POR BENT...
he is not mentioned as having a portion; but: his two fons, Ephraim and Manajfeh, who are here omitted; which made room for Levi’s name to be inferted; and Dan whorhad his portion firft, is here placed in the middle, no order being obferved; the whole being myftical and {piritual.
¥. 33. And at the fouth fide four. thoufand and
Jive hundred meafures, &c.] “The fouth fide of the tity meafured juft the fame as the north and eaft fides did: and three gates; were on that fide, as on the’ others: one gate of Simeon, one gate of If- fachar, one gate of Zebulun; at which thefe tribes entered, or thofe they reprefent.
¥. 34. At the weft fide four thoufand and five bundred, &c.) Meatures or reeds; fo many were the length of this fide; the fame with north, fouth and eaft, and made a four-fquare; and fich the city was, as the new Ferujalem is faid to be, Rev. xxi. 16: with their three gates: one gate of Gad, one gate of Aber, one gate of Nephtali; the fituation of thefe gates on all fides, eaft, weft, north and fouth, fhew, that in the latter day ‘people will flock from all quarters to the church of Chrift, and that there will be an open and free accefs of all perfons into it; fee J/ ii 2. and xliii. 5,6. and xlix. 12, 18. and Ix. 4, 5.
¥. 35. It was round about eighteen thoufand meafures, &c.]. Putting the numbers together which each fide made, the circumference of the city was eighteen thoufand meafures; which, according to Cornelius A Lapide, were thirty two thoufand miles; which fhews that no City literally taken can be here meant, but myftically and fpiritually the church of Chrift, which will be of great extent in the latter day; and a large one ‘t had need to be, to hold all nations that will flow into it; it will be fpread all over the world; the world will become the church; the kingdoms of it will become Chrift’s; the little ftone will become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth; the kingdom and intereft of Chrift, which is his church, will be from fea to fea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth; even from the rifing of the fun to the fetting of the fame. Some Fews/d writers *, not knowing what to make of thefe large meafures, fay, that they have refpect to the eighteen thoufand worlds God is faid to make, which thefe were a fimilitude, figure, or exemplar of; but thofe Yews are nearer the true fenfe of them, who fay ‘, that this is to be underftood of eru/alem above, or as it will be in future time, in the world to come, the difpenfation of the Meffiah, Gal. iv. 26: and the name of the city from that day thall be, the Lord is there, the gofpel-church has other names, as Ferufalem, mount Zion, the Lord our righteoufnets, Hephzibah and Beulah, a city not forlaken, Hed, xii, 22. Fer. xxxiii. 16. Jf. Ixii. 4, 12. but here it is called Febovah Shammah, the Lord is there, or dwells there; which is to be underftood of his prefence in it; not in a general way, as he is in all places, and with all his creatures, continually, conftantly, and every where working in a providential manner s but of his gracious prefence in a fpecial way and manner: in this fenfe Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit, are in the gofpel-church, and will be more manifeftly in the latter day; Jehovah the. Father, as the Father of Chrift, bleffing them with: all fpiritual bleffings in him; granting them his prefence in him, and communion with him, thro’ him; as their Father providing all: good ee for them, and as the God of all grace unto them: Jehovah the Son, as the mafter of the family taking care of it, asa fon in his own houfe, and the firft-born among his brethren; as the prophet in the midft of his church, teaching and inftructing; as the high-prieft in the midft of the golden candlefticks, lighting and trimming them; as the king in Zion, to rule and govern, protect and defend it; fhewing himfelf in all the glories of his perfon, and the riches of his grace, according to his promife, Mast. xxviii. 20. Fehovah the Spirit is here to qualify men with gifts for the miniftry, to apply the word, and make it ufeful; as a Spirit of grace and fupplication, and to help the Lord’s people in the exercife of grace, and difcharge of duty; and to be their comforter and remembrancer, Jehovah here does, and will difplay his glorious perfections; his power in the prefervation of his faints; his wifdom in the guidance and dire¢tion of them; his truth and faithfulnefs in the performance of promifes to them; his purity and holinefs in the fanctification of them; his love, grace and mercy in the large difcoveries made unto them; in fhort, he’ll appear all glorious to them, and will be the glory in the midft of them, Pf xlvi. 5, 6. Zeph. iui. 17. Zech. ii. 5. the date from whence this will commence is ¢hat day; either from the beginning of the gofpel-difpenfation, that famous _ day made by the rifing of the fun of righteoufhefs; or from the day and date of Chrift’s promife of his prefence, Mast, xxviii. 20. or from the time the gofpel-church-ftate was fet up; or from the day this city will be rebuilt and reftored, the Lord - will more vifibly and manifeftly grant his prefence to the inhabitants of it, and, never more from them; fee Jf Ixii. 12. The Targum is, * the ‘“* name of the city which is feparated from the “* day, the Lord will caufe his Shekinah to dwell “¢ there.” The Yews 4 produce this place to fhew that Ferufalem is called Fehovab, and fay, don’t read Shammab, there, but Shemabh, its name; and the Socinians from hence would difprove the incommunicablenefs of the name Feboveb to a creature, but without effect; fince this city is not called fimply Yebovab, but with an additional epithet; and this is to be underftood, not in a divided, but compound fenfe, as the altar in Exod. xvii. 15. and
