The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 288

to lmow the oontente of a letter. Even 11 ste.nds with the prayers of Ezra and Nehc- f<tl8arluB of the moat ignoro.nt sort would mia.h, a.a the subject of their supplication is sco.rcely fa.ii lo avoid the blunder attributell • similar to that of the pra.yer before ua. to the nuthor of Do.niel by critics. How do Ver. 4.-And I pre.yed unto the Lord my the critics he.rmonize I-heir oxple.ne.tion of God, a.nd ma.de my confeHion, end sai<l, O this vorse with their theory the.t the cEtnon Lord, the gree.t and dree.dfnl God, keep, ng closed in B.O. 105, while Do.niol we.s written the covana.nt and mercy to them that Jov, in tho yee.r n.o. 168? It woul<l be e.s im- him, a.nd to them that keep his coIDilL,a~- possible for e.n e.uthor to spce.k of the co.non ments. The versions do not ea.II for rem:irk. in terms which denote it being long fixed, The first clause is somewhat of a. repetition sixty yee.rs before it we.s o.ctuo.!ly collected, of the end of the previous verae, and mny e.s four hundred years. Tho impossible has thus be the indice.tion of there having bc,·n no degrees. That he would accomplish tworecensions; attbe same time, the Oriental seventy yeai·s. The.t seventy years would style allows greater repetition and redun- fulfil tho period of desolo.tion to Jerusalem. dancy tha.n in Western countries would be It is to be noted tho.t the word tra.nsle.tcd permitted. There is e. reference here to here "e.ccomplish" occurs in J eremie.h's Dent. vii 9, from which the latter chusc is letter in rega.rd to this very period (Jer. xxix. quoted -r,erbatim. It is also quoted with 10). The word for "desolations'' is connected equal exactness in Neh. i. 5. The chapter in by Fiirst with "drought; "it iso.lso connected Deuteronomy exhibits God's love for Israd, with the word for "a. sword." The da.te a.t e.nd hence, as that lovo is his plea, Daniel which the vision related in the che.pter was e.ppeals to it. We note the evidence of care- given wa.s, a.a we ha.ve seen, shortly e.fter ful e.cque.intance with preceding Scripture. the fa.II of Bo.bylon. The period set by Ver. 5.-We have sinned, e.nd have com- God, if we do.te from Do.niel's own captivity, mitted iniquity, and have done wickedly, was rapidly nee.ring its conclusion. As yet and have rebelled, even by departing from Cy1·us ha.d given no sign the.t he we.a a.bout thy precepts a.nd from thy judgments. While to tree.t the Jews differently from the other otherwise close, neither of the Greek versions ne.tions. The King of Ansan he.d declared retains the che.nge of construction before the himself-whether from fa.ith or policy we last claw;e, which is exhibited in the English cannot tell-a. fervent worshipper of Mero- versions. The Peshitte. fails in this way da.ch a.nd the other gods of Be.bylon: would aL;o, but uses participles all through. This he not be prone to pursue the policy of the verse has a strong resemblance to N eh. i. kings of Babylon, whose successor he cle.imed 6, 7, only in N ehemie.h there is more elabora- to be ? He had certe.inly ordered the return tion and all the signs of e. la.ter development. to the various cities of the ime.ges of those There is e. climax here from simple a.in to gods which he.d been brought to Be.bylon by rebellion; at the same time, this bee.ping Ne.bona.hid, but there we.a no word of the up of terms so nee.rly synonymous is more return of the captives of Zion. Would liturgic than literary; these words may ho.ve Jehove.h be true to his promise or not? been UBBd in the synagogue service in Like believers in every e.ge, De.Diel te.kes Be.bylon. refuge in pre.yer. Ver. 6.-li'eith.erhave we hearkened unto Ver. 3.-And I set my faoe unto the Lord thy servant■ the prophets, which spe.ke in God, to seek by pre.yer e.nd supplice.tions, thy Name to our kings, our prinoes, and our with fa.sting, e.nd saokoloth, and e.shes. The fathers, and to all the people of the land. Beptue.gint Version here is sle.vishly close ; The Septue.gint, while e.greeing in the main it renders N~'!t:l ('ell'na) in e.ccorde.nce with with the Me.ssoretic, transla.ted " to e.11 the its more common mee.ning, ra.,,,.., e.nd the people of the land" e.s "to every nation on idiomatic phrase, " to seek prayer and sup- the ee.rth." Theodotion is more accu.mte, plice.tion," is rendered e6piiv ,rpoa-eux,fv. The but the Peshitta ma.into.ins the ambiguity. true rendering is, as Professor Bevan points De.niel continues his confession of a.in. Not out," to set to prayer." Theodotion is nearly only will they not keep God's comme.nds, as sle.vish; only he omits "e.shes," and he.s but when God sent prophets, men of their " fa.stings." The Peshitta is olose, but does brethren, to speak to them with huma.n not follow the change of oonstruction in the voice, they would not hee.rken. The desig- 111.st clause. Jerome seems to have read, nation of the ordinary inhe.bit~nts, the "my God." The cessation of the temple- common people, as y:;,1;1c,-~ ('am ha'aretz) is a worship, with its sacrifices, was natur&lly usage tha.t became more pronounced in la.tcr fitted to bring pra.yer ae a mode of worship de.ye, when all not educated as rabbin were into a prominonoo it had not before. Yet called 'um ha'aretz. The resemblance is we find pra.yere made while the first temple striking between this pe.ssage and Neh. ix. was yet standing, ae tho pmyer of Hezekiah 30-32. It is, perhaps, impossible to settle ('.! Kinga xix. 15), of Jo~mhnplrnt (2 Chron. on merely critical grounds which is the more i.:i:. 6). The compnnson morn naturally primitive form. Thero is much in boih  '.'60 THE BOOK OF DANIEL. [os. rx. 1-27.