The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 367

ste.nd, e.nd the wise she.11 e.ttend." The but lhe "'ise s11all understand. This ngal.n 'l'cl'!!ion of Theodotion is longer tbe.n tbe repcBts the doctrine the.t effort after holiness Me.ssoretio, "Me.ny ehe.11 be chosen e.nd is neoeBBe.rr to understanding God's ways. me.de white, e.nd tested, and sanctified ; The histonoe.l instance abo'l'e cited proves nnd none of the transgressors she.11 under- the truth of the stl\tement here. The stRnd, nnd the wise she.11 nnderstilDd." ChristiBns, who were the wise in tho sense The e.dditioD11.l sta.ge is probably duo to of those that considered e,nd sought nfter a "doublet." The Peshitta rendering ia, God, understood tho signs of the times, nnd "l\Ie.n_y sh&ll be ohoeen, e.nd me.do white, left Jerusalem; but none of tho wicked and tried; and the wicked she.II do wickedly: understood, and so perished in the foll of and none of the sinners shall nndersta.nd; the city. but those that then do good shall under- stand." The Vnlga.te rendering is, "And Ver. 11.-And from the time that the many shall be chosen, a.nd made white, e.nd daily sa.oriflce ehe.11 be tBk&II e.we.y, and the tried as by fire; and the wicked sha.ll do abomine.ti.on that me.keth desole.te set up wickedl'I': e.nd none of the wicked she.ll 1.here shall be e. thousand two hundred and understand; bnt the lea.rued she.ll under- ninety de.ys. The Septuagint is, " From st.and." It is to be observed that a.11 the the time the sacrifice is taken awl\y for ever, e.nd the e.bominntion of desolntion is 'Versions ta.ke the hithpael of .,~ e.nd 7::i7 prepared to be set up, are a thousnnd two as if they were the passives of the ka.1-a. hundred and ninety days." The translator new that shows the gramma.tical influence must have had n~j) ('olath) before him, and of the Aramaic dialects. This verse as a whole is paraphrased in Rev. mi. 11, "He rea.d it n7]1 ('olah), else he conld not hnve tha.t is unjust, let him be unjust still: e.nd tre.nsle.ted ,.1;11;1 " for ever," and written he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: e.nd "sacrifice" also. The Hebrew copyist, he that is righteous, let him be righteous following the use.ge of Palestine, which etill: and he that is holy, let him be holy makes "sacrifice" understood after " COD• still." Many shall be puriji,ed, and mads tinual," had omitted it in the text followed v:hite. If we keep strietly to the meaning by the Massoretes. '.rheodotion's rendering of the hitbpael, we ought to render, "Me.ny is, "From the time of the change of the sliall purify themselves e.nd make them- daily sacrifice (lv B•/\.•x•o-,..&s) and the abQmi• selves wliite," 11-11 the Revised renders. nation of desolation set up (" given," Bo* When men make e. sincere effort e.fter o-e.,-a.,) is a thousand two hundred and ninety purity, tlien the Lord is ready to help days." The Peshittn and Vulgate do not call them. John vii 17, "If o..ny man will do his for remarks. This verse is a veritable cruz will, he sho.J.l know of the doctrine." Then, interpretum. From the time that the dai"ly wlien men were thns strinng e.fter purity, sacrijl.ce shaU be taken atDay. This event is re- would the meaning of De.niel's prophecy ferred to in oh. xi 31. Whether the eleventh be made known. .An e.ge in which there chapter is earliE'r or later is in our opinion is great religions fervour is never one in scarcely doubtful Al.so in eh. viii. 11 we which men are conscious of prevailing have the taking awe.y of the daily sacrifice goodness; on the contrary, it is one when mentioned e.s one of the deeds of Antiochns. meu are conscious of prevailing evil in While the reference in eh. x:i. nnd eh. viii. themselves and others. Hence the Book is to the e.ction of A.ntiochus, it is not of Daniel could not have been written in neceBBary to maintain that this refers to the age of the Maccabees; by their very him; other OJJpressors might take away earnestness they would be conscious of the daily se.criflce. This cle.use certa.inly moral and spiritual defects in themselves seems to give the t.erminus a quo, but it is and others, and would not reckon their e.ge difficult to fix the de.te in question. one in which special revelations could be Certainly from the fact that the words expected.. Tried. The reference implied used here e.re nsed by the writer of the in the word nsed is trying by fire-after eleventh ch.e.pter to describe the actions of tl.iese saints have purified themselves they Antiochns, nnd that in I Me.co. i 5<1: there are tested by fire. But the wicked ,hall do is e.lso a similar identificntion, we might u:ickedly. No amount of afflietion will of be inclined to ta.ke the event here men- itself prc.duce purity. The northern tribes tioned e.s the starting-point of the twelve were c,ppressed by Haze.el, bnt that did not hundred and ninety days. But the wc,rk any change in them. The most acknowledged impossibility of fitting the striking ex11mple of this in all history is days to the chronology militates e.ge.inst this the Eic:ge of J ernsalem. The sufferings of view. .And the abomination that maketh the siege made the besieged more utterly duolate eet up. At first sight the reader lawless tb11n before. Om Lord interprets is inclined to follow Wieseler, e.nd regard a portion of this passage as referring to thia this as a statement of the terminu, ad quem. 1iege. None of the u;icl:ed eh.all uflderstand; The gramme.tied di.fll.culties e.ga~t this 01!, XII. 1-18.] THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 341