4 HIS book is called, in the Vulgate Latin verfion, the prophecy of Daniel, and in the
Syriac and Arabic verfions, the prophecy of Daniel the prophet. This Daniel was of the children of Yudab, that were carried captive into Babylon with Feboiakim, and was of princely blood, if not of the royal feed, as appears from ch. i. 3, 5. Fofephus * is exprefs for it, that he was of the kindred and family of Zedekiah: and Saadiah Gaon * fays, he was of the feed of Hezekiah, and fo fulfilled the prophecy in 2 Kings xx. 18. As to what the author of the lives of the prophets, afcribed to Epiphanius, fays *, that he was born in upper Bethabara, not far from Ferufalem, it is not to be depended on; or that his father’s name was Sabaam, according to a tradition mentioned by the true £iphanius*. The Fews * would have it, that. this book was not written by Daniel himfelf, but by the men of the great fynagogue; tho’ it is evident from the book itfelf, that Daniel is the writer of it, as from ch. vii. 1, 2, 28. and viii. 1, 15, 27. and ix. 2. and x. 2. and xii. 5. That he wrote books, which were received, read, and believed by the Jews as of God, is affirmed by Fofephus*,; and the Jews in general acknowledge, that this book was written by the influence of the Holy Spirit, but not by prophecy; they, without any foundation, diftinguifhing between the Holy Spirit and prophecy. And fo Maimonides fays ®, it is the general confent of their nation, that this book is among the holy writings, but not among the prophets; nor will they allow Daniel to be a prophet: the reafons they give are frivolous; what feems to have induced them to degrade him, is the manifeft prophecy of the time of the Meffiah’s coming in this book, which fometimes they are obliged to own is fixed in it. They tell us.a ftory of Yonathan ben Uzziel, that having finifhed his paraphrafe of the prophets, thought to have wrote one on the Hagiographa, or holy writings, among which they place the book of Daniel; but was forbid by Bath- Kol, or a voice from heaven, giving this as a reafon, becaufe that in it is contained the end of the Meffiah *, the precife time of his coming; and the gilofs on the pafflage adds, by way of explanation, *¢ in the book of Dawiel;” tho’ elfewhere they would have it, that after it was made known: to Daniel, it was taken away from him. — For fo they fay ', there are two men to whom the end was revealed, and afterwards it was hidden from them; and thefe are they, Zacob and Daniel: from Daniel, according to ch. xii. 4. dut thou, O Daniel, fout up the words, and feal the book, &c. from Facob, Gen. xlix. 1. that I may tell you that which foall befal you in the laft days.. Yet the prophecy of Da- niel was fo clear, with refpe& to the time of the Meffiah’s coming, that one of their Rabsins, who lived about fifty years before the coming of Chrift, afferted, that the time of the Meffiah, as fignified by Daniel, could not be deferred longer than thofe fifty years *; and a moft glaring prophecy it is, and fufficient to denominate Daniel a prophet, as well as many more contained in this book. And after all, Maimonides himfelf owns, that he, and the other writers of the Hagiographa, or holy writings, may be called prophets in general: And Aben Ezra obferves of Daniel in his preface, that he delivered out prophecies of things now paft, and of things to come; yea, he exprefsly cails him a prophet on ¥. 17. And Yacchiades, another of their commentators on this book, fays, that he attained to the higheft degree of prophecy. To which may be added the teftimony of Yofephus', who fays, he was one of the greateft prophets, and to be preferred to others; fince he not only predicted things future, but fixed the time when they fhould come to pafs. And above all, and what fhould fatisfy us chriftians, he is exprefsly called a prophet by our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 15. There are no other authentic writings of Daniel, which bear his name; the ftories of Sufannah, and of Be/ and the Dragon, which make the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters in the Greek of Yheodotion, and in the Vulgate Latin verfion, are apocryphal and fpurious. The Oriental writers make Daniel the author of a volume, entitled, Principles relating to the explanation of dreams. And there is another book, in the king of France’s library, with this title, Odmathal-mantoul an Danial al-nabi; which contains preditions of the prophet Daniel, received by tradition from’ him. This is a book which abounds with falfities, forged by the Mabometans, and founded on the real prophecies of Daniel™. ‘This book, written by him, is partly hiftorical, relating facts in which he was concerned; and partly prophetical, of things that fhould happen from his time to the end of the world, and eipecially of the Meffiah and his kingdom; and it is written partly in Hebrew, and partly in Chaldee. ‘This great man, as he was both in nature and grace, in religion and politicks, lived throughout the captivity, but does not feem ever to have returned into Judea but continued in the courts of the kings of the Medes and Perfians, to take care of the atfairs of his people the Yews. Where he died, and was buried, is not certain. Some fay in Babylon, and others, which is more likely, at Su/g on the Tigris, where he was in the third year of Cyrus, Dan. x. 1, 4. So fays Abulfeda »; with which agrees the account of Benjamin of Tudela.
