The wisdom of Daniel] DANIEL. [and his companions. had understanding in all visions and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep dreams. brake from him. 18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnez zar. 19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. (A) CHAP. II. AND in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith CHAP. I. 2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dung hill. 6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall re ceive of me gifts and rewards and EXPOSITION. (A) The captivity of Jehoiakim, and the promotion of Daniel and his companions.This chapter begins with referring to Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Judea. When Jehoiakim became tributary to him, Judah's captivity began. On this expedition the king of Babylon set out toward the end of the third year of Jehoiakim; but did not take Jerusalem before the 9th month of the year following. Hence the seeming difference between Daniel and Jeremiah, (ch. xxv. 1.) the one computing from the time of his setting out on the expedition, and the other from the time in which the purpose of it was accomplished. -We have next an account of the manner in which Daniel and his Hebrew compan ions were brought up at the king's court, and of their great proficiency in Chaldee learning; in addition to which, he was crowned with wisdom from above. His early piety made him and his companions choose rather to live on the most commod food, than on the delicacies of the royal table, by which they might be polluted, as many of their meats might be forbidden, or not prepared according to the law of Moses. It was also the custom of most heathen nations, before eating, to make au offering of some part of their food to the gods, as a kind of sacrifice. Hence Daniel and his friends might well look on such provisions as meat offered to idols, and therefore piously refrained from it. NOTES. Ver. 20. Wisdom and understanding Margin, Wisdom of understanding." Ten times better, &c.-Heb. Ten hands above;" that is, ten (or many) degrees superior to all the magicians and astrologers ....in all his realm.-It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to ascertain exactly the difference between these classes; but it is probable the one professed astronomy, astrology, and the hieroglyphic art, while the others were a sort of practical philosophers, alchymists, and sleight-of-hand men. See Note on Exod. vii. 11. CHAP. II. Ver.1. In the second year, &c.-that is, says Bp. Newton, the second according to the Babylonian account, or the fourth, according to the Jewish; i.e. in the second year of his reigning alone, or the fourth from his first reigning jointly with his father. Dissert. xiii. Ver. 4. In Syriack.-" The Syrian or Araman language is the same with the ancient Chalder," in which this book is written, from this verse to the end of chap. vii. Ver. 5. Ye shall be cut in pieces-Such was the cruelty and madness of these tyrants of antiquit, that Herodotus relates that when Astyages the Mede was defeated by Cyrus, he first of all impated the interpreters of dreams, who formerly persuaded him to let Cyrus go free." (Clio, 128.) made a dunghill.- After Hannibal had fed Antiochus, the Carthaginians, in the true oral style, confiscated his goods, and demolished his house from the foundation." Corn. Nepos, Your houses The king's dream] CHAP. II. great honour therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. 7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. 8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. 9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. 10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a mar upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. 14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon : 15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree [revealed to Daniel. so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. 16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: 18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his : 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. 23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter. 24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. NOTES. Ver. 8. I know that ye would gein (Chal. "buy") the time; but omit " the." Ver. 9. Till the time be changed-that is, till the ing's temper was appeased, and his wrath pacified. Ver. 14. The captain of the king's guard-Chaid. The chief executioner." See Note on Gen. xxxvii. 6. From this verse it has been supposed that the. massacre was begun; but this officer seems to have hown little zeal in the cause, being, probably, ke Melzar, (chap. i. 14.) friendly to the Hebrew 25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel Ver. 18. Of the God of heaven - Chald. " From before," or from the presence of, &c. Ver. 20. Biessed be the name.-Dr. Boothroyd renders this and the three following verses as Hebrew poesy. Daniel relates] DANIEL. before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. 26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; 29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that CHAP. II. [the king's dream, I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. (B) 31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were iron and clay, and brake them to pie ces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that emote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. EXPOSITION. (B) Ver. 1-30. Nebuchadnezzar having dreamed a dream which he had forgotten, demands of his wise men both the dream and its interpretation.-By this dream the king's mind was greatly agitated and distressed, though he could recollect nothing of the particulars. in the tyrannical style of an eastern despot, he therefore demands of his magicians and astrologers both to relate his dream, and give their interpretation, on pain of death and utter destruction to themselves and families. They remon strate in vain, on the unreasonableness of the demand (for tyrants are not accustomed to attend to reason) when Daniel by divine Providence is brought forward, and inspired by God to reveal the mysterious secret, by which the lives are saved, not only of his Hebrew brethren, but probably of these unhappy men also; and Daniel is himself promoted to the highest honours a subject could attain. The thing was indeed utterly beyond the reach of human wisdom; but was revealed to him in a prophetic vision; and hence the holy Prophet is particularly careful not to attribute the discovery to his own sagacity or merit. "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets-But as to me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have, more than any living; but for the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king." NOTES-Chap. II. Con. Ver. 25. Of the captives of Judah-Chald. "Of the children of the captivity of Judah." Ver. 28. Maketh known Chald. "Hath made known;" i. e. in vision. Ver. 30. But for their sakes that shall make known -Chald." But for the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king." Ver. 31. Thou sawest- Chald. "Wast seeing," or looking. Terrible—perhaps gigantic, or colossal. See chap. iii. 1. Ver.34. Cut out-Wintle, "Tora out;"'Gesenius, "Detached, separated," probably as by an est quake. Without hands-that is, without hamat aid: so St. Paul uses the expression, Col. ii. 11.And brake them to pieces.