,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d4 each vol4 ,,first ,,series1 #ahhg-h4 ,colossians4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,genesis4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #a ,samuel4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 #b ,samuel4 ,by the same ,author4 ,hebrews4 ,by ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,series1 #ahhh-i4 ,galatians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah ,i4-,,xxxix4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,book of ,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 #a ,corinthians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,rt4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d4 ,,third ,,series1 #ahhi-ij4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,jeremiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,exodus4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,,burton1 ,m4,a4 ,,fourth ,,series1 #ahij-a4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,d4,d4 ,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,,fifth ,,series1 #ahia-b4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 #a and #b ,thessalonians4 ,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,book of ,job4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,ephesians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john1 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,sixth ,,series1 #ahib-c4 #a ,kings4 ,by ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,farrar4 ,philippians4 ,by ,principal ,,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 ,esther4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,joshua4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,peter4 ,by ,prof4 ,,rawson ,,lumby1 ,d4,d4 ,,seventh ,,series1 #ahic-d4 #b ,kings4 ,by ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,farrar4 ,romans4 ,by ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,books of ,chronicles4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 #b ,corinthians4 ,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,numbers4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,,eighth ,,series1 #ahie-f4 ,daniel4 ,by ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,farrar4 ,the ,book of ,jeremiah4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,deuteronomy4 ,by ,prof4 ,,andrew ,,harper1 ,b4,d4 ,the ,song of ,solomon and ,lamentations4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,ezekiel4 ,by ,prof4 ,,john ,,skinner1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,minor ,prophets4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,two ,vols4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,daniel ,,by ,f4 ,w4 ,,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,late ,,fellow ,,of ,,trinity ,,college1 ,,cambridge2 ,,archdeacon ,,of ,,westminster ,london ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row ,,mdcccxcv ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,contents ,,part ,i ,,introduction ,,chapter ,i ,,page ,,the ,,historic ,,existence ,,of ,,the ,,prophet ,,daniel #c ,,chapter ,,ii ,,general ,,survey ,,of ,,the ,,book #ac #a4 ,,the ,,language #ac #b4 ,,unity #bd #c4 ,,general ,,tone #bg #d4 ,,style #bi #e4 ,,standpoint ,,of ,,its ,,author #ca #f4 ,,moral ,,element #cd ,,chapter ,,iii ,,peculiarities ,,of ,,the ,,historical ,,section #ci ,,chapter ,,iv ,,general ,,structure ,,of ,,the ,,book #fc ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,theology ,,of ,,the ,,book #fg ,,chapter ,,vi ,,peculiarities ,,of ,,the ,,apocalyptic ,,and ,,prophetic ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,book #ga ,,chapter ,,vii ,,internal ,,evidence #gh ,,chapter ,,viii ,,evidence ,,in ,,favour ,,of ,,the ,,genuineness ,,uncertain ,,and ,,inadequate #hh ,,chapter ,,ix ,,external ,,evidence ,,and ,,reception ,,into ,,the ,,canon #ih ,,chapter ,x ,,summary ,,and ,,conclusion #aac ,,part ,,ii ,,commentary ,,on ,,the ,,historic ,,section ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,prelude #abc ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,dream-,,image ,,of ,,ruined ,,empires #ada ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,idol ,,of ,,gold1 ,,and ,,the ,,faithful ,,three #afg ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,babylonian ,,cedar1 ,,and ,,the ,,stricken ,,despot #ahd ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,fiery ,,inscription #bjc ,,chapter ,,vi ,,stopping ,,the ,,mouths ,,of ,,lions #bah ,,part ,,iii ,,the ,,prophetic ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,book ,,chapter ,i ,,vision ,,of ,,the ,,four ,,wild ,,beasts #bcc ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,ram ,,and ,,the ,,he-,,goat #beb ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,seventy ,,weeks #bfh ,,chapter ,,iv ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,concluding ,,vision #bib ,,chapter ,v ,,an ,,enigmatic ,,prophecy ,,passing ,,into ,,details ,,of ,,the ,,reign ,,of ,,antiochus ,,epiphanes #bii ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,epilogue #cai ,,appendix ,,approximate ,,chronological ,,tables #ccc ,,genealogical ,,table ,,of ,,the ,,lagid1 ,,ptolemies1 ,,and ,,seleucid #ccd ,,authorities ,,consulted ,,commentaries ,,and ,,treatises ,the chief ,rabbinic ,commentaries were those of ,rashi 7 #aaje72 ,abn ,ezra 7 #aafg72 ,kimchi 7 #abdj72 ,abrabanel 7 #aejg74a ,the chief ,patristic ,commentary is that by ,st4 ,jerome4 ,fragments are preserved of other ,commentaries by ,origen1 ,hippolytus1 ,ephrm ,syrus1 ,julius ,africanus1 ,theodoret1 ,athanasius1 ,basil1 ,eusebius1 ,polychronius1 etc4 7,mai1 ,script4 ,vet4 ,nov4 ,coll41 i474 ,the ,scholastic ,commentary attributed to ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas is spurious4 ,the chief ,commentaries of the ,reformation period are those by3-- ,luther1 ,auslegung d4 ,proph4 ,dan41 #aecj-df 7,opp4 ,germ41 vi41 ed4 ,walch47 colampadius1 ,in ,dan4 libri duo4 ,basle1 #aecj4 ,melancthon1 ,comm4 in ,dan4 ,wittenburg1 #aedc4 ,calvin1 ,prlect4 in ,dan4 ,geneva1 #aefc4 ,modern ,commentaries are numerous2 among them we may mention those by3-- ,newton1 ,observations upon the ,prophecies4 ,london1 #agcc4 ,bertholdt1 ,daniel4 ,erlangen1 #ahjf-h4 ,rosenmller1 ,scholia4 #ahcb4 ,hvernick4 #ahcb and #ahch4 ,hengstenberg4 #ahca4 ,there are ,commentaries by ,von ,lengerke1 #ahce2 ,maurer1 #ahch2 ,hitzig1 #ahej2 ,ewald1 #ahfg2 ,kliefoth1 #ahfh2 ,keil1 #ahfi2 ,kranichfeld1 #ahfh2 ,kamphausen1 #ahfh2 ,meinhold 7,kurzgefasster ,kommentar71 #ahhi2 ,auberlen1 #aheg2 ,archdeacon ,rose and ,prof4 ,j4 ,m4 ,fuller 7,speaker's ,commentary71 #ahgf2 ,rev4 ,h4 ,j4 ,deane 7,bishop ,ellicott's ,commentary71 #ahhd2 ,zckler 7,lange's ,bibelwerk71 #ahhi2 ,a4 ,a4 ,bevan 7,cambridge71 #ahic2 ,meinhold1 ,beitrge1 #ahhh4 ,the latest ,commentary which has appeared is that by ,hauptpastor ,behrmann1 in the ,handkommentar z4 ,alten ,testament4 ,gttingen1 #ahid4 ,discussions in the various ,introductions 7,einleitungen1 etc47 by ,bleek1 ,de ,wette1 ,keil1 ,sthelin1 ,reuss1 ,cornely1 ,dr4 ,s4 ,davidson1 ,kleinert1 ,cornill1 ,knig1 etc4 ,,lives ,,of ,,daniel ,pseudo-,epiphanius1 ,opera1 ii4 #bdc4 ,h4 ,j4 ,deane1 ,daniel 7,men of the ,bible74 #ahib4 ,,there ,,are ,,articles ,,on ,,daniel ,,in ,winer's ,realwrterbuch1 ,second ,edition4 ,delitzsch1 in ,herzog's ,real-,encyclopdie4 ,graf1 in ,schenkel's ,bibel-,lexicon1 i4 #efd4 ,bishop ,westcott1 in ,dr4 ,w4 ,smith's ,bible ,dictionary1 ,new ,edition4 #ahic4 ,hamburger1 ,real-,encyclopdie1 ii41 s4v4 ,geheimlehre1 p4 #bfe2 s4vv4 ,daniel1 pp4 #bbc-bbe2 and ,heiliges ,schriftthum4 ,,treatises ,russel ,martineau1 ,theological ,review4 #ahfe4 ,prof4 ,margoliouth1 ,the ,expositor4 ,april #ahij4 ,prof4 ,j4 ,m4 ,fuller1 ,the ,expositor1 ,third ,series1 vols4 i41 ii4 ,t4 ,k4 ,cheyne1 ,encyclopdia ,britannica1 vi4 #hjc4 ,prof4 ,sayce1 ,the ,higher ,criticism and the ,monuments4 #ahid4 ,prof4 ,s4 ,r4 ,driver1 ,introduction to the ,literature of the ,old ,testament1 pp4 #deh-dhc4 #ahia4 ,prof4 ,s4 ,leathes1 in ,book by ,book1 pp4 #bda-bea4 ,c4 von ,orelli1 ,alttestamentliche ,weissagung1 p4 #ded4 ,wien1 #ahhb4 ,meinhold1 ,die ,geschichtlichen ,hagiographen 7,strack and ,zckler1 ,kurzgefasster ,kommentar1 #ahhi74 ,meinhold1 ,erklrung des ,buches ,daniels4 #ahhi4 ,,treatises ,,or ,,discussions ,,by ,dr4 ,pusey1 ,daniel the ,prophet4 #ahfd4 ,t4 ,r4 ,birks1 ,the ,later ,visions of ,daniel4 #ahdf4 ,ellicott1 ,hor ,apocalyptic4 #ahdd4 ,tregelles1 ,remarks on the ,prophetic ,visions of ,daniel4 #aheb4 ,hilgenfeld1 ,die ,propheten ,ezra u4 ,daniel4 #ahfc4 ,baxmann1 ,stud4 u4 ,krit41 iii4 #dhi ff4 #ahfc4 ,desprez1 ,daniel4 #ahfe4 ,hofmann1 ,weissagung und ,erfllung1 i4 #bgf-caf4 ,kuenen1 ,prophets and ,prophecy in ,israel1 ,e4 ,tr4 #ahgg4 ,ewald1 ,die ,propheten des ,alten ,bundes1 iii4 #bih4 #ahfh4 ,hilgenfeld1 ,die jdische ,apokalyptic4 #aheg4 ,lenormant1 ,la ,divination chez les ,chaldeans4 #ahge4 ,fabre d',envieu1 ,le livre du ,prophte ,daniel4 #ahhh4 ,hebbelyuck1 ,de auctoritate libr4 ,danielis4 #ahhg4 ,khler1 ,bibl4 ,geschichte4 #ahic4 ,,inscriptions ,,and ,,monuments ,babylonian1 ,persian1 and ,median inscriptions bearing on the ,book of ,daniel are given by3-- ,schrader1 ,keilinschriften und d4 ,a4 ,t41 ,e4 ,tr41 #ahhe-hh2 and in ,records of the ,past4 ,see too ,corpus ,inscriptionum ,semiticarum4 ,sayce1 ,the ,higher ,criticism1 pp4 #dig-ecg4 ,these inscriptions have been referred to also by ,cornill1 ,nestle1 ,nldeke1 ,lagarde1 etc4 ,,histories ,,and ,,other ,,books ,sketches and fragments of many ancient historians3-- ,josephus1 ,antiquitates ,judaic1 ll4 x41 xi41 xii4 ,the ,books of ,maccabees4 ,prideaux1 ,connection of the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 ed4 ,oxford4 #ahbh4 ,ewald1 ,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel4 #ahdc-ej4 ,grtz1 ,gesch4 der ,juden1 ,second ,edition4 #ahfc4 ,jost1 ,gesch4 d4 ,judenthums und seinen ,sekten1 i4 #ij-aaf4 ,leipzig1 #aheg4 ,herzfeld1 ,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel1 ii4 #daf4 #ahfc4 ,van ,oort1 ,bible for ,young ,people1 ,e4 ,tr4 #ahgg4 ,kittel1 ,gesch4 d4 ,hebrer1 ii4 #ahib4 ,schrer1 ,gesch4 d4 jdischen ,volkes4 ,leipzig1 #ahij4 ,jahn1 ,hebrew ,commonwealth1 ,e4 ,tr4 #ahbh4 ,droysen1 ,gesch4 d4 ,hellenismus1 ii4 #baa4 ,e4 ,meyer1 ,gesch4 d4 ,alterthums1 i4 ,,special ,,treatises ,delitzsch1 ,messianische ,weissagangen4 ,leipzig1 #ahij4 ,riehm1 ,die ,messianische ,weissagung4 ,gotha1 #ahge4 ,knabenbauer1 ,comment in ,daniel4 prophet41 ,lament41 et ,baruch4 #ahia4 ,kuenen1 ,religion of ,israel1 ,e4 ,tr4 #ahgd4 ,bludau1 ,de ,alex4 interpe4 ,danielis indole4 #ahia4 ,nldeke1 ,d4 ,alttest4 ,literatur4 #ahfh4 ,fraidl1 ,exegese d4 #gj ,wochen ,daniels4 #ahhc4 ,menken1 ,die ,monarchienbild4 #ahhg4 ,kamphausen1 ,das ,buch ,daniel in die neuere ,geschichtsforschung4 ,leipzig1 #ahic4 ,lennep1 ,de ,zeventig ,jaarweken van ,daniel4 ,utrecht1 #ahhh4 ,dr4 ,m4 ,jol1 ,notizen zum ,buche ,daniel4 ,breslau1 #ahgc4 ,derenbourg1 ,les ,mots grecs dans le ,livre biblique de ,daniel4 ,mlanges ,graux1 #ahhh4 ,cornill1 ,die ,siebzig ,jahrwochen ,daniels4 #ahhi4 ,wolf1 ,die ,siebzig ,wochen ,daniels4 #ahei4 ,sanday1 ,inspiration 7,bampton ,lectures74 #ahid4 ,sayce1 ,hibbert ,lectures4 #ahhg4 ,roszmann1 ,die ,makkabeische ,erhebung4 ,j4 ,f4 ,hoffmann1 ,antiochus ,,iv4 7,epiphanes74 #ahgc4 ,speaker's ,commentary on ,tobit1 #a1 #b ,maccabees1 etc4 #ahhh4 ,,footnote3 #a ,the ,commentary which passes as that of ,saadia the ,gaon is said to be spurious4 ,his genuine ,commentary only exists in manuscript4 ,,part ,i ,,introduction 1 4--,,josephus1 ,antt41 ,x4 ii4 #g4 ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,historic ,,existence ,,of ,,the ,,prophet ,,daniel ,trothe is the hiest thinge a man may kepe4--,,chaucer4 ,we propose in the following pages to examine the ,book of the ,prophet ,daniel by the same general methods which have been adopted in other volumes of the ,expositor's ,bible4 ,it may well happen that the conclusions adopted as regards its origin and its place in the ,sacred ,volume will not command the assent of all our readers4 ,on the other hand1 we may feel a reasonable confidence that1 even if some are unable to accept the views at which we have arrived1 and which we have here endeavoured to present with fairness1 they will still read them with interest1 as opinions which have been calmly and conscientiously formed1 and to which the writer has been led by strong conviction4 ,all ,christians will acknowledge the sacred and imperious duty of sacrificing every other consideration to the unbiassed acceptance of that which we regard as truth4 ,further than this our readers will find much to elucidate the ,book of ,daniel chapter by chapter1 apart from any questions which affect its authorship or age4 ,but ,i should like to say on the threshold that1 though ,i am compelled to regard the ,book of ,daniel as a work which1 in its present form1 first saw the light in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 and though ,i believe that its six magnificent opening chapters were never meant to be regarded in any other light than that of moral and religious ,haggadoth1 yet no words of mine can exaggerate the value which ,i attach to this part of our ,canonical ,scriptures4 ,the ,book1 as we shall see1 has exercised a powerful influence over ,christian conduct and ,christian thought4 ,its right to a place in the ,canon is undisputed and indisputable1 and there is scarcely a single book of the ,old ,testament which can be made more richly profitable for teaching1 for reproof1 for correction1 for instruction in righteousness1 that the man of ,god may be complete1 completely furnished unto every good work4 ,such religious lessons are eminently suitable for the aims of the ,expositor's ,bible4 ,they are not in the slightest degree impaired by those results of archological discovery and criticism which are now almost universally accepted by the scholars of the ,continent1 and by many of our chief ,english critics4 ,finally unfavourable to the authenticity1 they are yet in no way derogatory to the preciousness of this ,old ,testament ,apocalypse4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the first question which we must consider is1 ,what is known about the ,prophet ,daniel8 ,i4 ,if we accept as historical the particulars narrated of him in this ,book1 it is clear that few ,jews have ever risen to so splendid an eminence4 ,under four powerful kings and conquerors1 of three different nationalities and dynasties1 he held a position of high authority among the haughtiest aristocracies of the ancient world4 ,at a very early age he was not only a satrap1 but the ,prince and ,prime ,minister over all the satraps in ,babylonia and ,persia2 not only a ,magian1 but the ,head ,magian1 and ,chief ,governor over all the wise men of ,babylon4 ,not even ,joseph1 as the chief ruler over all the house of ,pharaoh1 had anything like the extensive sway exercised by the ,daniel of this ,book4 ,he was placed by ,nebuchadrezzar over the whole province of ,babylon2#b under ,darius he was ,president of the ,board of ,three to whom all the satraps sent their accounts2#c and he was continued in office and prosperity under ,cyrus the ,persian4#d ,,ii4 ,it is natural1 then1 that we should turn to the monuments and inscriptions of the ,babylonian1 ,persian1 and ,median ,empires to see if any mention can be found of so prominent a ruler4 ,but hitherto neither has his name been discovered1 nor the faintest trace of his existence4 ,,iii4 ,if we next search other non-,biblical sources of information1 we find much respecting him in the ,apocrypha--,the ,song of the ,three ,children1 ,the ,story of ,susanna1 and ,bel and the ,dragon4 ,but these additions to the ,canonical ,books are avowedly valueless for any historic purpose4 ,they are romances1 in which the vehicle of fiction is used1 in a manner which at all times was popular in ,jewish literature1 to teach lessons of faith and conduct by the example of eminent sages or saints4#e ,the few other fictitious fragments preserved by ,fabricius have not the smallest importance4#f ,josephus1 beyond mentioning that ,daniel and his three companions were of the family of ,king ,zedekiah1#g adds nothing appreciable to our information4 ,he narrates the story of the ,book1 and in doing so adopts a somewhat apologetic tone1 as though he specially declined to vouch for its historic exactness4 ,for he says3 ,let no one blame me for writing down everything of this nature1 as ,i find it in our ancient books3 for as to that matter1 ,i have plainly assured those that think me defective in any such point1 or complain of my management1 and have told them1 in the beginning of this history1 that ,i intended to do no more than to translate the ,hebrew books into the ,greek language1 and promised them to explain these facts1 without adding anything to them of my own1 or taking anything away from them4#h ,,iv4 ,in the ,talmud1 again1 we find nothing historical4 ,daniel is always mentioned as a champion against idolatry1 and his wisdom is so highly esteemed1 that1 if all the wise men of the heathen1 we are told1 were on one side1 and ,daniel on the other1 ,daniel would still prevail4#i ,he is spoken of as an example of ,god's protection of the innocent1 and his three daily prayers are taken as our rule of life4#aj ,to him are applied the verses of ,lam4 iii4 #ee-eg3 ,i called upon ,thy name1 ,o ,lord1 out of the lowest pit4444 ,thou drewest near in the day that ,i called3 ,thou saidst1 ,fear not4 ,o ,lord1 ,thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul2 ,thou hast redeemed my life4 ,we are assured that he was of ,davidic descent2 obtained permission for the return of the exiles2 survived till the rebuilding of the ,temple2 lived to a great age1 and finally died in ,palestine4#aa ,rav even went so far as to say1 ,if there be any like the ,messiah among the living1 it is our ,rabbi the ,holy3 if among the dead1 it is ,daniel4#ab ,in the ,avoth of ,rabbi ,nathan it is stated that ,daniel exercised himself in benevolence by endowing brides1 following funerals1 and giving alms4 ,one of the ,apocryphal legends respecting him has been widely spread4 ,it tells us that1 when he was a second time cast into the den of lions under ,cyrus1 and was fasting from lack of food1 the ,prophet ,habakkuk was taken by a hair of his head and carried by the angel of the ,lord to ,babylon1 to give to ,daniel the dinner which he had prepared for his reapers4#ac ,it is with reference to this ,haggada that in the catacombs ,daniel is represented in the lions' den standing naked between two lions--an emblem of the soul between sin and death--and that a youth with a pot of food is by his side4 ,there is a ,persian apocalypse of ,daniel translated by ,merx 7,archiv1 i4 #chg71 and there are a few worthless ,mohammedan legends about him which are given in ,d',herbelot's ,bibliothque orientale4 ,they only serve to show how widely extended was the reputation which became the nucleus of strange and miraculous stories4 ,as in the case of ,pythagoras and ,empedocles1 they indicate the deep reverence which the ideal of his character inspired4 ,they are as the fantastic clouds which gather about the loftiest mountain peaks4 ,in later days he seems to have been comparatively forgotten4#ad ,these references would not1 however1 suffice to prove ,daniel's historical existence4 ,they might merely result from the literal acceptance of the story narrated in the ,book4 ,from the name ,daniel1 which is by no means a common one1 and means ,judge of ,god1 nothing can be learnt4 ,it is only found in three other instances4#ae ,turning to the ,old ,testament itself1 we have reason for surprise both in its allusions and its silences4 ,one only of the sacred writers refers to ,daniel1 and that is ,ezekiel4 ,in one passage 7xxviii4 #c7 the ,prince of ,tyrus is apostrophised in the words1 ,behold1 thou art wiser than ,daniel2 there is no secret that they can hide from thee4 ,in the other 7xiv4 #ad1 #bj7 the word of the ,lord declares to the guilty city1 that though these three men1 ,noah1 ,daniel1 and ,job1 were in it1 they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness2 they shall deliver neither son nor daughter4#af ,the last words may be regarded as a general allusion1 and therefore we may pass over the circumstance that ,daniel--who was undoubtedly a eunuch in the palace of ,babylon1 and who is often pointed to as a fulfilment of the stern prophecy of ,isaiah to ,hezekiah#ag--;could never have had either son or daughter4 ,but in other respects the allusion is surprising4 i4 ,it was very unusual among the ,jews to elevate their contemporaries to such a height of exaltation1 and it is indeed startling that ,ezekiel should thus place his youthful contemporary on such a pinnacle as to unite his name to those of ,noah the antediluvian patriarch and the mysterious man of ,uz4 ii4 ,we might1 with ,theodoret1 ,jerome1 and ,kimchi1 account for the mention of ,daniel's name at all in this connection by the peculiar circumstances of his life2#ah but there is little probability in the suggestions of bewildered commentators as to the reason why his name should be placed between those of ,noah and ,job4 ,it is difficult1 with ,hvernick1 to recognise any climax in the order2#ai nor can it be regarded as quite satisfactory to say1 with ,delitzsch1 that the collocation is due to the fact that as ,noah was a righteous man of the old world1 and ,job of the ideal world1 ,daniel represented immediately the contemporaneous world4#bj ,if ,job was a purely ideal instance of exemplary goodness1 why may not ,daniel have been the same8 ,to some critics the allusion has appeared so strange that they have referred it to an imaginary ,daniel who had lived at the ,court of ,nineveh during the ,assyrian exile2#ba or to some mythic hero who belonged to ancient days--perhaps1 like ,melchizedek1 a contemporary of the ruin of the cities of the ,plain4#bb ,ewald tries to urge something for the former conjecture2 yet neither for it nor for the latter is there any tittle of real evidence4#bc ,this1 however1 would not be decisive against the hypothesis1 since in #a ,kings iv4 #ca we have references to men of pre-eminent wisdom respecting whom no breath of tradition has come down to us4#bd iii4 ,but if we accept the ,book of ,daniel as literal history1 the allusion of ,ezekiel becomes still more difficult to explain2 for ,daniel must have been not only a contemporary of the prophet of the ,exile1 but a very youthful one4 ,we are told--a difficulty to which we shall subsequently allude--that ,daniel was taken captive in the third year of ,jehoiakim 7,dan4 i4 #a71 about the year ,b4,c4 #fjf4 ,ignatius says that he was twelve years old when he foiled the elders2 and the narrative shows that he could not have been much older when taken captive4#be ,if ,ezekiel's prophecy was uttered ,b4,c4 #ehd1 ,daniel at that time could only have been twenty-two3 if it was uttered as late as ,b4,c4 #egb1bf ,daniel would still have been only thirty-four1 and therefore little more than a youth in ,jewish eyes4 ,it is undoubtedly surprising that among ,orientals1 who regard age as the chief passport to wisdom1 a living youth should be thus canonised between the ,patriarch of the ,deluge and the ,prince of ,uz4 iv4 ,admitting that this pinnacle of eminence may have been due to the peculiar splendour of ,daniel's career1 it becomes the less easy to account for the total silence respecting him in the other books of the ,old ,testament--in the ,prophets who were contemporaneous with the ,exile and its close1 like ,haggai1 ,zechariah1 and ,malachi2 and in the ,books of ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 which give us the details of the ,return4 ,no post-exilic prophets seem to know anything of the ,book of ,daniel4#bg ,their expectations of ,israel's future are very different from his4#bh ,the silence of ,ezra is specially astonishing4 ,it has often been conjectured that it was ,daniel who showed to ,cyrus the prophecies of ,isaiah4#bi ,certainly it is stated that he held the very highest position in the ,court of the ,persian ,king2 yet neither does ,ezra mention his existence1 nor does ,nehemiah--himself a high functionary in the ,court of ,artaxerxes--refer to his illustrious predecessor4 ,daniel outlived the first return of the exiles under ,zerubbabel1 and he did not avail himself of this opportunity to revisit the land and desolate sanctuary of his fathers which he loved so well4#cj ,we might have assumed that patriotism so burning as his would not have preferred to stay at ,babylon1 or at ,shushan1 when the priests and princes of his people were returning to the ,holy ,city4 ,others of great age faced the perils of the ,restoration2 and if he stayed behind to be of greater use to his countrymen1 we cannot account for the fact that he is not distantly alluded to in the record which tells how the chief of the fathers1 with all those whose spirit ,god had raised1 rose up to go to build the ,house of the ,lord which is in ,jerusalem4#ca ,that the difficulty was felt is shown by the ,mohammedan legend that ,daniel did return with ,ezra1#cb and that he received the office of ,governor of ,syria1 from which country he went back to ,susa1 where his tomb is still yearly visited by crowds of adoring pilgrims4 v4 ,if we turn to the ,new ,testament1 the name of ,daniel only occurs in the reference to the abomination of desolation1 spoken of by ,daniel the prophet4#cc ,the ,book of ,revelation does not name him1 but is profoundly influenced by the ,book of ,daniel both in its form and in the symbols which it adopts4#cd vi4 ,in the ,apocrypha ,daniel is passed over in complete silence among the lists of ,hebrew heroes enumerated by ,jesus the son of ,sirach4 ,we are even told that neither was there a man born like unto ,joseph1 a leader of his brethren1 a stay of the people 7,ecclus4 xlix4 #ae74 ,this is the more singular because not only are the achievements of ,daniel under four heathen potentates greater than those of ,joseph under one ,pharaoh1 but also several of the stories of ,daniel at once remind us of the story of ,joseph1 and even appear to have been written with silent reference to the youthful ,hebrew and his fortunes as an ,egyptian slave who was elevated to be governor of the land of his exile4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,dan4 ii4 #dh4 #c ,dan4 v4 #bi1 vi4 #b4 #d ,dan4 vi4 #bh4 ,there is a ,daniel of the sons of ,ithamar in ,ezra viii4 #b1 and among those who sealed the covenant in ,neh4 x4 #f4 #e ,for a full account of the ,agada 7also called ,agadtha and ,haggada71 ,i must refer the reader to ,hamburger's ,real-,encyklopdie fr ,bibel und ,talmud1 ii4 #ai-bg1 #iba-icd4 ,the first two forms of the words are ,aramaic2 the third was a ,hebrew form in use among the ,jews in ,babylonia4 ,the word is derived from 1 to say or explain4 ,halacha was the rule of religious praxis1 a sort of ,directorium ,judaicum3 ,haggada was the result of free religious reflection4 ,see further ,strack1 ,einl4 in den ,thalmud1 iv4 #abb4 #f ,fabricius1 ,cod4 ,pseudepigr4 ,vet4 ,test41 i4 #aabd4 #g ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #g4 ,but ,pseudo-,epiphanius 7,de ,vit4 ,dan41 x47 says3 4 ,so too the ,midrash on ,ruth1 #g4 #h ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 x4 #f4 #i ,yoma1 f4 #gg4 #aj ,berachth1 f4 #ca4 #aa ,sanhedrin1 f4 #ic4 ,midrash ,rabba on ,ruth1 #g1 etc41 quoted by ,hamburger1 ,real-,encyclopdie1 i4 #bbe4 #ab ,kiddushin1 f4 #gb1 #f2 ,hershon1 ,genesis acc4 to the ,talmud1 p4 #dga4 #ac ,bel and the ,dragon1 #cc-ci4 ,it seems to be an old ,midrashic legend4 ,it is quoted by ,dorotheus and ,pseudo-,epiphanius1 and referred to by some of the ,fathers4 ,eusebius supposes another ,habakkuk and another ,daniel2 but anachronisms1 literary extravagances1 or legendary character are obvious on the face of such narratives4 ,such faults as these1 though valid against any pretensions to the rank of authentic history1 do not render the stories less effective as pieces of ,haggadic satire1 or less interesting as preserving vestiges of a cycle of popular legends relating to ,daniel 7,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,ball1 ,speaker's ,commentary1 on ,apocrypha1 ii4 #cej74 #ad ,httinger1 ,hist4 ,orientalis1 p4 #ib4 #ae ,ezra viii4 #b2 ,neh4 x4 #f4 ,in #a ,chron4 iii4 #a ,daniel is an alternative name for ,david's son ,chileab--perhaps a clerical error4 ,if so1 the names ,daniel1 ,mishael1 ,azariah1 and ,hananiah are only found in the two post-exilic books1 whence ,kamphausen supposes them to have been borrowed by the writer4 #af ,no valid arguments can be adduced in favour of ,winckler's suggestion that ,ezek4 xxviii4 #a-aj1 xiv4 #ad-bj1 are late interpolations4 ,in these passages the name is spelt 2 not1 as in our ,book1 4 #ag ,isa4 xxxix4 #g4 #ah ,see ,rosenmller1 ,scholia1 ad loc4 #ai ,ezek41 p4 #bjg4 #bj ,herzog1 ,r4 ,e41 s4v4 #ba ,ewald1 ,proph4 d4 ,alt4 ,bund41 ii4 #efj2 ,de ,wette1 ,einleit41 #bec4 #bb ,so ,von ,lengerke1 ,dan41 xciii4 ff42 ,hitzig1 ,dan41 viii4 #bc ,he is followed by ,bunsen1 ,gott in der ,gesch41 i4 #ead4 #bd ,reuss1 ,heil4 ,schrift41 p4 #egj4 #be ,ignat41 ,ad ,magnes1 #c 7,long ,revision3 see ,lightfoot1 ii41 ii41 p4 #gdi74 ,so too in ,ps4 ,mar4 ad ,ignat41 #c4 ,lightfoot thinks that this is a transference from ,solomon 7l4c41 p4 #gbg74 #bf ,see ,ezek4 xxix4 #ag4 #bg ,see ,zech4 ii4 #f-aj2 ,ezek4 xxxvii4 #i1 etc4 #bh ,see ,hag4 ii4 #f-i1 #bj-bc2 ,zech4 ii4 #e-ag1 iii4 #h-aj2 ,mal4 iii4 #a4 #bi ,ezra 7i4 #a7 does not mention the striking prophecies of the later ,isaiah 7xliv4 #bh1 xlv4 #a71 but refers to ,jeremiah only 7xxv4 #ab1 xxix4 #aj74 #cj ,dan4 x4 #a-ah1 vi4 #aj4 #ca ,ezra i4 #e4 #cb ,d',herbelot1 l4c4 #cc ,matt4 xxiv4 #ae2 ,mark xiii4 #ad4 ,there can be of course no certainty that the spoken of by ,daniel the prophet is not the comment of the ,evangelist4 #cd ,see ,elliott1 ,hor ,apocalyptic1 passim4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,general ,,survey ,,of ,,the ,,book #a4 ,,the ,,language ,unable to learn anything further respecting the professed author of the ,book of ,daniel1 we now turn to the ,book itself4 ,in this section ,i shall merely give a general sketch of its main external phenomena1 and shall chiefly pass in review those characteristics which1 though they have been used as arguments respecting the age in which it originated1 are not absolutely irreconcilable with the supposition of any date between the termination of the ,exile 7,b4,c4 #ecf7 and the death of ,antiochus ,epiphanes 7,b4,c4 #afd74 ,i4 ,first we notice the fact that there is an interchange of the first and third person4 ,in chapters i4-vi4 ,daniel is mainly spoken of in the third person3 in chapters vii4-xii4 he speaks mainly in the first4 ,kranichfeld tries to account for this by the supposition that in chapters i4-vi4 we practically have extracts from ,daniel's diaries1#ce whereas in the remainder of the ,book he describes his own visions4 ,the point cannot be much insisted upon1 but the mention of his own high praises 7e4g41 in such passages as vi4 #d7 is perhaps hardly what we should have expected4 ,,ii4 ,next we observe that the ,book of ,daniel1 like the ,book of ,ezra#cf is written partly in the sacred ,hebrew1 partly in the vernacular ,aramaic1 which is often1 but erroneously1 called ,chaldee4#cg ,the first section 7i4 #a-;ii4 #d;a7 is in ,hebrew4 ,the language changes to ,aramaic after the words1 ,then spake the ,chaldeans to the king in ,syriac 7ii4 #d;a72#ch and this is continued to vii4 #bh4 ,the eighth chapter begins with the words1 ,in the third year of the reign of ,king ,belshazzar a vision appeared unto me1 even unto me ,daniel2 and here the ,hebrew is resumed1 and is continued till the end of the ,book4 ,the question at once arises why the two languages were used in the same ,book4 ,it is easy to understand that1 during the course of the seventy years' ,exile1 many of the ,jews became practically bilingual1 and would be able to write with equal facility in one language or in the other4 ,this circumstance1 then1 has no bearing on the date of the ,book4 ,down to the ,maccabean age some books continued to be written in ,hebrew4 ,these books must have found readers4 ,hence the knowledge of ,hebrew cannot have died away so completely as has been supposed4 ,the notion that after the return from the ,exile ,hebrew was at once superseded by ,aramaic is untenable4 ,hebrew long continued to be the language normally spoken at ,jerusalem 7,neh4 xiii4 #bd71 and the ,jews did not bring back ,aramaic with them to ,palestine1 but found it there4#ci ,but it is not clear why the linguistic divisions in the ,book were adopted4 ,auberlen says that1 after the introduction1 the section ii4 #d;a-vii4 #bh was written in ,chaldee1 because it describes the development of the power of the world from a world-historic point of view2 and that the remainder of the ,book was written in ,hebrew1 because it deals with the development of the world-powers in their relation to ,israel the people of ,god4#dj ,there is very little to be said in favour of a structure so little obvious and so highly artificial4 ,a simpler solution of the difficulty would be that which accounts for the use of ,chaldee by saying that it was adopted in those parts which involved the introduction of ,aramaic documents4 ,this1 however1 would not account for its use in chap4 vii41 which is a chapter of visions in which ,hebrew might have been naturally expected as the vehicle of prophecy4 ,strack and ,meinhold think that the ,aramaic and ,hebrew parts are of different origin4 ,knig supposes that the ,aramaic sections were meant to indicate special reference to the ,syrians and ,antiochus4#da ,some critics have thought it possible that the ,aramaic sections were once written in ,hebrew4 ,that the text of ,daniel has not been very carefully kept becomes clear from the liberties to which it was subjected by the ,septuagint translators4 ,if the ,hebrew of ,jer4 x4 #aa 7a verse which only exists in ,aramaic7 has been lost1 it is not inconceivable that the same may have happened to the ,hebrew of a section of ,daniel4#db ,the ,talmud throws no light on the question4 ,it only says that-- i4 ,the men of the ,great ,synagogue wrote#dc--;by which is perhaps meant that they edited--the ,book of ,ezekiel1 the ,twelve ,minor ,prophets1 the ,book of ,daniel1 and the ,book of ,ezra2#dd and that-- ii4 ,the ,chaldee passages in the ,book of ,ezra and the ,book of ,daniel defile the hands4#de ,the first of these two passages is merely an assertion that the preservation1 the arrangement1 and the admission into the ,canon of the books mentioned was due to the body of scribes and priests--a very shadowy and unhistorical body--known as the ,great ,synagogue4#df ,the second passage sounds startling1 but is nothing more than an authoritative declaration that the ,chaldee sections of ,daniel and ,ezra are still parts of ,holy ,scripture1 though not written in the sacred language4 ,it is a standing rule of the ,talmudists that ,all ,holy ,scripture defiles the hands--even the long-disputed ,books of ,ecclesiastes and ,canticles4#dg ,lest any should misdoubt the sacredness of the ,chaldee sections1 they are expressly included in the rule4 ,it seems to have originated thus3 ,the eatables of the heave offerings were kept in close proximity to the scroll of the ,law1 for both were considered equally sacred4 ,if a mouse or rat happened to nibble either1 the offerings and the books became defiled1 and therefore defiled the hands that touched them4#dh ,to guard against this hypothetical defilement it was decided that all handling of the ,scriptures should be followed by ceremonial ablutions4 ,to say that the ,chaldee chapters defile the hands is the ,rabbinic way of declaring their ,canonicity4 ,perhaps nothing certain can be inferred from the philological examination either of the ,hebrew or of the ,chaldee portions of the ,book2 but they seem to indicate a date not earlier than the age of ,alexander 7,b4,c4 #ccc74 ,on this part of the subject there has been a great deal of rash and incompetent assertion4 ,it involves delicate problems on which an independent and a valuable opinion can only be offered by the merest handful of living scholars1 and respecting which even these scholars sometimes disagree4 ,in deciding upon such points ordinary students can only weigh the authority and the arguments of specialists who have devoted a minute and lifelong study to the grammar and history of the ,semitic languages4 ,i know no higher contemporary authorities on the date of ,hebrew writings than the late veteran scholar ,f4 ,delitzsch and ,professor ,driver4 #a4 ,nothing was more beautiful and remarkable in ,professor ,delitzsch than the open-minded candour which compelled him to the last to advance with advancing thought2 to admit all fresh elements of evidence2 to continue his education as a ,biblical inquirer to the latest days of his life2 and without hesitation to correct1 modify1 or even reverse his previous conclusions in accordance with the results of deeper study and fresh discoveries4 ,he wrote the article on ,daniel in ,herzog's ,real-,encyclopdie1 and in the first edition of that work maintained its genuineness2 but in the later editions 7iii4 #dgj7 his views approximate more and more to those of the ,higher ,criticism4 ,of the ,hebrew of ,daniel he says that it attaches itself here and there to ,ezekiel1 and also to ,habakkuk2 in general character it resembles the ,hebrew of the ,chronicler who wrote shortly before the beginning of the ,greek period 7,b4,c4 #ccb71 and as compared either with the ancient ,hebrew1 or with the ,hebrew of the ,mishnah is full of singularities and harshnesses of style4#di ,so far1 then1 it is clear that1 if the ,hebrew mainly resembles that of ,b4,c4 #ccb1 it is hardly likely that it should have been written before ,b4,c4 #ecf4 ,professor ,driver says1 ,the ,hebrew of ,daniel in all distinctive features resembles1 not the ,hebrew of ,ezekiel1 or even of ,haggai and ,zechariah1 but that of the age subsequent to ,nehemiah--whose age forms the great turning-point in ,hebrew style4 ,he proceeds to give a list of linguistic peculiarities in support of this view1 and other specimens of sentences constructed1 not in the style of classical ,hebrew1 but in the later uncouth style of the ,book of ,chronicles4 ,he points out in a note that it is no explanation of these peculiarities to argue that1 during his long exile1 ,daniel may have partially forgotten the language of his youth2 for this would not account for the resemblance of the new and decadent idioms to those which appeared in ,palestine independently two hundred and fifty years afterwards4#ej ,behrmann1 in the latest commentary on ,daniel1 mentions1 in proof of the late character of the ,hebrew3 7#a7 the introduction of ,persian words which could not have been used in ,babylonian before the conquest of ,cyrus 7as in i4 #c1 #e1 xi4 #de1 etc472 7#b7 many ,aramaic or ,aramaising words1 expressions1 and grammatical forms 7as in i4 #e1 #aj1 #ab1 #af1 viii4 #ah1 #bb1 x4 #ag1 #ba1 etc472 7#c7 neglect of strict accuracy in the use of the ,hebrew tenses 7as in viii4 #ad1 ix4 #c f41 xi4 #d f41 etc472 7#d7 the borrowing of archaic expressions from ancient sources 7as in viii4 #bf1 ix4 #b1 xi4 #aj1 #dj1 etc472 7#e7 the use of technical terms and periphrases common in ,jewish apocalypses 7xi4 #f1 #ac1 #ce1 #dj1 etc474#ea #b4 ,these views of the character of the ,hebrew agree with those of previous scholars4 ,bertholdt and ,kirms declare that its character differs toto genere from what might have been expected had the ,book been genuine4 ,gesenius says that the language is even more corrupt than that of ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 and ,malachi4 ,professor ,driver says the ,persian words presuppose a period after the ,persian ,empire had been well established2 the ,greek words demand1 the ,hebrew supports1 and the ,aramaic permits a date after the conquest of ,palestine by ,alexander the ,great4 ,de ,wette and ,ewald have pointed out the lack of the old passionate spontaneity of early prophecy2 the absence of the numerous and profound paronomasi1 or plays on words1 which characterised the burning oratory of the prophets2 and the peculiarities of the style--which is sometimes obscure and careless1 sometimes pompous1 iterative1 and artificial4#eb #c4 ,it is noteworthy that in this ,book the name of the great ,babylonian conqueror1 with whom1 in the narrative part1 ,daniel is thrown into such close connexion1 is invariably written in the absolutely erroneous form which his name assumed in later centuries--,nebuchadnezzar4 ,a contemporary1 familiar with the ,babylonian language1 could not have been ignorant of the fact that the only correct form of the name is ,nebuchadrezzar--i4e41 ,nebu-kudurri-utsur1 ,nebo protect the throne4#ec #d4 ,but the erroneous form ,neduchadnezzar is not the only one which entirely militates against the notion of a contemporary writer4 ,there seem to be other mistakes about ,babylonian matters into which a person in ,daniel's position could not have fallen4 ,thus the name ,belteshazzar seems to be connected in the writer's mind with ,bel1 the favourite deity of ,nebuchadrezzar2 but it can only mean ,balatu-utsur1 his life protect1 which looks like a mutilation4 ,abed-nego is an astonishingly corrupt form for ,abed-nabu1 the servant of ,nebo4 ,hammelzar1 ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 ,ashpenaz1 are declared by ,assyriologists to be out of keeping with ,babylonian science4 ,in ii4 #dh signn means a civil ruler2--does not imply ,archimagus1 as the context seems to require1 but1 according to ,lenormant1 a high civil officer4 #e4 ,the ,aramaic of ,daniel closely resembles that of ,ezra4 ,nldeke calls it a ,palestinian or ,western ,aramaic dialect1 later than that of the ,book of ,ezra4#ed ,it is of earlier type than that of the ,targums of ,jonathan and ,onkelos2 but that fact has very little bearing on the date of the ,book1 because the differences are slight1 and the resemblances manifold1 and the ,targums did not appear till after the ,christian ,era1 nor assume their present shape perhaps before the fourth century4 ,further1 recently discovered inscriptions have shown that many of the forms in which the ,aramaic of ,daniel differs from that of the ,targums were actually in use in neighbouring countries down to the first century ,a4,d4#ee #f4 ,two further philological considerations bear on the age of the ,book4 i4 ,one of these is the existence of no less than fifteen ,persian words 7according to ,nldeke and others71 especially in the ,aramaic part4 ,these words1 which would not be surprising after the complete establishment of the ,persian ,empire1 are surprising in passages which describe ,babylonian institutions before the conquest of ,cyrus4#ef ,various attempts have been made to account for this phenomenon4 ,professor ,fuller attempts to show1 but with little success1 that some of them may be ,semitic4#eg ,others argue that they are amply accounted for by the ,persian trade which1 as may be seen from the ,records of the ,past1#eh existed between ,persia and ,babylonia as early as the days of ,belshazzar4 ,to this it is replied that some of the words are not of a kind which one nation would at once borrow from another1#ei and that no ,persian words have hitherto been found in ,assyrian or ,babylonian inscriptions prior to the conquest of ,babylon by ,cyrus1 except the name of the god ,mithra4 ii4 ,but the linguistic evidence unfavourable to the genuineness of the ,book of ,daniel is far stronger than this1 in the startling fact that it contains at least three ,greek words4 ,after giving the fullest consideration to all that has been urged in refutation of the conclusion1 this circumstance has always been to me a strong confirmation of the view that the ,book of ,daniel in its present form is not older than the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,those three ,greek words occur in the list of musical instruments mentioned in iii4 #e1 #g1 #aj1 #ae4 ,they are3 1 kitharos1 1 harp2 1 psantern1 1 psaltery2#fj 1 smpnyh1 1 ,a4,v4 dulcimer1 but perhaps bagpipes4#fa ,be it remembered that these musical instruments are described as having 7,b4,c4 #eej74 ,now1 this is the date at which ,pisistratus was tyrant at ,athens1 in the days of ,pythagoras and ,polycrates1 before ,athens became a fixed democracy4 ,it is just conceivable that in those days the ,babylonians might have borrowed from ,greece the word kitharis4#fb ,it is1 indeed1 supremely unlikely1 because the harp had been known in the ,east from the earliest days2 and it is at least as probable that ,greece1 which at this time was only beginning to sit as a learner at the feet of the immemorial ,east1 borrowed the idea of the instrument from ,asia4 ,let it1 however1 be admitted that such words as yayn1 wine 771 lappid1 a torch 771 and a few others1 may indicate some early intercourse between ,greece and the ,east1 and that some commercial relations of a rudimentary kind were existent even in prehistoric days4#fc ,but what are we to say of the two other words8 ,both are derivatives4 ,psalterion does not occur in ,greek before ,aristotle 7d4 #cbb72 nor sumphonia before ,plato 7d4 #cdg74 ,in relation to music1 and probably as the name of a musical instrument1 sumphonia is first used by ,polybius 7xxvi4 #aj1 #e1 xxxi4 #d1 #h71 and in express connexion with the festivities of the very king with whom the apocalyptic section of ,daniel is mainly occupied--,antiochus ,epiphanes4#fd ,the attempts of ,professor ,fuller and others to derive these words from ,semitic roots are a desperate resource1 and cannot win the assent of a single trained philologist4 ,these words1 says ,professor ,driver1 could not have been used in the ,book of ,daniel1 unless it had been written after the dissemination of ,greek influence in ,asia through the conquest of ,alexander the ,great4#fe #b4 ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the ,,book ,the ,unity of the ,book of ,daniel is now generally admitted4 ,no one thought of questioning it in days before the dawn of criticism1 but in #aggb ,eichhorn and ,corrodi doubted the genuineness of the ,book4 ,j4 ,d4 ,michaelis endeavoured to prove that it was a collection of fugitive pieces1 consisting of six historic pictures1 followed by four prophetic visions4#ff ,bertholdt1 followed the erroneous tendency of criticism which found a foremost exponent in ,ewald1 and imagined the possibility of detecting the work of many different hands4 ,he divided the ,book into fragments by nine different authors4#fg ,zckler1 in ,lange's ,bibelwerk1 persuaded himself that the old orthodox views of ,hengstenberg and ,auberlen were right2 but he could only do this by sacrificing the authenticity of parts of the ,book1 and assuming more than one redaction4 ,thus he supposes that xi4 #e-ci are an interpolation by a writer in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,similarly1 ,lenormant admits interpolations in the first half of the ,book4 ,but to concede this is practically to give up the ,book of ,daniel as it now stands4 ,the unity of the ,book of ,daniel is still admitted or assumed by most critics4#fh ,it has only been recently questioned in two directions4 ,meinhold thinks that the ,aramaic and historic sections are older than the rest of the ,book1 and were written about ,b4,c4 #cjj to convert the ,gentiles to monotheism4#fi ,he argues that the apocalyptic section was written later1 and was subsequently incorporated with the ,book4 ,a somewhat similar view is held by ,zckler1#gj and some have thought that ,daniel could never have written of himself in such highly favourable terms as1 e4g41 in ,dan4 vi4 #d4ga ,the first chapter1 which is essential as an introduction to the ,book1 and the seventh1 which is apocalyptic1 and is yet in ,aramaic1 create objections to the acceptance of this theory4 ,further1 it is impossible not to observe a certain unity of style and parallelism of treatment between the two parts4 ,thus1 if the prophetic section is mainly devoted to ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 the historic section seems to have an allusive bearing on his impious madness4 ,in ii4 #aj1 #aa1 and vi4 #h1 we have descriptions of daring ,pagan edicts1 which might be intended to furnish a contrast with the attempts of ,antiochus to suppress the worship of ,god4 ,the feast of ,belshazzar may well be a reference to the ,syrian despot's revelries at ,daphne4 ,again1 in ii4 #dc--where the mixture of iron and clay is explained by they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men--it seems far from improbable that there is a reference to the unhappy intermarriages of ,ptolemies and ,seleucid4 ,berenice1 daughter of ,ptolemy ,,ii4 7,philadelphus71 married ,antiochus ,,ii4 7,theos71 and this is alluded to in the vision of xi4 #f4 ,cleopatra1 daughter of ,antiochus ,,iii4 7the ,great71 married ,ptolemy ,v4 7,epiphanes71 which is alluded to in xi4 #ag4gb ,the style seems to be stamped throughout with the characteristics of an individual mind1 and the most cursory glance suffices to show that the historic and prophetic parts are united by many points of connexion and resemblance4 ,meinhold is quite unsuccessful in the attempt to prove a sharp contrast of views between the sections4 ,the interchange of persons--the third person being mainly used in the first seven chapters1 and the first person in the last five--may be partly due to the final editor2 but in any case it may easily be paralleled1 and is found in other writers1 as in ,isaiah 7vii4 #c1 xx4 #b7 and the ,book of ,enoch 7xii474 ,but it may be said in general that the authenticity of the ,book is now rarely defended by any competent critic1 except at the cost of abandoning certain sections of it as interpolated additions2 and as ,mr4 ,bevan somewhat caustically remarks1 the defenders of ,daniel have1 during the last few years1 been employed chiefly in cutting ,daniel to pieces4#gc #c4 ,,the ,,general ,,tone ,,of ,,the ,,book ,the general tone of the ,book marks a new era in the education and progress of the ,jews4 ,the lessons of the ,exile uplifted them from a too narrow and absorbing particularism to a wider interest in the destinies of humanity4 ,they were led to recognise that ,god has made of one every nation of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth1 having determined their appointed seasons1 and the bounds of their habitation2 that they should seek ,god1 if haply they might feel after ,him1 and find ,him1 though ,he is not far from each one of us4#gd ,the standpoint of the ,book of ,daniel is larger and more cosmopolitan in this respect than that of earlier prophecy4 ,israel had begun to mingle more closely with other nations1 and to be a sharer in their destinies4 ,politically the ,hebrew race no longer formed a small though independent kingdom1 but was reduced to the position of an entirely insignificant sub-province in a mighty empire4 ,the ,messiah is no longer the ,son of ,david1 but the ,son of ,man2 no longer only the ,king of ,israel1 but of the world4 ,mankind--not only the seed of ,jacob--fills the field of prophetic vision4 ,amid widening horizons of thought the ,jews turned their eyes upon a great past1 rich in events1 and crowded with the figures of heroes1 saints1 and sages4 ,at the same time the world seemed to be growing old1 and its ever-deepening wickedness seemed to call for some final judgment4 ,we begin to trace in the ,hebrew writings the colossal conceptions1 the monstrous imagery1 the daring conjectures1 the more complex religious ideas1 of an exotic fancy4#ge ,the giant forms of ,empires on their way ,to ruin1 dim and vast1 begin to fling their weird and sombre shadows over the page of sacred history and prophetic anticipation4 #d4 ,,the ,,style ,,of ,,the ,,book ,the style of the ,book of ,daniel is new1 and has very marked characteristics1 indicating its late position in the ,canon4 ,it is rhetorical rather than poetic4 ,totum ,danielis librum1 says ,lowth1 e poetarum censu excludo4#gf ,how widely does the style differ from the rapt passion and glowing picturesqueness of ,isaiah1 from the elegiac tenderness of ,jeremiah1 from the lyrical sweetness of many of the ,psalms6 ,how very little does it correspond to the three great requirements of poetry1 that it should be1 as ,milton so finely said1 simple1 sensuous1 passionate6 ,a certain artificiality of diction1 a sounding oratorical stateliness1 enhanced by dignified periphrases and leisurely repetitions1 must strike the most casual reader2 and this is sometimes carried so far as to make the movement of the narrative heavy and pompous4#gg ,this peculiarity is not found to the same extent in any other book of the ,old ,testament ,canon1 but it recurs in the ,jewish writings of a later age4 ,from the apocryphal books1 for instance1 the poetical element is with trifling exceptions1 such as the ,song of the ,three ,children1 entirely absent1 while the taste for rhetorical ornamentation1 set speeches1 and dignified elaborateness is found in many of them4 ,this evanescence of the poetic and impassioned element separates ,daniel from the ,prophets1 and marks the place of the ,book among the ,hagiographa1 where it was placed by the ,jews themselves4 ,in all the great ,hebrew seers we find something of the ecstatic transport1 the fire shut up within the bones and breaking forth from the volcanic heart1 the burning lips touched by the hands of seraphim with a living coal from off the altar4 ,the word for prophet 7nab1 ,vates7 implies an inspired singer rather than a soothsayer or seer 7roeh1 chozeh74 ,it is applied to ,deborah and ,miriam#gh because they poured forth from exultant hearts the pan of victory4 ,hence arose the close connexion between music and poetry4#gi ,elisha required the presence of a minstrel to soothe the agitation of a heart thrown into tumult by the near presence of a revealing ,power4#hj ,just as the ,greek word 1 from 1 implies a sort of madness1 and recalls the foaming lip and streaming hair of the spirit-dilated messenger1 so the ,hebrew verb naba meant1 not only to proclaim ,god's oracles1 but to be inspired by ,his possession as with a ,divine frenzy4#ha ,madman seemed a natural term to apply to the messenger of ,elisha4#hb ,it is easy therefore to see why the ,book of ,daniel was not placed among the prophetic rolls4 ,this vera passio1 this ecstatic elevation of thought and feeling1 are wholly wanting in this earliest attempt at a philosophy of history4 ,we trace in it none of that blasting with excess of light1 none of that shuddering sense of being uplifted out of self1 which marks the higher and earlier forms of prophetic inspiration4 ,daniel is addressed through the less exalted medium of visions1 and in his visions there is less of the faculty ,divine4 ,the instinct--if instinct it were and not knowledge of the real origin of the ,book--which led the ,men of the ,great ,synagogue to place this ,book among the ,ketubhm1 not among the ,prophets1 was wise and sure4#hc #e4 ,,the ,,standpoint ,,of ,,the ,,author ,in ,daniel ffnet sich eine ganz neue ,welt4--,,eichhorn1 ,einleit41 iv4 #dgb4 ,the author of the ,book of ,daniel seems naturally to place himself on a level lower than that of the prophets who had gone before him4 ,he does not count himself among the prophets2 on the contrary1 he puts them far higher than himself1 and refers to them as though they belonged to the dim and distant past 7ix4 #b1 #f74 ,in his prayer of penitence he confesses1 ,neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets1 which spake in ,thy ,name to our kings1 our princes1 and our fathers2 ,neither have we obeyed the voice of the ,lord our ,god1 to walk in ,his laws1 which ,he set before us by ,his servants the prophets4 ,not once does he use the mighty formula ,thus saith ,jehovah--not once does he assume1 in the prophecies1 a tone of high personal authority4 ,he shares the view of the ,maccabean age that prophecy is dead4#hd ,in ,dan4 ix4 #b we find yet another decisive indication of the late age of this writing4 ,he tells us that he understood by books 7more correctly1 as in the ,a4,v41 by the books#he7 the number of the years whereof the word of the ,lord came to ,jeremiah the prophet4 ,the writer here represents himself as a humble student of previous prophets1 and this necessarily marks a position of less freshness and independence4 ,to the old prophets1 says ,bishop ,westcott1 ,daniel stands in some sense as a commentator4 ,no doubt the possession of those living oracles was an immense blessing1 a rich inheritance2 but it involved a danger4 ,truths established by writings and traditions1 safe-guarded by schools and institutions1 are too apt to come to men only as a power from without1 and less as a hidden and inly burning flame4#hf ,by the books can hardly be meant anything but some approach to a definite ,canon4 ,if so1 the ,book of ,daniel in its present form can only have been written subsequently to the days of ,ezra4 ,the account which assigns a collection of books to ,nehemiah 7#b ,macc4 ii4 #ac71 says ,bishop ,westcott1 is in itself a confirmation of the general truth of the gradual formation of the ,canon during the ,persian period4 ,the various classes of books were completed in succession2 and this view harmonises with what must have been the natural development of the ,jewish faith after the ,return4 ,the persecution of ,antiochus 7,b4,c4 #afh7 was for the ,old ,testament what the persecution of ,diocletian was for the ,new--the final crisis which stamped the sacred writings with their peculiar character4 ,the king sought out the ,books of the ,law 7#a ,macc4 i4 #ef7 and burnt them2 and the possession of a ',book of the ,covenant' was a capital crime4 ,according to the common tradition1 the proscription of the ,law led to the public use of the writings of the prophets4#hg 99 99 99 99 99 ,the whole method of ,daniel differs even from that of the later and inferior prophets of the ,exile--,haggai1 ,malachi1 and the second ,zechariah4 ,the ,book is rather an apocalypse than a prophecy3 the eye and not the ear is the organ to which the chief appeal is made4 ,though symbolism in the form of visions is not unknown to ,ezekiel and ,zechariah1 yet those prophets are far from being apocalyptic in character4 ,on the other hand1 the grotesque and gigantic emblems of ,daniel--these animal combinations1 these interventions of dazzling angels who float in the air or over the water1 these descriptions of historical events under the veil of material types seen in dreams--are a frequent phenomenon in such late apocryphal writings as the ,second ,book of ,esdras1 the ,book of ,enoch1 and the pr-,christian ,sibylline oracles1 in which talking lions and eagles1 etc41 are frequent4 ,indeed1 this style of symbolism originated among the ,jews from their contact with the graven mysteries and colossal images of ,babylonian worship4 ,the ,babylonian ,exile formed an epoch in the intellectual development of ,israel fully as important as the sojourn in ,egypt4 ,it was a stage in their moral and religious education4 ,it was the psychological preparation requisite for the moulding of the last phase of revelation--that apocalyptic form which succeeds to theophany and prophecy1 and embodies the final results of national religious inspiration4 ,that the apocalyptic method of dealing with history in a religious and an imaginative manner naturally arises towards the close of any great cycle of special revelation is illustrated by the flood of apocalypses which overflowed the early literature of the ,christian ,church4 ,but the ,jews clearly saw that1 as a rule1 an apocalypse is inherently inferior to a prophecy1 even when it is made the vehicle of genuine prediction4 ,in estimating the grades of inspiration the ,jews placed highest the inward illumination of the ,spirit1 the ,reason1 and the ,understanding2 next to this they placed dreams and visions2 and lowest of all they placed the accidental auguries derived from the ,bath ,ql4 ,an apocalypse may be of priceless value1 like the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john2 it may1 like the ,book of ,daniel1 abound in the noblest and most thrilling lessons2 but in intrinsic dignity and worth it is always placed by the instinct and conscience of mankind on a lower grade than such outpourings of ,divine teachings as breathe and burn through the pages of a ,david and an ,isaiah4 #f4 ,,the ,,moral ,,element ,lastly1 among these salient phenomena of the ,book of ,daniel we are compelled to notice the absence of the predominantly moral element from its prophetic portion4 ,the author does not write in the tone of a preacher of repentance1 or of one whose immediate object it is to ameliorate the moral and spiritual condition of his people4 ,his aims were different4#hh ,the older prophets were the ministers of dispensations between the ,law and the ,gospel4 ,they were1 in the beautiful language of ,herder1-- ,die ,saitenspiel in ,gottes mchtigen ,hnden4 ,doctrine1 worship1 and consolation were their proper sphere4 ,they were oratores ,legis1 advocati patri4 ,in them prediction is wholly subordinate to moral warning and instruction4 ,they denounce1 they inspire3 they smite to the dust with terrible invective2 they uplift once more into glowing hope4 ,the announcement of events yet future is the smallest part of the prophet's office1 and rather its sign than its substance4 ,the highest mission of an ,amos or an ,isaiah is not to be a prognosticator1 but to be a religious teacher4 ,he makes his appeals to the conscience1 not to the imagination--to the spirit1 not to the sense4 ,he deals with eternal principles1 and is almost wholly indifferent to chronological verifications4 ,to awaken the death-like slumber of sin1 to fan the dying embers of faithfulness1 to smite down the selfish oppressions of wealth and power1 to startle the sensual apathy of greed1 were the ordinary and the noblest aims of the greater and the minor prophets4 ,it was their task far rather to forth-tell than to fore-tell2 and if they announce1 in general outline and uncertain perspective1 things which shall be hereafter1 it is only in subordination to high ethical purposes1 or profound spiritual lessons4 ,so it is also in the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john4 ,but in the prophetic part of ,daniel it is difficult for the keenest imagination to discern any deep moral1 or any special doctrinal significance1 in all the details of the obscure wars and petty diplomacy of the kings of the ,north and ,south4 ,in point of fact the ,book of ,daniel1 even as an apocalypse1 suffers severely by comparison with that latest canonical ,apocalypse of the ,beloved ,disciple which it largely influenced4 ,it is strange that ,luther1 who spoke so slightingly of the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1 should have placed the ,book of ,daniel so high in his estimation4 ,it is indeed a noble book1 full of glorious lessons4 ,yet surely it has but little of the sublime and mysterious beauty1 little of the heart-shaking pathos1 little of the tender sweetness of consolatory power1 which fill the closing book of the ,new ,testament4 ,its imagery is far less exalted1 its hope of immortality far less distinct and unquenchable4 ,yet the ,book of ,daniel1 while it is one of the earliest1 still remains one of the greatest specimens of this form of sacred literature4 ,it inaugurated the new epoch of apocalyptic which in later days was usually pseudepigraphic1 and sheltered itself under the names of ,enoch1 ,noah1 ,moses1 ,ezra1 and even the heathen ,sibyls4 ,these apocalypses are of very unequal value4 ,some1 as ,kuenen says1 stand comparatively high2 others are far below mediocrity4 ,but the genus to which they belong has its own peculiar defect4 ,they are works of art3 they are not spontaneous2 they smell of the lamp4 ,a fruitless and an unpractical peering into the future was encouraged by these writings1 and became predominant in some ,jewish circles4 ,but the ,book of ,daniel is incomparably superior in every possible respect to ,baruch1 or the ,book of ,enoch1 or the ,second ,book of ,esdras2 and if we place it for a moment by the side of such books as those contained in the ,codex ,pseudepigraphus of ,fabricius1 its high worth and ,canonical authority are vindicated with extraordinary force4 ,how lofty and enduring are the lessons to be learnt alike from its historic and predictive sections we shall have abundant opportunities of seeing in the following pages4 ,so far from undervaluing its teaching1 ,i have always been strongly drawn to this ,book of ,scripture4 ,it has never made the least difference in my reverent acceptance of it that ,i have1 for many years1 been convinced that it cannot be regarded as literal history or ancient prediction4 ,reading it as one of the noblest specimens of the ,jewish ,haggada or moral ,ethopia1 ,i find it full of instruction in righteousness1 and rich in examples of life4 ,that ,daniel was a real person1 that he lived in the days of the ,exile1 and that his life was distinguished by the splendour of its faithfulness ,i hold to be entirely