HIS chapter begins with an account of the firft captivity of the ews, in the times of Sehoiakim; of which captivity Danie! was one, and it is mentioned on his account, ¥. 1, 2. who, with others, were feleted by the order of the king of Babylon, to be educated in the learning of the Cha - deans, and to be. maintained at his expence, in order to be his minifters, ¥. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. but Daniel and his three companions refufed the king’s meat and wine, left they fhould be defiled; in which they were indulged by their governor, after trial being made, that they, were fairer. and fatter for it, ¥. 8—16. and at the end of the time appointed, they appeared to have a large fhare of knowledge, wifdom, and learning; upon which they were taken into the king’s court and fervice, ¥. 17—20. and the chapter is concluded with obferving, the long continuation of Daniel here, even to the firft year of Cyrus, ¥. 21.
y. 1. In the third year of the reign of Feboiakim king of Judah, &c.] At the clofe of it, and at the beginning of the fourth, which was the firft of Nebuchadnezzar, Fer. xxv. 1. Ferufalem feems to have been taken twice in his time, and two captivities init: the firft was in the third or fourth year of his reign; when humbling himfelf, he was reftored to his kingdom, tho’ he became a tributary to the king of Babylon; Daniel and his companions, who were carried captive with him, were retained as hoftages: but after three years he rebelled, but it was not until his eleventh year that Nebuchaduezzar came againft him again, took him, and bound him, in order to carry him to Babylon, but he died by the way; fee 2 Kings xxiv. 1, 2. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 5, 6. fome, as Zarchi and Saadiah Gaon, make this to be the third year of his rebellion, and the laft of ‘his reign; they fuppofe that he was conquered by the king of Badylon, and became fubject to him in the fifth year of his reign; that he ferved him three years, and rebelled againft him three years: at the end of which, came Netuchadnezzar king of Babylon unio Ferufalem, and befieged it; with his army, and took it; andthe. fame way it is accounted for in the ewifh chronicle °.: according to bifhop Ufber 3, this was in the year of the world 3398, and of the Yulian period 4108, and before Chrift 607 or 606; according to Mr... Bedford « 605., é y¥. 2. The Lord gave Feboiakim king of Fudak into bis hand, &c.) And the city of Ferufalem too, or he could not have took the king; and fo the Syriac verfion renders it, aud the Lord delivered it into his bands, and Feboiakim, &c. this was.from the Lord, becaufe of his fins, and the fins of his anceftors, and of his people; or otherwife the king of Babylon could not have taken the city, nor him, becaufe of the great power of the Yews, as Facchiades oblerves: with part of the vefféls of the houfe. of.God; not all of them; for fome, as Saadiah fays, were hid by Yofah and Feremiah, which is not to be depended on; however, certain it is, away afterwards, in Feconiah’s time, 2 Kings xxiv. 13. and ftill there were fome left, as the pi fea, bafes,. and other weffels, which were to be carried away, and were carried away by the King of and li. 17—20: which ke carried into the land of Shinar, to the houfe of bis gad; which Farchi wnderftands both of the men that were carried eaptive, and the veflels that were taken out of the temple; but the latter feem only to be intended, fince of men Feboiakim is only fpoken of before;’ and it does not appear he was ever carried into Ba-> byloyn; but it is certain the vyeffels of pera were carried thither; which is meant by the land of Shinar, where Babylon ftood, and where the tower of Batel was built, Gen. x. 2. the fame, as Grotius thinks, with the Simgara of Pliny * and Ptolemy *. So the Largum of Onkelos, on Gen. x. 10. arid Xi. 2. interprets the land of Shiner, the land of Babylon; likewile the Feru/clem Targum on Gen. x. 10. and the Zargum of Fonathan on Gen, xi2. If xi. 11. and Zech. v. 11. only:on Gen. x. 10. he paraphrafes it, the land of Pontus. So Hefiaus*, an” ancient Phenician writer, calls Shinar, Sémnaar of Babylonia. It feems to -have its name from y/3,’ which fignifies to hake out; becaufe from hence, the men of the flood, as Scadiah fays, or the builders of Babel, were fhook out by the Lord, and were fcattered over the face of the earth.. Aind