-This stone, detached by an invisible power, appeared to fall on the feet of the image. Ver. 35. Like the chaff. See Ps. i. 4; xxxv. â Ver. 42, Partly broken- Margin, Brittle." S Wintle. 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and ■strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes part of potters' clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. [interpretation. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. 46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. (C) EXPOSITION, (C) Ver. 31 49. Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and its interpretation, followed by the Prophet's promotion.-Both the dream and its interpretation are so clearly related, that nothing remains, but for us to point out the mighty powers hereby represented. 1. Daniel explains this golden head, of the Babylonian Empire, (in which the Assyrian was now absorbed,) particularly of Nebuchadnezzar, its high and haughty sovereign. This head is represented to be of gold from its riches and its splendour, of which that metal was the established emblem. 2. The breast and arms of silver are said to indicate a second Empire, still rich and splendid, but inferior to the former, which NOTES. Ver. 43. One to another Chald. "This to this." The different nations conquered by the Romans were of principles and dispositions so various, that they Dever cordially united. Ver. 45. Forasmuch, &c.-See ver. 34. Testament Scriptures in many places The Old speak of Messiah as the foundation stone of his church, as Ps. cxviii. 22; Isa. v. 14, &c., and Bp. Chandler says, the old Rabbins are unanimous in applying to him the passage now before us. Defence of Christianity, p. 122. can mean no other than the Persian or Medo-Persian Empire, of which Cyrus was properly the founder.-The third empire is described by a belly (or trunk) and thighs of brass, which very appositely represent the Macedonian Empire, founded by Alexander the Great; the Greeks being commonly called brazen coated, from wearing brazen armour. This Empire, though perhaps more extensive than either of the preceding (as the belly is larger than the head or breast) was yet in some respects inferior. The fourth, or Roman Empire, was represented by legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay; intimating that though part of its elements were strong as iron, its constitution being heterogeneous, had in itself the elements of division; beside which, the legs may represent the east and western branches of the empire, and the toes the smaller petty kingdoms which afterwards succeeded. But in explaining emblems, as well as parables, we must not descend to every minute particular. Thus much is certain, that by this image was represented the government of the then known world in several successive ages. The golden empire of Babylon indeed lasted but about 70 years after this period; but the Persian continued about 200, the Grecian upwards of 300, and the Roman, which subdued the former, still longer. The fifth monarchy was of a different and superior nature; it is Christ's kingdom, and is itself a rock, formed without human aid, and never to be destroyed; which shall surmount and survive all the changes of human governments, and extend into the eternal state. Such is Christianity, which was established, in the first instance, not only without, but in opposition to all the powers of earth and hell. When Daniel was relating to this mighty monarch his supernatural dream, his re collection no doubt revived as it proceeded, and the interpretation appeared so natural and consistent, that in the close he was completely overwhelmed; aud, considering the Prophet as the representative of the supreme Deity, "a God of gods, and a Lord of kings," he falls down before him, and pays him divine honours, which (though it be not distinctly stated) we may safely believe he never would accept He was however generously rewarded, and (like Joseph in the court of Pharaoh promoted to the highest honours of the state he sat in the King's gate, doubtless as his deputy or Lieutenant, and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were placed in high and confidential offices under him. "Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are his!" (For a full exposition of this Prophecy, See Bp. Newton, Diss. xiii.) Should it be thought strange for the Almighty to make such revelations to an idolatrous prince, we may remark, that and special mercy was in reserve for him; that in the end he bore a noble testimony respecting God's everlasting kingdom. NOTES. CHAP. III. Ver. 1. Image of gold.-Several circumstances lead to the supposition that this image was intended to represent the solar orb. The astronomical character for the sun, is the chemical character for gold, and the Latin sol applies equally to both. The sun was worshipped by fiery rites, and it is possible that this furnace was primarily intended for them, though converted into a place of punishment. See Fragments to Calmet, No. cxlix. cl. Dura was a large plain, near Babylon; the name seems to intimate that it was circular, and the LXX appear to have considered it as an appellative for a kind of Circus. See Calmet and Wintle. The latter hints, that the furnace might be a fiery pit within this area, Ver. 5. The cornet, flute, &c. - It is not easy to ascertain the distinct character of these instruments; but it is evident they embraced the three classes of wind, stringed, and pulsative, which, on this occa sion, seem to have been all sounded together, and certainly made more noise than music. The quic mer--Chald." Symphony," has been taken for al most every kind of instrument; and from its name was, perhaps, an attempt to combine the powers of different instruments. |