The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 202

It we.a o word epeofo.lly e.pt to be e.dded on as the Maeeoretic toxt hna it, would the margin, ond onoe on the margin it incree.ee the trouble of the king, anr\ this would r.•aeily drop into the text. Even in the trouble would naturally sprenrl to thP, ce,se of the Maeeoretic text, there eeeme to courtiers. be o. repetition hero. It ie certe.inly more Vere. 10-12.-Now the queen, by reason obvious in the Soptm,gint text. The verse of the words of the king and hie lords, came e.oeording to the Septuagint ie, "And there into the banquet-house: anrl the queen entered in the enohantere, the sorcerers, spake and said, 0 king, live for ever: let and the astrologers, and wero not able to not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy announce the interpretation of the writing." countenance be changed: there is a man in Theodotion agrees here with the received thy kingdom in whom is the sp:rit of th~ text; the Peshitte. omits "e.11." The only holy gods; and in the days of thy father we.y in which we can escape the idea of light and understanding and wisdom, Ii e this being e. repetition ie by holding that the the wisdom of the gods, was found in him ; word "all " is emphatic. The omission of whom the King Nebuchadnezzar thy fathe,, the word "all " from the Peshitta is against the king, I say, thy father, made master of this. It is to be observed that in the the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and Septuagint there ie no refercnee to "read- soothsayers; fora.smuch as an exce'lent ing the writing;" it ie only to announce tho sp[rit, and knowledge, and understandi11g, interpretation. interpreting of dreams, a.nd showing of hard Ver. 9.-Then was King Eelshe.zzar greatly sent6ncea, and dissolving of do11bts, w.;,a tronbled, and his countenance was changed found in the so.me Da.niel,·whom the king in him, and hie lords were astonied. Thie named Belteshazzar : now let Daniel be verse presents signs also of being a repetition. called, and he will show the interpreta.t;on. The last clause appears to be the original No one can fail to feel the presence of rhe- form of the mysterious clause at the end of toric here, especially in the last verse, which, the sixth verse accordmg to the Septuagint; we may remark, bas no equivalent in the the word mishtabsheen, which occurs here, Septuagint. We see the rhetorical charo.der seems to have been read mishtabhareen, from of these verses more clearly when we con- in:ill' (shab'har), "to be glorious," in the itta- sider the meptitnde of the special powers phei; thie becomes "to boast one's self," as ascribed to Daniel to meet the present m the Targum of Prov. xxv. 14, also the difficulty. Interpretation of dreams was Peshitta of the same passage; also 2 Cor. a common attribute a.scribed to wisdom m xii. 1. And this is the word used by Paulus the East of old, as it is yet. Bat this '-'RB Tellensis to translate ,cavxc.na,. The Sep- not a dream, and therefore the qualification tuagint has a verse here that has no equiva- was not to the purpose; still less to the pur- lent in the Massoretic text, " Then the pose are the attributes that follow. Show- king called the queen about the sign, and ing of hard sentences. Giving riddles that showed her how great it was, and that no nobody could read was an evidence of one had been able to deolare to the king wisdom all over the East (see Josephus, the interpretation of the writmg." This viii. 5. 3; besides Talmudic stories of verse avoids the repetition we find in the Solomon). This, however, is not a case of Massoretio text, and explains the presence competition in riddles; above ell, there is of the queen in a much more pla.usible way no opportunity of one giving riddles in than the received text does. In the Masso- return. "Dissolving of doubts" ie the retie text it is the noise and tumult that solving of these riddles. These que.lities, pierces the women's apartments, and brmgs which the queen-mother, according to the out the queen-mother; though not impossible, Mussoretic text, ascribes to Daniel, might this is unlikely. The action of the king, make him delightful as a boon companion, as given in the Septuagint, is very pro- but were not at all to the purpose in the bable. The wise men are baffied by this matter troubling the king. The version of mysteriously appearing inscription. What is the Septuagint is much briefer, and, it seems to be done? Belshazzar ce.lls his mother, the to us, much more satisfactory, "Then the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, as she o.t least queen reminded him concerning Do.niel, who possilily was, to see if she knows anything was of the ce.ptivity of Judrea, and said to in the po.st tho.t might be II guide in such the king, The man was understanding, wise, e. mo.tter. He not only shows her the sign, and excelling all the wise men of Babyh,n, the msoription, but shows how great it was, and there is e. holy spirit in him, and in thu by telling of tho ho.nd that ho.d come out of do.ys of the king thy fo.ther, he showed diffi- the darkness, and had written it. Theo- cult ( IJ'lr<po-y,ca.) interpretations to N ebuchad- dotion and the Peshitte. agree with the nezzar thy father." Thid has every sign of Mnssoretic text. While the repetition is he.vmg been tre.nslated; thus the phrase, obvious, it ie also true that the failure of all 'Eµv{iueTJ ,rpo• a.VT0Y 11 'P' TOV Aav,{7,\, which the wise men in Babylon to read the writing, we he.ve rendered, " reminded him concem-  1118 THE BOOK OF DANIEL. [olt, v. 1--31.