as the tower of Babel itfelf, very probably was built for idolatrous worfhip, for which reafon the Igord was fo difpleafed with the builders of it; fo in this fame place, or near it, now ftood an idol’s temple, where the king of Babylon, and the inhabitants’ thereof worfhipped, here called the bouje of bis gods, as it may be rendered; for the Babylonians’ worfhipped more gods than one; there were Rach, Shach, and Nego, from whom Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego, are fuppofed to have their’ names given them by the Chaldeans, y. 7. Rach is thought’ to be. the fun, whofe priefts were called Rachiophante, obfervers of the fun, Shach, to which She- Joach is referred by fome, Fer. li. 41. for'which a feaft was kept once a year for five days, when fervants had the rule and government of their’ ma-' {ters; and JVego either,was worfhipped for 'the fun, or fome ftar, fo called from its brightnefs.- Venus!
'was- alfo. had in veneration with the Babylonians;
whom they called Mylitta; in whofe' temple many’ aéts of uncleannefs and filthinefs were: committe, as EHeredorus * relates. And befides’ thefe, there’ were Merodach, Nebo, and Bel; of which fee J/-° xlvi. 1. Fer. 1. 2. the latter ‘feems to “have b their chief deity, and who was called fpr er Bi lus; and with whom were the goddeflés Yuno ¢ Rhea. » And in the city of Babylon ftood the temple of Bel, or Jupiter Belus, which was extant in” the times of Herodotus, and of which he ‘gives -
account ¥, and is. this; ‘* the temple of Fapiter 4 ‘* ys had gates of brafs; it was two furlong “* every fide, and-was four-fquare. “In th “¢ of the temple was a folid tower, a furlon;
- “ dean priefts of this deity fay.”
“¢ up them was without, in a winding about each “* tower; and as you went up, in the middle, ** there was a room and feats torefton, In the «© Jaft tower was a large temple, in which was a ** large bed fplendidly furnifhed, and a table. of “* cold fet by it; but there was no ftatue there; «* nor did any man Jie there in the night; only “* one woman, a native of the place, whom the ** god chofe from among them all, as: the Cha/-
Diodorus Siculus fays *, it was of an extraordinary height, where the Chaldeans made obfervations on the ftars, and could take an exact view of the rife and fetting of them; it was all made of brick and bitumen, at great coft and expence. Here the vefiels. of the fanétuary were brought by Nebuchadnezzar, to the praife and glory of his idols, as Farchi and Facchiades obferve; to whom he imputed the victory he had obtained over the Fews. Even thefe he brought into the treafure-boufe of bis god, very probably this was the chapel Herodotus * {peaks of, where was a large golden itatue of Fupiter fitting, and a large golden table by it, and a golden throne and fteps, reckoned by the Chaldeans at eight hundred talents of gold. And Diodorus Siculus * relates, that there were three golden ftatues, of Fupiter, Funo, and Rhea. ‘That of-Fupiter was as one ftanding on his feet, and as it were walking, was forty feet in length, and weighed a thoufand Babylonian talents, (computed three millions and an half of our money.) That of Rhea was of the fame weight, fitting upon a throne of gold, and two lions ftanding at her knees; and near to them ferpents of a prodigious bignefs, made of filver, which weighed thirty talents. That of Funo was a ftanding flatue, weighing eight hundred talents; in her right hand fhe held the head of a ferpent, and in her left a fceptre fet with precious ftones; and there was a golden table common to.them all, forty feet long, fifteen broad, and of the weight of fifty talents.. Moreover, there were two bowls of thirty talents, and as many cenfers of three hundred talents, and three cups of gold; that which was dedicated to Fupiter, weighed a thoufand two hundred Babylonian talents, and the other fix hundred. Here ‘all the rich things dedicated to their god were laid.up,. and here the king of Babylon brought the treafures and rich vefféls he took out of the temple of Jeru alem;
and to this agrees the teftimony of Bero/us‘,who fays, that with the fpoils of war Nebuchadnezzar took from the ews and neighbouring nations, he adorned the temple of Belus. The riches of this temple, according to hiftorians, is fuppofed to be above one and twenty millions fterling *, even of thofe only which Diodorus Siculus gives an account of, as above..)
