The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 248

in tho Revised. Luther D.nd most Gormnn Ionian books, as they ho.vo come rlown to na, commentD.tors render thus, as does Jerome. a.re clay tablet&" engraved" or" impressed" EwD.ld tmnslD.tos "CD.et," that is, "set." In with letters. We ho.ve all manner of lcg<>l tho third chD.pter, where we have the SD.rne documents in this form. The piles of tile• word, it meD.ns" CD.et down; " this leads us to o.nd cylinders which contain the deeds of prefer the Authorized rendering. The word those before the jndgment-eeat ato.nd beforo for" throne" is to he observed. It means not the Juriga. One by one they Bre displayer! so much the throne-royBI D.S the seat of a. before him. The scene presented is one of judge (DehrmBnn); but the office of judge unspeakable grandeur, and all put before was thD.t essentially of the king. The us with e. few masterly atrokee. We see .Ancient of days did. sit, It is not "the the great fiery throne:; the Judge, awful with Ancient of days," but" one ancient in dD.ys," the dignity of unnumbered ages, attended that is to say, the phrase is not appellative, by a million of angels who are ready to do but descriptive. After the thrones of these bis will; and e. hundred million watching earlier kingdoms were cast down, then one e.nd listening spectators. We find that this appeBred like an old man clD.d in a garment description of the jndgment in the first of snowy whiteness, and the hair of his head Apocalypse reappears, modified and made as wool. That this is a symbolic Bppearance yet more solemn, in the last Apocalypse. of God is beyond doubt. Ewald remarks We are, however, not to regard this as the on the grandeur of the description as excel- final judgment. Daniel is rather admitted ling in boldness even the vision of Ezekiel. into the presence of God in the heavens, and The throne, thejudgment-seatofthe Ancient sees his jndgment continually being prepared of days, is a chariot of "fiery flame," with against the wicked. " wheels of burning :6.re "-a description that Ver. 11.-I beheld then because o! the suggests the translation of Elijah. His voice o! the great words which the horn throne is at once the judge's seat and the spake : I beheld even till the beast wu chariot of the warrior. From beneath this slain, and his body destroyed, and given to chariot-throne " a fiery stream issued forth." the burning flame. The Septuagint Version In the Book of Revelation (xx:ii. I), from has been translated from the so.me text; beneath the throne of God there issued the but the word translated "because" is river of the water of life, clear as crystal. rendered -r&,-,, "then," nccording to the usual Compare with this also Enoch xiv. 9-22. meaning of the word. Theodotion has e. Enoeh's description is derived from this, doublet. The Peshitta. is much briefer, "I but amplified to a great extent. Thousand. saw that this beast was slain, and its body thousands ministered. unto him, and. ten destroyed, and it was cast into the flame of thousand times ten thousand stood before him. fire." The roice of the great uords; that is, The word " thousands" in the Aramaic has blasphemies. The punishment of blasphemy the Hebrew plural terminD.tion in the K'thib, among the Babylonians was bnrning. On but in the most ancient forms of Aramaio account of the blasphemies of the little there a.re mBny points where the two tongues horn, the whole empire to which it belonged have not yet diverged. 'fhe symbol here is was destroyed. If we regard the fourth of e. royal court, only the numbers are vaster beast as Rome, and the little horn the thano.nyearthlycourtcouldshow. Theangels imperial dignity, it was on account of its of God a.re present to carry out the decisions blasphemies that the empire really ceased. of the judgment. Compare with this Enoch The blasphemous claim to divinity wrought i. 9 (Cho.rles's trnns.), "Lo I be comes with madness in the minds of such youths as ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute CD.ligula, Nero, Commodus, Carncalla, Bnd judgment upon them." 'l'hose that minister HeliogD.bu.lus. The process might be a unto the Judge are those whose dnty it is slow one. God had his purpose in the to carry out the Divine sentence; those who history of the race to work out by the, stnnd before him are those who are spectntors Roman Empire; yet it was none the less of this great assize. The judgment was set. the madnrns of the emperors that brought This translation is not u.ccurnte. The word the empire down. The way the prorinces traus!D.tcd "was set" is the so.me as that were hBrried by barbarians East and West rendered in the second c!D.nse of the preceding could well be described 11.s burning the body verse "did sit." Again, although deena', of it with fire. t:bns vocalized, means "judgmcnt," it mo.y Ver. 12.-As concerning the rest of the be differently vocalized, dayyana, nnd mean beasts, they had their dominion taken a.way: "Judge." If we tBke the present pointing, yet their lives were prolonged for a season the phrase may be tD.ken o.s equivalent to and time. The version of the LXX. has "the assize begD.n." And the books weTe a different reference, "And those a.bout opened. It ought to be noted thnt the word him he took u.wa.y from their dominion, here used for " bocks " is derived from o. root and time of life was given them for e. time primarily meaning "engrave." The D11by- and 11, season." Here, as in the sev~nth verse, 214 THE BOOK. OF lJANIEL.