The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 220

Bahylo'!l, The phrase whioh eto.tee this the ehields of Gntinrn guarding the cihtdel occurs ID the AnDBle of N o.bunahid ( col. and the temple Esakkil. Thie bein" tho iii. line 20), "And Gobryrte hie governor case, naturally the official class of the l'~rmer appointed governors in llo.bylon." Delitzsch monarchy wonld be largely drawn 11p,;n (' Beitrii.ge zur Aseyriologie,' ii. p. 256) to sapply the needs of the new govemrn,·nt; points out tho.t tho sign of the pluro.1 o.fter naturally the native Babylonians •voulrl the second occurrence of the word think thnt the preference in all mutters of "governor " proves that we cannot trans- office ought to be given to them; that, above lo.teas if" Cyrus" wcro the nominative to the e.ll, the principal place should not be given sentenoe, 1>nd "Gobryas," who we.s governor to a Jew by Cyrae, or by e.ny one under of Gutiwm or Guti, WBB object. From the him, since Cyrus professed to be moved hy fBot that the text of Daniel WBB not pro- reverence for the national gods of Baby Ion teoted by being regularly read in the in his war against Nabanahid. And the synagogues, BB was the Law, the Prophets, king thougl,t to set him over the whole realm. the Megillotb, the Psalms, and some other This reo.lly means over the province of books, it wo.s more at the mercy of scribes. Babylon, malcoutha being written instead The oho.nge of "Gobryas" into "Darius" of m•deena. His object was not to make led easily to other mocli.fiootions. Probably Daniel satrap instead of himself, but to m•deena, "province," we.s the word in the make him his "vizier." His knowledge original text, but it was modified to of the business of the province would of malcoutha, " kingdom," and " governors" necessity be very thorough, dating, as it did, of cities became "satraps" over provinces. from the days of Nebuchadnezzar. He, as no After having appointed these subordinate other, would be acquainted with the varions governors, that a board of three should be religions beliefs of the different captive set over them WBB a neoessnl"y arrangement. communities in Babylonia. Himself belong- The name given to them, sar'lceen, is asserted ing to one of these communities, his interest by some to be of Persian origin. On the would be excited by all in similar circum- other hand, the fa.et that the first sy liable stances. His age, the dignity he had is sar, the Assyrian for "king," one is enjoyed in the courts of Nebuohadnezza:r tempted to think of a Semitic etymology. e.nd Nabunahid, along with his zeal and The Authorized is wrong in making ability, naturally explain the desire of Daniel "first" of these presidents; all that Darius (Gobryas) to make him his vizier. is BBserted is that Daniel was one of these Vers. 4, 5.-Then the presidents and presidents. That the Icing should have no princes sought to find occasion a.ga.inst damage applies most probably to the Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they revenue. The country, in the East, is could find none occasion nor fault; for- divided off into small districts for the purpose asmnch as he was faithful, neither was of tax-collecting, and in the division of the there any error or fa. ul t found in him. Persian Empire into twenty satrapies, this Then sa.id these men, We shall not find any was greatly the object. The repetition of occasion against this Daniel, except we find the wortl "king" here might imply that it against him concerning the law of bis Darius was not the king whose loss of God. The rendering of the Septuagint is revenue was to be guarded against; but here very pare.phrastic, "Then the two we would not be held as pressing this. young men (veavi,rno,) took counsel, anti Although Daniel was not, on the creation of planned among themselves with each other, this board, made chief of it, he soon ac- saying, Since they found no error nor quired e.n influence over Darius which gave neglect (<1-yvo,av) against Daniel, a.bout him, in effect, such a position. We are to which they might accuse him to the king, understand that these officials were ma.inly and they said, Come, let us make a decree Babylonians. We learn now that the ( dpurµ.&v) among ourselves, that no man shall capture of Babylonia by Cyrus was not make any request, or offer any prayer, to accomplished by a skilful diverting of the any god for thirty days, but only from waters of the Euphrates, so that the Persian Darius the king, e.nd if not he shall die; in troops were enabled to we.de in by the bed order that they might lower ( ~n-1,,,.,,,.,) of tho stream, nor to the fa.et that in the Daniel before the king, e.nd that ho be revelry of a feast the river-go.tes were thrown into the den of lions; for they knew left open, o.ncl the sentinels were careless ; that Daniel prayed and me.de supplication but to the fa.et that the whole offioial class to the Lord his God three times a day." were e.t enmity with the court, and so There are elements here of interpolation treachery opened the gates to Gobryas, the and of the coalescence of different render- governor of Gutiwn, the name given to ings. It is difficult to understand how "the Mesopote.mio. as a Persian province, and pr~sidents" could bo called vea,•;""°'· There when morning broke one day, the sixteenth seoms no Aramaic word with that meaning, of Tammuz, tile inhabitants of Babylon saw into which sar•keen could be read; certainly  188 THE BOOK OF DANIEL. [ell. v1. l-28,