¥. 3. And the king fpake unto Afbpenaz, the mafier of bis eunuchs, 8cc,] That is, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon {pake to this officer of his, whofe name was A/ppenaz; which, according to Saadiah, figriifies a man of an angry countenance 5 but Hillerus © derives it from the Arabic word wis Schaphan, as defigning one that excels in wit and underftanding; for which reafon he might. have the command of the eunuchs, many of which the eaftern princes had about them, particularly to wait upon their women, or to educate youth, as the Turks have now; tho’, as R. Je/huah in Alben Exra obferves, the word fignifies minifters, and may intend the king’s nobles. and courtiers, his minifters of ftate; and fo this A/bpenaz may be confidered as his primeminifter, to whom he gave orders, that he should bring» certain of the children of Ifrael; whom he had taken and brought captive to Babylon, and were difpofed of, in fome part or another of the city and country; and out of thefe it was his will, that fome fhould be felected and brought to his court: and of the kings feed, and of the princes; or, even § of the king’s feed, and of the princes y not any of the children of J/rae/, but fuch as were of the blood-royal, or of the king of Fudab’s family, or fome way related to it; or however, that were of princely birth, the children of perfons of the firft rank, as the word * may fignify; or of nobles and dukes, as Farchi interprets it.
¥. 4. Children in whom was no blemifh, &c.| Not mere children, but young men of fifteen or twenty years of age; about which’ age Daniel is by Aben Ezra fuppofed to be, when he was carried captive; and lefs than this he can’t well be thought to be, fince in a few years after, he was put into pofts of the greateft eminence and importance: fuch were ordered to be feleéted, that had no deformity or defect in any parts of their body, or wanted any, as an eye, or an hand, &c. or, in whom was not any thing»; vicious or immoral, or
{candalous in their character: but well favoured, of a good complexion, a ruddy countenance, and a healthful look. So Curtius' fays, that in all barbarous ‘or uncivilized countries, the ftatelinefs and bignefs of the body is had in great veneration; nor do they think any capable of great fervices or actions, to whom nature has not vouchfafed to give a beautiful form and afpect. And Ariffotle * fays it was reported, that in Erhiopia, civil offices of government or magiftracy, were diftributed according to the bulk or beauty of men, the largenefs. and tallnefs of their bodies, or the comelinefs of them; and not only among them, but this has always been-the cuftom of the eaftern nations, to chufe fuch for their principal officers, or to wait on princes and great perfonages, and continues to this day... Sir Paul Ricaut’ obferves, ‘* that the
“< youths that are defigned for the great offices of “the Turki empire, mutt be of admirable fea- ‘* tures and pleafing looks, well-fhaped in their ‘‘ bodies, and without any defects of nature; for ‘* it is conceived, that a corrupt and fordid foul can “* fcarce inhabit in ‘a ferene and ingenious afpect; ‘* and, fays he, I have obferved not only in the “‘- feraglio, but alfo in the courts of great men,
“© their perfonal attendants have been of comely
“¢ Jufty youths well habited, deporting themfelves ‘¢ with: fingular modefty and refpect in the pre- ‘¢ fence of their mafters: fo that when a pafcha, ‘* aba, fpahee travels, he is always attended with “a comely equipage, followed by flourifhing “* youths, well clothed, and mounted in great num- * bers; that one may guefs at the greatnefs of this ‘* empire, by the retinue, pomp, and number of ¢ feryants, which accompany perfons of quality in “ their journies.” And no doubt Nebuchadnezzar
