The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 180

l'?f by the pMsive, titcfa'ba; aimile.rly Daniel. Professor Bevan's reference t.o the Theod.otion renders it. If we a.re to take New Teet11,mcnt is miate.ken. In no cMe the words of Daniel strictly, even in the in the New Testament is o!/pavo, used for 11 M,u,.soretic, much more if we tl\ke the God." Even in the Greek Apocryph11, is Septul\gint, text, be seems to have under- no usage precisely equive.lent. Doniel, by stood the dream to point, not to lycantbropy, using the phrase he did, put himself on but to au overthrow at the hands of his the s11,me lo,·el &8 the heathen king-pride <'nemies, when they would compel him to against the gods (~/3p15), and of this, by eat grass in hie distreSB, and, by depriving implication, is Nebuchadnezzar here nc- him of every ebelter, forc0 him to be wet o_nsed. Certainly the words of his inscrip- with the dew of heaven. There ie nothing tions do not indicate anything of this sort. to indicate that the compulsion should work In foctt ma'!y of the phrases in the prayer within, and that by these inner scourges ~ ~farauk 1n the India House Inscription the meSBengers of the Most High would ~d1oate _reverent humility almost Chris- drire Nebuchadnezzar forth to the fields. tian. Still, these phmses might be due to Ver. 26.-And whereas they commanded some extent, to political custom. The r~la- to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy tion of a polytheist to his gods is a psycho- l.."ingdom shall be.sure unto thee, after that logical enigma to a civilized monotheist. thou &he.It have known that the heavens On the one band, he recognizes bis de- do rule. The Septuagint Version here is pendence on the god; on the other, be con- different, and not so good as the received siders the god honoured by bis worship, and text, " A.nd ( as for) the root of the tree therefore owing him certain duties in which was left and not rooted out, the place return. of thy throne shall be preserved to thee to Ver. 27.-Wherefore, O king, let my a season and an hour ; behold, for thee they counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break are prepared, n.nd they shall bring judg- olf thy sins by righteousness, and thine ment upon thee. The Lord liveth in iniquities by showing meroy to the poor ; if heaven, and his power is in all the earth." it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. The last clause here is plainly a paraphrase The Septuagint Version differs in this case <>f "the heavens do rule." "A. season and somewhat considerably. It connects itself an hour" is a doublet, and since it is to be with the preceding verse, 11 Entreat him on obserrcd that the phrase, " after that thou account of thy sins, and to purify all thine she.It have known," is omitted, we may de- unrighteousness in e.lmsgiving, in order that duce that thindda', "thou shalt know," is, be may give thee humility, and many days by transposition of letters, read l' iddan. on the throne of thy kingdom, e.nd that Theodotion, who is usuo.lly slavish w bis fol- thou be not destroyed." This version is lowing of the Aramaic construction, renders parapbrastic and inferior as a whole to the here, ".And because they said, Suffer the text of the Massoretes, but at the same time, stump ( ~1.nw) of the roots of the tree." This there must have been a different text to suggests that in the text before Tbeodotion make such a rendering possible. Theo- mem is omitted from p:ir,z:i', (l•-mishbaq), and dotion is more in accordance with the it wa.s read 1p:i?i"S (l•is7waqoo), meaning, Massoretic text, but also has resemblances 8.C'cording to the Mandaitic form of the to the Septuagint here, " Therefore, O king, verb, "they shall leave "-a form in ac- let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and cordance with the previous construction, atone for thy sins by almsgiving, and for tLen further altered to the second person thine unrighteousness by mercies to the plural. The end of the verse is also slightly poor (,r,v/j-rc.,v), perchance (ttrc.,s) God will different, "Until thou sbalt know the be long-suffering to thy transgression." heavenly power," reading here ahooltan dee The last clause may be due to reading •h'mya' :instead of shaltan •h•mya. The 'el.a,~' (1tnS1t) for 'archa {1t:i,1t), in which Pesbitta renders, '' till thou she.It know that case the last clause would read, "God may power is from the heaven (min ah"Tnya)." be for thy tranquillity." In this case Theo- Mr. Bevan remarks on this usage of dotion's rendering is a nature.I paraphrase. "heavens" for" God," which be compares The Pesbitta is in agreement with the with the 111.ishna and with the New Testa- received text, save that malka, "king," is ment. He doc,s not observe that the diffi- left out, possibly from its resemblance to culty all the translators have with the milki, "my counsel." The Vulgate render- phra..e is o proof that, when the versions ing is, " Wherefore, 0 king, let my counsel were made, it was even then not a common be pleasing unto thee, redeem thy sins by rumge; hence that its introduction here was nlmsgiving, and thine iniquities by mercies not due to the influence of the Mishnaic to the poor; perchance be will forgive Rehrew stretching back, but was owing (iynoBcat) thy sins." '.rbis follows Tbcodo- rather to the peculiar circumstances of tion so far in the last clause, but not wholly. OH, IV, 1-37.] THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 113