The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 222

Egyptians (Exod. viii. 2G). Tho offoring ove,r whfoh Cyrus waA king, lny hd,wcr,n of n prayer among heathen pcopleR generally Rlam and Media, but helongerl mr,re t'l mettnt the offering of encriflcoe, nl,o Bccom- tho formor thnn to the lattr-r or th,,a 0 pttniecl poeeibly by proceeeions. 'fhnt the countries. Both countri,.s harl bee,n overnin decree wtts made by DMius in the absence by a nomadic rac.-,, the Manrla, unrler A•ty- of hii favourite minister might have two ages, who he.d overthrown Cyaxarr-• the rca~ons: either from tho fact that the King of Media. Against Astyagcs Cynis word used (11argishoo) implies that the rebelled, and gathered to him the Mr,r\,,a, preeidentg roshed in tumultuously into tbe Elnmites, and other cognate rae,,s. Dr. royal p1•efience; that there WBB an emer- Winckler thinks that, on his victory r,ver gonoy which must be met by instant Bction; Astyages, Cyrus assumed the name Peraian, or tllBt, being a weak mBn, he did not wish Parsu, from his raee. The name Par311a hia other counsellors to thinlc that he w11s appears in connection with the Medcs in so under tho influence of this Jow that he an inscription of Sbalmaneser, where it could do nothing without first consulting seems to indicate e. small kingrl"m occu- him ; so, by way of showing his inde- pying much the same geographical posit'on pendence, he signed the decree. As for the as Ansan. By taking this old name, not practical deification of himself required impossibly Cyrus avoided making the from the subject races, that would not Merles feel themselves snhject to the Ela.m- appear to him a mBtter of importance. It ites, or the Elamites to the Medes, or might even seem to him as the surest way either to the little kingdom of Anse.n. of doing away with the rancour of religious The Median had comparatively recently rivalries to give these conflicting creeds been an imperial power, therefore its laws a. common object. He, Gobryas, was the and constitntion would be placed before representative of Cyrus, in whom deity the more recently prominent Persian. One was incarnate, therefore let them worship tbing that must be observed is that, while him in his representative capacity. '.!.'hat the writer of Daniel mentions Medes se- Daniel should be affected by this decree pe.rate from Persians, he mrntions them might easily never occur to Gobrya,i, Jewish conjointly. Had the writer been under worship, now that the temple at Jerusalem the delusion attributed to him by all critical was in ruins, must have become very much interpreters, that the Median Empire came the syno.gogue worship of tile present day. between the Babylonian and the Persian, A worship that had neither idols nor sacri- he would not ham represented the Median fices, neither temple nor altar, would seem courtiers as saying anything about the to the Babylonians, and for that matter Persians or their laws; the Medes, and the to the Medians and Persians also, as much Medes alone, would be considered. Accord- the same as atheism. Ohristie.ni ty seemed so ing to the Greek account, from which it to the Roman Government. Darius, then, is alleged Daniel dxew hia information, would readily think that Daniel could make Persia WII,!! "I~ small, undeveloped country no serions objection to tuis order. That before Cyrus raised it to empire. What Daniel always spoke of a God in heaven right, then, would it have to have its laws did not matter muoh, since, to all appear- mentioned in the same breath with those ance, he never worehipped him. Some of imperial Media? If, however, Cyrns had have maintained that the punishment was been raised to such power, so as to be able an impossible one. It is certain that As- to encounter successfully .Astyo.ges and his shur-bo.ni-pal inflicted a similar punishment Scytllian hordes by tbe adhesion to his on Se.nlmugina, a rebel King of Babylon, cause of the Medes, the laws of the Medes and did it in honour of t11e gods.• The might well get a preference, as the Merles ma.in objection has been mged from tile were, in all probability, more numerous than mistaken assumption that the text implies the Persians, tllough the le.we of tile Per- that the lions' den was a bottle-shaped sians would be mentioued. The cle.im that dungeon. There is nothing in the narrative these lo.we were immutable must be re- that necessitates this. In regard to the garded as on a par with several other decree, there is reference to the " le.ws of Eastern exaggerations. Signed the writing the Medes and Persians," "the Medes" and the decree. Tile reo.ding of the Septua- being ple.ccd first. It has been attributed gint seems superior," And so King Darius to court flattery, as Do.rius wo.s a Mede; decreed (fr-r71a-,), and confirmed it." At probo.hly, however, there may be another the same time, the verb r'sham, tro.nslated expluno.tion. The small canton of Ansan, "sign," really means "engrave," and there... fore might naturally enough be used for 1 Smith, • Asshurbanipal,' p. IGO. The affixing a seal to a clay tablet; only /i'tham treatment meted out to Vaiteh, son of is tl.te word usually used for "sealing" Ifazail, by the some 1uou ,rch, is somewho.t B document. Dclmnann thinks it ,lucs 1wt o.kiu (ibid., p. 2Gl), refor to the signature of the sovereign, l>ctL 188 THE BOOK OF DANIEL, [cm:. VJ, 1-28.