possible4 ,when we regard the stories here related of him as moral legends1 possibly based on a groundwork of real tradition1 we read the ,book with a full sense of its value1 and feel the power of the lessons which it was designed to teach1 without being perplexed by its apparent improbabilities1 or worried by its immense historic and other difficulties4 ,the ,book is in all respects unique1 a writing sui generis2 for the many imitations to which it led are but imitations4 ,but1 as the ,jewish writer ,dr4 ,jol truly says1 the unveiling of the secret as to the real lateness of its date and origin1 so far from causing any loss in its beauty and interest1 enhance both in a remarkable degree4 ,it is thus seen to be the work of a brave and gifted anonymous author about ,b4,c4 #afg1 who brought his piety and his patriotism to bear on the troubled fortunes of his people at an epoch in which such piety and patriotism were of priceless value4 ,we have in its later sections no voice of enigmatic prediction1 foretelling the minutest complications of a distant secular future1 but mainly the review of contemporary events by a wise and an earnest writer whose faith and hope remained unquenchable in the deepest night of persecution and apostasy4#hi ,many passages of the ,book are dark1 and will remain dark1 owing partly perhaps to corruptions and uncertainties of the text1 and partly to imitation of a style which had become archaic1 as well as to the peculiarities of the apocalyptic form4 ,but the general idea of the ,book has now been thoroughly elucidated1 and the interpretation of it in the following pages is accepted by the great majority of earnest and faithful students of the ,scriptures4 ,,footnotes3 #ce ,kranichfeld1 ,das ,buch ,daniel1 p4 #d4 #cf ,see ,ezra iv4 #g1 vi4 #ah1 vii4 #ab-bf4 #cg ,the term ',chaldee' for the ,aramaic of either the ,bible or the ,targums is a misnomer1 the use of which is only a source of confusion 7,driver1 p4 #dga74 ,a single verse of ,jeremiah 7x4 #aa7 is in ,aramaic3 ,thus shall ye say unto them1 ,the gods who made not heaven and earth shall perish from the earth and from under heaven4 ,perhaps ,jeremiah gave the verse to the ,jews as an answer to the heathen among whom they were 7,pusey1 p4 #aa74 #ch 2 ,,lxx41 --i4e41 in ,aramaic4 ,the word may be a gloss1 as it is in ,ezra iv4 #g 7,lenormant74 ,see1 however1 ,kamphausen1 p4 #ad4 ,we cannot here enter into minor points1 such as that in ii4-vi4 we have for see1 and in vii4 #b1 #c1 2 which ,meinhold takes to prove that the historic section is earlier than the prophetic4 #ci ,driver1 p4 #dga2 ,nldeke1 ,enc4 ,brit41 xxi4 #fdg2 ,wright1 ,grammar1 p4 #af4 ,ad4 ,merx has a treatise on ,cur in lib4 ,dan4 juxta ,hebr4 ,aramaica sit adhibita dialectus1 #ahfe2 but his solution1 ,scriptorem omnia qu rudioribus vulgi ingeniis apta viderentur ,aramaice prposuisse is wholly untenable4 #dj ,auberlen1 ,dan41 pp4 #bh1 #bi 7,e4 ,tr474 #da ,einleit41 #chc4 #db ,cheyne1 ,enc4 ,brit41 s4v4 ,daniel4 #dc 4 ,see #b ,esdras xiv4 #bb-dh3 ,in forty days they wrote two hundred and four books4 #dd ,baba-,bathra1 f4 #ae1 #f3 comp4 ,sanhedrin1 f4 #hc1 #f4 #de ,yaddayim1 iv42 ,mish41 #e4 #df ,see ,rau1 ,de ,synag4 ,magna41 ii4 #ff ff42 ,kuenen1 ,over de ,mannen der ,groote ,synagoge1 #ahgf2 ,ewald1 ,hist4 of ,israel1 v4 #afh-agj 7,e4 ,tr472 ,westcott1 s4v4 ,canon 7,smith's ,dict41 i4 #ejj74 #dg ,yaddayim1 iii42 ,mish41 #e2 ,hershon1 ,treasures of the ,talmud1 pp4 #da-dc4 #dh ,hershon 7l4c47 refers to ,shabbath1 f4 #ad1 #a4 #di ,herzog1 l4c42 so too ,knig1 ,einleit41 #chg3 ,das ,hebr4 der ,b4 ,dan4 ist nicht blos nachexilisch sondern auch nachchronistisch4 ,he instances ribbo 7,dan4 xi4 #ab7 for rebaba1 myriads 7,ezek4 xvi4 #g72 and tamd1 the daily burnt offering 7,dan4 viii4 #aa71 as post-,biblical ,hebrew for 'olath hatamd 7,neh4 x4 #cd71 etc4 ,margoliouth 7,expositor1 ,april #ahij7 thinks that the ,hebrew proves a date before ,b4,c4 #afh3 on which view see ,driver1 p1 #dhc4 #ej ,lit4 of ,old ,test41 pp4 #dgc-dgf4 #ea ,das ,buch ,dan41 iii4 #eb ,see ,glassius1 ,philol4 ,sacr41 p4 #ica2 ,ewald1 ,die ,proph4 d4 ,a4 ,bundes1 i4 #dh2 ,de ,wette1 ,einleit41 #cdg4 #ec ,ezekiel always uses the correct form 7xxvi4 #g1 xxix4 #ah1 xxx4 #aj74 ,jeremiah uses the correct form except in passages which properly belong to the ,book of ,kings4 #ed ,nldeke1 ,semit4 ,spr41 p4 #cj2 ,driver1 p4 #dgb2 ,knig1 p4 #chg4 #ee ,driver1 p4 #dgb1 and the authorities there quoted2 as against ,mc,gill and ,pusey 7,daniel1 pp4 #de ff41 #fjb ff474 ,dr4 ,pusey's is the fullest repertory of arguments in favour of the authenticity of ,daniel1 many of which have become more and more obviously untenable as criticism advances4 ,but he and ,keil add little or nothing to what had been ingeniously elaborated by ,hengstenberg and ,hvernick4 ,for a sketch of the peculiarities in the ,aramaic see ,behrmann1 ,daniel1 v4-x4 ,renan 7,hist4 ,gn4 des ,langues ,sm41 p4 #bai7 exaggerates when he says1 ,la langue des parties chaldnnes est beaucoup plus basse que celle des fragments chaldens du ,livre d',esdras1 et s'incline beaucoup vers la langue du ,talmud4 #ef ,meinhold1 ,beitrge1 pp4 #cj-cb2 ,driver1 p4 #dgj4 #eg ,speaker's ,commentary1 vi4 #bdf-bej4 #eh ,new ,series1 iii4 #abd4 #ei ,e4g41 1 limb2 1 secret2 1 message4 ,there are no ,persian words in ,ezekiel1 ,haggai1 ,zechariah1 or ,malachi2 they are found in ,ezra and ,esther1 which were written long after the establishment of the ,persian ,empire4 #fj ,the change of n for l is not uncommon3 comp4 1 1 etc4 #fa ,the word 1 ,sab'ka1 also bears a suspicious resemblance to 1 but ,athenus says 7,deipnos41 iv4 #agc7 that the instrument was invented by the ,syrians4 ,some have seen in krz 7iii4 #d1 herald7 the ,greek 1 and in hamnk1 chain1 the ,greek 3 but these cannot be pressed4 #fb ,it is true that there was some small intercourse between even the ,assyrians and ,ionians 7,ja-am-na-a7 as far back as the days of ,sargon 7,b4,c4 #gbb-gje72 but not enough to account for such words4 #fc ,sayce1 ,contemp4 ,rev41 ,december #ahgh4 #fd ,some argue that in this passage means a concert 7comp4 ,luke xv4 #be72 but ,polybius mentions it with a horn 774 ,behrmann 7p4 ix7 connects it with 1 and makes it mean a pipe4 #fe ,pusey says all he can on the other side 7pp4 #bc-bh71 and has not changed the opinion of scholars 7pp4 #bg-cc74 ,fabre d',envieu 7i4 #aja7 also desperately denies the existence of any ,greek words4 ,on the other side see ,derenbourg1 ,les ,mots grecs dans le ,livre biblique de ,daniel 7,mlanges ,graux1 #ahhd74 #ff ,orient4 u4 ,exeg4 ,bibliothek1 #aggb1 p4 #ada4 ,this view was revived by ,lagarde in the ,gttingen ,gel4 ,anzeigen1 #ahia4 #fg ,daniel neu bersetz4 u4 ,erklrt41 #ahjh2 ,khler1 ,lehrbuch1 ii4 #egg4 ,the first who suspected the unity of the ,book because of the two languages was ,spinoza 7,tract-historicopol1 x4 #acj ff474 ,newton 7,observations upon the ,prophecies of ,daniel and the ,apocalypse1 i4 #aj7 and ,beausobre 7,remarques sur le ,nouv4 ,test41 i4 #gj7 shared the doubt because of the use of the first person in the prophetic 7,dan4 vii4-xii47 and the third in the historic section 7,dan4 i4-vi474 ,michaelis1 ,bertholdt1 and ,reuss considered that its origin was fragmentary2 and ,lagarde 7who dated the seventh chapter ,a4,d4 #fi7 calls it a bundle of flyleaves4 ,meinhold and ,strack1 like ,eichhorn1 regard the historic section as older than the prophetic2 and ,cornill thinks that the ,book was put together in great haste4 ,similarly1 ,graf 7,der ,prophet ,jeremia7 regards the ,aramaic verse1 ,jer4 x4 #aa1 as a marginal gloss4 ,lagarde argues1 from the silence of ,josephus about many points1 that he could not have had the present ,book of ,daniel before him 7e4g41 ,dan4 vii4 or ix4-xii472 but the argument is unsafe4 ,josephus seems to have understood the ,fourth ,empire to be the ,roman1 and did not venture to write of its destruction4 ,for this reason he does not explain the stone of ,dan4 ii4 #de4 #fh ,by ,de ,wette1 ,schrader1 ,hitzig1 ,ewald1 ,gesenius1 ,bleek1 ,delitzsch1 ,von ,lengerke1 ,sthelin1 ,kamphausen1 ,wellhausen1 etc4 ,reuss1 however1 says 7,heil4 ,schrift41 p4 #ege71 ,man knnte auf die ,vorstellung kommen das ,buch habe mehr als einen ,verfasser2 and ,knig thinks that the original form of the book may have ended with chap4 vii4 7,einleit41 #chd74 #fi ,beitrge1 #ahhh4 ,see too ,kranichfeld1 ,das ,buch ,daniel1 p4 #d4 ,the view is refuted by ,budde1 ,theol4 ,lit4 ,zeitung1 #ahhh1 ,no4 #bf4 ,the conjecture has often occurred to critics4 ,thus ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 believing that ,daniel wrote the last six chapters1 thought that the six first are a collection of historical papers written by others 7,observations1 i4 #aj74 #gj ,einleit41 p4 #f4 #ga ,other critics who incline to one or other modification of this view of the two ,daniels are ,tholuck1 d4 ,a4,t4 in ,n4,t41 #ahgb2 ,c4 v4 ,orelli1 ,alttest4 ,weissag41 #ahhb2 and ,strack4 #gb ,hengstenberg also points to verbal resemblances between ii4 #dd and vii4 #ad2 iv4 #e and vii4 #a2 ii4 #ca and vii4 #b2 ii4 #ch and vii4 #ag1 etc4 7,genuineness of ,daniel1 ,e4 ,tr41 pp4 #ahf ff474 #gc ,a ,short ,commentary1 p4 #h4 #gd ,acts xvii4 #bf1 #bg4 #ge ,see ,hitzig1 p4 xii2 ,auberlen1 p4 #da4 #gf ,reuss says too severely1 ,die ,schilderungen aller dieser ,vorgnge machen keinen gewinnenden ,eindruck4444 ,der ,stil ist unbeholfen1 die ,figuren grotesk1 die ,farben grell4 ,he admits1 however1 the suitableness of the ,book for the ,maccabean epoch1 and the deep impression it made 7,heil4 ,schrift4 ,a4 ,t41 p4 #ega74 #gg ,see iii4 #b1 #c1 #e1 #g2 viii4 #a1 #aj1 #ai2 xi4 #ae1 #bb1 #ca1 etc4 #gh ,exod4 xv4 #bj2 ,judg4 iv4 #d4 #gi #a ,sam4 x4 #e2 #a ,chron4 xxv4 #a1 #b1 #c4 #hj #b ,kings iii4 #ae4 #ha ,jer4 xxix4 #bf2 #a ,sam4 xviii4 #aj1 xix4 #ba-bd4 #hb #b ,kings ix4 #aa4 ,see ,expositor's ,bible1 ,second ,book of ,kings1 p4 #aac4 #hc ,on this subject see ,ewald1 ,proph4 d4 ,a4 ,bundes1 i4 #f2 ,novalis1 ,schriften1 ii4 #dgb2 ,herder1 ,geist der ,ebr4 ,poesie1 ii4 #fa2 ,knobel1 ,prophetismus1 i4 #ajc4 ,even the ,latin poets were called prophet1 bards 7,varro1 ,de ,ling4 ,lat41 vi4 #c74 ,epimenides is called a prophet in ,tit4 i4 #ab4 ,see ,plato1 ,tim41 #gb1 ,a42 ,phdr41 #bfb1 ,d42 ,pind41 ,fr41 #aah2 and comp4 ,eph4 iii4 #e1 iv4 #aa4 #hd ,dan4 ix4 #f1 #aj4 ,so conscious was the ,maccabean age of the absence of prophets1 that1 just as after the ,captivity a question is postponed till there should arise a priest with the ,urim and ,thummin1 so ,judas postponed the decision about the stones of the desecrated altar until there should come a prophet to show what should be done with them 7#a ,macc4 iv4 #de1 #df1 ix4 #bg1 xiv4 #da74 ,comp4 ,song of the ,three ,children1 #ae2 ,psalm lxxiv4 #i2 ,sota1 f4 #dh1 #b4 ,see infra1 ,introd41 chap4 viii4 #he ,dan4 ix4 #b1 hassepharm1 4 #hf ,ewald1 ,proph4 d4 ,a4 ,b41 p4 #aj4 ,judas ,maccabus is also said to have restored 77 the lost 77 sacred writings 7#b ,macc4 ii4 #ad74 #hg ,smith's ,dict4 of the ,bible1 i4 #eja4 ,the daily lesson from the ,prophets was called the ,haphtarah 7,hamburger1 ,real-,encycl41 ii4 #ccd74 #hh ,on this subject see ,kuenen1 ,the ,prophets1 iii4 #ie ff42 ,davison1 ,on ,prophecy1 pp4 #cd-fg2 ,herder1 ,hebr4 ,poesie1 ii4 #fd2 ,de ,wette1 ,christl4 ,sittenlehre1 ii4 #a4 #hi ,jol1 ,notizen1 p4 #g4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,peculiarities ,,of ,,the ,,historic ,,section ,no one can have studied the ,book of ,daniel without seeing that1 alike in the character of its miracles and the minuteness of its supposed predictions1 it makes a more stupendous and a less substantiated claim upon our credence than any other book of the ,bible1 and a claim wholly different in character4 ,it has over and over again been asserted by the uncharitableness of a merely traditional orthodoxy that inability to accept the historic verity and genuineness of the ,book arises from secret faithlessness1 and antagonism to the admission of the supernatural4 ,no competent scholar will think it needful to refute such calumnies4 ,it suffices us to know before ,god that we are actuated simply by the love of truth1 by the abhorrence of anything which in us would be a pusillanimous spirit of falsity4 ,we have too deep a belief in the ,god of the ,amen1 the ,god of eternal and essential verity1 to offer to ,him the unclean sacrifice of a lie4 ,an error is not sublimated into a truth even when that lie has acquired a quasi-consecration1 from its supposed desirability for purposes of orthodox controversy1 or from its innocent acceptance by generations of ,jewish and ,christian ,churchmen through long ages of uncritical ignorance4 ,scholars1 if they be ,christians at all1 can have no possible a-priori objection to belief in the supernatural4 ,if they believe1 for instance1 in the ,incarnation of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ1 they believe in the most mysterious and unsurpassable of all miracles1 and beside that miracle all minor questions of ,god's power or willingness to manifest ,his immediate intervention in the affairs of men sink at once into absolute insignificance4 ,but our belief in the ,incarnation1 and in the miracles of ,christ1 rests on evidence which1 after repeated examination1 is to us overwhelming4 ,apart from all questions of personal verification1 or the ,inward ,witness of the ,spirit1 we can show that this evidence is supported1 not only by the existing records1 but by myriads of external and independent testimonies4 ,the very same ,spirit which makes men believe where the demonstration is decisive1 compels them to refuse belief to the literal verity of unique miracles and unique predictions which come before them without any convincing evidence4 ,the narratives and visions of this ,book present difficulties on every page4 ,they were in all probability never intended for anything but what they are--,haggadoth1 which1 like the parables of ,christ1 convey their own lessons without depending on the necessity for accordance with historic fact4 ,had it been any part of the ,divine will that we should accept these stories as pure history1 and these visions as predictions of events which were not to take place till centuries afterwards1 we should have been provided with some aids to such belief4 ,on the contrary1 in whatever light we examine the ,book of ,daniel1 the evidence in its favour is weak1 dubious1 hypothetical1 and a priori2 while the evidence against it acquires increased intensity with every fresh aspect in which it is examined4 ,the ,book which would make the most extraordinary demands upon our credulity if it were meant for history1 is the very ,book of which the genuineness and authenticity are decisively discredited by every fresh discovery and by each new examination4 ,there is scarcely one learned ,european scholar by whom they are maintained1 except with such concessions to the ,higher ,criticism as practically involve the abandonment of all that is essential in the traditional theory4 ,and we have come to a time when it will not avail to take refuge in such transferences of the discussions in alteram materiam1 and such purely vulgar appeals ad invidiam1 as are involved in saying1 ,then the ,book must be a forgery1 and an imposture1 and a gross lie4 ,to assert that to give up the ,book of ,daniel is to betray the cause of ,christianity1#ij is a coarse and dangerous misuse of the weapons of controversy4 ,such talk may still have been excusable even in the days of ,dr4 ,pusey 7with whom it was habitual72 it is no longer excusable now4 ,now it can only prove the uncharitableness of the apologist1 and the impotence of a defeated cause4 ,yet even this abandonment of the sphere of honourable argument is only one degree more painful than the tortuous subterfuges and wild assertions to which such apologists as ,hengstenberg1 ,keil1 and their followers were long compelled to have recourse4 ,anything can be proved about anything if we call to our aid indefinite suppositions of errors of transcription1 interpolations1 transpositions1 extraordinary silences1 still more extraordinary methods of presenting events1 and 7in general7 the unconsciously disingenuous resourcefulness of traditional harmonics4 ,to maintain that the ,book of ,daniel1 as it now stands1 was written by ,daniel in the days of the ,exile is to cherish a belief which can only1 at the utmost1 be extremely uncertain1 and which must be maintained in defiance of masses of opposing evidence4 ,there can be little intrinsic value in a determination to believe historical and literary assumptions which can no longer be maintained except by preferring the flimsiest hypotheses to the most certain facts4 ,my own conviction has long been that in these ,haggadoth1 in which ,jewish literature delighted in the pr-,christian era1 and which continued to be written even till the ,middle ,ages1 there was not the least pretence or desire to deceive at all4 ,i believe them to have been put forth as moral legends--as avowed fiction nobly used for the purposes of religious teaching and encouragement4 ,in ages of ignorance1 in which no such thing as literary criticism existed1 a popular ,haggada might soon come to be regarded as historical1 just as the ,homeric lays were among the ,greeks1 or just as ,defoe's story of the ,plague of ,london was taken for literal history by many readers even in the seventeenth century4 ,ingenious attempts have been made to show that the author of this ,book evinces an intimate familiarity with the circumstances of the ,babylonian religion1 society1 and history4 ,in many cases this is the reverse of the fact4 ,the instances adduced in favour of any knowledge except of the most general description are entirely delusive4 ,it is frivolous to maintain1 with ,lenormant1 that an exceptional acquaintance with ,babylonian custom was required to describe ,nebuchadrezzar as consulting diviners for the interpretation of a dream6 ,to say nothing of the fact that a similar custom has prevailed in all nations and all ages from the days of ,samuel to those of ,lobengula1 the writer had the prototype of ,pharaoh before him1 and has evidently been influenced by the story of ,joseph4#ia ,again1 so far from showing surprising acquaintance with the organisation of the caste of ,babylonian diviners1 the writer has made a mistake in their very name1 as well as in the statement that a faithful ,jew1 like ,daniel1 was made the chief of their college6#ib ,nor1 again1 was there anything so unusual in the presence of women at feasts--also recognised in the ,haggada of ,esther--as to render this a sign of extraordinary information4 ,once more1 is it not futile to adduce the allusion to punishment by burning alive as a proof of insight into ,babylonian peculiarities8 ,this punishment had already been mentioned by ,jeremiah in the case of ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,then shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of ,judah which are in ,babylon1 saying1 ,the ,lord make thee like ,zedekiah and like ,ahab 7two false prophets71 whom the ,king of ,babylon roasted in the fire4#ic ,moreover1 it occurs in the ,jewish traditions which described a miraculous escape of exactly the same character in the legend of ,abraham4 ,he1 too1 had been supernaturally rescued from the burning fiery furnace of ,nimrod1 to which he had been consigned because he refused to worship idols in ,ur of the ,chaldees4#id ,when the instances mainly relied upon prove to be so evidentially valueless1 it would be waste of time to follow ,professor ,fuller through the less important and more imaginary proofs of accuracy which his industry has amassed4 ,meanwhile the feeblest reasoner will see that while a writer may easily be accurate in general facts1 and even in details1 respecting an age long previous to that in which he wrote1 the existence of violent errors as to matters with which a contemporary must have been familiar at once refutes all pretence of historic authenticity in a book professing to have been written by an author in the days and country which he describes4 ,now such mistakes there seem to be1 and not a few of them1 in the pages of the ,book of ,daniel4 ,one or two of them can perhaps be explained away by processes which would amply suffice to show that yes means no1 or that black is a description of white2 but each repetition of such processes leaves us more and more incredulous4 ,if errors be treated as corruptions of the text1 or as later interpolations1 such arbitrary methods of treating the ,book are practically an admission that1 as it stands1 it cannot be regarded as historical4 ,i4 ,we are1 for instance1 met by what seems to be a remarkable error in the very first verse of the ,book1 which tells us that ,in the third year of ,jehoiakim1 ,king of ,judah1 came ,nebuchadnezzar--as in later days he was incorrectly called--,king of ,babylon1 unto ,jerusalem1 and besieged it4 ,it is easy to trace whence the error sprang4 ,its source lies in a book which is the latest in the whole ,canon1 and in many details difficult to reconcile with the ,book of ,kings--a book of which the ,hebrew resembles that of ,daniel--the ,book of ,chronicles4 ,in #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #f we are told that ,nebuchadnezzar came up against ,jehoiakim1 and bound him in fetters to carry him to ,babylon2 and also--to which the author of ,daniel directly refers--that he carried off some of the vessels of the ,house of ,god1 to put them in the treasure-house of his god4 ,in this passage it is not said that this occurred in the third year of ,jehoiakim1 who reigned eleven years2 but in #b ,kings xxiv4 #a we are told that in his days ,nebuchadnezzar came up1 and ,jehoiakim became his servant three years4 ,the passage in ,daniel looks like a confused reminiscence of the three years with the third year of ,jehoiakim4 ,the elder and better authority 7the ,book of ,kings7 is silent about any deportation having taken place in the reign of ,jehoiakim1 and so is the contemporary ,prophet ,jeremiah4 ,but in any case it seems impossible that it should have taken place so early as the third year of ,jehoiakim1 for at that time he was a simple vassal of the ,king of ,egypt4 ,if this deportation took place in the reign of ,jehoiakim1 it would certainly be singular that ,jeremiah1 in enumerating three others1 in the seventh1 eighteenth1 and twenty-third year of ,nebuchadrezzar1#ie should make no allusion to it4 ,but it is hard to see how it could have taken place before ,egypt had been defeated in the ,battle of ,carchemish1 and that was not till ,b4,c4 #eig1 the fourth year of ,jehoiakim4#if ,not only does ,jeremiah make no mention of so remarkable a deportation as this1 which as the earliest would have caused the deepest anguish1 but1 in the fourth year of ,jehoiakim 7,jer4 xxxvi4 #a71 he writes a roll to threaten evils which are still future1 and in the fifth year proclaims a fast in the hope that the imminent peril may even yet be averted 7,jer4 xxxvi4 #f-aj74 ,it is only after the violent obstinacy of the king that the destructive advance of ,nebuchadrezzar is finally prophesied 7,jer4 xxxvi4 #bi7 as something which has not yet occurred4#ig ,,ii4 ,nor are the names in this first chapter free from difficulty4 ,daniel is called ,belteshazzar1 and the remark of the ,king of ,babylon--whose name was ,belteshazzar1 according to the name of my god--certainly suggests that the first syllable is 7as the ,massorets assume7 connected with the god ,bel4 ,but the name has nothing to do with ,bel4 ,no contemporary could have fallen into such an error2#ih still less a king who spoke ,babylonian4 ,shadrach may be ,shudur-aku1 command of ,aku1 the moon-god2 but ,meshach is inexplicable2 and ,abed-nego is a strange corruption for the obvious and common ,abed-nebo1 servant of ,nebo4 ,such a corruption could hardly have arisen till ,nebo was practically forgotten4 ,and what is the meaning of the ,melzar 7,dan4 i4 #aa78 ,the ,a4,v4 takes it to be a proper name2 the ,r4,v4 renders it the steward4 ,but the title is unique and obscure4#ii ,nor can anything be made of the name of ,ashpenaz1 the prince of the eunuchs1 whom1 in one manuscript1 the ,,lxx4 call ,abiesdri4#ajj ,,iii4 ,similar difficulties and uncertainties meet us at every step4 ,thus1 in the second chapter 7ii4 #a71 the dream of ,nebuchadrezzar is fixed in the second year of his reign4 ,this does not seem to be in accord with i4 #c1 #ah1 which says that ,daniel and his three companions were kept under the care of the prince of the eunuchs for three years4 ,nothing1 of course1 is easier than to invent harmonistic hypotheses1 such as that of ,rashi1 that the second year of the reign of ,nebuchadrezzar has the wholly different meaning of the second year after the destruction of the ,temple2 or as that of ,hengstenberg1 followed by many modern apologists1 that ,nebuchadrezzar had previously been associated in the kingdom with ,nabopolassar1 and that this was the second year of his independent reign4 ,or1 again1 we may1 with ,ewald1 read the twelfth year4 ,but by these methods we are not taking the ,book as it stands1 but are supposing it to be a network of textual corruptions and conjectural combinations4 ,,iv4 ,in ii4 #b the king summons four classes of hierophants to disclose his dream and its interpretation4 ,they are the magicians 7,chartummm71 the enchanters 7,ashshaphm71 the sorcerers 7,mechashsh'phm71 and the ,chaldeans 7,kasdm74#aja ,the ,chartummm occur in ,gen4 xli4 #h 7which seems to be in the writer's mind72 and the ,mechashsh'phm occur in ,exod4 vii4 #aa1 xxii4 #ah2 but the mention of ,kasdm1 ,chaldeans1 is1 so far as we know1 an immense anachronism4 ,in much later ages the name was used1 as it was among the ,roman writers1 for wandering astrologers and quacks4#ajb ,but this degenerate sense of the word was1 so far as we can judge1 wholly unknown to the age of ,daniel4 ,it never once occurs in this sense on any of the monuments4 ,unknown to the ,assyrian-,babylonian language1 and only acquired long after the end of the ,babylonian ,empire1 such a usage of the word is1 as ,schrader says1 an indication of the post-exilic composition of the ,book4#ajc ,in the days of ,daniel ,chaldeans had no meaning resembling that of magicians or astrologers4 ,in every other writer of the ,old ,testament1 and in all contemporary records1 ,kasdm simply means the ,chaldean nation1 and never a learned caste4#ajd ,this single circumstance has decisive weight in proving the late age of the ,book of ,daniel4 ,v4 ,again1 we find in ii4 #ad1 ,arioch1 the chief of the executioners4 ,schrader precariously derives the name from ,eri-aku1 servant of the moon-god2 but1 however that may be1 we already find the name as that of a king ,ellasar in ,gen4 xiv4 #a1 and we find it again for a king of the ,elymans in ,judith i4 #f4 ,in ver4 #af ,daniel went in and desired of the king a little respite2 but in ver4 #be ,arioch tells the king1 as though it were a sudden discovery of his own1 ,i have found a man of the captives of ,judah1 that will make known unto the king the interpretation4 ,this was a surprising form of introduction1 after we have been told that the king himself had1 by personal examination1 found that ,daniel and his young companions were ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm4 ,it seems1 however1 as if each of these chapters was intended to be recited as a separate ,haggada4 ,,vi4 ,in ii4 #df1 after the interpretation of the dream1 the ,king ,nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face1 and worshipped ,daniel1 and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him4 ,this is another of the immense surprises of the ,book4 ,it is exactly the kind of incident in which the haughty theocratic sentiment of the ,jews found delight1 and we find a similar spirit in the many ,talmudic inventions in which ,roman emperors1 or other potentates1 are represented as paying extravagant adulation to ,rabbinic sages4 ,there is 7as we shall see7 a similar story narrated by ,josephus of ,alexander the ,great prostrating himself before the high priest ,jaddua1 but it has long been relegated to the realm of fable as an outcome of ,jewish self-esteem4#aje ,it is probably meant as a concrete illustration of the glowing promises of ,isaiah1 that kings and queens shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth1 and lick up the dust of thy feet2#ajf and the sons of them that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet4#ajg ,,vii4 ,we further ask in astonishment whether ,daniel could have accepted without indignant protest the offering of an oblation and sweet odours4 ,to say that they were only offered to ,god in the person of ,daniel is the idle pretence of all idolatry4 ,they are expressly said to be offered to ,daniel4 ,a ,herod could accept blasphemous adulations2#ajh but a ,paul and a ,barnabas deprecate such devotions with intense disapproval4#aji ,,viii4 ,in ii4 #dh ,nebuchadrezzar appoints ,daniel1 as a reward for his wisdom1 to rule over the whole province of ,babylon1 and to be ,rab-signn1 chief ruler1 and to be over all the wise men 7,khakamim7 of ,babylon4 ,lenormant treats this statement as an interpolation1 because he regards it as evidently impossible4 ,we know that in the ,babylonian priesthood1 and especially among the sacred caste1 there was a passionate religious intolerance4 ,it is inconceivable that they should have accepted as their religious superior a monotheist who was the avowed and uncompromising enemy to their whole system of idolatry4 ,it is equally inconceivable that ,daniel should have accepted the position of a hierophant in a polytheistic cult4 ,in the next three chapters there is no allusion to ,daniel's tenure of these strange and exalted offices1 either civil or religious4#aaj ,,ix4 ,the third chapter contains another story1 told in a style of wonderful stateliness and splendour1 and full of glorious lessons2 but here again we encounter linguistic and other difficulties4 ,thus in iii4 #b1 though all the rulers of the provinces and officers of all ranks are summoned to the dedication of ,nebuchadrezzar's colossus1 there is not an allusion to ,daniel throughout the chapter4 ,four of the names of the officers in iii4 #b1 #c1 appear1 to our surprise1 to be ,persian2#aaa and1 of the six musical instruments1 three--the lute1 psaltery1 and bagpipe#aab--;have obvious ,greek names1 two of which 7as already stated7 are of late origin1 while another1 the sab'ka1 resembles the ,greek 1 but may have come to the ,greeks from the ,aramans4#aac ,the incidents of the chapter are such as find no analogy throughout the ,old or ,new ,testament1 but exactly resemble those of ,jewish moralising fiction1 of which they furnish the most perfect specimen4 ,it is exactly the kind of concrete comment which a ,jewish writer of piety and genius1 for the encouragement of his afflicted people1 might have based upon such a passage as ,isa4 xliii4 #b1 #c3 ,when thou walkest through the fire1 thou shalt not be burned2 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee4 ,for ,i am the ,lord thy ,god1 the ,holy ,one of ,israel1 thy ,saviour4 ,nebuchadrezzar's decree1 ,that every people1 nation1 and language1 which speak anything amiss against the ,god of ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego1 shall be cut in pieces1 and their houses shall be made a dunghill1 can only be paralleled out of the later ,jewish literature4#aad ,x4 ,in chap4 iv4 we have another monotheistic decree of the ,king of ,babylon1 announcing to all people1 nations1 and languages what the high ,god hath wrought towards me4 ,it gives us a vision which recalls ,ezek4 xxxi4 #c-ah1 and may possibly have been suggested by that fine chapter4#aae ,the language varies between the third and the first person4 ,in iv4 #ac ,nebuchadrezzar speaks of a watcher and a holy one4 ,this is the first appearance in ,jewish literature of the word 'ir1 watcher1 which is so common in the ,book of ,enoch4#aaf ,in ver4 #bf the expression after thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule is one which has no analogue in the ,old ,testament1 though exceedingly common in the superstitious periphrases of the later ,jewish literature4 ,as to the story of the strange lycanthropy with which ,nebuchadrezzar was afflicted1 though it receives nothing but the faintest shadow of support from any historic record1 it may be based on some fact preserved by tradition4 ,it is probably meant to reflect on the mad ways of ,antiochus4 ,the general phrase of ,berossus1 which tells us that ,nebuchadrezzar fell into a sickness and died1#aag has been pressed into an historical verification of this