Daniel 1:3

1:3 The king commanded ¹  Ashpenaz, ²  who was in charge of his court officials, ³  to choose ⁴  some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent ⁵  –

Daniel 4:26

4:26 They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven ⁶  rules.

Daniel 5:5

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ⁷  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ⁸  The king was watching the back ⁹  of the hand that was writing.

Daniel 8:27--9:1

8:27 I, Daniel, was exhausted ¹⁰  and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.

Daniel Prays for His People

9:1 In the first year of Darius ¹¹  son of Ahasuerus, ¹²  who was of Median descent and who had been ¹³  appointed king over the Babylonian ¹⁴  empire –

Daniel 11:32

11:32 Then with smooth words he will defile ¹⁵  those who have rejected ¹⁶  the covenant. But the people who are loyal to ¹⁷  their God will act valiantly. ¹⁸ 

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

[1:3]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “bring.”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”

[4:26]  ⁶ sn The reference to heaven here is a circumlocution for God. There was a tendency in Jewish contexts to avoid direct reference to God. Cf. the expression “kingdom of heaven” in the NT and such statements as “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight” (Luke 15:21).

[5:5]  ⁷ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ⁸ sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ⁹ tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[8:27]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew word here is נִהְיֵיתִי (nihyetiy). Its meaning is not entirely clear. Hebrew הָיָה (hayah) normally has meanings such as “to be” or “become.” Here, however, it describes Daniel’s emotional and physical response to the enigmatic vision that he has seen. It is parallel to the following verb, which refers to illness, and seems to refer to a state of utter exhaustion due to the amazing things that Daniel has just seen. The LXX lacks the word. On the meaning of the word see further, BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2; DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3.

[9:1]  ¹¹ sn The identity of this Darius is a major problem in correlating the biblical material with the extra-biblical records of this period. Most modern scholars treat the reference as a mistaken allusion to Darius Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.). Others have maintained instead that this name is a reference to the Persian governor Gubaru. Still others understand the reference to be to the Persian king Cyrus (cf. 6:28, where the vav (ו) may be understood as vav explicativum, meaning “even”). Under either of these latter two interpretations, the first year of Darius would have been ca. 538 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately eighty-two years old at this time.

[9:1]  ¹² tc The LXX reads “Xerxes.” This is the reading used by some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV). Most other English versions retain the Hebrew name “Ahasuerus.”

[9:1]  ¹³ tc The present translation follows the MT in reading a Hophal (i.e., passive). Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate all presuppose the Hiphil (i.e., active). Even though this is the only occurrence of the Hophal of this verb in the Bible, there is no need to emend the vocalization to the Hiphil.

[9:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.”

[11:32]  ¹⁵ tn Or “corrupt.”

[11:32]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “acted wickedly toward.”

[11:32]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “know.” The term “know” sometimes means “to recognize.” In relational contexts it can have the connotation “recognize the authority of, be loyal to,” as it does here.

[11:32]  ¹⁸ sn This is an allusion to the Maccabean revolt, which struggled to bring about Jewish independence in the second century B.C.