The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 274

(lirl pd-roP), and towo.rd tho ea.et, e.nd townrd (looppaf). So too the last verb has cvirlently the north." In thie caee, l,rl Pd-rov ia clenrly been read 1,110,;i:,;1 (,;iiyyir'm,oohno) inste:ul o doubl~t-e.n alternative rendering that of OP.'?"?T;I} ( "atti~1msay,n ), due to the rcsc 111. I.me got mto the toxt from the margin. 'E,rl blan_ce which there_ was between yorl en<l /3oNii.v results from reading tz•plwnah (,111~~) fou ID the older script. Theodotion differ~ instead of tzebee (•:;i:~)- Theodotion rendere, hardly Ieee from the Massoretic "An,l it "From one of them went forth a etron"' wae magnified to the power of h~aven, and horn, e.nd we.s me.gnified exceedingly to th~ It fell to the earth from the power of south e.nd to thepower"-reading N:;i¥ (lzaba), heaven and from the ate.re, and they tro<le "host," for tzebee. It is to be obeerved that them down." The verb translated "fell" both tra.nelo.te mitztz•'eeroth ae "etrong" is evidently read with a. vocalizati,,n (/crxupos) instead of" little." '.l'he reason of different from both the l\fassorctic and the this IS that they have ta.ken r;i ae equiva- LXX. The eense of Theodotion is more in lent to ex, therefore equivalent to a negative. o.ccorda.nce with the Septuagint than with The Peehitto. agreee with the Authorized in tho Maseoretic. The Peshitta. and the rending mitztz•'eeroth ns "little," but leaves Vulgate agree with the Massoretic. The out the difficult final word rendered "the question of which reading i~ to be pre- pleaeant land" in our Authoiized Version. ferred can scarcely be settled without Jerome trnnslatee mitztz''eeroth by modicum, regarding the meaning of the terms here and tzebee by fartitudinem-o. combination of ueed. The crucial point is - What is '.rheodotion and the Ma.esoretic; he must the meaning of the "host of heaven"? have had tzaba in hie text instead of tzebee, '.[he gene_ral coneensus of interpreters -this may he.vo been due to the fa.et that 18 that th!S refers to Israel. Some main- izaba occure in the next verse. The refer- tain that the host of heaven is Israel ence ie sufficiently obvious to Antiochus. and the stars their leaders (Gla.ssius): th~ The description is accurate; he sprang eta.rs are tho Levites (Grotius). Moses from one of the four horns or dyno.stiee that Stuart would hold the host to be the priest.a, succeeded the great conqueror. He carried and the stars the teachers. Kliefoth is right hie e.rme to the oa.et, but mainly to the south in commencing first with the picture, and e,gainst Egypt. The great diflicultiee are in requiring that it be realized in thought. the two Hebrew words mitztz•'eeroth and The horn grows and grows before Daniel'e tzebee. As to the first word, the fa.et that gaze, until it seems to touch the stars, that the two Greek versions have read it a.re is, the host of heaven. As to what is meant conclusive ago.inst the euggestion of Gratz by the eto.rs, we must look elsewhere for an and Hitzig, supported by Bevan, that we explanation. Have we any right to take should omit]!? (min). Jephet-ibn-Ali te.kes "the host of heaven" as meaning the people of God? The phrase, "host of min e.s denoting the origin of the horn, heaven," occurs elsewhere in Scripture "from a little one." The further sugges- nearly a. score of times, and it never means tion of Grii.tz, that we should adopt the anything else than the stars or the angels. reading of the LXX., is rightly combo.tted by Therefore o.11 interpretations that make Professor Bevan, The readings a.like of the this mean either the people of God or the LXX. and Tbeodotion could have sprung Levitee, must be thrown aside. It may, from theMaesoretic reading, whereas neither however, mean the people of God mediately. of these could eo readily be tho original A quite elaborate line of deduction has been rending. It wo.a necesee.ry that Israel should brought forward-the promise to Abraham be prominent in thia pa.rt of the prophecy ; (Gen. xv.5), to Isaac(Gen. xxvi. 4), that their it all leads up to the pereecution the Jews seed should be as the ete.rs of heaven, is endured at the hands of Epiphanes. It is brought into connection with the use of the necessary, then, to hold that this word, what- word "hosts" in regard to Israel (Numb. i. ever reading we adopt, and whatever im- 52, eto. }-and the title given to God e.s the medfote meaning we oesign to it, must refer God of Israel, "Jehovah of hosts." This is to Palestine. Ewo.ld rendi;rs it "ornament;" vcr_y ingenious, but it has no support from Deva.u, "glory." scriptural usage or from the usage in Vor. 10.-And it waxed great, even to apocalyptic writings. In the Book of Enoch, the host of heaven; and it oaat down some wbich, sinoe it is modelled on this book, of the host and of the stars to the ground, furnishes us with the earliest commentary and stamped upon them. The reading of on it, we find the stars are invo.ria.blv tbu the LXX. is very different after the first eymbol of the angels. When we pass to clauee, "And it wu enlted to the stars of the Book of Revelation, we find the so.me heaven, and it was shattered to the earth thing. We find when we pass on to the by the stars, and by them tramplod down." tenth chapter of this book, that a.II tho The verb ?!lJ:I (tappayl), translated "cast nations are regarded ae uuder tho rule of down," ho.a been read IL8 if it ha.d been '~I;' so~e special angel We m11;,t app!y, so far P4NlJ~ ~ 212 'l'HE BOOK OF DANIEL. [en. vm. l.-27,