The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 241

EXPOSITION. Daniel wrote the vision which he had eeen CHAPTER Vll. in heads (chapters, 1wpcl.,-a,a.) of narration ('-&-r•w)." While these words do not neces- Ven. 1-28.-Tm: Vrs10N OP THE FoUB sarily imply that Belshazzar wae not king, B.EASTS. but only acting as king, they yet may mean this. We know now thllt for five years Thia chapter begins the second section of during the nominal reign of his father the book. .All before this has been narra• Nabnnahid. Belshazzar really reigned. Theodotion does not absolutely 11gree with tivc; visions e.re introduced into the narra- the Massoretic reading here, "In the first tive, but they were not given to Daniel year of BeL!hazzar King of the ChaldeaIIB, hi.w.self, but to others; his r-61.e was the Daniel saw e. dream (t!v~,rvaov) and the visions secondary one of interpreter. These visions of hill head upon his bed, 11nd he wrote the and the events connected with them 11re dream." The omission of the final clause will be observed. The Peshitta. is closer to rc:bted more as incidents in the biography the Maesoretic; it differs, in fact, only by of Daniel, than as revelations of the the insertion of malcootha, "the l'eign of," future. With this ch11pter begins e. series before "Belsha.zzar." This is, in all pro- of rcn,lations to Daniel personally. This bability, the original heading of the truct clrnplcr is the last cb.!pter of the .Aramaic in which Daniel first published his pro• phecy. What were tile circumstances, so purtion of Daniel Though thus linguisti- far as we ca.n attain a knowledge of them, cally joined to what has preceded. logically when thus the future was revealed to it is related to what follows. Daniel? The Scythian forces under Asty- ages had conquered ull tho countries inter- Yer. 1.-In the first yea.r of Eelshazzar wediate between tile steppes whence they Rir-g of E11bylon Daniel had e. dream and had come and Babylonia. Above all, they v::::ons of his he11d upon his bed: then he had overthxown the Median Empire, thnt w. c1c the dream, and told the sum of the was closely 11ssociated with that of Baby Ion. L .. ·.~e:s. '.!.'Le lang1.1.age of tLe Septllllgint They had pressed in upon Babylonia, nnd ic- .,,.<c;.:-~;siivc of the actual state of matters, were besieging its cities when Cyrus, the ~- -,-•. •)._l~ B::.i.Hat1ar wa.s reigning-acting as King of Ansan, !'ebelled ago.inst Astyages. b:,·,-J"ur tbc first year, Daniel saw a vision We may imagine that, from the extent of Lcs,de (-;capo) his Lead upon 1is LeJ. 'l'Len their ewpire, the Manda wouhl h1we to be OIi, VU. 1-28.] THE IlOOK OF DANIEL. 207