narrative6 ,but the phrase might have been equally well used in the most ordinary case1#aah which shows what fancies have been adduced to prove that we are here dealing with history4 ,the fragment of ,abydenus in his ,assyriaca1 preserved by ,eusebius1#aai shows that there was some story about ,nebuchadrezzar having uttered remarkable words upon his palace-roof4 ,the announcement of a coming irrevocable calamity to the kingdom from a ,persian mule1 the son of a ,median woman1 and the wish that the alien conqueror might be driven through the desert where wild beasts seek their food1 and birds fly hither and thither1 has1 however1 very little to do with the story of ,nebuchadrezzar's madness4 ,abydenus says that1 when he had thus prophesied1 he suddenly vanished2 and he adds nothing about any restoration to health or to his kingdom4 ,all that can be said is that there was current among the ,babylonian ,jews some popular legend of which the writer of the ,book of ,daniel availed himself for the purpose of his edifying ,midrash4 ,,xi4 ,when we reach the fifth chapter1 we are faced by a new king1 ,belshazzar1 who is somewhat emphatically called the son of ,nebuchadrezzar4#abj ,history knows of no such king4#aba ,the prince of whom it does know was never king1 and was a son1 not of ,nebuchadrezzar1 but of the usurper ,nabunaid2 and between ,nebuchadrezzar and ,nabunaid there were three other kings4#abb ,there was a ,belshazzar--,bel-sar-utsur1 ,bel protect the prince--and we possess a clay cylinder of his father ,nabunaid1 the last king of ,babylon1 praying the moon-god that my son1 the offspring of my heart1 might honour his godhead1 and not give himself to sin4#abc ,but if we follow ,herodotus1 this ,belshazzar never came to the throne2 and according to ,berossus he was conquered in ,borsippa4 ,xenophon1 indeed1 speaks of an impious king as being slain in ,babylon2 but this is only in an avowed romance which has not the smallest historic validity4#abd ,schrader conjectures that ,nabunaid may have gone to take the field against ,cyrus 7who conquered and pardoned him1 and allowed him to end his days as governor of ,karamania71 and that ,belshazzar may have been killed in ,babylon4 ,these are mere hypotheses2 as are those of ,josephus1#abe who identifies ,belshazzar with ,nabunaid 7whom he calls ,naboandelon72 and of ,babelon1 who tries to make him the same as ,maruduk-shar-utsur 7as though ,bel was the same as ,maruduk71 which is impossible1 as this king reigned before ,nabunaid4 ,no contemporary writer could have fallen into the error either of calling ,belshazzar king2 or of insisting on his being the son of ,nebuchadrezzar2#abf or of representing him as ,nebuchadrezzar's successor4 ,nebuchadrezzar was succeeded by-- ,evil-merodach circ4 ,b4,c4 #efa 7,avil-marduk74#abg ,nergal-sharezer #eei 7,nergal-sar-utsur74 ,lakhabbashi-marudu #eee 7an infant74 7,laborosoarchod7 ,nabunaid #eed4 ,nabunaid reigned till about ,b4,c4 #ech1 when ,babylon was taken by ,cyrus4 ,the conduct of ,belshazzar in the great feast of this chapter is probably meant as an allusive contrast to the revels and impieties of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 especially in his infamous festival at the grove of ,daphne4 ,,xii4 ,that night1 we are told1 ,belshazzar1 the ,chaldean king1 was slain4 ,it has always been supposed that this was an incident of the capture of ,babylon by assault1 in accordance with the story of ,herodotus1 repeated by so many subsequent writers4 ,but on this point the inscriptions of ,cyrus have revolutionised our knowledge4 ,there was no siege and capture of ,babylon2 the capital of the ,babylonian ,empire opened its gates to the general of ,cyrus4 ,gobryas and his soldiers entered the city without fighting1 and the daily services in the great temple of ,bel-merodach suffered no interruption4 ,three months later ,cyrus himself arrived1 and made his peaceful entry into the new capital of his empire4 ,we gather from the contract-tablets that even the ordinary business of the place had not been affected by the war4 ,the siege and capture of ,babylon by ,cyrus is really a reflection into the past of the actual sieges undergone by the city in the reigns of ,darius1 son of ,hystaspes and ,xerxes4 ,it is clear1 then1 that the editor of the fifth chapter of the ,book of ,daniel could have been as little a contemporary of the events he professes to record as ,herodotus4 ,for both alike1 the true history of the ,babylonian ,empire has been overclouded and foreshortened by the lapse of time4 ,the three kings who reigned between ,nebuchadrezzar and ,nabunaid have been forgotten1 and the last king of the ,babylonian ,empire has become the son of its founder4#abh ,snatching at the merest straws1 those who try to vindicate the accuracy of the writer--although he makes ,belshazzar a king1 which he never was2 and the son of ,nebuchadrezzar1 which is not the case2 or his grandson1 of which there is no tittle of evidence2 and his successor1 whereas four kings intervened2--think that they improve the case by urging that ,daniel was made the third ruler in the kingdom--,nabunaid being the first1 and ,belshazzar being the second6 ,unhappily for their very precarious hypothesis1 the translation third ruler appears to be entirely untenable4 ,it means one of a board of three4 ,,xiii4 ,in the sixth chapter we are again met by difficulty after difficulty4 ,who1 for instance1 was ,darius the ,mede8 ,we are told 7v4 #cj1 #ca7 that1 on the night of his impious banquet1 ,belshazzar the king of the ,chaldeans was slain1 and ,darius the ,median took the kingdom1 being about threescore and two years old4 ,we are also told that ,daniel prospered in the reign of ,darius1 and in the reign of ,cyrus the ,persian 7vi4 #bh74 ,but this ,darius is not even noticed elsewhere4 ,cyrus was the conqueror of ,babylon1 and between ,b4,c4 #ech-ecf there is no room or possibility for a ,median ruler4 ,the inference which we should naturally draw from these statements in the ,book of ,daniel1 and which all readers have drawn1 was that ,babylon had been conquered by the ,medes1 and that only after the death of a ,median king did ,cyrus the ,persian succeed4 ,but historic monuments and records entirely overthrow this supposition4 ,cyrus was the king of ,babylon from the day that his troops entered it without a blow4 ,he had conquered the ,medes and suppressed their royalty4 ,the numerous contract-tables of the ordinary daily business transactions of ,babylon1 dated as they are month by month1 and almost day by day from the reign of ,nebuchadrezzar to that of ,xerxes1 prove that between ,nabonidus and ,cyrus there was no intermediate ruler4 ,the contemporary scribes and merchants of ,babylon knew nothing of any ,king ,belshazzar1 and they knew even less of any ,king ,darius the ,mede4 ,no contemporary writer could possibly have fallen into such an error4#abi ,and against this obvious conclusion1 of what possible avail is it for ,hengstenberg to quote a late ,greek lexicographer 7,harpocration1 ,a4,d4 #agj871 who says that the coin a daric was named after a ,darius earlier than the father of ,xerxes8--or for others to identify this shadowy ,darius the ,mede with ,astyages8#acj--or with ,cyaxares ,,ii4 in the romance of ,xenophon8#aca--or to say that ,darius the ,mede is ,gobryas 7,ugbaru7 of ,gutium#acb--;a ,persian1 and not a king at all--who under no circumstances could have been called the king by a contemporary 7vi4 #ab1 ix4 #a71 and whom1 apparently for three months only1 ,cyrus made governor of ,babylon8 ,how could a contemporary governor have appointed one hundred and twenty princes which should be over the whole kingdom1#acc when1 even in the days of ,darius ,hystaspis1 there were only twenty or twenty-three satrapies in the ,persian ,empire8#acd ,and how could a mere provincial viceroy be approached by all the presidents of the kingdom1 the governors1 and the princes1 the counsellors1 and the captains1 to pass a decree that any one who for thirty days offered any prayer to ,god or man1 except to him1 should be cast into the den of lions8 ,the fact that such a decree could only be made by a king is emphasised in the narrative itself 7vi4 #ab3 comp4 iii4 #bi74 ,the supposed analogies offered by ,professor ,fuller and others in favour of a decree so absurdly impossible--except in the admitted licence and for the high moral purpose of a ,jewish ,haggada--are to the last degree futile4 ,in any ordinary criticism they would be set down as idle special pleading4 ,yet this is only one of a multitude of wildly improbable incidents1 which1 from misunderstanding of the writer's age and purpose1 have been taken for sober history1 though they receive from historical records and monuments no shadow of confirmation1 and are in not a few instances directly opposed to all that we now know to be certain history4 ,even if it were conceivable that this hypothetic ,darius the ,mede was ,gobryas1 or ,astyages1 or ,cyaxares1 it is plain that the author of ,daniel gives him a name and national designation which lead to mere confusion1 and speaks of him in a way which would have been surely avoided by any contemporary4 ,darius the ,mede1 says ,professor ,sayce1 is in fact a reflection into the past of ,darius the son of ,hystaspes1#ace just as the siege and capture of ,babylon by ,cyrus are a reflection into the past of its siege and capture by the same prince4 ,the name of ,darius and the story of the slaughter of the ,chaldean king go together4 ,they are alike derived from the unwritten history which1 in the ,east of to-day1 is still made by the people1 and which blends together in a single picture the manifold events and personages of the past4 ,it is a history which has no perspective1 though it is based on actual facts2 the accurate combinations of the chronologer have no meaning for it1 and the events of a century are crowded into a few years4 ,this is the kind of history which the ,jewish mind in the age of the ,talmud loved to adapt to moral and religious purposes4 ,this kind of history then becomes as it were a parable1 and under the name of ,haggada serves to illustrate that teaching of the law4#acf ,the favourable view given of the character of the imaginary ,darius the ,mede1 and his regard for ,daniel1 may have been a confusion with the ,jewish reminiscences of ,darius1 son of ,hystaspes1 who permitted the rebuilding of the ,temple under ,zerubbabel4#acg ,if we look for the source of the confusion1 we see it perhaps in the prophecy of ,isaiah 7xiii4 #ag1 xiv4 #f-bb71 that the ,medes should be the destroyers of ,babylon2 or in that of ,jeremiah--a prophet of whom the author had made a special study 7,dan4 ix4 #b7--to the same effect 7,jer4 li4 #aa-bh72 together with the tradition that a ,darius--namely1 the son of ,hystaspes--had once conquered ,babylon4 ,,xiv4 ,but to make confusion worse confounded1 if these chapters were meant for history1 the problematic ,darius the ,mede is in ,dan4 ix4 #a called the son of ,ahasuerus4 ,now ,ahasuerus 7,achashverosh7 is the same as ,xerxes1 and is the ,persian name ,khshyarsha2 and ,xerxes was the son1 not the father1 of ,darius ,hystaspis1 who was a ,persian1 not a ,mede4 ,before ,darius ,hystaspis could have been transformed into the son of his own son ,xerxes1 the reigns1 not only of ,darius1 but also of ,xerxes1 must have long been past4 ,,xv4 ,there is yet another historic sign that this ,book did not originate till the ,persian ,empire had long ceased to exist4 ,in xi4 #b the writer only knows of four kings of ,persia4#ach ,these are evidently ,cyrus1 ,cambyses1 ,darius ,hystaspis1 and ,xerxes--whom he describes as the richest of them4 ,this king is destroyed by the kingdom of ,grecia--an obvious confusion of popular tradition between the defeat inflicted on the ,persians by the ,republican ,greeks in the days of ,xerxes 7,b4,c4 #dhj71 and the overthrow of the ,persian kingdom under ,darius ,codomannus by ,alexander the ,great 7,b4,c4 #ccc74 99 99 99 99 99 ,these1 then1 are some of the apparent historic impossibilities by which we are confronted when we regard this ,book as professed history4 ,the doubts suggested by such seeming errors are not in the least removed by the acervation of endless conjectures4 ,they are greatly increased by the fact that1 so far from standing alone1 they are intensified by other difficulties which arise under every fresh aspect under which the ,book is studied4 ,behrmann1 the latest editor1 sums up his studies with the remark that there is an almost universal agreement that the ,book1 in its present form and as a whole1 had its origin in the ,maccabean age2 while there is a widening impression that in its purpose it is not an exclusive product of that period4 ,no amount of casuistical ingenuity can long prevail to overthrow the spreading conviction that the views of ,hengstenberg1 ,hvernick1 ,keil1 ,pusey1 and their followers1 have been refuted by the light of advancing knowledge--which is a light kindled for us by ,god ,himself4 ,,footnotes3 #ij ,thus ,dr4 ,pusey says3 ,the ,book of ,daniel is especially fitted to be a battle-field between faith and unbelief4 ,it admits of no half-measures4 ,it is either ,divine or an imposture4 ,to write any book under the name of another1 and to give it out to be his1 is1 in any case1 a forgery dishonest in itself1 and destructive of all trustworthiness4 ,but the case of the ,book of ,daniel1 if it were not his1 would go far beyond even this4 ,the writer1 were he not ,daniel1 must have lied on a frightful scale4 ,in a word1 the whole ,book would be one lie in the ,name of ,god4 ,few would venture to use such language in these days4 ,it is always a perilous style to adopt1 but now it has become suicidal4 ,it is founded on an immense and inexcusable anachronism4 ,it avails itself of an utterly false misuse of the words faith and unbelief1 by which faith becomes a mere synonym for that which ,i esteem orthodox1 or that which has been the current opinion in ages of ignorance4 ,much truer faith may be shown by accepting arguments founded on unbiassed evidence than by rejecting them4 ,and what can be more foolish than to base the great truths of the ,christian religion on special pleadings which have now come to wear the aspect of ingenious sophistries1 such as would not be allowed to have the smallest validity in any ordinary question of literary or historic evidence8 ,hengstenberg1 like ,pusey1 says in his violent ecclesiastical tone of autocratic infallibility that the interpretation of the ,book by most eminent modern critics will remain false so long as the word of ,christ is true--that is1 for ever4 ,this is to make the word of ,christ the equivalent of a mere theological blindness and prejudice6 ,assertions which are utterly baseless can only be met by assertions based on science and the love of truth4 ,thus when ,rupprecht says that the modern criticism of the ,book of ,daniel is unchristian1 immoral1 and unscientific1 we can only reply with disdain1 ,novimus istas 4 ,in the present day they are mere bluster of impotent odium theologicum4 #ia ,gen4 xli4 #ib ,see ,lenormant1 ,la ,divination1 p4 #bai4 #ic ,jer4 xxix4 #bb4 ,the tenth verse of this very chapter is referred to in ,dan4 ix4 #b4 ,the custom continued in the ,east centuries afterwards4 ,and if it was known to a ,roman writer 7,quintus ,curtius1 v4 #a7 in the days of ,vespasian1 why 7,mr4 ,bevan pertinently asks7 should it not have been known to a ,palestinian writer who lived centuries earlier8 7,a4 ,a4 ,bevan1 ,short ,commentary1 p4 #bb74 #id ,avodah-,zarah1 f4 #c1 #a2 ,sanhedrin1 f4 #ic1 #a2 ,pesachim1 f4 #aah1 #a2 ,eiruvin1 f4 #ec1 #a4 #ie ,jer4 lii4 #bh-cj4 ,these were in the reign of ,jehoiachin4 #if ,jer4 xlvi4 #b3 comp4 ,jer4 xxv4 ,the passage of ,berossus1 quoted in ,jos41 ,antt4 ,x4 xi4 #a1 is not trustworthy1 and does not remove the difficulty4 #ig ,the attempts of ,keil and ,pusey to get over the difficulty1 if they were valid1 would reduce ,scripture to a hopeless riddle4 ,the reader will see all the latest efforts in this direction in the ,speaker's ,commentary and the work of ,fabre d',envieu4 ,even such orthodox writers as ,dorner1 ,delitzsch1 and ,gess1 not to mention hosts of other great critics1 have long seen the desperate impossibility of these arguments4 #ih ,balatsu-utsur1 protect his life4 ,the root baltu1 life1 is common in ,assyrian names4 ,the mistake comes from the wrong vocalisation adopted by the ,massorets 7,meinhold1 ,beitrge1 p4 #bg74 #ii ,schrader dubiously connects it with matstsara1 guardian4 #ajj ,lenormant1 p4 #ahb1 regards it as a corruption of ,ashbenazar1 the goddess has pruned the seed 78872 but assumed corruptions of the text are an uncertain expedient4 #aja ,on these see ,rob4 ,smith1 ,cambr4 ,journ4 of ,philol41 ,no4 #bg1 p4 #abe4 #ajb ,juv41 ,sat41 x4 #if3 ,cum grege ,chaldo2 ,val4 ,max41 iii4 #a2 ,cic41 ,de ,div41 i4 #a1 etc4 #ajc ,keilinschr41 p4 #dbi2 ,meinhold1 p4 #bh4 #ajd ,isa4 xxiii4 #ac2 ,jer4 xxv4 #ab2 ,ezek4 xii4 #ac2 ,hab4 i4 #f4 #aje ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xi4 viii4 #e4 #ajf ,isa4 xlix4 #bc4 #ajg ,isa4 lx4 #ad4 #ajh ,acts xii4 #bb1 #bc4 #aji ,acts xiv4 #aa1 #ab1 xxviii4 #f4 #aaj ,see ,jer4 xxxix4 #c4 ,and if he held this position1 how could he be absent in chap4 iii48 #aaa ,namely1 the words for satraps1 governors1 counsellors1 and judges1 as well as the courtiers in iii4 #bd4 ,bleek thinks that to enhance the stateliness of the occasion the writer introduced as many official names as he knew4 #aab ,supra1 p4 #bc4 #aac ,athen41 ,deipnos41 iv4 #age4 #aad ,the ,persian titles in iii4 #bd alone suffice to indicate that this could not be ,nebuchadrezzar's actual decree4 ,see further1 ,meinhold1 pp4 #cj1 #ca4 ,we are evidently dealing with a writer who introduces many ,persian words1 with no consciousness that they could not have been used by ,babylonian kings4 #aae ,the writer of ,daniel was evidently acquainted with the ,book of ,ezekiel4 ,see ,delitzsch in ,herzog1 s4v4 ,daniel1 and ,driver1 p4 #dgf4 #aaf ,see iv4 #af1 #be-cj4 #aag ,preserved by ,jos43 comp4 ,ap41 ,i4 #bj4 #aah ,the phrase is common enough3 e4g41 in ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #a 7comp4 c4 ,ap41 ,i4 #ai72 and a similar phrase1 1 is used of ,antiochus ,epiphanes in #a ,macc4 vi4 #h4 #aai ,prp4 ,ev41 ix4 #da4 ,schrader 7,k4 ,a4 ,t41 ii4 #dcb7 thinks that ,berossus and the ,book of ,daniel may both point to the same tradition2 but the ,chaldee tradition quoted by the late writer ,abydenus errs likewise in only recognising two ,babylonish kings instead of four1 exclusive of ,belshazzar4 ,see1 too1 ,schrader1 ,jahrb4 fr ,prot4 ,theol41 #ahha1 p4 #fah4 #abj ,dan4 v4 #aa4 ,the emphasis seems to show that son is really meant--not grandson4 ,this is a little strange1 for ,jeremiah 7xxvii4 #g7 had said that the nations should serve ,nebuchadrezzar1 and his son1 and his son's son2 and in no case was ,belshazzar ,nebuchadrezzar's son's son1 for his father ,nabunaid was an usurping son of a ,rab-mag4 #aba ,schrader1 p4 #dcd ff42 and in ,riehm1 ,handwrterb41 ii4 #afc2 ,pinches1 in ,smith's ,bibl4 ,dict41 i4 #chh1 #bnd edn4 ,the contraction into ,belshazzar from ,bel-sar-utsur seems to show a late date4 #abb ,that the author of ,daniel should have fallen into these errors is the more remarkable because ,evil-merodach is mentioned in #b ,kings xxv4 #bg2 and ,jeremiah in his round number of seventy years includes three generations 7,jer4 xxvii4 #g74 ,herodotus and ,abydenus made the same mistake4 ,see ,kamphausen1 pp4 #cj1 #ca4 #abc ,herod41 i4 #aia4 ,see ,rawlinson1 ,herod41 i4 #dcd4 #abd ,xen41 ,cyrop41 ,,vii4 v4 #c4 #abe ,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #b4 ,in c4 ,ap41 ,i4 #bj1 he calls him ,nabonnedus4 #abf ,this is now supposed to mean grandson by marriage1 by inventing the hypothesis that ,nabunaid married a daughter of ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,but this does not accord with ,dan4 v4 #b1 #aa1 #bb2 and so in ,baruch i4 #aa1 #ab4 #abg #b ,kings xxv4 #bg4 #abh ,sayce1 ,the ,higher ,criticism and the ,monuments1 p4 #ebg4 #abi ,i need not enter here upon the confusion of the ,manda with the ,medes1 on which see ,sayce1 ,higher ,criticism and ,monuments1 p4 #eai ff4 #acj ,winer1 ,realwrterb41 s4v4 ,darius4 #aca ,so ,bertholdt1 ,von ,lengerke1 ,auberlen4 ,it is decidedly rejected by ,schrader 7,riehm1 ,handwrterb41 i4 #bei74 ,even ,cicero said1 ,cyrus ille a ,xenophonte non ad histori fidem scriptus est 7,ad ,quint4 ,fratr41 ,ep4 i4 #c74 ,niebuhr called the ,cyropdia einen elenden und lppischen ,roman 7,alt4 ,gesch41 i4 #aaf74 ,he classes it with ,tlmaque or ,rasselas4 ,xenophon was probably the ultimate authority for the statement of ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #d71 which has no weight4 ,herodotus and ,ktesias know nothing of the existence of any ,cyaxares ,,ii41 nor does the ,second ,isaiah 7xlv471 who evidently contemplates ,cyrus as the conqueror and the first king of ,babylon4 ,are we to set a professed romancer like ,xenophon1 and a late compiler like ,josephus1 against these authorities8 #acb ,t4 ,w4 ,pinches1 in ,smith's ,bibl4 ,dict41 i4 #gaf1 #bnd edn4 ,into this theory are pressed the general expressions that ,darius received the kingdom and was made king1 which have not the least bearing on it4 ,they may simply mean that he became king by conquest1 and not in the ordinary course--so ,rosenmller1 ,hitzig1 ,von ,lengerke1 etc42 or perhaps the words show some sense of uncertainty as to the exact course of events4 ,the sequence of ,persian kings in ,seder ,olam1 #bh-cj1 and in ,rashi on ,dan4 v4 #a1 ix4 #a1 is equally unhistorical4 #acc ,this is supported by the remark that this three-months viceroy appointed governors in ,babylon6 #acd ,herod41 iii4 #hi2 ,records of the ,past1 viii4 #hh4 #ace ,see1 too1 ,meinhold 7,beitrge1 p4 #df71 who concludes his survey with the words1 ,sprachliche wie sachliche ,grnde machen es nicht nur wahrscheinlich sondern gewiss dass an danielsche ,autorschaft von ,dan4 ii4-vi41 berhanpt an die ,entstehung zur ,zeit der jdischen ,verbannung nicht zu denken ist4 ,he adds that almost all scholars believe the chapters to be no older than the age of the ,maccabees1 and that even ,kahnis 7,dogmatik1 i4 #cgf7 and ,delitzsch 7,herzog1 s4v4 ,dan47 give up their genuineness4 ,he himself believes that these ,aramaic chapters were incorporated by a later writer1 who wrote the introduction4 #acf ,sayce4 l4c41 p4 #ebi4 #acg ,kamphausen1 p4 #de4 #ach ,sayce1 l4c4 ,the author of the ,book of ,daniel seems only to have known of three kings of ,persia after ,cyrus 7xi4 #b74 ,but five are mentioned in the ,old ,testament--,cyrus1 ,darius1 ,artaxerxes1 ,xerxes1 and ,darius ,,iii4 7,codomannus1 ,neh4 xii4 #bb74 ,there were three ,dariuses and three ,artaxerxes1 but he only knows one of each name 7,kamphausen1 p4 #cb74 ,he might easily have overlooked the fact that the ,darius of ,neh4 xii4 #bb was a wholly different person from the ,darius of ,ezra vi4 #a4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,general ,,structure ,,of ,,the ,,book ,in endeavouring to see the idea and construction of a book there is always much room for the play of subjective considerations4 ,meinhold has especially studied this subject1 but we cannot be certain that his views are more than imaginative4 ,he thinks that chap4 ii41 in which we are strongly reminded of the story of ,joseph and of ,pharaoh's dreams1 is intended to set forth ,god as ,omniscient1 and chap4 iii4 as ,omnipotent4 ,to these conceptions is added in chap4 iv4 the insistence upon ,god's ,all-holiness4 ,the fifth and sixth chapters form one conception4 ,since the death of ,belshazzar is assigned to the night of his banquet no edict could be ascribed to him resembling those attributed to ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,the effect of ,daniel's character and of the ,divine protection accorded to him on the mind of ,darius is expressed in the strong edict of the latter in vi4 #bf1 #bg4 ,this is meant to illustrate that the ,all-wise1 ,almighty1 ,all-holy ,god is the ,only ,living ,god4 ,the consistent and homogeneous object of the whole historic section is to set forth the ,god of the ,hebrews as exalting ,himself in the midst of heathendom1 and extorting submission by mighty portents from heathen potentates4 ,in this the ,book offers a general analogy to the section of the history of the ,israelites in ,egypt narrated in ,exod4 i4 #ab4 ,the culmination of recognition as to the power of ,god is seen in the decree of ,darius 7vi4 #bf1 #bg71 as compared with that of ,nebuchadrezzar in iv4 #cc4 ,according to this view1 the meaning and essence of each separate chapter are given in its closing section1 and there is artistic advance to the great climax1 marked alike by the resemblances of these four paragraphs 7ii4 #dg1 iii4 #bh1 #bi1 iv4 #cg1 vi4 #bf1 #bg71 and by their differences4 ,to this main purpose all the other elements of these splendid pictures--the faithfulness of ,hebrew worshippers1 the abasement of blaspheming despots1 the mission of ,israel to the nations--are subordinated4 ,the chief aim is to set forth the helpless humiliation of all false gods before the might of the ,god of ,israel4 ,it might be expressed in the words1 ,of a truth1 ,lord1 the kings of ,assyria have laid waste all the nations1 and cast their gods into the fire2 for they were no gods1 but the work of men's hands1 wood and stone4 ,a closer glance at these chapters will show some grounds for these conclusions4 ,thus1 in the second chapter1 the magicians and sorcerers repudiate all possibility of revealing the king's dream and its interpretation1 because they are but men1 and the gods have not their dwelling with mortal flesh 7ii4 #aa72 but ,daniel can tell the dream because he stands near to his ,god1 who1 though ,he is in heaven1 yet is ,all-wise1 and revealeth secrets4 ,in the third chapter the destruction of the strongest soldiers of ,nebuchadrezzar by fire1 and the absolute deliverance of the three ,jews whom they have flung into the furnace1 convince ,nebuchadrezzar that no god can deliver as the ,almighty does1 and that therefore it is blasphemy deserving of death to utter a word against ,him4 ,in chap4 iv4 the supremacy of ,daniel's wisdom as derived from ,god1 the fulfilment of the threatened judgment1 and the deliverance of the mighty ,king of ,babylon from his degrading madness when he lifts up his eyes to heaven1 convince ,nebuchadrezzar still more deeply that ,god is not only a ,great ,god1 but that no other being1 man or god1 can even be compared to ,him4 ,he is the ,only and the ,eternal ,god1 who doeth according to ,his will in the army of heaven1 as well as among the inhabitants of the earth1 and none can stay ,his hand4 ,this is the highest point of conviction4 ,nebuchadrezzar confesses that ,god is not only ,primus inter pares1 but the ,irresistible ,god1 and his own ,god4 ,and after this1 in the fifth chapter1 ,daniel can speak to ,belshazzar of the ,lord of heaven 7v4 #bc72 and as the king's ,creator2 and of the nothingness of gods of silver1 and gold1 and brass1 and wood1 and stone2--as though those truths had already been decisively proved4 ,and this belief finds open expression in the decree of ,darius 7vi4 #bf1 #bg71 which concludes the historic section4 ,it is another indication of this main purpose of these histories that the plural form of the ,name of ,god--,elohm--does not once occur in chaps4 ii4-vi4 ,it is used in i4 #b1 #i1 #ag2 but not again till the ninth chapter1 where it occurs twelve times2 once in the tenth 7x4 #ab72 and twice of ,god in the eleventh chapter 7xi4 #cb1 #cg74 ,in the prophetic section 7vii4 #ah1 #bb1 #be1 #bg7 we have ,most ,high in the plural 7'elionn72#aci but with reference only to the ,one ,god 7see vii4 #be74 ,but in all cases where the heathen are addressed this plural becomes the singular 7ehlleh1 71 as throughout the first six chapters4 ,this avoidance of so common a word as the plural ,elohm for ,god1 because the plural form might conceivably have been misunderstood by the heathen1 shows the elaborate construction of the ,book4#adj ,god is called ,eloah ,shaman1 ,god of heaven1 in the second and third chapters2 but in later chapters we have the common post-exilic phrase in the plural4#ada ,in the fourth and fifth chapters we have ,god's ,holiness first brought before us1 chiefly on its avenging side2 and it is not till we have witnessed the proof of ,his ,unity1 ,wisdom1 ,omnipotence1 and ,justice1 which it is the mission of ,israel to make manifest among the heathen1 that all is summed up in the edict of ,darius to all people1 nations1 and languages4 ,the omission of any express recognition of ,god's tender compassion is due to the structure of these chapters2 for it would hardly be possible for heathen potentates to recognise that attribute in the immediate presence of ,his judgments4 ,it is somewhat remarkable that the name ,jehovah is avoided4#adb ,as the ,jews purposely pronounced it with wrong vowels1 and the ,,lxx4 render it by 1 the ,samaritan by 1 and the ,rabbis by the ,name1 so we find in the ,book of ,daniel a similar avoidance of the awful ,tetragrammaton4 ,,footnotes3 #aci ,literally1 as in margin1 most high things or places4 #adj ,in iv4 #e1 #f2 and elohn means gods in the mouth of a heathen 7spirit of the holy gods74 #ada ,elohn occurs repeatedly in chap4 ix41 and in x4 #ab1 xi4 #cb1 #cg4 #adb ,it only occurs in ,dan4 ix4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,theology ,,of ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,daniel ,as regards the religious views of the ,book of ,daniel some of them at any rate are in full accordance with the belief in the late origin of the ,book to which we are led by so many indications4#adc ,i4 ,thus in ,dan4 xii4 #b 7for we may here so far anticipate the examination of the second section of the ,book7 we meet1 for the first time in ,scripture1 with a distinct recognition of the resurrection of the individual dead4#add ,this1 as all know1 is a doctrine of which we only find the faintest indication in the earlier books of the ,canon4 ,although the doctrine is still but dimly formulated1 it is clearer in this respect than ,isa4 xxv4 #h1 xxvi4 #ai4 ,,ii4 ,still more remarkable is the special prominence of angels4 ,it is not ,god who goes forth to war 7,judg4 v4 #ac1 #bc71 or takes personal part in the deliverance or punishment of nations 7,isa4 v4 #bf1 vii4 #ah74 ,throned in isolated and unapproachable transcendence1 ,he uses the agency of intermediate beings 7,dan4 iv4 #ad74ade ,in full accordance with late developments of ,jewish opinion angels are mentioned by special names1 and appear as ,princes and ,protectors of special lands4#adf ,in no other book in the ,old ,testament have we any names given to angels1 or any distinction between their dignities1 or any trace of their being in mutual rivalry as ,princes or ,patrons of different nationalities4 ,these remarkable features of angelology only occur in the later epoch1 and in the apocalyptic literature to which this ,book belongs4 ,thus they are found in the ,,lxx4 translations of ,deut4 xxxii4 #h and ,isa4 xxx4 #d1 and in such post-,maccabean books as those of ,enoch and ,esdras4#adg ,,iii4 ,again1 we have the fixed custom of three daily formal prayers1 uttered towards the ,kibleh of ,jerusalem4 ,this may1 possibly1 have begun during the ,exile4 ,it became a normal rule for later ages4#adh ,the ,book1 however1 like that of ,jonah1 is1 as a whole1 remarkably free from any extravagant estimate of ,levitical minuti4 ,,iv4 ,once more1 for the first time in ,jewish story1 we find extreme importance attached to the ,levitical distinction of clean and unclean meats1 which also comes into prominence in the age of the ,maccabees1 as it afterwards constituted a most prominent element in the ideal of ,talmudic religionism4#adi ,daniel and the ,three ,children are vegetarians1 like the ,pharisees after the destruction of the ,second ,temple1 mentioned in ,baba ,bathra1 f4 #fj1 #b4 ,v4 ,we have already noticed the avoidance of the sacred name ,jehovah even in passages addressed to ,jews 7,dan4 ii4 #ah71 though we find ,jehovah in #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #g4 ,jehovah only occurs in reference to ,jer4 xxv4 #h-aa1 and in the prayer of the ninth chapter1 where we also find ,adonai and ,elohm4 ,periphrases for ,god1 like the ,ancient of ,days1 become normal in ,talmudic literature4 ,,vi4 ,again1 the doctrine of the ,messiah1 like these other doctrines1 is1 as ,professor ,driver says1 taught with greater distinctness and in a more developed form than elsewhere in the ,old ,testament1 