let kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomso- him be pastured with them seven years." ever he will, and setteth up over it the It seems di.fll.cult to imagine, either, on the basest of men. In this verse the difference between the Septuagint text-we mean the one hand, 1'1:;!=17 (lib•bayh) changed into :,:q~ text behind that version-and that of the (pig•rah), the word bywhich Paulus Tellensie Massoretes is great. It is as follows : translates u&µa, though it suggests "car- "Until he know the Lord of heaven to have case," or into ;inl (nid nayh), the word used power over all things which are in heaven in eh. vii. 15; or, on the other, that either of and on the earth, and such things as he these should be read l•bab. At the same wi\leth to do, he doeth." This, as may be time, ~ and l nre not unlike in old inscrip- observed, is very much briefer tha.n the tions, nor :i unlike , ; any indistinctness Massoretic, anrl hence, to a certo.in extent, in the third letter might easily foad to a to bo preferred. It is, however, difficult to misto.ke. It is not impossible that some of ima.gine the genesis of the one from the the words in the latter po.rt of the previous other, as they ha.ve only two words in verse have been moditied from some word common in a, similar connection, .:•~~ meaning" body." It is equo.lly difficult to (shalee!) e.nd l'll;'i' (yin•d•oon). If we start guess what word has been read by the with the supposition that tho l\Iassoretic Septuagint translator instead of p;i\1~ (y11/i,- text is tho primary, we have a difficulty in l•phoon), "let them pass over." The greater seeing what reason in,luced this peculiar brevity of the Septua.gint is in its favour. form of condensation. Had it been to get Theodotion is, as usual, in closer agreement rid of the decree of the watchers, and the with the Maesoretio; ho renders min-anaosha' demand of the holy ones, that clause might or ano),lha' by d1rb -rWv 0.118pcfnrwv," from men ,, ha.ve been simply omitted, and the sense -a possible translo.tion, o.nd ono favoured by would have given no sign of anything some recent commentators. 'fhe Peehitta hnving been omitted. If, again, we start agrees quite with the received text. Accord- with the Septuagint text as om basis, it is ing to the received text, the main change difficult to understand what led to the wo.s mcntul-tho human he11rt is removed, insertion of " the decree of the watchers" and the heart of a bt•ast given. On the and " the demnnd of the holy ones." Of  138 THE BOOK OF DANIEL. [OH, IV, 1-37,