2 END quidquam quod obftet, Guffetius, ms 1 Prefent flate of the Ottoman empire, B. 1.
260 Ly a had fome of thefe ends in view, in ordering fuch perfons to be felected and brought up at his expence; that they might be both for fervice and ufefulnefs, and for his grandeur and glory. And failful in all wifdom in the wifdom of the Fews, or had a liberal education according to the cuftom of their country; or were young men of good capacities, capable of being inftructed, and of improving themfelves in all kind of wifdom: and cunning in knowledge, or knowing knowledge ™; having a large fhare of the knowledge of their own country, cuftoms, and laws civil and religious:: and underftanding feience, the liberal arts and ciences; or however were perfons of a good genius, and of retentive memories; young men of capacity, diligence, induftry and application, and of great docility, and fo very promifing to make great and ufeful men: and fuch as had ability in them to ftand in the king’s palace; not only ftrength of body, which was requifite to a long waiting there, as fometimes they were obliged to do; but {trength of mind, courage, and undauntednefs, to ftand before the king and his nobles, without fhewing a ruftic fear, and timidity of mind: and avhom they might teach the learning and tongue of the Chaldeans; or, the book and language of the Chaldeans" book for books; fuch as contained their literature, hiftory and philofophy, mathematicks, the knowledge of the ftars, in which they excelled, as well as architecture and military fkill; and it was neceflary they fhould learn the Chaldean language, which differed from the Hebrew chiefly in dialect and pronunciation, that they might be able to read thofe books of fciente, and to fpeak with a good accent, and readily, before the king and his nobles; or rather the fenfe is, that they might underftood the Chaldean language, the manner of reading, writing, and pronouncing it. “DD tranflated earning, may fignify the letters of the language, the fcripture or manner of writing, as Saadiah and Aben Ezra interpret it; which muft be firft learned in any language, in order to attain the knowledge of it; fo it feems to be ufed in Jf. xxix. 12. [am not learned, or know not a book or letters; fee Fobn vii. 15. and nw tranflated tongue, may fignify the rules, idioms, ‘and properties of the language; the nature, genius, and dialect of it, and fignification of the words and phrafes ufed in it to be learned, fo as to be thorough mafters of it, underftand it, fpeak it, and pronounce it well. But here a difficulty arifes, fince the form and character of the letters of the Chaldee and Hebrew languages now in ufe are the fame;' it may feem unneceffary that /Yebrew youths fhould be put to {chool to learn the Chaldean letters and language, tho’ the dialect and idioms of the two languages might in fome things differ; but let it be obferved, that it might be, and it is not improbable, that the letters of the Cha/dean language were not the fame then as they are now; and Hottinger ° exprefsly fays, that the ancient Chaldee character is bes fiat teal ‘ar ae their mother-tongue, in which it was moft ome
T E I.) Ch. 1. Ya Py 7 and agreeable to fpeak to the king: and as it i ae the opinion of many learned men.now, that thefe languages are the fame, fo it was the fenfe of the ancient Jews. Says R. Samuel Bar Nachman’, let not the Syriac language be mean in thine eyes, or lightly efteemed by thee; for in the law, in the prophets, and in the Hagiographa, the holy blefled
God has imparted honour to it; in the law, Gey, xxxi. 47. in the prophets, Yer. x. 11. in the Ha it is the Chaldee language that is ufed; and that which was fpoken in Babylon, the head of the Chaldean empire, is called the Syriac; for Cyrus, when — he took that city, ordered a proclamation to be ~ made, by men {fkilled, cups, in the Syriac language, that the inhabitants fhould keep within doors, and that thofe that were found without, fhould be flains; which orders were publifhed in that language, that they might be univerfally underftood, being the language of the common people. So Herodotus, {peaking-of the Arians, fays *, thefe by the Greeks are called Syrians, and by the barbarians Affrians, among whom were the Chajdeans: and as Strabo obferves *, the fame language or dialeét was ufed by thofe without Luvphrates, and by thofe within; that is, by the Syrians ftriétly fo ° called, and by the Balylonians or Chaldeans: and elfewhere ', the name of Syrians reached from Babylon to Sinus Ificus; and formerly, from thence to the Ewxine fea. Now it is certain, that the form and character of the letters in the Syriac language, are very different from the Hebrew, and difficult to be learnt, and might be thofe which thefe Hebrew youths were to be taught at fchool, as well.as the rudiments of it; and it is-as evident, that the language of the Fews, and that of the Syrians, Chal- — deans, and Babylonians, were fo different, that the common people of the former, did not underftan the language of the latter when fpoke, as appears from 2 Kings xviii. 26. and Jf. xxxvi. 11. fo that there was an apparent neceffity for the one to be taught the language of the other, in order to underftand it.