and with features approximating to1 though not identical with1 those met with in the earlier parts of the ,book of ,enoch 7,b4,c4 #ajj74 ,in one or two instances these developments may have been partially moulded by foreign influences4#aej ,they undoubtedly mark a later phase of revelation than that which is set before us in other books of the ,old ,testament4 ,and the conclusion indicated by these special features in the ,book is confirmed by the general atmosphere which we breathe throughout it4 ,the atmosphere and tone are not those of any other writings belonging to the ,jews of the ,exile2 it is rather that of the ,maccabean ,chasidm4 ,how far the ,messianic ,bar ,enosh 7vii4 #ac7 is meant to be a person will be considered in the comment on that passage4 ,we shall see in later pages that the supreme value and importance of the ,book of ,daniel1 rightly understood1 consists in this--that it is the first attempt at a ,philosophy1 or rather at a ,theology of ,history4#aea ,its main object was to teach the crushed and afflicted to place unshaken confidence in ,god4 ,,footnotes3 #adc ,the description of ,god as the ,ancient of ,days with garments white as snow1 and of ,his throne of flames on burning wheels1 is found again in the ,book of ,enoch1 written about ,b4,c4 #ada 7,enoch xiv474 #add ,see ,dan4 xii4 #b4 ,comp4 ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,,ii4 viii4 #ad2 ,enoch xxii4 #ac1 lx4 #a-e1 etc4 #ade ,comp4 ,smend1 ,alttest4 ,relig4 ,gesch41 p4 #ecj4 ,for references to angels in ,old ,testament see ,job i4 #f1 xxxviii4 #g2 ,jer4 xxiii4 #ah2 ,psalm lxxxix4 #g2 ,josh4 v4 #ac-ae2 ,zech4 i4 #ab1 iii4 #a4 ,see further ,behrmann1 ,dan41 p4 xxiii4 #adf ,dan4 iv4 #ad1 ix4 #ba1 x4 #ac1 #bj4 #adg ,see ,enoch lxxi4 #ag1 lxviii4 #aj1 and the six archangels ,uriel1 ,raphael1 ,reguel1 ,michael1 ,saragael1 and ,gabriel in ,enoch xx4-xxxvi4 ,see ,rosh ,hashanah1 f4 #ef1 #a2 ,bereshth ,rabba1 c4 #dh2 ,hamburger1 i4 #cje-cab4 #adh ,berachth1 f4 #ca2 ,dan4 vi4 #aa4 ,comp4 ,psalm lv4 #ah2 #a ,kings viii4 #ch-dh4 #adi #a ,macc4 i4 #fb2 ,dan4 i4 #h2 #b ,macc4 v4 #bg1 vi4 #ah-vii4 #db4 #aej ,introd41 p4 #dgg4 ,comp4 #b ,esdras xiii4 #da-de1 and passim2 ,enoch xl41 xlv41 xlvi41 xlix41 and passim2 ,hamburger1 ,real-,encycl41 ii4 #bfg ff4 ,with the time of the end and the numerical calculations comp4 #b ,esdras vi4 #f1 #g4 #aea ,roszmann1 ,die ,makkabische ,erhebung1 p4 #de4 ,see ,wellhausen1 ,die ,pharis4 u4 d4 ,sadd41 #gg ff4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,peculiarities ,,of ,,the ,,apocalyptic ,,and ,,prophetic ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,book ,if we have found much to lead us to serious doubts as to the authenticity and genuineness--i4e41 as to the literal historicity and the real author--of the ,book of ,daniel in its historic section1 we shall find still more in the prophetic section4 ,if the phenomena already passed in review are more than enough to indicate the impossibility that the ,book could have been written by the historic ,daniel1 the phenomena now to be considered are such as have sufficed to convince the immense majority of learned critics that1 in its present form1 the ,book did not appear before the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4#aeb ,the probable date is ,b4,c4 #afd4 ,as in the ,book of ,enoch xc4 #ae1 #af1 it contains history written under the form of prophecy4 ,leaving minuter examination to later chapters of commentary1 we will now take a brief survey of this unique apocalypse4 ,i4 ,as regards the style and method the only distant approach to it in the rest of the ,old ,testament is in a few visions of ,ezekiel and ,zechariah1 which differ greatly from the clear1 and so to speak classic1 style of the older prophets4 ,but in ,daniel we find visions far more enigmatical1 and far less full of passion and poetry4 ,indeed1 as regards style and intellectual force1 the splendid historic scenes of chaps4 i4-vi4 far surpass the visions of vii4-xii41 some of which have been described as composite logographs1 in which the ideas are forcibly juxtaposed without care for any coherence in the symbols--as1 for instance1 when a horn speaks and has eyes4#aec ,chap4 vii4 contains a vision of four different wild beasts rising from the sea3 a lion1 with eagle-wings1 which afterwards becomes semi-human2 a bear1 leaning on one side1 and having three ribs in its mouth2 a four-winged1 four-headed panther2 and a still more terrible creature1 with iron teeth1 brazen claws1 and ten horns1 among which rises a little horn1 which destroyed three of the others--it has man's eyes and a mouth speaking proud things4 ,there follows an epiphany of the ,ancient of ,days1 who destroys the little horn1 but prolongs for a time the existence of the other wild beasts4 ,then comes ,one in human semblance1 who is brought before the ,ancient of ,days1 and is clothed by ,him with universal and eternal power4 ,we shall see reasons for the view that the four beasts--in accordance with the interpretation of the vision given to ,daniel himself--represent the ,babylonian1 the ,median1 the ,persian1 and the ,greek empires1 issuing in the separate kingdoms of ,alexander's successors2 and that the little horn is ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 whose overthrow is to be followed immediately by the ,messianic ,kingdom4#aed ,the vision of the eighth chapter mainly pursues the history of the fourth of these kingdoms4 ,daniel sees a ram standing eastward of the river-basin of the ,ulai1 having two horns1 of which one is higher than the other4 ,it butts westward1 northward1 and southward1 and seemed irresistible1 until a he-goat from the ,west1 with one horn between its eyes1 confronted it1 and stamped it to pieces4 ,after this its one horn broke into four towards the four winds of heaven1 and one of them shot forth a puny horn1 which grew great towards the ,south and ,east1 and acted tyrannously against the ,holy ,people1 and spoke blasphemously against ,god4 ,daniel hears the holy ones declaring that its powers shall only last two thousand three hundred evening-mornings4 ,an angel bids ,gabriel to explain the vision to ,daniel2 and ,gabriel tells the seer that the ram represents the ,medo-,persian and the he-goat the ,greek ,kingdom4 ,its great horn is ,alexander2 the four horns are the kingdoms of his successors1 the ,diadochi2 the little horn is a king bold of vision and versed in enigmas1 whom all agree to be ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,in the ninth chapter we are told that ,daniel has been meditating on the prophecy of ,jeremiah that ,jerusalem should be rebuilt after seventy years1 and as the seventy years seem to be drawing to a close he humbles himself with prayer and fasting4 ,but ,gabriel comes flying to him at the time of the evening sacrifice1 and explains to him that the seventy years is to mean seventy weeks of years--i4e41 four hundred and ninety years1 divided into three periods of #g #fb #a4 ,at the end of seven 7i4e41 forty-nine7 years an anointed prince will order the restoration of ,jerusalem4 ,the city will continue1 though in humiliation1 for sixty-two 7i4e41 four hundred and thirty-four7 years1 when an anointed will be cut off1 and a prince will destroy it4 ,during half a week 7i4e41 for three and a half years7 he will cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease2 and he will make a covenant with many for one week1 at the end of which he will be cut off4 ,here1 again1 we shall have reason to see that the whole prophecy culminates in1 and is mainly concerned with1 ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,in fact1 it furnishes us with a sketch of his fortunes1 which1 in connexion with the eleventh chapter1 tells us more about him than we learn from any extant history4 ,in the tenth chapter ,daniel1 after a fast of twenty-one days1 sees a vision of ,gabriel1 who explains to him why his coming has been delayed1 soothes his fears1 touches his lips1 and prepares him for the vision of chapter eleven4 ,that chapter is mainly occupied with a singularly minute and circumstantial history of the murders1 intrigues1 wars1 and intermarriages of the ,lagid and ,seleucid4 ,so detailed is it that in some cases the history has to be reconstructed out of it4 ,this sketch is followed by the doings and final overthrow of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,the twelfth chapter is the picture of a resurrection1 and of words of consolation and exhortation addressed to ,daniel4 ,such in briefest outline are the contents of these chapters1 and their peculiarities are very marked4 ,until the reader has studied the more detailed explanation of the chapters separately1 and especially of the eleventh1 he will be unable to estimate the enormous force of the arguments adduced to prove the impossibility of such prophecies having emanated from ,babylon and ,susa about ,b4,c4 #ecf4 ,long before the astonishing enlargement of our critical knowledge which has been the work of the last generation--nearly fifty years ago--the mere perusal of the ,book as it stands produced on the manly and honest judgment of ,dr4 ,arnold a strong impression of uncertainty4 ,he said that the latter chapters of ,daniel would1 if genuine1 be a clear exception to the canons of interpretation which he laid down in his ,sermons on ,prophecy1 since there can be no reasonable spiritual meaning made out of the kings of the ,north and ,south4 ,but1 he adds1 ,i have long thought that the greater part of the ,book of ,daniel is most certainly a very late work of the time of the ,maccabees2 and the pretended prophecies about the kings of ,grecia and ,persia1 and of the ,north and ,south1 are mere history1 like the poetical prophecies in ,virgil and elsewhere4 ,in fact1 you can trace distinctly the date when it was written1 because the events up to that date are given with historical minuteness1 totally unlike the character of real prophecy2 and beyond that date all is imaginary4#aee ,the ,book is the earliest specimen of its kind known to us4 ,it inaugurated a new and important branch of ,jewish literature1 which influenced many subsequent writers4 ,an apocalypse1 so far as its literary form is concerned1 claims throughout to be a supernatural revelation given to mankind by the mouth of those men in whose names the various writings appear4 ,an apocalypse--such1 for instance1 as the ,books of ,enoch1 the ,assumption of ,moses1 ,baruch1 #a1 #b ,esdras1 and the ,sibylline ,oracles--is characterised by its enigmatic form1 which shrouds its meaning in parables and symbols4 ,it indicates persons without naming them1 and shadows forth historic events under animal forms1 or as operations of ,nature4 ,even the explanations which follow1 as in this ,book1 are still mysterious and indirect4 ,,ii4 ,in the next place an apocalypse is literary1 not oral4 ,schrer1 who classes ,daniel among the oldest and most original of pseudepigraphic prophecies1 etc41 rightly says that the old prophets in their teachings and exhortations addressed themselves directly to the people first and foremost through their oral utterances2 and then1 but only as subordinate to these1 by written discourses as well4 ,but now1 when men felt themselves at any time compelled by their religious enthusiasm to influence their contemporaries1 instead of directly addressing them in person like the prophets of old1 they did so by a writing purporting to be the work of some one or other of the great names of the past1 in the hope that in this way the effect would be all the surer and all the more powerful4#aef ,the ,daniel of this ,book represents himself1 not as a prophet1 but as a humble student of the prophets4 ,he no longer claims1 as ,isaiah did1 to speak in the ,name of ,god ,himself with a ,thus saith ,jehovah4 ,,iii4 ,thirdly1 it is impossible not to notice that ,daniel differs from all other prophecies by its all-but-total indifference to the circumstances and surroundings in the midst of which the prediction is supposed to have originated4 ,the ,daniel of ,babylon and ,susa is represented as the writer2 yet his whole interest is concentrated1 not in the events which immediately interest the ,jews of ,babylon in the days of ,cyrus1 or of ,jerusalem under ,zerubbabel1 but deals with a number of predictions which revolve almost exclusively about the reign of a very inferior king four centuries afterwards4 ,and with this king the predictions abruptly stop short1 and are followed by the very general promise of an immediate ,messianic age4 ,we may notice further the constant use of round and cyclic numbers1 such as three and its compounds 7i4 #e1 iii4 #a1 vi4 #g1 #aj1 vii4 #e1 #h72 four 7ii41 vii4 #f1 and viii4 #h1 xi4 #ab72 seven and its compounds 7iii4 #ai1 iv4 #af1 #bc1 ix4 #bd1 etc474 ,the apocalyptic symbols of ,bears1 ,lions1 ,eagles1 ,horns1 ,wings1 etc41 abound in the contemporary and later ,books of ,enoch1 ,baruch1 #d ,esdras1 the ,assumption of ,moses1 and the ,sibyllines1 as well as in the early ,christian apocalypses1 like that of ,peter4 ,the authors of the ,sibyllines 7,b4,c4 #adj7 were acquainted with ,daniel2 the ,book of ,enoch breathes exactly the same spirit with this ,book1 in the transcendentalism which avoids the name ,jehovah 7vii4 #ac2 ,enoch xlvi4 #a1 xlvii4 #c71 in the number of angels 7vii4 #aj2 ,enoch xl4 #a1 lx4 #b71 their names1 the title of watchers given to them1 and their guardianship of men 7,enoch xx4 #e74 ,the ,judgment and the ,books 7vii4 #i1 #aj1 xii4 #a7 occur again in ,enoch xlvii4 #c1 lxxxi4 #a1 as in the ,book of ,jubilees1 and the ,testament of the ,twelve ,patriarchs4#aeg ,,footnotes3 #aeb ,among these critics are ,delitzsch1 ,riehm1 ,ewald1 ,bunsen1 ,hilgenfeld1 ,cornill1 ,lcke1 ,strack1 ,schrer1 ,kuenen1 ,meinhold1 ,orelli1 ,jol1 ,reuss1 ,knig1 ,kamphausen1 ,cheyne1 ,driver1 ,briggs1 ,bevan1 ,behrmann1 etc4 #aec ,renan1 ,history of ,israel1 iv4 #ced4 ,he adds1 ,l'essence du genre c'est le pseudonyme1 ou si l'on veut l'apocryphisme 7p4 #cef74 #aed ,lagarde1 ,gott4 ,gel4 ,anzieg41 #ahia1 pp4 #dig-ebj1 stands almost1 if not quite1 alone in arguing that ,dan4 vii4 was not written till ,a4,d4 #fi1 and that the little horn is meant for ,vespasian4 ,the relation of the fourth empire of ,dan4 vii4 to the iron part of the image in ,dan4 ii4 refutes this view3 both can only refer to the ,greek ,empire4 ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #g7 does not refer to ,dan4 vii42 but neither does he to ix4-xii41 for reasons already mentioned4 ,see ,cornill1 ,einleit41 p4 #bfb4 #aee ,stanley1 ,life of ,arnold1 p4 #eje4 #aef ,schrer1 ,hist4 of the ,jew4 ,people1 iii4 #bd 7,e4 ,tr474 #aeg ,on the close resemblance between ,daniel and other apocryphal books see ,behrmann1 ,dan41 pp4 #cg-ci2 ,dillmann1 ,das ,buch ,henoch4 ,for its relation to the ,book of ,baruch see ,schrader1 ,keilinschriften1 #dce f4 ,philo does not allude to ,daniel4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,internal ,,evidence ,i4 ,other prophets start from the ground of the present1 and to exigencies of the present their prophecies were primarily directed4 ,it is true that their lofty moral teaching1 their rapt poetry1 their impassioned feeling1 had its inestimable value for all ages4 ,but these elements scarcely exist in the ,book of ,daniel4 ,almost the whole of its prophecies bear on one short particular period nearly four hundred years after the supposed epoch of their delivery4 ,what1 then1 is the phenomenon they present8 ,whereas other prophets1 by studying the problems of the present in the light flung upon them by the past1 are enabled1 by combining the present with the past1 to gain1 with the aid of ,god's ,holy ,spirit1 a vivid glimpse of the immediate future1 for the instruction of the living generation1 the reputed author of ,daniel passes over the immediate future with a few words1 and spends the main part of his revelations on a triad of years separated by centuries from contemporary history4 ,occupied as this description is with the wars and negotiations of empires which were yet unborn1 it can have had little practical significance for ,daniel's fellow-exiles4 ,nor could these predictions have been to prove the possibility of supernatural foreknowledge1#aeh since1 even after their supposed fulfilment1 the interpretation of them is open to the greatest difficulties and the gravest doubts4 ,if to a ,babylonian exile was vouchsafed a gift of prevision so minute and so marvellous as enabled him to describe the intermarriages of ,ptolemies and ,seleucid four centuries later1 surely the gift must have been granted for some decisive end4 ,but these predictions are precisely the ones which seem to have the smallest significance4 ,we must say1 with ,semler1 that no such benefit seems likely to result from this predetermination of comparatively unimportant minuti as ,god must surely intend when ,he makes use of means of a very extraordinary character4 ,it might perhaps be said that the ,book was written1 four hundred years before the crisis occurred1 to console the ,jews under their brief period of persecution by the ,seleucid4 ,it would be indeed extraordinary that so curious1 distant1 and roundabout a method should have been adopted for an end which1 in accordance with the entire economy of ,god's dealings with men in revelation1 could have been so much more easily and so much more effectually accomplished in simpler ways4 ,further1 unless we accept an isolated allusion to ,daniel in the imaginary speech of the dying ,mattathias1 there is no trace whatever that the ,book had the smallest influence in inspiring the ,jews in that terrible epoch4 ,and the reference of ,mattathias1 if it was ever made at all1 may be to old tradition1 and does not allude to the prophecies about ,antiochus and his fate4 ,but1 as ,hengstenberg1 the chief supporter of the authenticity of the ,book of ,daniel1 well observes1#aei ,prophecy can never entirely separate itself from the ground of the present1 to influence which is always its more immediate object1 and to which therefore it must constantly construct a bridge4#afj ,on this also rests all certainty of exposition as to the future4 ,and that the means should be provided for such a certainty is a necessary consequence of the ,divine nature of prophecy4 ,a truly ,divine prophecy cannot possibly swim in the air2 nor can the ,church be left to mere guesses in the exposition of ,scripture which has been given to her as a light amid the darkness4 ,,ii4 ,and as it does not start from the ground of the present1 so too the ,book of ,daniel reverses the method of prophecy with reference to the future4 ,for the genuine predictions of ,scripture advance by slow and gradual degrees from the uncertain and the general to the definite and the special4 ,prophecy marches with history1 and takes a step forward at each new period4#afa ,so far as we know there is not a single instance in which any prophet alludes to1 much less dwells upon1 any kingdom which had not then risen above the political horizon4#afb ,in ,daniel the case is reversed3 the only kingdom which was looming into sight is dismissed with a few words1 and the kingdom most dwelt upon is the most distant and quite the most insignificant of all1 of the very existence of which neither ,daniel nor his contemporaries had even remotely heard4#afc ,,iii4 ,then again1 although the prophets1 with their divinely illuminated souls1 reached far beyond intellectual sagacity and political foresight1 yet their hints about the future never distantly approach to detailed history like that of ,daniel4 ,they do indeed so far lift the veil of the ,unseen as to shadow forth the outline of the near future1 but they do this only on general terms and on general principles4#afd ,their object1 as ,i have repeatedly observed1 was mainly moral1 and it was also confessedly conditional1 even when no hint is given of the implied condition4#afe ,nothing is more certain than the wisdom and beneficence of that ,divine provision which has hidden the future from men's eyes1 and even taught us to regard all prying into its minute events as vulgar and sinful4#aff ,stargazing and monthly prognostication were rather the characteristics of false religion and unhallowed divinations than of faithful and holy souls4 ,nitzsch#afg most justly lays it down as an essential condition of prophecy that it should not disturb man's relation to history4 ,anything like detailed description of the future would intolerably perplex and confuse our sense of human free-will4 ,it would drive us to the inevitable conclusion that men are but puppets moved irresponsibly by the hand of inevitable fate4 ,not one such prophecy1 unless this be one1 occurs anywhere in the ,bible4 ,we do not think that 7apart from ,messianic prophecies7 a single instance can be given in which any prophet distinctly and minutely predicts a future series of events of which the fulfilment was not near at hand4 ,in the few cases when some event1 already imminent1 is predicted apparently with some detail1 it is not certain whether some touches--names1 for instance--may not have been added by editors living subsequently to the occurrence of the event4#afh ,that there has been at all times a gift of prescience1 whereby the ,spirit of ,god1 entering into holy souls1 has made them sons of ,god and prophets1 is indisputable4 ,it is in virtue of this high foreknowledge#afi that the voice of the ,hebrew ,sibyl has ,rolled sounding onwards through a thousand years ,her deep prophetic bodiments4 ,even ,demosthenes1 by virtue of a statesman's thoughtful experience1 can describe it as his office and duty to see events in their beginnings1 to discern their purport and tendencies from the first1 and to forewarn his countrymen accordingly4 ,yet the power of ,demosthenes was as nothing compared with that of an ,isaiah or a ,nahum2 and we may safely say that the writings alike of the ,greek orator and the ,hebrew prophets would have been comparatively valueless had they merely contained anticipations of future history1 instead of dealing with truths whose value is equal for all ages--truths and principles which give clearness to the past1 security to the present1 and guidance to the future4 ,had it been the function of prophecy to remove the veil of obscurity which ,god in ,his wisdom has hung over the destinies of men and kingdoms1 it would never have attained1 as it has done1 to the love and reverence of mankind4 ,,iv4 ,another unique and abnormal feature is found in the close and accurate chronological calculations in which the ,book of ,daniel abounds4 ,we shall see later on that the dates of the ,maccabean reconsecration of the ,temple and the ruin of ,antiochus ,epiphanes are indicated almost to the day4 ,the numbers of prophecy are in all other cases symbolical and general4 ,they are intentional compounds of seven--the sum of three and four1 which are the numbers that mystically shadow forth ,god and the world--a number which even ,cicero calls rerum omnium fere modus2 and of ten1 the number of the world4#agj ,if we except the prophecy of the seventy years' captivity--which was a round number1 and is in no respect parallel to the periods of ,daniel--there is no other instance in the ,bible of a chronological prophecy4 ,we say no other instance1 because one of the commentators who1 in writing upon ,daniel1 objects to the remark of ,nitzsch that the numbers of prophecy are mystical1 yet observes on the one thousand two hundred and sixty days of ,rev4 xii4 that the number one thousand two hundred and sixty1 or three and a half years1 has no historical signification whatever1 and is only to be viewed in its relation to the number seven--viz41 as symbolising the apparent victory of the world over the ,church4#aga ,v4 ,alike1 then1 in style1 in matter1 and in what has been called by ,v4 ,orelli its exoteric manner1--alike in its definiteness and its indefiniteness--in the point from which it starts and the period at which it terminates--in its minute details and its chronological indications--in the absence of the moral and the impassioned element1 and in the sense of fatalism which it must have introduced into history had it been a genuine prophecy1--the ,book of ,daniel differs from all the other books which compose that prophetic canon4 ,from that canon it was rightly and deliberately excluded by the ,jews4 ,its worth and dignity can only be rationally vindicated or rightly understood by supposing it to have been the work of an unknown moralist and patriot of the ,maccabean age4 ,and if anything further were wanting to complete the cogency of the internal evidence which forces this conclusion upon us1 it is amply found in a study of those books1 confessedly apocryphal1 which1 although far inferior to the ,book before us1 are yet of value1 and which we believe to have emanated from the same era4 ,they resemble this ,book in their language1 both ,hebrew and ,aramaic1 as well as in certain recurring expressions and forms to be found in the ,books of ,maccabees and the ,second ,book of ,esdras2--in their style--rhetorical rather than poetical1 stately rather than ecstatic1 diffuse rather than pointed1 and wholly inferior to the prophets in depth and power2--in the use of an apocalyptic method1 and the strange combination of dreams and symbols2--in the insertion1 by way of embellishment1 of speeches and formal documents which can at the best be only semi-historical2--finally1 in the whole tone of thought1 especially in the quite peculiar doctrine of archangels1 of angels guarding kingdoms1 and of opposing evil spirits4 ,in short1 the ,book of ,daniel may be illustrated by the ,apocryphal books in every single particular4 ,in the adoption of an illustrious name--which is the most marked characteristic of this period--it resembles the additions to the ,book of ,daniel1 the ,books of ,esdras1 the ,letters of ,baruch and ,jeremiah1 and the ,wisdom of ,solomon4 ,in the imaginary and quasi-legendary treatment of history it finds a parallel in ,wisdom xvi4-xix41 and parts of the ,second ,book of ,maccabees and the ,second ,book of ,esdras4 ,as an allusive narrative bearing on contemporaneous events under the guise of describing the past1 it is closely parallel to the ,book of ,judith1#agb while the character of ,daniel bears the same relation to that of ,joseph1 as the representation of ,judith does to that of ,jael4 ,as an ethical development of a few scattered historical data1 tending to the marvellous and supernatural1 but rising to the dignity of a very noble and important religious fiction1 it is analogous1 though incomparably superior1 to ,bel and the ,dragon1 and to the stories of ,tobit and ,susanna4#agc ,the conclusion is obvious2 and it is equally obvious that1 when we suppose the name of ,daniel to have been assumed1 and the assumption to have been supported by an antique colouring1 we do not for a moment charge the unknown author--who may very well have been ,onias ,,iv4--with any dishonesty4 ,indeed1 it appears to us that there are many traces in the ,book-- --which exonerate the writer from any suspicion of intentional deception4 ,they may have been meant to remove any tendency to error in understanding the artistic guise which was adopted for the better and more forcible inculcation of the lessons to be conveyed4 ,that the stories of ,daniel offered peculiar opportunities for this treatment is shown by the apocryphal additions to the ,book2 and that the practice was well understood even before the closing of the ,canon is sufficiently shown by the ,book of ,ecclesiastes4 ,the writer of that strange and fascinating book1 with its alternating moods of cynicism and resignation1 merely adopted the name of ,solomon1 and adopted it with no dishonourable purpose2 for he could not have dreamed that utterances which in page after page betray to criticism their late origin would really be identified with the words of the son of ,david a thousand years before ,christ4 ,this may now be regarded as an indisputable1 and is indeed a no longer disputed1 result of all literary and philological inquiry4 ,it is to ,porphyry1 a ,neoplatonist of the third century 7born at ,tyre1 ,a4,d4 #bcc2 died in ,rome1 ,a4,d4 #cjc71 that we owe our ability to write a continuous historical commentary on the symbols of ,daniel4 ,that writer devoted the twelfth book of his to a proof that ,daniel was not written till after the epoch which it so minutely described4#agd ,in order to do this he collected with great learning and industry a history of the obscure ,antiochian epoch from authors most of whom have perished4 ,of these authors ,jerome--the most valuable part of whose commentary is derived from ,porphyry--gives a formidable list1 mentioning among others ,callinicus1 ,diodorus1 ,polybius1 ,posidonius1 ,claudius1 ,theo1 and ,andronicus4 ,it is a strange fact that the exposition of a canonical book should have been mainly rendered possible by an avowed opponent of ,christianity4 ,it was the object of ,porphyry to prove that the apocalyptic portion of the ,book was not a prophecy at all4#age ,it used to be a constant taunt against those who adopt his critical conclusions that their weapons are borrowed from the armoury of an infidel4 ,the objection hardly seems worth answering4 ,fas est et ab hoste doceri4 ,if the enemies of our religion have sometimes helped us the better to understand our sacred books1 or to judge more correctly respecting them1 we should be grateful that their assaults have been overruled to our instruction4 ,the reproach is wholly beside the question4 ,we may apply to it the manly words of ,grotius3 ,neque me pudeat consentire ,porphyrio1 quando is in veram sententiam incidit4 ,moreover1 ,st4 ,jerome himself could not have written his commentary1 as he himself admits1 without availing himself of the aid of the erudition of the heathen philosopher1 whom no less a person than ,st4 ,augustine called doctissimus philosophorum1 though unhappily he was acerrimus christianorum inimicus4 ,,footnotes3 #aeh ,any apparently requisite modification of these words will be considered hereafter4 #aei ,on ,revelations1 vol4 i41 p4 #djh 7,e4 ,tr474 #afj ,dient bei ihnen die ,zukunft der ,gegenwart1 und ist selbst fortgesetzte ,gegenwart 7,behrmann1 ,dan41 p4 xi74 #afa ,see ,m4 de ,pressens1 ,hist4 des ,trois ,prem4 ,sicles1 p4 #bhc4 #afb ,see some admirable remarks on this subject in ,ewald1 ,die ,proph4 d4 ,alt4 ,bund41 i4 #bc1 #bd2 ,winer1 ,realwrterb41 s4v4 ,propheten ,sthelin1 ,einleit41 #aig4 #afc ,comp4 ,enoch i4 #b4 #afd ,ewald1 ,die ,proph41 i4 #bg2 ,michel ,nicolas1 tudes sur la ,bible1 pp4 #ccf ff4 #afe ,comp4 ,mic4 iii4 #ab2 ,jer4 xxvi4 #a-ai2 ,ezek4 i4 #ba4 ,comp4 xxix4 #ah1 #ai4 #aff ,deut4 xviii4 #aj4 #afg ,system der christlichen ,lehre1 p4 #ff4 #afh ,e4g41 in the case of ,josiah 7#a ,kings xiii4 #b74 #afi ,de ,coron1 #gc3 4 #agj ,the symbolism of numbers is carefully and learnedly worked out in ,bhr's ,symbolik3 cf4 ,auberlen1 p4 #acc4 ,the several fulfilments of the prophesied seventy years' captivity illustrate this4 #aga ,hengstenberg1 ,on ,revelations1 p4 #fji4 #agb ,all these particulars may be found1 without any allusion to the ,book of ,daniel1 in the admirable article on the ,apocrypha by ,dean ,plumptre in ,dr4 ,smith's ,dict4 of the ,bible4 #agc ,ewald1 ,gesch4 ,isr41 iv4 #eda4 #agd ,et non tam ,danielem ventura dixisse quam illum narrasse prterita 7,jer474 #age ,ad intelligendas autem extremas ,danielis partes multiplex ,grcorum historia necessaria est 7,jer41 ,prom4 ,explan4 in ,dan4 ,proph4 ad f474 ,among these ,greek historians he mentions eight whom ,porphyry had consulted1 and adds1 ,et si quando cogimur litterarum scularium recordari 444 non nostr est voluntatis1 sed ut dicam1 gravissim necessitatis4 ,we know ,porphyry's arguments mainly through the commentary of ,jerome1 who1 indeed1 derived from ,porphyry the historic data without which the eleventh chapter1 among others1 would have been wholly unintelligible4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,evidence ,,in ,,favour ,,of ,,the ,,genuineness ,,uncertain ,,and ,,inadequate ,we have seen that there are many circumstances which force upon us the gravest doubts as to the authenticity of the ,book of ,daniel4 ,we now proceed to examine the evidence urged in its favour1 and deemed adequate to refute the conclusion that in its present form it did not see the light before the time of ,antiochus ,,iv4 ,taking ,hengstenberg as the most learned reasoner in favour of the genuineness of ,daniel1 we will pass in review all the positive arguments which he has adduced4#agf ,they occupy no less than one hundred and ten pages 7pp4 #ahb-bia7 of the ,english translation of his work on