Daniel 1:1

Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon

1:1 In the third ¹  year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar ²  of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem ³  and laid it under siege. ⁴ 

Daniel 1:3

1:3 The king commanded ⁵  Ashpenaz, ⁶  who was in charge of his court officials, ⁷  to choose ⁸  some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent ⁹  –

Daniel 1:5

1:5 So the king assigned them a daily ration ¹⁰  from his royal delicacies ¹¹  and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained ¹²  for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service. ¹³ 

Daniel 2:14

2:14 Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel ¹⁴  to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 3:10

3:10 You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music.

Daniel 4:7-8

4:7 When the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners entered, I recounted the dream for them. But they were unable to make known its interpretation to me. 4:8 Later Daniel entered (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, ¹⁵  and in whom there is a spirit of the holy gods). I recounted the dream for him as well,

Daniel 4:21

4:21 whose foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful, and from which there was food available for all, under whose branches wild animals ¹⁶  used to live, and in whose branches birds of the sky used to nest –

Daniel 6:8

6:8 Now let the king issue a written interdict ¹⁷  so that it cannot be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed. ¹⁸ 

Daniel 7:28

7:28 “This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. ¹⁹  But I kept the matter to myself.” ²⁰ 

Daniel 8:11-12

8:11 It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, ²¹  from whom ²²  the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary ²³  was thrown down. 8:12 The army was given over, ²⁴  along with the daily sacrifice, in the course of his sinful rebellion. ²⁵  It hurled ²⁶  truth ²⁷  to the ground and enjoyed success. ²⁸ 

Daniel 11:38

11:38 What he will honor is a god of fortresses – a god his fathers did not acknowledge he will honor with gold, silver, valuable stones, and treasured commodities.

[1:1]  ¹ sn The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be ca. 605 B.C. At this time Daniel would have been a teenager. The reference to Jehoiakim’s third year poses a serious crux interpretum, since elsewhere these events are linked to his fourth year (Jer 25:1; cf. 2 Kgs 24:1; 2 Chr 36:5-8). Apparently Daniel is following an accession year chronology, whereby the first partial year of a king’s reign was reckoned as the accession year rather than as the first year of his reign. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is following a nonaccession year chronology, whereby the accession year is reckoned as the first year of the king’s reign. In that case, the conflict is only superficial. Most modern scholars, however, have concluded that Daniel is historically inaccurate here.

[1:1]  ² sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 B.C.

[1:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ⁴ sn This attack culminated in the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon. The second one occurred in 597 B.C. and included among many other Jewish captives the prophet Ezekiel. The third deportation occurred in 586 B.C., at which time the temple and the city of Jerusalem were thoroughly destroyed.

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”

[1:3]  ⁶ sn It is possible that the word Ashpenaz is not a proper name at all, but a general term for “innkeeper.” See J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia), 127, n. 9. However, the ancient versions understand the term to be a name, and the present translation (along with most English versions) understands the word in this way.

[1:3]  ⁷ sn The word court official (Hebrew saris) need not mean “eunuch” in a technical sense (see Gen 37:36, where the term refers to Potiphar, who had a wife), although in the case of the book of Daniel there was in Jewish literature a common tradition to that effect. On the OT usage of this word see HALOT 769-70 s.v. סָרֹיס.

[1:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “bring.”

[1:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”

[1:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”

[1:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”

[1:5]  ¹² tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.

[1:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “stand before the king.”

[2:14]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “returned prudence and counsel.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[4:8]  ¹⁵ sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.

[4:21]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “the beasts of the field” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).

[6:8]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “establish a written interdict and inscribe a written decree.”

[6:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “removed.”

[7:28]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “my brightness was changing on me.”

[7:28]  ²⁰ tn Aram “in my heart.”

[8:11]  ²¹ sn The prince of the army may refer to God (cf. “whose sanctuary” later in the verse) or to the angel Michael (cf. 12:1).

[8:11]  ²² tn Or perhaps “and by him,” referring to Antiochus rather than to God.

[8:11]  ²³ sn Here the sanctuary is a reference to the temple of God in Jerusalem.

[8:12]  ²⁴ tc The present translation reads וּצְבָאָהּ נִתַּן (utsÿva’ah nittan) for the MT וְצָבָא תִּנָּתֵן (vÿtsava’ tinnaten). The context suggests a perfect rather than an imperfect verb.

[8:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in (the course of) rebellion.” The meaning of the phrase is difficult to determine. It could mean “due to rebellion,” referring to the failures of the Jews, but this is not likely since it is not a point made elsewhere in the book. The phrase more probably refers to the rebellion against God and the atrocities against the Jews epitomized by Antiochus.

[8:12]  ²⁶ tc Two medieval Hebrew MSS and the LXX have a passive verb here: “truth was hurled to the ground” (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV).

[8:12]  ²⁷ sn Truth here probably refers to the Torah. According to 1 Macc 1:56, Antiochus initiated destruction of the sacred books of the Jews.

[8:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “it acted and prospered.”