¥. 5. And the king appointed them a daily provifion of the king’s meat, &c.] Every day a portion
was ordered them from the king’s table, of the — richeft dainties he himfelf eat of; which was done not only as an act of royal munificence and generofity, and in refpect of their birth and breeding 5 _ but alfo as a bait and fnare to allure and entice them, to make them in love with the country and condition in which they were, and to forget their — own; as well alfo, in order to preferve their ee? favoured look and good complexion, and fit them for their ftudy of language and literature; which — might be hindered for want of the neceflaries of — life, or by living on grofs and coarfe food: and of — the wine which be drank, which, as it was of various forts, fo of the be{t and moft excellent; and which, moderately drank, conduces to the healtl not known; not to fay any thing of the difference of the Hebrew letters then, from what they are now, which fome have furmifed: befides, it is a clear cafe, that the Chaldee and Syriac languages are the fame, as appears from ch, ii. 4. where the Chaldeans are faid to fpeak to the king in Syriac; and yet, what follows, is no other than Chaldee, of the body, and chearfulnefs of the mind; ar which are both ufeful to forward learned f dies: fo nourifoing them three years; this was the t fixed for their acquiring the learning and lang of the Chaldeans,; during which, cn were t provided for from the king’s table, and at pence, as above; which, term of time Wi fufficient for their learning every thing neceflary to qualify them for the king’s fervice; and in which time it might be thought they would forget their own country, cuftoms, religion and language, and be inured to the place and perfons where they were, and be fatisfied and eafy with their condition and circumftances: that at the end thereof they might fiand before the king; that is, at the end of three years they might be prefented to the king for his examination and approbation, and be appointed to what fervice he fhould think fit; and particularly that they might be in his court, and minifter to him in what poft it fhould be his pleafure to place them. Some in Asen Ezra, and which he himfelf inclines to, read and interpret it, shat fome of them might ftand before the king; fuch as he fhould choofe out of them, that were moft accomplifhed and moft fit for his fervice; fo Facchiades.
y. 6. Now among thefe were of the children of Fudah, &c.| Among thofe youths that were fefected from the reft, and brought up in the above manner, and for the above purpofes, who were of the tribe of Fudab, and very likely of the houfe of David, and of royal defcent, were the-four following perfons: Daniel, Hananiab, Mifbael, and Azariah; who are particularly mentioned, becaufe they were the moft famous and renowned of them, and are concerned inthe fubfequent hiftory, and account of faéts: their names are expreffive and fignificant; Daniel fignifies, God is my judge, Hananiah may be interpreted, God is gracious to me; Mifbael is by fome thought to be the fame as Michael, he who is God, or as God and by others, afked of God, by his mother, as Samuel was by Hannab, {0 Saadiah interprets it; and Azariab may be explained, God is my help, or belps me.
¥. 7. Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names, &c.] Other names, Cha/dee names, according to the names of the gods of that country, for honour and glory, as Saadiab obferves; which was done cither to make them more acceptable to the court and courtiers of the king of Babylon; and to fhew that they were his fervants, and naturalized fubjects; and chiefly to caufe them to forget the names their fathers gave them, and out of hatred to them, having all of them in them the names of the true God, E/ or Fah; and moft of all, that they might forget the God of their fathers, whofe name they bore. This prince of the eunuchs feems to be the fame with the mafter of the eunuchs,
_ Afhpenaz before-mentioned, fo Facchiades; but fome take him to be another perfon: what he did in changing the names of thefe four Hebrew youths, were not of his own head, and by his own authority, but by the order of the king; fee ch. v. 12: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Beltefhazzar which fignifies Bel hath bid and treafured; or Bel’s treafurer, or the keeper of his treafures; fee ¥. 2, Bel was the chief idol of the Chaldeans, If, xlvi. 1. and Daniel was named according to him, as Nebuchadnezzar himfelf fays, ch. iv. 8. and differs but in one letter from the name of a fucceffor of his, Belfbazzar, ch. v. 1. hence Daniel is thought by Broughton, and others, to be the Belefis of Diodorus Siculus: or it may be he had this name given him from Beltis or Baaltis *, a queen and goddefs of the Babylonians, and may be compounded of that and Azer: and to Hananiab of Shadrach, which fome interpret, @ tender pap, or breaft: others, the king’s meffenger, or the meffenger of the fun. The word Rach fignifies a king with the Chaldeans, as it did with the Egyptians, as may be obferved in the word brec, the king’s father, in Gen. xli. 43. and is ufed by them of the fun, the prince of planets, whom they worfhipped: others, the infpirction of the fun, their idol. Hillerus “ explains it, of fire, the object of their adoration: and to Mifbael of Mefhach, or, of Shach,which was a name of a god, or goddefs of the Chaldeans they worfhipped; at the celebration of whofe feaft they were when Badylon was taken by Cyrus: and ta Azariah of Abed-nego; The word fignifies Joining brightnefs; which fome underftand of fire worfhipped by them; others of the bright planet Venus; and others of Lucifer, or the morning-ftar. Saadiab takes it to be the fame with Nebo, by a change of a letter, which was a god of the Chaldeans, fee If. xlvi. 1.
¥. 8. But Daniel purpofed in bis heart, 8c.) It being propofed to him to be brought up in’ the manner before defcribed, he revolved it in his mind; he well weighed it, and confidered it with himfelf, and came to a refolution about it. This is to be underitood of him, not to the exclufion of his three companions, who were of the fame mind with him, as appears by what follows; but perhaps it was firft thought of by him; at leaft, he firft moved it to them, to which they confented; and becaufe he was the principal in this affair, it is afcribed to him as his purpofe and refolution: that he would not defile kimfelf with the portion of the king’s meat, by eating of it; partly becaufe it might confift of what was forbidden bythe law of Mojfes, as the flefh of unclean creatures, particularly fwine, and fat and blood, and fo defile himfelf in a ceremonial fenfe; and partly, becaufe tho’ it might be food in itfelf lawful to be eaten, yet part of it being firft offered to their idol Bel, as was ufual, and the whole blefled in his name; it would have been againft his confcience, and a de« filing of that, to eat of things offered to, or bleffed in the name of, an idol: nor with the wine which he drank; which was as unlawful as his food; being a libation to his gods, as Aben Ezra obferves; otherwife wine was not forbidden; nor was it difufed by Dawiel, when he could partake of it in his own way, ch. x. 3: ¢herefore he requefted of the prince of the eunuchs, that he might not defile himfelf; he did not in a furly, {tiff and obftinate. manner refufe the meat and drink brought; but prudently made it a requeft, and modeitly pros pofed it to the prince of the eunuchs, that had the care and charge of him and his companions; and who alfo joined with him in this humble fuit, as appears by what follows.
¥. 9. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. Even
before this requeft was made; as he gave to Fo/eph favour in the fight of Potiphar, and of the keeper of the prifon; for whatever favour is fhewn to’ good men by bad men, is from the Lord; for tho’ Daniel’s ingenuity, the goodnefs of his temper, and his modeft behaviour, his excellent natural parts, and other accomplifhments, might be a means of ingratiating him into. the favour of this officer; yet all would have been infufficient to recommend him to him, or to overcome his preju~’ dices on account of religion, if the Lord had not wrought upon his heart to-fhew kindnefs and tendernefs to him; which appeared not only by his’
paft ufage of him; but when he prefented ‘his fupplication to him, he did not put on a ftern countenance, and anfwer him roughly, and threaten him if he did not comply with the king’s orders; but in a mild and gentle manner, as follows:
y. 10. And the prince of the eunuchs faid unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, &c.) This he faid, not as refufing and denying the requeft of Daniel, but as hefitating about it, divided in his own mind, between love and tendernefs to Daniel, and fear of the king: it is as if he fhould fay, | could freely out of refpe¢ét to you grant you your requeft; were it not for duty to my lord the king, ‘reverence of him, and efpecially fear of his wrath and difpleafure: who hath appointed your meat and your drink; has ordered it himfelf, both the quality and quantity, both, what, and how much; whofe will is his law, and cannot be refifted, but muft be obeyed; and tho’ fhould I indulge you in this matter, and it may be concealed for a while, yet it cannot be always a fecret, your countenance will betray it: for why fhould he fee your faces worfe liking than the children which are of your fort? than the other Fewi/b youths that were felected at the fame time, and brought up in the fame manner, and for the fame ends. Some % render it, than the children of your captivity; who were taken and brought captive to Babylon when they were; but the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac and Arabic verfions render it, ‘han thofe of the fame age’; their cotemporaries, that were born about the fame time, and brought up together in the fame way: or, than thofe of your own nation? as fome tranflate it: and now, when they fhould be prefented together to the king, the difference would be obfervable; Daniel and his companions would appear of a pale complexion, of thin and meager looks, and dark difmal countenances, like perfons angry, fretful and troubled, as the word fignifies *; when their cotemporaries would appear fat and plump, chearful _and pleafant; which would naturally lead into an enquiry of the reafon of this difference: then jhall ye make me endanger my bead to the king; I fhall commit a trefpa{s, of which I fhall be found guilty, and be condemned to die, and lofe my head for it; and now, as if he fhould fay, I leave it with you; can you defire me to expofe myfelf te fo much danger? I would willingly grant your favour, but my life is at ftake.
y. 11. Then faid Daniel to Melzar, &c.) The prince of the eunuchs having put off Daniel with the above anfwer, feems to have left him; or however Daniel finding he could not obtain of him what he fought for, applies to Melzar an under officer, whom he hoped to find more pliable; and it may be, that A/bpenax might fuggeft it to him, to apply to this perfon, and fignify that if he could prevail upon him to give him other food inftead of the king’s,; who might be under a temptation from profit, being a meaner officer; he for his part would wink at it, fo be it he came not into any danger himfelf; however, be it as it will,