the genuineness of ,daniel4 ,most of them are tortuous specimens of special pleading inadequate in themselves1 or refuted by increased knowledge derived from the monuments and from further inquiry4 ,to these arguments neither ,dr4 ,pusey nor any subsequent writer has made any material addition4 ,some of them have been already answered1 and many of them are so unsatisfactory that they may be dismissed at once4 ,i4 ,such1 for instance1 are the testimony of the author himself4 ,in one of those slovenly treatises which only serve to throw dust in the eyes of the ignorant we find it stated that1 although the name of ,daniel is not prefixed to his ,book1 the passages in which he speaks in the first person sufficiently prove that he was the author6 ,such assertions deserve no answer4 ,if the mere assumption of a name be a sufficient proof of the authorship of a book1 we are rich indeed in ,jewish authors--and1 not to speak of others1 our list includes works by ,adam1 ,enoch1 ,eldad1 ,medad1 and ,elijah4 ,pseudonymity1 says ,behrmann1 was a very common characteristic of the literature of that day1 and the conception of literary property was alien to that epoch1 and especially to the circle of writings of this class4 ,,ii4 ,the character of the language1 as we have seen already1 proves nothing4 ,hebrew and ,aramaic long continued in common use side by side at least among the learned1#agg and the divergence of the ,aramaic in ,daniel from that of the ,targums leads to no definite result1 considering the late and uncertain age of those writings4 ,,iii4 ,how any argument can be founded on the exact knowledge of history displayed by local colouring we cannot understand4 ,were the knowledge displayed ever so exact it would only prove that the author was a learned man1 which is obvious already4 ,but so far from any remarkable accuracy being shown by the author1 it is1 on the contrary1 all but impossible to reconcile many of his statements with acknowledged facts4 ,the elaborate and tortuous explanations1 the frequent subauditur1 the numerous assumptions required to force the text into accordance with the certain historic data of the ,babylonian and ,persian empires1 tell far more against the ,book than for it4 ,the methods of accounting for these inaccuracies are mostly self-confuting1 for they leave the subject in hopeless confusion1 and each orthodox commentator shows how untenable are the views of others4 ,,iv4 ,passing over other arguments of ,keil1 ,hengstenberg1 etc41 which have been either refuted already1 or which are too weak to deserve repetition1 we proceed to examine one or two of a more serious character4 ,great stress1 for instance1 is laid on the reception of the ,book into the ,canon4 ,we acknowledge the canonicity of the ,book1 its high value when rightly apprehended1 and its rightful acceptance as a sacred book2 but this in nowise proves its authenticity4 ,the history of the ,old ,testament ,canon is involved in the deepest obscurity4 ,the belief that it was finally completed by ,ezra and the ,great ,synagogue rests on no foundation2 indeed1 it is irreconcilable with later historic notices and other facts connected with the ,books of ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 ,esther1 and the two ,books of ,chronicles4 ,the ,christian ,fathers in this1 as in some other cases1 implicitly believed what came to them from the most questionable sources1 and was mixed up with mere ,jewish fables4 ,one of the oldest ,talmudic books1 the ,pirke ,aboth1 is entirely silent on the collection of the ,old ,testament1 though in a vague way it connects the ,great ,synagogue with the preservation of the ,law4 ,the earliest mention of the legend about ,ezra is in the ,second ,book of ,esdras 7xiv4 #bi-dh74 ,this book does not possess the slightest claim to authority1 as it was not completed till a century after the ,christian era2 and it mingles up with this very narrative a number of particulars thoroughly fabulous and characteristic of a period when the ,jewish writers were always ready to subordinate history to imaginative fables4 ,the account of the magic cup1 the forty days and forty nights' dictation1 the ninety books of which seventy were secret and intended only for the learned1 form part of the very passage from which we are asked to believe that ,ezra established our existing ,canon1 though the genuine ,book of ,ezra is wholly silent about his having performed any such inestimable service4 ,it adds nothing to the credit of this fable that it is echoed by ,irenus1 ,clemens ,alexandrinus1 and ,tertullian4#agh ,nor are there any external considerations which render it probable4 ,the ,talmudic tradition in the ,baba ,bathra1#agi which says 7among other remarks in a passage of which the notorious errors prove the unreliability of its testimony7 that the men of the ,great ,synagogue wrote the ,books of ,ezekiel1 the ,twelve ,minor ,prophets1 ,daniel1 and ,ezra4#ahj ,it is evident that1 so far as this evidence is worth anything1 it rather goes against the authenticity of ,daniel than for it4 ,the ,pirke ,aboth makes ,simon the ,just 7about ,b4,c4 #bij7 a member of this ,great ,synagogue1 of which the very existence is dubious4#aha ,again1 the author of the forged letter at the beginning of the ,second ,book of ,maccabees--the work says ,hengstenberg1 of an arrant impostor#ahb--;attributes the collection of certain books first to ,nehemiah1 and then1 when they had been lost1 to ,judas ,maccabus 7#b ,macc4 ii4 #ac1 #ad74 ,the canonicity of the ,old ,testament books does not rest on such evidence as this1#ahc and it is hardly worth while to pursue it further4 ,that the ,book of ,daniel was regarded as authentic by ,josephus is clear2 but this by no means decides its date or authorship4 ,it is one of the very few books of which ,philo makes no mention whatever4 ,v4 ,nor can the supposed traces of the early existence of the ,book be considered adequate to prove its genuineness4 ,with the most important of these1 the story of ,josephus 7,antt41 ,,xi4 viii4 #e7 that the high priest ,jaddua showed to ,alexander the ,great the prophecies of ,daniel respecting himself1 we shall deal later4 ,the alleged traces of the ,book in ,ecclesiasticus are very uncertain1 or rather wholly questionable2 and the allusion to ,daniel in #a ,macc4 ii4 #fj decides nothing1 because there is nothing to prove that the speech of the dying ,mattathias is authentic1 and because we know nothing certain as to the date of the ,greek translator of that book or of the ,book of ,daniel4 ,the absence of all allusion to the prophecies of ,daniel is1 on the other hand1 a far more cogent point against the authenticity4 ,whatever be the date of the ,books of ,maccabees1 it is inconceivable that they should offer no vestige of proof that ,judas and his brothers received any hope or comfort from such explicit predictions as ,dan4 xi41 had the ,book been in the hands of those pious and noble chiefs4 ,the ,first ,book of ,maccabees cannot be certainly dated more than a century before ,christ1 nor have we reason to believe that the ,septuagint version of the ,book is much older4#ahd ,,vi4 ,the badness of the ,alexandrian version1 and the apocryphal additions to it1 seem to be rather an argument for the late age and less established authority of the ,book than for its genuineness4#ahe ,nor can we attach much weight to the assertion 7though it is endorsed by the high authority of ,bishop ,westcott7 that it is far more difficult to explain its composition in the ,maccabean period than to meet the peculiarities which it exhibits with the exigencies of the ,return4 ,so far is this from being the case that1 as we have seen already1 it resembles in almost every particular the acknowledged productions of the age in which we believe it to have been written4 ,many of the statements made on this subject by those who defend the authenticity cannot be maintained4 ,thus ,hengstenberg#ahf remarks that 7#a7 at this time the ,messianic hopes are dead1 and 7#b7 that no great literary work appeared between the ,restoration from the ,captivity and the time of ,christ4 ,now the facts are precisely the reverse in each instance4 ,for 7i7 the little book called the ,psalms of ,solomon1#ahg which belongs to this period1 contains the strongest and clearest ,messianic hopes1 and the ,book of ,enoch most closely resembles ,daniel in its ,messianic predictions4 ,thus it speaks of the pre-existence of the ,messiah 7xlviii4 #f1 lxii4 #g71 of ,his sitting on a throne of glory 7lv4 #d1 lxi4 #h71 and receiving the power of rule4 7ii7 ,still less can we attach any force to ,hengstenberg's argument that1 in the ,maccabean age1 the gift of prophecy was believed to have departed for ever4 ,indeed1 that is an argument in favour of the pseudonymity of the ,book4 ,for in the age at which--for purposes of literary form--it is represented as having appeared the spirit of prophecy was far from being dead4 ,ezekiel was still living1 or had died but recently4 ,zechariah1 ,haggai1 and long afterwards ,malachi1 were still to continue the succession of the mighty prophets of their race4 ,now1 if prediction be an element in the prophet's work1 no prophet1 nor all the prophets together1 ever distantly approached any such power of minutely foretelling the events of a distant future--even the half-meaningless and all-but-trivial events of four centuries later1 in kingdoms which had not yet thrown their distant shadows on the horizon--as that which ,daniel must have possessed1 if he were indeed the author of this ,book4#ahh ,yet1 as we have seen1 he never thinks of claiming the functions of the prophets1 or speaking in the prophet's commanding voice1 as the foreteller of the message of ,god4 ,on the contrary1 he adopts the comparatively feebler and more entangled methods of the literary composers in an age when men saw not their tokens and there was no prophet more4#ahi ,we must postpone a closer examination of the questions as to the four kingdoms intended by the writer1 and of his curious and enigmatic chronological calculations2 but we must reject at once the monstrous assertion--excusable in the days of ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 but which has now become unwise and even portentous--that to reject ,daniel's prophecies would be to undermine the ,christian religion1 which is all but founded on his prophecies respecting ,christ6 ,happily the ,christian religion is not built on such foundations of sand4 ,had it been so1 it would long since have been swept away by the beating rain and the rushing floods4 ,here1 again1 the arguments urged by those who believe in the authenticity of ,daniel recoil with tenfold force upon themselves4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton's observations on the prophecies of ,daniel only show how little transcendent genius in one domain of inquiry can save a great thinker from absolute mistakes in another4 ,in writing upon prophecy the great astronomer was writing on the assumption of baseless premisses which he had drawn from stereotyped tradition2 and he was also writing at an epoch when the elements for the final solution of the problem had not as yet been discovered or elaborated4 ,it is as certain that1 had he been living now1 he would have accepted the conclusion of all the ablest and most candid inquirers1 as it is certain that ,bacon1 had he now been living1 would have accepted the ,copernican theory4 ,it is absurdly false to say that the ,christian religion is all but founded on ,daniel's prophecies respecting ,christ4 ,if it were not absurdly false1 we might well ask1 ,how it came that neither ,christ nor ,his ,apostles ever once alluded to the existence of any such argument1 or ever pointed to the ,book of ,daniel and the prophecy of the seventy weeks as containing the least germ of evidence in favour of ,christ's mission or the ,gospel teaching8 ,no such argument is remotely alluded to till long afterwards by some of the ,fathers4 ,but so far from finding any agreement in the opinions of the ,christian ,fathers and commentators on a subject which1 in ,newton's view1 was so momentous1 we only find ourselves weltering in a chaos of uncertainties and contradictions4 ,thus ,eusebius records the attempt of some early ,christian commentators to treat the last of the seventy weeks as representing1 not1 like all the rest1 seven years1 but seventy years1 in order to bring down the prophecy to the days of ,trajan6 ,neither ,jewish nor ,christian exegetes have ever been able to come to the least agreement between themselves or with one another as to the beginning or end--the terminus a quo or the terminus ad quem--with reference to which the seventy weeks are to be reckoned4 ,the ,christians naturally made great efforts to make the seventy weeks end with the ,crucifixion4 ,but ,julius ,africanus#aij 7 ,a4,d4 #bcb71 beginning with the twentieth year of ,artaxerxes 7,neh4 ii4 #a-i1 ,b4,c4 #ddd71 gets only four hundred and seventy-five to the ,crucifixion1 and to escape the difficulty makes the years lunar years4#aia ,hippolytus#aib separates the last week from all the rest1 and relegates it to the days of ,antichrist and the end of the world4 ,eusebius himself refers the anointed one to the line of ,jewish high priests1 separates the last week from the others1 ends it with the fourth year after the ,crucifixion1 and refers the ceasing of the sacrifice 7,deut4 ix4 #bg7 to the rejection of ,jewish sacrifices by ,god after the death of ,christ4 ,apollinaris makes the seventy weeks begin with the birth of ,christ1 and argues that ,elijah and ,antichrist were to appear ,a4,d4 #dij6 ,none of these views found general acceptance4#aic ,not one of them was sanctioned by ,church authority4 ,every one1 as ,jerome says1 argued in this direction or that pro captu ingenii sui4 ,the climax of arbitrariness is reached by ,keil--the last prominent defender of the so-called orthodoxy of criticism--when he makes the weeks not such commonplace things as earthly chronological weeks1 but ,divine1 symbolic1 and therefore unknown and unascertainable periods4 ,and are we to be told that it is on such fantastic1 self-contradictory1 and mutually refuting calculations that the ,christian religion is all but founded8 ,thank ,god1 the assertion is entirely wild4 ,,footnotes3 #agf ,hvernick is another able and sincere supporter2 but ,droysen truly says 7,gesch4 d4 ,hellenismus1 ii4 #baa71 ,die ,hvernickschen ,auffassung kann kein vernunftiger ,mensch bestimmen4 #agg ,see ,grimm1 ,comment41 zum ,i4 ,buch der ,makk41 ,einleit41 xvii42 ,mvers in ,bonner ,zeitschr41 ,heft #ac1 pp4 #ca ff42 ,sthelin1 ,einleit41 p4 #cef4 #agh ,iren41 ,adv4 ,hres41 iv4 #be2 ,clem41 ,strom4 i4 #ba1 #adf2 ,tert41 ,de ,cult4 ,fm41 i4 #c2 ,jerome1 ,adv4 ,helv41 #g2 ,ps4 ,august41 ,de ,mirab41 ii4 #cb1 etc4 #agi ,baba ,bathra1 f4 #ac;b1 #ad;b4 #ahj ,see ,oehler1 s4v4 ,kanon 7,herzog1 ,encycl474 #aha ,rau1 ,de ,synag4 ,magna41 ii4 #ff4 #ahb ,on ,daniel1 p4 #aie4 #ahc ,even after the ,captivity1 says ,bishop ,westcott1 the history of the ,canon1 like all ,jewish history up to the date of the ,maccabees1 is wrapped in great obscurity4 ,faint traditions alone remain to interpret results which are found realised when the darkness is first cleared away 7s4v4 ,canon1 ,smith's ,dict4 of ,bible74 #ahd ,see ,knig1 ,einleit41 #hj1 #b4 #ahe ,in propheta ,daniele ,septuaginta interpretes multum ab ,hebraica veritate discordant 7,jerome1 ed4 ,vallarsi1 v4 #fdf74 ,in the ,,lxx4 are first found the three apocryphal additions4 ,for this reason the version of ,theodotion was substituted for the ,,lxx41 which latter was only rediscovered in #aggb in a manuscript in the library of ,cardinal ,chigi4 #ahf ,on the ,authenticity of ,daniel1 pp4 #aei1 #bij 7,e4 ,tr474 #ahg ,psalms of ,sol4 xvii4 #cf1 xviii4 #h1 etc4 ,see ,fabric41 ,cod4 ,pseudep41 i4 #iag-igb2 ,ewald1 ,gesch4 d4 ,volkes ,isr41 iv4 #bdd4 #ahh ,even ,auberlen says 7,dan41 p4 #c1 ,e4 ,tr471 ,if prophecy is anywhere a history of the future1 it is here4 #ahi ,see ,vitringa1 ,de defectu ,propheti post ,malachi tempora ,obss4 ,sacr41 ii4 #ccf4 #aij ,demonstr4 ,evang41 viii4 #aia ,of the ,jews1 the ,,lxx4 translators seem to make the seventy weeks end with ,antiochus ,epiphanes2 but in ,jerome's day they made the first year of ,darius the ,mede the terminus a quo1 and brought down the terminus ad quem to ,hadrian's destruction of the ,temple4 ,saadia the ,gaon and ,rashi reckon the seventy weeks from ,nebuchadrezzar to ,titus1 and make ,cyrus the anointed one of ix4 #be4 ,abn ,ezra1 on the other hand1 takes ,nehemiah for the anointed one4 ,what can be based on such varying and undemonstrable guesses8 ,see ,behrmann1 ,dan41 p4 xliii4 #aib ,hippolytus1 ,fragm4 in ,dan4 7,migne1 ,patr4 ,grc41 x474 #aic ,see ,bevan1 pp4 #ada-ade4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,external ,,evidence ,,and ,,reception ,,into ,,the ,,canon ,the reception of the ,book of ,daniel anywhere into the ,canon might be regarded as an argument in favour of its authenticity1 if the case of the ,books of ,jonah and ,ecclesiastes did not sufficiently prove that canonicity1 while it does constitute a proof of the value and sacred significance of a book1 has no weight as to its traditional authorship4 ,but in point of fact the position assigned by the ,jews to the ,book of ,daniel--not among the ,prophets1 where1 had the ,book been genuine1 it would have had a supreme right to stand1 but only with the ,book of ,esther1 among the latest of the ,hagiographa#aid--;is a strong argument for its late date4 ,the division of the ,old ,testament into ,law1 ,prophets1 and ,hagiographa first occurs in the ,prologue to ,ecclesiasticus 7about ,b4,c4 #aca7--the ,law1 the ,prophecies1 and the rest of the books4#aie ,in spite of its peculiarities1 its prophetic claims among those who accepted it as genuine were so strong that the ,,lxx4 and the later translations unhesitatingly reckon the author among the four greater prophets4 ,if the ,daniel of the ,captivity had written this ,book1 he would have had a far greater claim to this position among the prophets than ,haggai1 ,malachi1 or the later ,zechariah4 ,yet the ,jews deliberately placed the ,book among the ,kethubm1 to the writers of which they indeed ascribe the ,holy ,spirit 7,ruach ,hakkodesh71 but whom they did not credit with the higher degree of prophetic inspiration4 ,josephus expresses the ,jewish conviction that1 since the days of ,artaxerxes onwards1 the writings which had appeared had not been deemed worthy of the same reverence as those which had preceded them1 because there had occurred no unquestionable succession of prophets4#aif ,the ,jews who thus decided the true nature of the ,book of ,daniel must surely have been guided by strong traditional1 critical1 historical1 or other grounds for denying 7as they did7 to the author the gift of prophecy4 ,theodoret denounces this as shameless impudence on their part2#aig but may it not rather have been fuller knowledge or simple honesty8 ,at any rate1 on any other grounds it would have been strange indeed of the ,talmudists to decide that the most minutely predictive of the prophets--if indeed this were a prophecy--wrote without the gift of prophecy4#aih ,it can only have been the late and suspected appearance of the ,book1 and its marked phenomena1 which led to its relegation to the lowest place in the ,jewish ,canon4 ,already in #a ,macc4 iv4 #df we find that the stones of the demolished pagan altar are kept until there should arise a prophet to show what should be done with them2 and in #a ,macc4 xiv4 #da we again meet the phrase until there should arise a faithful prophet4 ,before this epoch there is no trace of the existence of the ,book of ,daniel1 and not only so1 but the prophecies of the post-exilic prophets as to the future contemplate a wholly different horizon and a wholly different order of events4 ,had ,daniel existed before the ,maccabean epoch1 it is impossible that the rank of the ,book should have been deliberately ignored4 ,the ,jewish ,rabbis of the age in which it appeared saw1 quite correctly1 that it had points of affinity with other pseudepigraphic apocalypses which arose in the same epoch4 ,the ,hebrew scholar ,dr4 ,joel has pointed out how1 amid its immeasurable superiority to such a poem as the enigmatic ,cassandra of the ,alexandrian poet ,lycophron1#aii it resembles that book in its indirectness of nomenclature4 ,lycophron is one of the pleiad of poets in the days of ,ptolemy ,philadelphus2 but his writings1 like the ,book before us1 have probably received interpolations from later hands4 ,he never calls a god or a hero by his name1 but always describes him by a periphrasis1 just as here we have the ,king of the ,north and the ,king of the ,south1 though the name ,egypt slips in 7,dan4 xi4 #h74 ,thus ,hercules is a three-nights' lion 7 71 and ,alexander the ,great is a wolf4 ,a son is always an offshoot 771 or is designated by some other metaphor4 ,when ,lycophron wants to allude to ,rome1 the ,greek is used in its sense of strength4 ,the name ,ptolemaios becomes by anagram 1 from honey2 and the name ,arsino becomes 1 the violet of ,hera4 ,we may find some resemblances to these procedures when we are considering the eleventh chapter of ,daniel4 ,it is a serious abuse of argument to pretend1 as is done by ,hengstenberg1 by ,dr4 ,pusey1 and by many of their feebler followers1 that there are few books whose ,divine authority is so fully established by the testimony of the ,new ,testament1 and in particular by our ,lord ,himself1 as the ,book of ,daniel4#bjj ,it is to the last degree dangerous1 irreverent1 and unwise to stake the ,divine authority of our ,lord on the maintenance of those ecclesiastical traditions of which so many have been scattered to the winds for ever4 ,our ,lord1 on one occasion1 in the discourse on the ,mount of ,olives1 warned ,his disciples that1 when they should see the abomination of desolation1 spoken of by ,daniel the prophet1 standing in the holy place1 they should flee from ,jerusalem into the mountain district4#bja ,there is nothing to prove that ,he ,himself uttered either the words let him that readeth understand1 or even spoken of by ,daniel the prophet4 ,both of those may belong to the explanatory narrative of the ,evangelist1 and the latter does not occur in ,st4 ,mark4 ,further1 in ,st4 ,luke 7xxi4 #bj7 there is no specific allusion to ,daniel at all2 but instead of it we find1 ,when ye see ,jerusalem being encircled by armies1 then know that its desolation is near4 ,we cannot be certain that the specific reference to ,daniel may not be due to the ,evangelist4 ,but without so much as raising these questions1 it is fully admitted that1 whether exactly in its present form or not1 the ,book of ,daniel formed part of the ,canon in the days of ,christ4 ,if ,he directly refers to it as a book known to ,his hearers1 ,his reference lies as wholly outside all questions of genuineness and authenticity as does ,st4 ,jude's quotation from the ,book of ,enoch1 or ,st4 ,paul's 7possible7 allusions to the ,assumption of ,elijah1#bjb or ,christ's own passing reference to the ,book of ,jonah4 ,those who attempt to drag in these allusions as decisive critical dicta transfer them to a sphere wholly different from that of the moral application for which they were intended4 ,they not only open vast and indistinct questions as to the self-imposed limitations of our ,lord's human knowledge as part of ,his own voluntary emptying ,himself of ,his glory1 but they also do a deadly disservice to the most essential cause of ,christianity4#bjc ,the only thing which is acceptable to the ,god of truth is truth2 and since ,he has given us our reason and our conscience as lights which light every man who is born into the world1 we must walk by these lights in all questions which belong to these domains4 ,history1 literature and criticism1 and the interpretation of human language do belong to the domain of pure reason2 and we must not be bribed by the misapplication of hypothetical exegesis to give them up for the support of traditional views which advancing knowledge no longer suffers us to maintain4 ,it may be true or not that our ,lord adopted the title ,son of ,man 7,bar ,enosh7 from the ,book of ,daniel2 but even if ,he did1 which is at least disputable1 that would only show1 what we all already admit1 that in ,his time the ,book was an acknowledged part of the ,canon4 ,on the other hand1 if our ,lord and ,his ,apostles regarded the ,book of ,daniel as containing the most explicit prophecies of ,himself and of ,his kingdom1 why did they never appeal or even allude to it to prove that ,he was the promised ,messiah8 ,again1 ,hengstenberg and his school try to prove that the ,book of ,daniel existed before the ,maccabean age1 because ,josephus says that the high priest ,jaddua showed to ,alexander the ,great1 in the year ,b4,c4 #ccb1 the prophecy of himself as the ,grecian he-goat in the ,book of ,daniel2 and that the leniency which ,alexander showed towards the ,jews was due to the favourable impression thus produced4#bjd ,the story1 which is a beautiful and an interesting one1 runs as follows3-- ,on his way from ,tyre1 after capturing ,gaza1 ,alexander decided to advance to ,jerusalem4 ,the news threw ,jaddua the high priest into an agony of alarm4 ,he feared that the king was displeased with the ,jews1 and would inflict severe vengeance upon them4 ,he ordered a general supplication with sacrifices1 and was encouraged by ,god in a dream to decorate the city1 throw open the gates1 and go forth in procession at the head of priests and people to meet the dreaded conqueror4 ,the procession1 so unlike that of any other nation1 went forth as soon as they heard that ,alexander was approaching the city4 ,they met the king on the summit of ,scopas1 the watch-tower--the height of ,mizpah1 from which the first glimpse of the city is obtained4 ,it is the famous ,blanca ,guarda of the ,crusaders1 on the summit of which ,richard ,i4 turned away1 and did not deem himself worthy to glance at the city which he was too weak to rescue from the infidel4 ,the ,phnicians and ,chaldeans in ,alexander's army promised themselves that they would now be permitted to plunder the city and torment the high priest to death4 ,but it happened far otherwise4 ,for when the king saw the white-robed procession approaching1 headed by ,jaddua in his purple and golden array1 and wearing on his head the golden petalon1 with its inscription ,holiness to ,jehovah1 he advanced1 saluted the priest1 and adored the ,divine ,name4 ,the ,jews encircled and saluted him with unanimous greeting1 while the ,king of ,syria and his other followers fancied that he must be distraught4 ,how is it1 asked ,parmenio1 that you1 whom all others adore1 yourself adore the ,jewish high priest8 ,i did not adore the high priest1 said ,alexander1 but ,god1 by whose priesthood ,he has been honoured4 ,when ,i was at ,dium in ,macedonia1 meditating on the conquest of ,asia1 ,i saw this very man in this same apparel1 who invited me to march boldly and without delay1 and that he would conduct me to the conquest of the ,persians4 ,then he took ,jaddua by the hand1 and in the midst of the rejoicing priests entered ,jerusalem1 where he sacrificed to ,god4#bje ,jaddua showed him the prediction about himself in the ,book of ,daniel1 and in extreme satisfaction he granted to the ,jews1 at the high priest's request1 all the petitions which they desired of him4 ,but this story1 so grateful to ,jewish vanity1 is a transparent fiction4 ,it does not find the least support from any other historic source1 and is evidently one of the ,jewish ,haggadoth in which the intense national self-exaltation of that strange nation delighted to depict the homage which they1 and their national religion1 extorted from the supernaturally caused dread of the greatest heathen potentates4 ,in this respect it resembles the earlier chapters of the ,book of ,daniel itself1 and the numberless stories of the haughty superiority of great ,rabbis to kings and emperors in which the ,talmud delights4 ,roman ,catholic historians1 like ,jahn and ,hess1 and older writers1 like ,prideaux1#bjf accept the story1 even when they reject the fable about ,sanballat and the ,temple on ,gerizim which follows it4 ,stress is naturally laid upon it by apologists like ,hengstenberg2 but an historian like ,grote does not vouchsafe to notice it by a single word1 and most modern writers reject it4 ,the ,bishop of ,bath and ,wells thinks that these stories are probably derived from some apocryphal book of ,alexandrian growth1 in which chronology and history gave way to romance and ,jewish vanity4#bjg ,all the historians except ,josephus say that ,alexander went straight from ,gaza to ,egypt1 and make no mention of ,jerusalem or ,samaria2 and ,alexander was by no means adored by all men at that period of his career1 for he never received till after his conquest of ,persia4 ,nor can we account for the presence of ,chaldeans in his army at this time1 for ,chaldea was then under the rule of ,babylon4 ,besides which1 ,daniel was expressly bidden1 as ,bleek observes1 to seal up his prophecy till the time of the end2 and the time of the end was certainly not the era of ,alexander1--not to mention the circumstance that ,alexander1 if the prophecies were pointed out to him at all1 would hardly have been content with the single verse or two about himself1 and would have been anything but gratified by what immediately follows4#bjh ,i pass over as meaningless ,hengstenberg's arguments in favour of the genuineness of the ,book from the predominance of symbolism2 from the moderation of tone towards ,nebuchadrezzar2 from the political gifts shown by the writer2 and from his prediction that the ,messianic ,kingdom would at once appear after the death of ,antiochus ,epiphanes6 ,when we are told that these circumstances can only be explained on the assumption of a ,babylonian origin2 that they are directly opposed to the spirit of the ,maccabean time2 that the artifice with which the writing is pervaded1 supposing it to be a pseudepigraphic book1 far surpasses the powers of the most gifted poet2 and that such a distinct expectation of the near advent of the ,messianic ,kingdom is utterly without analogy in the whole of prophetic literature1--such arguments can only be regarded as appeals to ignorance4 ,they are either assertions which float in the air1 or are disproved at once alike by the canonical prophets and by the apocryphal literature of the ,maccabean age4 ,symbolism is the distinguishing characteristic of apocalypses1 and is found in those of the late post-exilic period4 ,the views of the ,jews about ,nebuchadrezzar varied4 ,some writers were partially favourable to him1 others were severe upon him4 ,it does not in the least follow that a writer during the ,antiochian persecution1 who freely adapted traditional or imaginative elements1 should necessarily represent the old potentates as irredeemably wicked1 even if he meant to satirise ,epiphanes in the story of their extravagances4 ,it was necessary for his purpose to bring out the better features of their characters1 in order to show the conviction wrought in them by ,divine interpositions4 ,the notion that the ,book of ,daniel could only have been written by a statesman or a consummate politician is mere fancy4 ,and1 lastly1 in making the ,messianic reign begin immediately at the close of the ,seleucid persecution1 the writer both expresses his own faith and hope1 and follows the exact analogy of ,isaiah and all the other ,messianic prophets4 ,but though it is common with the prophets to pass at once from the warnings of destruction to the hopes of a ,messianic ,kingdom which is to arise immediately beyond the horizon which limits their vision1 it is remarkable--and the consideration tells strongly against the authenticity of ,daniel--that not one of them had the least glimpse of the four successive kingdoms or of the four hundred and ninety years2--not even those prophets who1 if the ,book of ,daniel were genuine1 must have had it in their hands4 ,to imagine that ,daniel took means to have his ,book left undiscovered for some four hundred years1 and then brought to light during the ,maccabean struggle1 is a grotesque impossibility4 ,if the ,book existed1 it must have been known4 ,yet not only is there no real trace of its existence before ,b4,c4 #afg1 but the post-exilic prophets pay no sort of regard to its detailed predictions1 and were evidently unaware that any such predictions had ever been uttered4 ,what room is there for ,daniel's four empires and four hundred and ninety years in such a prophecy as ,zech4 ii4 #f-ac8 ,the pseudepigraphic ,daniel possibly took the symbolism of four horns from ,zech4 i4 #ah1 #ai2 but there is not the slightest connexion between ,zechariah's symbol and that of the pseudo-,daniel4 ,if the number four in ,zechariah be not a mere number of completeness with reference to the four quarters of the world 7comp4 ,zech4 i4 #ah71 the four horns symbolise either ,assyria1 ,babylonia1 ,egypt1 and ,persia1 or more generally the nations which had then scattered ,israel 7,zech4 ii4 #h1 vi4 #a-h2 ,ezek4 xxxvii4 #i72 so that the following promise does not even contemplate a victorious succession of heathen powers4 ,again1 what room is there for ,daniel's four successive pagan empires in any natural interpretation of ,haggai's yet a little while and ,i will shake all nations 7,hag4 ii4 #g71 and in the promise that this shaking shall take place in the lifetime of ,zerubbabel 7,hag4 ii4 #bj-bc78 ,and can we suppose that ,malachi wrote that the messenger of the ,lord should suddenly come to ,his ,temple with such prophecies as those of ,daniel before him8#bji ,but if it be thought extraordinary that a pseudepigraphic prophecy should have been admitted into the ,canon at all1 even when placed low among the ,kethubm1 and if it be argued that the ,jews would never have conferred such an honour on such a composition1 the answer is that even when compared with such fine books as those of ,wisdom and ,jesus the ,son of ,sirach1 the ,book has a right to such a place by its intrinsic superiority4 ,taken as a whole it is far superior in moral and spiritual instructiveness to any of the books of the ,apocrypha4 ,it was profoundly adapted to meet the needs of the age in which it originated4 ,it was in its favour that it was written partly in ,hebrew as well as in ,aramaic1 and it came before the ,jewish ,church under the sanction of a famous ancient name which was partly at least traditional and historical4 ,there is nothing astonishing in the fact that in an age in which literature was rare and criticism unknown it soon came to be accepted as genuine4 ,similar phenomena are quite common in much later and more comparatively learned ages4 ,one or two instances will suffice4 ,few books have exercised a more powerful influence on ,christian literature than the spurious letters of ,ignatius and the pseudo-,clementines4 ,they were accepted1 and their genuineness was defended for centuries2 yet in these days no sane critic would imperil his reputation by an attempt to defend their genuineness4 ,the book of the pseudo-,dionysius the ,areopagite was regarded as genuine and authoritative down to the days of the ,reformation1 and the author professes to have seen the supernatural darkness of the ,crucifixion2 yet ,dionysius the ,areopagite did not write before ,a4,d4 #ecb6 ,the power of the ,papal usurpation was mainly built on the ,forged ,decretals1 and for centuries no one ventured to question the genuineness and authenticity of those gross forgeries1 till ,laurentius ,valla exposed the cheat and flung the tatters of the ,decretals to the winds4 ,in the eighteenth century ,ireland could deceive even the acutest critics into the belief that his paltry ,vortigern was a rediscovered play of ,shakespeare2 and a ,cornish clergyman wrote a ballad which even ,macaulay took for a genuine production of the reign of ,james ,,ii4 ,those who read the ,book of ,daniel in the light of ,seleucid and ,ptolemaic history saw that the writer was well acquainted with the events of those days1 and that his words were full of hope1 consolation1 and instruction4 ,after a certain lapse of time they were in no position to estimate the many indications that by no possibility could the ,book have been written in the days of the ,babylonian ,exile2 nor had it yet become manifest that all the detailed knowledge stops short with the close of the reign of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,the enigmatical character of the ,book1 and the varying elements of its calculations1 led later commentators into the error that the fourth beast and the iron legs of the image stood for the ,roman ,empire1 so that they did not expect the ,messianic reign at the close of the ,greek ,empire1 which1 in the prediction1 it immediately succeeds4#baj ,how late was the date before the ,jewish ,canon was finally settled we see from the ,talmudic stories that but for ,hananiah ben-,hizkiah1 with the help of his three hundred bottles of oil burnt in nightly studies1 even the ,book of ,ezekiel would have been suppressed1 as being contrary to the ,law 7,shabbath1 f4 #ac1 #b72 and that but for the mystic line of interpretation adopted by ,rabbi ,aqiba 7,a4,d4 #abj7 a similar fate might have befallen the ,song of ,songs 7,yaddayim1 c4 iii42 ,mish41 #e74 ,there is1 then1 the strongest reason to adopt the conclusion that the ,book of ,daniel was the production of one of the ,chasidm towards the beginning of the ,maccabean struggle1 and that its immediate object was to warn the ,jews against the apostasies of commencing ,hellenism4 ,it was meant to encourage the faithful1 who were waging a fierce battle against ,greek influences and against the mighty and persecuting heathen forces by which they were supported4#baa ,although the writer's knowledge of history up to the time of ,alexander the ,great is vague and erroneous1 and his knowledge of the period which followed ,antiochus entirely nebulous1 on the other hand his acquaintance with the period of ,antiochus ,epiphanes is so extraordinarily precise as to furnish our chief information on some points of that king's reign4 ,guided by these indications1 it is perhaps possible to fix the exact year and month in which the ,book saw the light--namely1 about ,january ,b4,c4 #afd4bab ,from ,dan4 viii4 #ad it seems that the author had lived till the cleansing of the ,temple after its pollution by the ,seleucid ,king 7#a ,macc4 iv4 #db-eh74 ,for though the ,maccabean uprising is only called a little help 7xi4 #cd71 this is in comparison with the splendid future triumph and epiphany to which he looked forward4 ,it is sufficiently clear from #a ,macc4 v4 #ae1 #af1 that the ,jews1 even after the early victories of ,judas1 were in evil case1 and that the nominal adhesion of many ,hellenising ,jews to the national cause was merely hypocritical 7,dan4 xi4 #cd74 ,now the ,temple was dedicated on ,december #beth1 ,b4,c4 #afe2 and the ,book appeared before the death of ,antiochus1 which the writer expected to happen at the end of the seventy weeks1 or1 as he calculated them1 in ,june #afd4 ,the king did not actually die till the close of #afd or the beginning of #afc 7#a ,macc4 vi4 #a-af74bac ,,footnotes3 #aid ,jacob ,perez of ,valentia accounted for this by the hatred of the ,jews for ,christianity6 7,diestel1 ,gesch4 d4 ,a4,t41 p4 #baa74 #aie ,comp4 ,luke xxiv4 #dd2 ,acts xxviii4 #bc2 ,philo1 ,de ,vit4 ,cont41 #c4 ,see ,oehler in ,herzog1 s4v4 ,kanon4 #aif ,jos4 c4 ,ap41 ,i4 #h4 #aig ,opp4 ed4 ,migne1 ii4 #abfj3 4 ,he may well add1 on his view of the date1 1 2 #aih ,megilla1 #c1 #a4 ,josephus1 indeed1 regards apocalyptic visions as the highest form of prophecy 7,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #g72 but the great ,rabbis ,kimchi1 ,maimonides1 ,joseph ,albo1 etc41 are strongly against him4 ,see ,behrmann1 p4 xxxix4 #aii ,it has been described as ein ,versteck fr ,belesenheit1 und ein grammatischer ,monstrum4 #bjj ,hengstenberg1 p4 #bji4 #bja ,matt4 xxiv4 #ae2 ,mark xiii4 #ad4 #bjb #a ,cor4 ii4 #i2 ,eph4 v4 #aa4 #bjc ,hengstenberg's reference to #a ,peter i4 #aj-ab1 #a ,thess4 ii4 #c1 #a ,cor4 vi4 #b1 ,heb4 xi4 #ab1 deserve no further notice4 #bjd ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xi4 viii4 #e4 #bje ,there is nothing to surprise us in this circumstance1 for ,ptolemy ,,iii4 7,jos4 c4 ,ap41 ,,ii4 #e7 and ,antiochus ,,vii4 7,sidetes1 ,antt41 ,,xiii4 viii4 #b71 ,marcus ,agrippa 7id41 ,,xvi4 ii4 #a71 and ,vitellius 7id41 ,,xviii4 v4 #c7 are said to have done the same4 ,comp4 ,suet41 ,aug41 #ic2 ,tert41 ,apolog41 #f2 and other passages adduced by ,schrer1 i41 #bd4 #bjf ,jahn1 ,hebr4 ,commonwealth1 #ga2 ,hess1 ,gesch41 ii4 #cg2 ,prideaux1 ,connection1 i4 #edj ff4 #bjg ,dict4 of ,bible1 s4v4 ,jaddua4 ,see ,schrer1 i4 #ahg2 ,van ,dale1 ,dissert4 de ,,lxx4 ,interpr41 #fh ff4 #bjh ,this part of the story is a mere doublet of that about ,cyrus and the prophecies of ,isaiah 7,antt41 ,,xi4 i4 #b74 #bji ,mal4 iii4 #a4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 statim2 but it is rather unawares 7unversehens74 #baj ,that the fourth empire could not be the ,roman has long been seen by many critics1 as far back as ,grotius1 ,l',empereur1 ,chamier1 ,j4 ,voss1 ,bodinus1 ,becmann1 etc4 7,diestel1 ,gesch4 ,a4 ,t41 p4 #ebc74 #baa ,see ,hamburger1 ,real-,encycl41 s4v4 ,geheimlehre1 ii4 #bfe4 ,the ,geheimlehre 7,heb41 ,sithr ,thorah7 embraces a whole region of ,jewish literature1 of which the ,book of ,daniel forms the earliest beginning4 ,see ,dan4 xii4 #d-i4 ,the phrases of ,dan4 vii4 #bb are common in the ,zohar4 #bab ,pltzlich bei ,antiochus ,,iv4 angekommen hrt alle seine ,wissenschaft auf1 so dass wir1 den ,kalendar in den ,hand1 fast den ,tag angeben knnen wo dies oder jenes niedergeschrieben worden ist 7,reuss1 ,gesch4 d4 ,heil4 ,schrift41 #dfd74 #bac ,for arguments in favour of this view see ,cornill1 ,theol4 ,stud4 aus ,ostpreussen1 #ahhi1 pp4 #a-cb1 and ,einleit41 p4 #bfa4 ,he reckons twelve generations1 sixty-nine weeks1 from the destruction of ,jerusalem to the murder of the high priest ,onias ,,iii4 ,,chapter ,x ,,summary ,,and ,,conclusion ,the contents of the previous sections may be briefly summarised4 ,i4 ,the objections to the authenticity and genuineness of ,daniel do not arise1 as is falsely asserted1 from any a-priori objection to admit to the full the reality either of miracles or of genuine prediction4 ,hundreds of critics who have long abandoned the attempt to maintain the early date of ,daniel believe both in miracles and prophecy4 ,,ii4 ,the grounds for regarding the ,book as a pseudepigraph are many and striking4 ,the very ,book which would most stand in need of overwhelming evidence in its favour is the one which furnishes the most decisive arguments against itself1 and has the least external testimony in its support4 ,,iii4 ,the historical errors in which it abounds tell overwhelmingly against it4 ,there was no deportation in the third year of ,jehoiakim2 there was no ,king ,belshazzar2 the ,belshazzar son of ,nabunaid was not a son of ,nebuchadrezzar2 the names ,nebuchadnezzar and ,abed-nego are erroneous in form2 there was no ,darius the ,mede who preceded ,cyrus as king and conqueror of ,babylon1 though there was a later ,darius1 the son of ,hystaspes1 who conquered ,babylon2 the demands and decrees of ,nebuchadrezzar are unlike anything which we find in history1 and show every characteristic of the ,jewish ,haggada2 and the notion that a faithful ,jew could become ,president of the ,chaldean ,magi is impossible4 ,it is not true that there were only two ,babylonian kings--there were five3 nor were there only four ,persian kings--there were twelve4 ,xerxes seems to be confounded alike with ,darius ,hystaspis and ,darius ,codomannus as the last king of ,persia4 ,all correct accounts of the reign1 even of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 seem to end about ,b4,c4 #afd1 and the indications in vii4 #aa-ad1 viii4 #be1 xi4 #dj-de1 do not seem to accord with the historic realities of the time indicated4 ,,iv4 ,the philological peculiarities of the ,book are no less unfavourable to its genuineness4 ,the ,hebrew is pronounced by the majority of experts to be of a later character than the time assumed for it4 ,the ,aramaic is not the ,babylonian ,east-,aramaic1 but the later ,palestinian ,west-,aramaic4 ,the word ,kasdm is used for diviners1 whereas at the period of the ,exile it was a national name4 ,persian words and titles occur in the decrees attributed to ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,at least three ,greek words occur1 of which one is certainly of late origin1 and is known to have been a favourite instrument with ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,v4 ,there are no traces of the existence of the ,book before the second century ,b4,c41#bad although there are abundant traces of the other books--,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 the ,second ,isaiah--which belong to the period of the ,exile4 ,even in ,ecclesiasticus1 while ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 and the twelve ,minor ,prophets are mentioned 7,ecclus4 xlviii4 #bj-be1 xlix4 #f-aj71 not a syllable is said about ,daniel1 and that although the writer erroneously regards prophecy as mainly concerned with prediction4 ,jesus1 son of ,sirach1 even goes out of his way to say that no man like ,joseph had risen since ,joseph's time1 though the story of ,daniel repeatedly recalls that of ,joseph1 and though1 if ,dan4 i4-vi4 had been authentic history1 ,daniel's work was far more marvellous and decisive1 and his faithfulness more striking and continuous1 than that of ,joseph4 ,the earliest trace of the ,book is in an imaginary speech of a book written about ,b4,c4 #ajj 7#a ,macc4 ii4 #ei1 #fj74 ,,vi4 ,the ,book was admitted by the ,jews into the ,canon2 but so far from being placed where1 if genuine1 it would have had a right to stand--among the four ,great ,prophets---it does not even receive a place among the twelve ,minor ,prophets1 such as is accorded to the much shorter and far inferior ,book of ,jonah4 ,it is relegated to the ,kethubm1 side by side with such a book as ,esther4 ,if it originated during the ,babylonian ,exile1 ,josephus might well speak of its undeviating prophetic accuracy4#bae ,yet this absolutely unparalleled and even unapproached foreteller of the minute future is not allowed by the ,jews any place at all in their prophetic ,canon6 ,in the ,,lxx4 it is treated with remarkable freedom1 and a number of other ,haggadoth are made a part of it4 ,it resembles ,old ,testament literature in very few respects1 and all its peculiarities are such as abound in the later apocalypses and ,apochrypha4#baf ,philo1 though he quotes so frequently both from the ,prophets and the ,hagiographa1 does not even allude to the ,book of ,daniel4 ,,vii4 ,its author seems to accept for himself the view of his age that the spirit of genuine prophecy had departed for evermore4#bag ,he speaks of himself as a student of the older prophecies1 and alludes to the ,scriptures as an authoritative ,canon--,hassepharm1 the books4 ,his views and practices as regards three daily prayers towards ,jerusalem 7vi4 #aa72 the importance attached to ,levitical rules about food 7i4 #h-ba72 the expiatory and other value attached to alms and fasting 7iv4 #bd1 ix4 #c1 x4 #c72 the angelology involving even the names1 distinctions1 and rival offices of angels2 the form taken by the ,messianic hope2 the twofold resurrection of good and evil1--are all in close accord with the standpoint of the second century before ,christ as shown distinctly in its literature4#bah ,,viii4 ,when we have been led by decisive arguments to admit the real date of the ,book of ,daniel1 its place among the ,hagiographa confirms all our conclusions4 ,the ,law1 the ,prophets1 and the ,hagiographa represent1 as ,professor ,sanday has pointed out1 three layers or stages in the history of the collection of the ,canon4 ,if the ,book of ,chronicles was not accepted among the ,histories 7which were designated ,the ,former ,prophets71 nor the ,book of ,daniel among the ,greater or ,lesser ,prophets1 the reason was that1 at the date when the ,prophets were formally collected into a division of the ,canon1 these books were not yet in existence1 or at any rate had not been accepted on the same level with the other books4#bai ,,ix4 ,all these circumstances1 and others which have been mentioned1 have come home to earnest1 unprejudiced1 and profoundly learned critics with so irresistible a force1 and the counter-arguments which are adduced are so little valid1 that the defenders of the genuineness are now an ever-dwindling body1 and many of them can only support their basis at all by the hypothesis of interpolations or twofold authorship4 ,thus ,c4 v4 ,orelli#bbj can only accept a modified genuineness1 for which he scarcely offers a single argument2 but even he resorts to the hypothesis of a late editor in the ,maccabean age who put together the traditions and general prophecies of the real ,daniel4 ,he admits that without such a supposition--by which it does not seem that we gain much--the ,book of ,daniel is wholly exceptional1 and without a single analogy in the ,old ,testament4 ,and he clearly sees that all the rays of the ,book are focussed in the struggle against ,antiochus as in their central point1#bba and that the best commentary on the prophetic section of the ,book is the ,first ,book of ,maccabees4#bbb ,x4 ,it may then be said with confidence that the critical view has finally won the day4 ,the human mind will in the end accept that theory which covers the greatest number of facts1 and harmonises best with the sum-total of knowledge4 ,now1 in regard to the ,book of ,daniel1 these conditions appear to be far better satisfied by the supposition that the ,book was written in the second century than in the sixth4 ,the history1 imperfect as to the pseudepigraphic date1 but very precise as it approaches ,b4,c4 #agf-afd1 the late characteristics which mark the language1 the notable silence respecting the ,book from the sixth to the second century1 and its subsequent prominence and the place which it occupies in the ,kethubm1 are arguments which few candid minds can resist4 ,the critics of ,germany1 even the most moderate1 such as ,delitzsch1 ,cornill1 ,riehm1 ,strack1 ,c4 v4 ,orelli1 ,meinhold1 are unanimous as to the late date of1 at any rate1 the prophetic section of the ,book2 and even in the far more conservative criticism of ,england there is no shadow of doubt on the subject left in the minds of such scholars as ,driver1 ,cheyne1 ,sanday1 ,bevan1 and ,robertson ,smith4 ,yet1 so far from detracting from the value of the ,book1 we add to its real value and to its accurate apprehension when we regard it1 not as the work of a prophet in the ,exile1 but of some faithful ,chasd in the days of the ,seleucid tyrant1 anxious to inspire the courage and console the sufferings of his countrymen4 ,thus considered1 the ,book presents some analogy to ,st4 ,augustine's ,city of ,god4 ,it sets forth1 in strong outlines1 and with magnificent originality and faith1 the contrast between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdoms of our ,god and of ,his ,christ1 to which the eternal victory has been foreordained from the foundation of the world4 ,in this respect we must compare it with the ,apocalypse4 ,antiochus ,epiphanes was an anticipated ,nero4 ,and just as the agonies of the ,neronian persecutions wrung from the impassioned spirit of ,st4 ,john the ,divine those visions of glory and that denunciation of doom1 in order that the hearts of ,christians in ,rome and ,asia might be encouraged to the endurance of martyrdom1 and to the certain hope that the irresistible might of their weakness would ultimately shake the world1 so the folly and fury of ,antiochus led the holy and gifted ,jew who wrote the ,book of ,daniel to set forth a similar faith1 partly in ,haggadoth1 which may1 to some extent1 have been drawn from tradition1 and partly in prophecies1 of which the central conception was that which all history teaches us--namely1 that for every false word and unrighteous deed1 for cruelty and oppression1 for lust and vanity1 the price has to be paid at last1 not always by the chief offenders1 but paid by some one4 ,justice and truth alone endure and live4 ,injustice and oppression may be long-lived1 but doomsday comes to them at last4#bbc ,and when that doom has been carried to its ultimate issues1 then begins the ,kingdom of the ,son of ,man1 the reign of ,god's ,anointed1 and the inheritance of the earth by the ,saints of ,god4 ,,footnotes3 #bad ,it is alluded to about ,b4,c4 #adj in the ,sibylline ,oracles 7iii4 #cia-daf71 and in #a ,macc4 ii4 #ei1 #fj4 #bae ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #g4 #baf ,ewald 7,hist4 of ,israel1 v4 #bjh7 thinks that the author had read ,baruch in ,hebrew1 because ,dan4 ix4 #d-ai is an abbreviation of ,baruch i4 #ae-;ii4 #ag4 #bag ,psalm lxxiv4 #i2 #a ,macc4 iv4 #df1 ix4 #bg1 xiv4 #da4 #bah ,see ,cornill1 ,einleit41 pp4 #beg-bfj4 #bai ,sanday1 ,inspiration1 p4 #aja4 ,the name of ,earlier ,prophets was given to the two ,books of ,samuel1 of ,kings1 and of ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 and ,ezekiel2 and the twelve ,minor ,prophets 7the latter regarded as one book7 were called ,the ,later ,prophets4 ,cornill places the collection of the ,prophets into the ,canon about ,b4,c4 #bej4 #bbj ,alttestament4 ,weissagung1 pp4 #eac-ecj 7,vienna1 #ahhb74 #bba ,alle strahlen des ,buches sich in dieser ,epoche als in ihrem ,brennpunkte vereinigen 7,c4 v4 ,orelli1 p4 #ead74 #bbb ,compare the following passages3 ,unclean meats1 #a ,macc4 i4 #fb-fd1 ,many in ,israel were fully resolved not to eat any unclean thing1 etc42 #b ,macc4 vi4 #ah-ca1 vii4 #a-db4 ,the decrees of ,nebuchadrezzar 7,dan4 iii4 #d-f7 and ,darius 7,dan4 vi4 #f-i7 with the proceedings of ,antiochus 7#a ,macc4 i4 #dg-ea74 ,belshazzar's profane use of the ,temple vessels 7,dan4 v4 #b7 with #a ,macc4 i4 #bc2 #b ,macc4 v4 #af1 etc4 #bbc ,froude1 ,short ,studies1 i4 #ag4 ,,part ,,ii ,,commentary ,,on ,,the ,,historic ,,section ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,prelude ,his loyalty he kept1 his faith1 his love4--,,milton4 ,the first chapter of the ,book of ,daniel serves as a beautiful introduction to the whole1 and strikes the keynote of faithfulness to the institutions of ,judaism which of all others seemed most important to the mind of a pious ,hebrew in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,at a time when many were wavering1 and many had lapsed into open apostasy1 the writer wished to set before his countrymen in the most winning and vivid manner the nobleness and the reward of obeying ,god rather than man4 ,he had read in #b ,kings xxiv4 #a1 #b1 that ,jehoiakim had been a vassal of ,nebuchadrezzar for three years1 which were not1 however1 the first three years of his reign1 and then had rebelled1 and been subdued by bands of the ,chaldeans and their allies4 ,in #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #f he read that ,nebuchadrezzar had bound ,jehoiakim in fetters to carry him to ,babylon4#bbd ,combining these two passages1 he seems to have inferred1 in the absence of more accurate historical indications1 that the ,chaldeans had besieged and captured ,jerusalem in the third year of ,jehoiakim4 ,that the date is erroneous there can hardly be a question1 for1 as already stated1#bbe neither ,jeremiah1 the contemporary of ,jehoiakim1 nor the ,book of ,kings1 nor any other authority1 knows anything of any siege of ,jerusalem by the ,babylonian ,king in the third year of ,jehoiakim4 ,the ,chronicler1 a very late writer1 seems to have heard some tradition that ,jehoiakim had been taken captive1 but he does not date this capture2 and in ,jehoiakim's third year the king was a vassal1 not of ,babylon1 but of ,egypt4 ,nabopolassar1 not ,nebuchadrezzar1 was then ,king of ,babylon4 ,it was not till the following year 7,b4,c4 #fje71 when ,nebuchadrezzar1 acting as his father's general1 had defeated ,egypt at the ,battle of ,carchemish1 that any siege of ,jerusalem would have been possible4 ,nor did ,nebuchadrezzar advance against the ,holy ,city even after the ,battle of ,carchemish1 but dashed home across the desert to secure the crown of ,babylon on hearing the news of his father's death4 ,the only two considerable ,babylonian deportations of which we know were apparently in the eighth and nineteenth years of ,nebuchadrezzar's reign4 ,in the former ,jehoiachin was carried captive with ten thousand citizens 7#b ,kings xxiv4 #ad-af2 ,jer4 xxvii4 #bj72 in the latter ,zedekiah was slain1 and eight hundred and thirty-two persons carried to ,babylon 7,jer4 lii4 #bi2 #b ,kings xxv4 #aa74bbf ,there seems then to be1 on the very threshold1 every indication of an historic inaccuracy such as could not have been committed if the historic ,daniel had been the true author of this ,book2 and we are able1 with perfect clearness1 to point to the passages by which the ,maccabean writer was misled into a mistaken inference4#bbg ,to him1 however1 as to all ,jewish writers1 a mere variation in a date would have been regarded as a matter of the utmost insignificance4 ,it in no way concerned the high purpose which he had in view1 or weakened the force of his moral fiction4 ,nor does it in the smallest degree diminish from the instructiveness of the lessons which he has to teach to all men for all time4 ,a fiction which is true to human experience may be as rich in spiritual meaning as a literal history4 ,do we degrade the majesty of the ,book of ,daniel if we regard it as a ,haggada any more than we degrade the story of the ,prodigal ,son when we describe it as a ,parable8 ,the writer proceeds to tell us that1 after the siege1 ,nebuchadrezzar--whom the historic ,daniel could never have called by the erroneous name ,nebuchadnezzar--took ,jehoiakim 7for this seems to be implied71 with some of the sacred vessels of the ,temple 7comp4 v4 #b1 #c71 into the land of ,shinar1#bbh to the house of his god4 ,this god1 as we learn from ,babylonian inscriptions1 was ,bel or ,bel-merodach1 in whose temple1 built by ,nebuchadrezzar1 was also the treasure-house of his kingdom4#bbi ,among the captives were certain of the king's seed1 and of the princes 7,parthemm74#bcj ,they were chosen from among such boys as were pre-eminent for their beauty and intelligence1 and the intention was to train them as pages in the royal service1 and also in such a knowledge of the ,chaldean language and literature as should enable them to take their places in the learned caste of priestly diviners4 ,their home was in the vast palace of the ,babylonian ,king1 of which the ruins are now called ,kasr4 ,here they may have seen the hapless ,jehoiachin still languishing in his long captivity4 ,they are called children1 and the word1 together with the context1 seems to imply that they were boys of the age of from twelve to fourteen4 ,the king personally handed them over to the care of ,ashpenaz1#bca the ,rabsaris1 or master of the eunuchs1 who held the position of lord high chamberlain4#bcb ,it is probably implied that the boys were themselves made eunuchs1 for the incident seems to be based on the rebuke given by ,isaiah to the vain ostentation of ,hezekiah in showing the treasures of his temple and palace to ,merodach-baladan3 ,behold the days come1 that all that is in thine house 444 shall be carried to ,babylon3 nothing shall be left1 saith the ,lord4 ,and of thy sons that shall issue from thee1 which thou shalt beget1 shall they take away2 and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the ,king of ,babylon4#bcc ,they were to be trained in the learning 7lit4 the book7 and language of ,chaldea for three years2 at the end of which period they were to be admitted into the king's presence1 that he might see how they looked and what progress they had made4 ,during those three years he provided them with a daily maintenance of food and wine from his table4 ,those who were thus maintained in ,eastern courts were to be counted by hundreds1 and even by thousands1 and their position was often supremely wretched and degraded1 as it still is in such ,eastern courts4 ,the wine was probably imported4 ,the food consisted of meat1 game1 fish1 joints1 and wheaten bread4 ,the word used for provision is interesting4 ,it is path-bag1 and seems to be a transliteration1 or echo of a ,persian word1 patibaga 7,greek 71 a name applied by the historian ,deinon 7,b4,c4 #cdj7 to barley bread and mixed wine in a golden egg from which the king drinks4#bcd ,but among these captives were four young ,jews named ,daniel1 ,hananiah1 ,mishael1 and ,azariah4 ,their very names were a witness not only to their nationality1 but to their religion4 ,daniel means ,god is my judge2 ,hananiah1 ,jehovah is gracious2 ,mishael 7perhaps71 who is equal to ,god8#bce ,azariah1 ,god is a helper4 ,it is hardly likely that the ,chaldeans would have tolerated the use of such names among their young pupils1 since every repetition of them would have sounded like a challenge to the supremacy of ,bel1 ,merodach1 and ,nebo4 ,it was a common thing to change names in heathen courts1 as the name of ,joseph had been changed by the ,egyptians to ,zaphnathpaaneah 7,gen4 xli4 #de71 and the ,assyrians changed the name of ,psammetichus ,,ii4 into ,nebo-serib-ani1 ,nebo save me4 ,they therefore made the names of the boys echo the names of the ,babylonian deities4 ,instead of ,god is my judge1 ,daniel was called ,belteshazzar1 protect ,thou his life4#bcf ,perhaps the prayer shows the tender regard in which he was held by ,ashpenaz4 ,hananiah was called ,shadrach1 perhaps ,shudur-aku1 command of ,aku1 the moon-deity2 ,mishael was called ,meshach1 a name which we cannot interpret2#bcg and ,azariah1 instead of ,god is a help1 was called ,abed-nego1 a mistaken form for ,abed-nebo1 or servant of ,nebo4#bch ,even in this slight incident there may be an allusion to ,maccabean days4 ,it appears that in that epoch the apostate ,hellenising ,jews were fond of changing their names into ,gentile names1 which had a somewhat similar sound4 ,thus ,joshua was called ,jason1 and ,onias ,menelaus4#bci ,this was done as part of the plan of ,antiochus to force upon ,palestine the ,greek language4 ,so far the writer may have thought the practice a harmless one1 even though imposed by heathen potentates4 ,such certainly was the view of the later ,jews1 even of the strictest sect of the ,pharisees4 ,not only did ,saul freely adopt the name of ,paul1 but ,silas felt no scruple in being called by the name ,sylvanus1 though that was the name of a heathen deity4 ,it was far otherwise with acquiescence in the eating of heathen meats1 which1 in the days of the ,maccabees1 was forced upon many of the ,jews1 and which1 since the institution or reinstitution of ,levitism after the return from the ,exile1 had come to be regarded as a deadly sin4 ,it was during the ,exile that such feelings had acquired fresh intensity4 ,at first they do not seem to have prevailed4 ,jehoiachin was a hero among the ,jews4 ,they remembered him with intense love and pity1 and it does not seem to have been regarded as any stain upon his memory that1 for years together1 he had1 almost in the words of ,dan4 i4 #e1 received a daily allowance from the table of the ,king of ,babylon4#bdj ,in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes the ordinary feeling on this subject was very different1 for the religion and nationality of the ,jews were at stake4 ,hence we read3 ,howbeit many in ,israel were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing4 ,wherefore they chose rather to die1 that they might not be defiled with meats1 that they might not profane the holy covenant3 so then they died4#bda ,and in the ,second ,book of ,maccabees we are told that on the king's birthday ,jews were constrained by bitter constraint to eat of the sacrifices1 and that ,eleazar1 one of the principal scribes1 an aged and noble-looking man1 preferred rather to be tortured to death1 leaving his death for an example of noble courage1 and a memorial of value1 not only unto young men1 but unto all his nation4#bdb ,in the following chapter is the celebrated story of the constancy and cruel death of seven brethren and their mother1 when they preferred martyrdom to tasting swine's flesh4 ,the brave ,judas ,maccabus1 with some nine companions1 withdrew himself into the wilderness1 and lived in the mountains after the manner of beasts with his company1 who fed on herbs continually1 lest they should be partakers of the pollution4 ,the tone and object of these narratives are precisely the same as the tone and object of the stories in the ,book of ,daniel2 and we can well imagine how the heroism of resistance would be encouraged in every ,jew who read those narratives or traditions of former days of persecution and difficulty4 ,this ,book1 says ,ewald1 fell like a glowing spark from a clear heaven upon a surface which was already intensely heated far and wide1 and waiting to burst into flames4#bdc ,it may be doubtful whether such views as to ceremonial defilement were already developed at the beginning of the ,babylonian ,captivity4#bdd ,the ,maccabean persecution left them ingrained in the habits of the people1 and ,josephus tells us a contemporary story which reminds us of that of ,daniel and his companions4 ,he says that certain priests1 who were friends of his own1 had been imprisoned in ,rome1 and that he endeavoured to procure their release1 especially because ,i was informed that they were not unmindful of piety towards ,god1 but supported themselves with figs and nuts1 because in such eating of dry food 71 as it was called7 there was no chance of heathen defilement4#bde ,it need hardly be added that when the time came to break down the partition-wall which separated ,jewish particularism from the universal brotherhood of mankind redeemed in ,christ1 the ,apostles--especially ,st4 ,paul--had to show the meaningless nature of many distinctions to which the ,jews attached consummate importance4 ,the ,talmud abounds in stories intended to glorify the resoluteness with which the ,jews maintained their stereotyped ,levitism2 but ,christ taught1 to the astonishment of the ,pharisees and even of the disciples1 that it is not what entereth into a man which makes him unclean1 but the unclean thoughts which come from within1 from the heart4#bdf ,and this ,he said1 --i4e41 abolishing thereby the ,levitic ,law1 and making all meats clean4 ,yet1 even after this1 it required nothing less than that ,divine vision on the tanner's roof at ,joppa to convince ,peter that he was not to call common what ,god had cleansed1#bdg and it required all the keen insight and fearless energy of ,st4 ,paul to prevent the ,jews from keeping an intolerable yoke upon their own necks1 and also laying it upon the necks of the ,gentiles4#bdh ,the four princely boys--they may have been from twelve to fourteen years old#bdi--;determined not to share in the royal dainties1 and begged the ,sar-hassarsm to allow them to live on pulse and water1 rather than on the luxuries in which--for them--lurked a heathen pollution4 ,the eunuch not unnaturally demurred4 ,the daily rations were provided from the royal table4 ,he was responsible to the king for the beauty and health1 as well as for the training1 of his young scholars2 and if ,nebuchadrezzar saw them looking more meagre or haggard#bej than the rest of the captives and other pages1 the chamberlain's head might pay the forfeit4#bea ,but ,daniel1 like ,joseph in ,egypt1 had inspired affection among his captors2 and since the prince of the eunuchs regarded him with favour and tender love1 he was the more willing to grant1 or at least to connive at1 the fulfilment of the boy's wish4 ,so ,daniel gained over the ,melzar 7or steward871#beb who was in immediate charge of the boys1 and begged him to try the experiment for ten days4 ,if at the end of that time their health or beauty had suffered1 the question might be reconsidered4 ,so for ten days the four faithful children were fed on water1 and on the seeds--i4e41 vegetables1 dates1 raisins1 and other fruits1 which are here generally called pulse4#bec ,at the end of the ten days--a sort of mystic ,persian week#bed--they were found to be fairer and fresher than all the other captives of the palace4#bee ,thenceforth they were allowed without hindrance to keep the customs of their country4 ,nor was this all4 ,during the three probationary years they continued to flourish intellectually as well as physically4 ,they attained to conspicuous excellence in all kinds of books and wisdom1 and ,daniel also had understanding in all kinds of dreams and visions1 to which the ,chaldeans attached supreme importance4#bef ,the ,jews exulted in these pictures of four youths of their own race who1 though they were strangers in a strange land1 excelled all their alien compeers in their own chosen fields of learning4 ,there were already two such pictures in ,jewish history1--that of the youthful ,moses1 learned in all the wisdom of the ,egyptians1 and a great man and a prince among the magicians of ,pharaoh2 and that of ,joseph1 who1 though there were so many ,egyptian diviners1 alone could interpret dreams1 whether in the dungeon or at the foot of the throne4 ,a third picture1 that of ,daniel at the court of ,babylon1 is now added to them1 and in all three cases the glory is given directly1 not to them1 but to the ,god of heaven1 the ,god of their fathers4 ,at the close of the three years the prince of the eunuchs brought all his young pages into the presence of the ,king ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,he tested them by familiar conversation1#beg and found the four ,jewish lads superior to all the rest4 ,they were therefore chosen to stand before the king--in other words1 to become his personal attendants4 ,as this gave free access to his presence1 it involved a position not only of high honour1 but of great influence4 ,and their superiority stood the test of time4 ,whenever the king consulted them on matters which required wisdom of understanding1 he found them not only better1 but ten times better1 than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm4#beh ,the last verse of the chapter1 ,and ,daniel continued even unto the first year of ,king ,cyrus1 is perhaps a later gloss1 for it appears from x4 #a that ,daniel lived1 at any rate1 till the third year of ,cyrus4 ,abn ,ezra adds the words continued in ,babylon1 and ,ewald at the king's court4 ,some interpret continued to mean remained alive4 ,the reason for mentioning the first year of ,cyrus may be to show that ,daniel survived the return from the ,exile1#bei and also to mark the fact that he attained a great age4 ,for if he were about fourteen at the beginning of the narrative1 he would be eighty-five in the first year of ,cyrus4 ,dr4 ,pusey remarks3 ,simple words1 but what a volume of tried faithfulness is unrolled by them6 ,amid all the intrigues indigenous at all times in dynasties of ,oriental despotism1 amid all the envy towards a foreign captive in high office as a king's councillor1 amid all the trouble incidental to the insanity of the king and the murder of two of his successors1 in that whole critical period for his people1 ,daniel continued4#bfj ,the domestic anecdote of this chapter1 like the other more splendid narratives which succeed it1 has a value far beyond the circumstances in which it may have originated4 ,it is a beautiful moral illustration of the blessings which attend on faithfulness and on temperance1 and whether it be an ,haggada or an historic tradition1 it equally enshrines the same noble lesson as that which was taught to all time by the early stories of the ,books of ,genesis and ,exodus4#bfa ,it teaches the crown and blessing of faithfulness4 ,it was the highest glory of ,israel to uplift among the nations the banner of righteousness4 ,it matters not that1 in this particular instance1 the ,jewish boys were contending for a mere ceremonial rule which in itself was immaterial1 or at any rate of no eternal significance4 ,suffice it that this rule presented itself to them in the guise of a principle and of a sacred duty1 exactly as it did to ,eleazar the ,scribe1 and ,judas the ,maccabee1 and the ,mother and her seven strong sons in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,they regarded it as a duty to their laws1 to their country1 to their ,god2 and therefore upon them it was sacredly incumbent4 ,and they were faithful to it4 ,among the pampered minions and menials of the vast ,babylonian palace--undazzled by the glitter of earthly magnificence1 untempted by the allurements of pomp1 pleasure1 and sensuous indulgence-- ,amid innumerable false1 unmoved1 ,unshaken1 unseduced1 unterrified1 ,their loyalty they kept1 their faith1 their love4 ,and because ,god loves them for their constancy1 because they remain pure and true1 all the ,babylonian varletry around them learns the lesson of simplicity1 the beauty of holiness4 ,amid the outpourings of the ,divine favour they flourish1 and are advanced to the highest honours4 ,this is one great lesson which dominates the historic section of this ,book3 ,them that honour ,me ,i will honour1 and they that despise ,me shall be lightly esteemed4 ,it is the lesson of ,joseph's superiority to the glamour of temptation in the house of ,potiphar2 of the choice of ,moses1 preferring to suffer affliction with the people of ,god rather than all the treasures of ,egypt and to be called the son of ,pharaoh's daughter2 of ,samuel's stainless innocence beside the corrupting example of ,eli's sons2 of ,david's strong1 pure1 ruddy boyhood as a shepherd-lad on ,bethlehem's hills4 ,it is the anticipated story of that yet holier childhood of ,him who--subject to ,his parents in the sweet vale of ,nazareth--blossomed like the flower of roses in the spring of the year1 and as lilies by the water-courses4 ,the young human being who grows up in innocence and self-control grows up also in grace and beauty1 in wisdom and in favour with ,god and man4 ,the ,jews specially delighted in these pictures of boyish continence and piety1 and they lay at the basis of all that was greatest in their national character4 ,but there also lay incidentally in the story a warning against corrupting luxury1 the lesson of the need for1 and the healthfulness of1 ,the rule of not too much by temperance taught4 ,the love of sumptuous food and delicious drinks is never good1 says ,ewald1 and with the use of the most temperate diet body and soul can flourish most admirably1 as experience had at that time sufficiently taught4 ,to the value of this lesson the ,nazarites among the ,jews were a perpetual witness4 ,jeremiah seems to single them out for the special beauty which resulted from their youthful abstinence when he writes of ,jerusalem1 ,her ,nazarites were purer than snow1 they were whiter than milk1 they were more ruddy in body than rubies1 their polishing was of sapphires4#bfb ,it is the lesson which ,milton reads in the story of ,samson1-- ,o madness6 to think use of strongest wines ,and strongest drinks our chief support of health1 ,when ,god1 with these forbidden1 made choice to rear ,his mighty champion1 strong above compare1 ,whose drink was only from the liquid brook6 ,it is the lesson which ,shakespeare inculcates when he makes the old man say in ,as ,you ,like ,it1-- ,when ,i was young ,i never did apply ,hot and rebellious liquors in my blood1 ,nor did not with unblushful forehead woo ,the means of weakness and debility2 ,therefore mine age is as a lusty winter1 ,frosty1 yet kindly4 ,the writer of this ,book connects intellectual advance as well as physical strength with this abstinence1 and here he is supported even by ancient and pagan experience4 ,something of this kind may perhaps lurk in the of ,pindar2 and certainly ,horace saw that gluttony and repletion are foes to insight when he wrote1-- ,nam corpus onustum ,hesternis vitiis animum quoque prgravat una1 ,atque affigit humo divin particulam aur4#bfc ,pythagoras was not the only ancient philosopher who recommended and practised a vegetable diet1 and even ,epicurus1 whom so many regard as ,the soft garden's rose-encircled child1 placed over his garden door the inscription that those who came would only be regaled on barley-cakes and fresh water1 to satisfy1 but not to allure1 the appetite4 ,but the grand lesson of the picture is meant to be that the fair ,jewish boys were kept safe in the midst of every temptation to self-indulgence1 because they lived as in ,god's sight3 and he that holds himself in reverence and due esteem for the dignity of ,god's image upon him1 accounts himself both a fit person to do the noblest and godliest deeds1 and much better worth than to deject and defile1 with such debasement and pollution as ,sin is1 himself so highly ransomed and ennobled to a new friendship and filial relation with ,god4#bfd ,,footnotes3 #bbd ,comp4 ,jer4 xxii4 #ah1 #ai1 xxxvi4 #cj4 #bbe ,see supra1 p4 #de4 #bbf ,jeremiah 7lii4 #bh-cj7 mentions three deportations1 in the seventh1 eighteenth1 and twenty-third year of ,nebuchadrezzar2 but there are great difficulties about the historic verification1 and the paragraph 7which is of doubtful genuineness7 is omitted by the ,,lxx4 #bbg ,the manner in which the maintainers of the genuineness get over this difficulty is surely an instance of such special pleading as can convince no unbiassed inquirer4 ,they conjecture 7#a7 that ,nebuchadrezzar had been associated with his father1 and received the title of king before he really became king2 7#b7 that by came to ,jerusalem and besieged it is meant set out towards ,jerusalem1 so that 7ultimately7 he besieged it2 7#c7 and that a vague and undated allusion in the ,book of ,chronicles1 and a vague1 unsupported1 and evidently erroneous assertion in ,berossus--quoted by ,josephus1 ,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #a2 c4 ,ap41 ,i4 #ai1 who lived some two and a half centuries after these events1 and who does not mention any siege of ,jerusalem--can be so interpreted as to outweigh the fact that neither contemporary histories nor contemporary records know anything of this supposed deportation4 ,jeremiah 7xxv4 #a7 says correctly that the fourth year of ,jehoiakim was the first year of ,nebuchadrezzar2 and had ,jerusalem been already captured and plundered1 it is impossible that he should not have alluded to the fact in that chapter4 ,an older subterfuge for explaining the error is that of ,saadia the ,gaon1 ,abn ,ezra1 ,rashi1 etc41 who interpret the third year of ,jehoiakim to mean the third year after his rebellion from ,nebuchadrezzar1 which is not only impossible in itself1 but also contradicts ,dan4 ii4 #a4 #bbh ,shinar is an archaism1 supposed by ,schrader to be a corruption of ,sumir1 or ,northern ,chaldea 7,keilinschr41 p4 #cd72 but see ,hommel1 ,gesch4 ,bab4 u4 ,assyr41 #bbj2 ,f4 ,delitzsch1 ,assyr4 ,gram41 #aae4 ,the more common name in the exilic period was ,babel 7,jer4 li4 #i1 etc47 or ,eretz ,kasdim 7,ezek4 xii4 #ac74 #bbi ,on this god--,marduk or ,maruduk 7,jer4 l4 #b7--;comp4 #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #g4 ,see ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 pp4 #bgc1 #bgf2 and ,riehm1 ,handwrterb41 ii4 #ihb4 #bcj ,this seems to be a ,persian word1 fratama1 first4 ,it is only found in ,esther4 ,josephus says that the four boys were connected with ,zedekiah 7,antt41 ,x4 x4 #a74 ,comp4 ,jer4 xli4 #a4 #bca ,dan4 i4 #c2 ,,lxx41 4 ,the name is of quite uncertain derivation4 ,lenormant connects it with ,abai-,istar1 astronomer of the goddess ,istar 7,la ,divination1 p4 #ahb74 ,hitzig sees in this strange rendering ,abiesdri the meaning eunuch4 ,a eunuch could have no son to help him1 so that his father is his help 7'ezer74 ,ephrm ,syrus1 in his ,commentary1 preserves both names 7,schleusner1 ,thesaurus1 s4v4 74 ,we find the name ,ashkenaz in ,gen4 x4 #c4 ,theodot4 has 4 ,among other guesses ,lenormant makes ,ashpenaz ,assa-ibni-zir4 ,dr4 ,joel 7,notizen zum ,buche ,daniel1 p4 #ag7 says that since the ,vulgate reads ,abriesri1 ob nicht der ,wort von rechts zu links gelesen msste8 #bcb ,called in i4 #g-aa the ,sar-hassarsm 7comp4 ,jer4 xxxix4 #c2 ,gen4 xxxvii4 #cf1 marg42 #b ,kings xviii4 #ag2 ,esther ii4 #c74 ,this officer now bears the title of ,gyzlar ,agha4 #bcc ,isa4 xxxix4 #f1 #g4 #bcd ,athen41 ,deipnos1 xi4 #ehc4 ,see ,bevan1 p4 #fj2 ,max ,mller in ,pusey1 p4 #efe4 ,how ,professor ,fuller can urge the presence of these ,persian words in proof of the genuineness of ,daniel 7,speaker's ,commentary1 p4 #bej7 ,i cannot understand4 ,for ,daniel does not seem to have survived beyond the third year of the ,persian dominion1 and it is extremely difficult to suppose that all these ,persian words1 including titles of ,nebuchadrezzar's officials1 were already current among the ,babylonians4 ,on the other hand1 ,babylonian words seem to be rare1 though ,daniel is represented as living nearly the whole of a long life in ,babylon4 ,there is no validity in the argument that these words could not have been known in the days of the ,maccabees1 for half of them are common in ,syria1 though the oldest extant ,syriac writers are later by three centuries than the time of the ,maccabees 7,bevan1 p4 #da74 #bce ,the name ,daniel occurs among ,ezra's contemporaries in ,ezra viii4 #b2 ,neh4 x4 #g1 and the other names in ,neh4 viii4 #d1 x4 #c1 #bd2 #a ,esdras ix4 #dd4 #bcf ,balatsu-utsur4 ,the name in this form had nothing to do with ,bel1 as the writer of ,daniel seems to have supposed 7,dan4 iv4 #e71 nor yet with ,beltis1 the wife of ,bel4 ,see supra1 p4 #dg4 ,comp4 the names ,nabusarutsur1 ,sinsarutsur1 ,assursarutsur4 ,also comp4 ,inscr4 ,semit41 ii4 #ch1 etc4 ,pseudo-,epiphanius says that ,nebuchadrezzar meant ,daniel to be co-heir with his son ,belshazzar4 #bcg ,f4 ,delitzsch calls ,meshach vox hybrida4 ,neither ,shadrach nor ,meshach occurs on the monuments4 ,that the imposition of names is a symbol of mastership over slaves is plain 7,s4 ,chrys41 ,opp41 iii4 #ba2 ,pusey1 p4 #af74 ,comp4 #b ,kings xxiii4 #cd 7,egyptians72 xxiv4 #ag 7,babylonians72 ,ezra v4 #ad1 ,esther ii4 #g 7,persians74 #bch ,comp4 ,obadiah1 ,abdiel1 ,abdallah1 etc4 ,schrader says1 p4 #dbi3 ,the supposition that ,nebo was altered to ,nego1 out of a contumelious desire 7which ,jews often displayed7 to alter1 avoid1 and insult the names of idols1 is out of place1 since the other names are not altered4 #bci ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 v4 #a2 ,derenbourg1 ,palestine1 p4 #cd2 ,ewald1 ,hist41 v4 #bid 7,e4 ,tr472 ,munk1 ,palestine1 p4 #die1 etc4 #bdj ,see ,ewald1 ,gesch4 ,isr41 vi4 #fed4 ,they shall eat unclean things in ,assyria 7,hosea ix4 #c74 ,the children of ,israel shall eat their defiled bread among the ,gentiles 7,ezek4 iv4 #ac1 #ad74 #bda #a ,macc4 i4 #fb1 #fc4 #bdb #b ,macc4 vi4 #ah-ca4 ,comp4 the ,,lxx4 addition to ,esther iv4 #ad1 v4 #d1 where she is made to plead before ,god that she had not tasted of the table of ,haman or of the king's banquet4 ,so ,judith takes clean bread with her into the camp of ,holofernes 7,judith x4 #e71 and ,judas and his followers live on herbs in the desert 7#b ,macc4 v4 #bg74 ,the ,mishnah even forbids to take the bread1 oil1 or milk of the heathen4 #bdc ,prophets of the ,o4 ,t41 p4 #ahd 7,e4 ,tr474 #bdd ,mr4 ,bevan says that the verb for defile 771 as a ritual term for the idea of ceremonial uncleanness1 is post-exilic2 the ,pentateuch and ,ezekiel used 7,comment41 p4 #fa74 ,the idea intended is that the three boys avoided meat which might have been killed with the blood and offered to idols1 and therefore was not ,kashar 7,exod4 xxxiv4 #ae74 #bde ,jos41 ,vit41 iii4 ,comp4 ,isa4 lii4 #aa4 #bdf ,mark vii4 #ai 7according to the true reading and translation74 #bdg ,acts x4 #ad4 #bdh #a ,cor4 xi4 #be4 ,this rigorism was specially valued by the ,essenes and ,therapeut4 ,see ,derenbourg1 ,palestine1 note1 vi4 #bdi ,plato1 ,alcib41 i4 #cg2 ,xen41 ,cyrop41 i4 #b4 ,youths entered the king's service at the age of seventeen4 #bej ,lit4 sadder4 ,,lxx41 4 #bea ,,lxx41 4 #beb ,perhaps the ,assyrian matstsara1 guardian 7,delitzsch74 ,there are various other guesses 7,behrmann1 p4 #e74 #bec ,heb41 2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 legumina4 ,abn ,ezra took the word to mean rice4 ,comp4 ,deut4 xii4 #ae1 #af2 #a ,sam4 xvii4 #ag1 #ah4 ,comp4 ,josephus 7,vit41 iii471 who tells us how the ,jewish priests1 prisoners in ,rome1 fed on 4 #bed ,ewald1 ,antiquities1 p4 #aca f4 #bee ,pusey 7p4 #ag7 quotes from ,chardin's notes in ,harmer 7,obs41 lix473 ,i have remarked that the countenance of the ,kechicks 7monks7 are1 in fact1 more rosy and smooth than those of others1 and that those who fast much are1 notwithstanding1 very beautiful1 sparkling with health1 with a clear and lively countenance4 #bef ,the ,chartummm are like the ,egyptian 4 ,it is difficult to conceive that there was less chance of pollution in being elaborately trained in heathen magic and dream-interpretation than in eating ,babylonian food4 ,but this was1 so to speak1 extra fabulam4 ,it did not enter into the writer's scheme of moral edification4 ,if1 however1 the story is meant to imply that these youths accepted the heathen training1 though 7as we know from tablets and inscriptions7 the incantations1 etc41 in which it abounded were intimately connected with idolatry1 and were entirely unharmed by it1 this may indicate that the writer did not disapprove of the ,greek training which ,antiochus tried to introduce1 so far as it merely involved an acquaintance with ,greek learning and literature4 ,this is the view of ,grtz4 ,if so1 the writer belonged to the more liberal ,jewish school which did not object to a study of the ,chokmath ,javanth1 or ,wisdom of ,javan 7,derenbourg1 ,palestine1 p4 #cfa74 #beg ,,lxx41 ' 4 ,considering the normal degradation of pages at ,oriental courts1 of which ,rycaut 7referred to by ,pusey1 p4 #ah7 gives a horrible account1 their escape from the corruption around them was a blessed reward of their faithfulness4 ,they may now have been seventeen1 the age for entering the king's service 7,xen41 ,cyrop41 ,i4 ii4 #h74 ,on the ordinary curse of the rule of eunuchs at ,eastern courts see an interesting note in ,pusey1 p4 #ba4 #beh ,on the names see ,gesenius1 ,isaiah1 ii4 #cee4 #bei ,alluded to in ix4 #be4 #bfj ,daniel1 pp4 #bj1 #ba4 #bfa ,comp4 ,gen4 xxxix4 #ba2 #a ,kings viii4 #ej2 ,neh4 i4 #a2 ,psalm cvi4 #df4 #bfb ,lam4 iv4 #g4 #bfc ,hor41 ,sat41 ,,ii4 ii4 #gg4 #bfd ,milton1 ,reason of ,church ,government4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,dream-,,image ,,of ,,ruined ,,empires ,with thee will ,i break in pieces rulers and captains4--,,jer4 li4 #bc4 ,the ,book of ,daniel is constructed with consummate skill to teach the mighty lessons which it was designed to bring home to the minds of its readers1 not only in the age of its first appearance1 but for ever4 ,it is a book which1 so far from being regarded as unworthy of its place in the ,canon by those who cannot accept it as either genuine or authentic1 is valued by many such critics as a very noble work of inspired genius1 from which all the difficulties are removed when it is considered in the light of its true date and origin4 ,this second chapter belongs to all time4 ,all that might be looked upon as involving harshnesses1 difficulties1 and glaring impossibilities1 if it were meant for literal history and prediction1 vanishes when we contemplate it in its real perspective as a lofty specimen of imaginative fiction1 used1 like the parables of our ,blessed ,lord1 as the vehicle for the deepest truths4 ,we shall see how the imagery of the chapter produced a deep impress on the imagination of the holiest thinkers--how magnificent a use is made of it fifteen centuries later by the great poet of medival ,catholicism4#bfe ,it contains the germs of the only philosophy of history which has stood the test of time4 ,it symbolises that ultimate conviction of the ,psalmist that ,god is the ,governor among the nations4 ,no other conviction can suffice to give us consolation amid the perplexity which surrounds the passing phases of the destinies of empires4 ,the first chapter serves as a keynote of soft1 simple1 and delightful music by way of overture4 ,it calms us for the contemplation of the awful and tumultuous scenes that are now in succession to be brought before us4 ,the model which the writer has had in view in this ,haggadah is the forty-first chapter of the ,book of ,genesis4 ,in both chapters we have magnificent heathen potentates--,pharaoh of ,egypt1 and ,nebuchadrezzar of ,babylon4 ,in both chapters the kings dream dreams by which they are profoundly troubled4 ,in both1 their spirits are saddened4 ,in both1 they send for all the ,chakamm and all the ,chartummm of their kingdoms to interpret the dreams4 ,in both1 these professional magicians prove themselves entirely incompetent to furnish the interpretation4 ,in both1 the failure of the heathen oneirologists is emphasised by the immediate success of a ,jewish captive4 ,in both1 the captives are described as young1 gifted1 and beautiful4 ,in both1 the interpretation of the king's dream is rewarded by the elevation to princely civil honours4 ,in both1 the immediate elevation to ruling position is followed by life-long faithfulness and prosperity4 ,when we add that there are even close verbal resemblances between the chapters1 it is difficult not to believe that the one has been influenced by the other4 ,the dream is placed in the second year of the reign of ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,the date is surprising2 for the first chapter has made ,nebuchadrezzar a king of ,babylon after the siege of ,jerusalem in the third year of ,jehoiakim2 and setting aside the historic impossibilities involved in that date1 this scene would then fall in the second year of the probation of ,daniel and his companions1 and at a time when ,daniel could only have been a boy of fifteen4#bff ,the apologists get over the difficulty with the ease which suffices superficial readers who are already convinced4 ,thus ,rashi says the second year of ,nebuchadnezzar1 meaning the second year after the destruction of the ,temple1 i4e41 his twentieth year6 ,josephus1 no less arbitrarily1 makes it mean the second year after the devastation of ,egypt4#bfg ,by such devices anything may stand for anything4 ,hengstenberg and his school1 after having made ,nebuchadrezzar a king1 conjointly with his father--a fact of which history knows nothing1 and indeed seems to exclude--say that the second year of his reign does not mean the second year after he became king1 but the second year of his independent rule after the death of ,nabopolassar4 ,this style of interpretation is very familiar among harmonists1 and it makes the interpretation of ,scripture perpetually dependent on pure fancy4 ,it is perhaps sufficient to say that ,jewish writers1 in works meant for spiritual teaching1 troubled themselves extremely little with minuti of this kind4 ,like the ,greek dramatists1 they were unconcerned with details1 to which they attached no importance1 which they regarded as lying outside the immediate purpose of their narrative4 ,but if any explanation be needful1 the simplest way is1 with ,ewald1 ,herzfeld1 and ,lenormant1 to make a slight alteration in the text1 and to read in the twelfth instead of in the second year of the reign of ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,there was nothing strange in the notion that ,god should have vouchsafed a prophetic dream to a heathen potentate4 ,such instances had already been recorded in the case of ,pharaoh 7,gen4 xli471 as well as of his chief courtiers 7,gen4 xl472 and in the case of ,abimelech 7,gen4 xx4 #e-g74 ,it was also a ,jewish tradition that it was in consequence of a dream that ,pharaoh ,necho had sent a warning to ,josiah not to advance against him to the ,battle of ,megiddo4#bfh ,such dreams are recorded in the cuneiform inscriptions as having occurred to ,assyrian monarchs4 ,ishtar1 the goddess of battles1 had appeared to ,assur-bani-pal1 and promised him safety in his war against ,teumman1 ,king of ,elam2 and the dream of a seer had admonished him to take severe steps against his rebel brother1 the ,viceroy of ,babylon4 ,gyges1 ,king of ,lydia1 had been warned in a dream to make alliance with ,assur-bani-pal4 ,in ,egypt ,amn-meri-hout had been warned by a dream to unite ,egypt against the ,assyrians4#bfi ,similarly in ,persian history ,afrasiab has an ominous dream1 and summons all the astrologers to interpret it2 and some of them bid him pay no attention to it4#bgj ,xerxes 7,herod41 iii4 #ai7 and ,astyages 7,herod41 i4 #ajh7 have dreams indicative of future prosperity or adversity4 ,the fundamental conception of the chapter was therefore in accordance with history#bga--though to say1 with the ,speaker's ,commentary1 that these parallels endorse the authenticity of the ,biblical narratives1 is either to use inaccurate terms1 or to lay the unhallowed fire of false argument on the sacred altar of truth4 ,it is impossible to think without a sigh of the vast amount which would have to be extracted from so-called orthodox commentaries1 if such passages were rigidly reprobated as a dishonour to the cause of ,god4 ,nebuchadrezzar then--in the second or twelfth year of his reign--dreamed a dream1 by which 7as in the case of ,pharaoh7 his spirit was troubled and his sleep interrupted4#bgb ,his state of mind on waking is a psychological condition with which we are all familiar4 ,we awake in a tremor4 ,we have seen something which disquieted us1 but we cannot recall what it was2 we have had a frightful dream1 but we can only remember the terrifying impression which it has left upon our minds4 ,pharaoh1 in the story of ,joseph1 remembered his dreams1 and only asked the professors of necromancy to furnish him with its interpretation4 ,but ,nebuchadrezzar is here represented as a rasher and fiercer despot1 not without a side-glance at the raging folly and tyranny of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,he has at his command an army of priestly prognosticators1 whose main function it is to interpret the various omens of the future4 ,of what use were they1 if they could not be relied upon in so serious an exigency8 ,were they to be maintained in opulence and dignity all their lives1 only to fail him at a crisis8 ,it was true that he had forgotten the dream1 but it was obviously one of supreme importance2 it was obviously an intimation from the gods3 was it not clearly their duty to say what it meant8 ,so ,nebuchadrezzar summoned together the whole class of ,babylonian augurs in all their varieties--the ,chartummm1 magicians1 or book-learned2#bgc the ,ashshaphm1 enchanters2#bgd the ,mekashaphm1 sorcerers2#bge and the ,kasdm1 to which the writer gives the long later sense of dream-interpreters1 which had become prevalent in his own day4#bgf ,in later verses he adds two further sections of the students--the ,khakhamm1 wise men1 and the ,gazerm1 or soothsayers4 ,attempts have often been made1 and most recently by ,lenormant1 to distinguish accurately between these classes of magi1 but the attempts evaporate for the most part into shadowy etymologies4#bgg ,it seems to have been a literary habit with the author to amass a number of names and titles together4#bgh ,it is a part of the stateliness and leisureliness of style which he adopts1 and he gives no indication of any sense of difference between the classes which he enumerates1 either here or when he describes various ranks of ,babylonian officials4 ,when they were assembled before him1 the king informed them that he had dreamed an important dream1 but that it produced such agitation of spirit as had caused him to forget its import4#bgi ,he plainly expected them to supply the failure of his memory1 for a dream not interpreted1 say the ,rabbis1 is like a letter not read4#bhj ,then spake the ,chaldeans to the king1 and their answer follows in ,aramaic 7,aramth71 a language which continues to be used till the end of chap4 vii4 ,the ,western ,aramaic1 however1 here employed could not have been the language in which they spoke1 but their native ,babylonian1 a ,semitic dialect more akin to ,eastern ,aramaic4 ,the word ,aramth here1 as in ,ezra iv4 #g1 is probably a gloss or marginal note1 to point out the sudden change in the language of the ,book4 ,with the courtly phrase1 ,o king1 live for ever1 they promised to tell the king the interpretation1 if he would tell them the dream4 ,that ,i cannot do1 said the king1 for it is gone from me4 ,nevertheless1 if you do not tell me both the dream and its interpretation1 you shall be hacked limb by limb1 and your houses shall be made a dunghill4#bha ,the language was that of brutal despotism such as had been customary for centuries among the ferocious tyrants of ,assyria4 ,the punishment of dismemberment1 dichotomy1 or death by mutilation was common among them1 and had constantly been depicted on their monuments4 ,it was doubtless known to the ,babylonians also1 being familiar to the apathetic cruelty of the ,east4 ,similarly the turning of the houses of criminals into draught-houses was a vengeance practised among other nations4#bhb ,on the other hand1 if the ,chaldeans arose to the occasion1 the king would give them rewards and great honours4 ,it is curious to observe that the ,septuagint translators1 with ,antiochus in their mind1 render the verse in a form which would more directly remind their readers of ,seleucid methods4 ,if you fail1 they make the king say1 you shall be made an example1 and your goods shall be forfeited to the crown4#bhc ,with nervous servility the magi answer to the king's extravagantly unreasonable demand1 that he must tell them the dream before they can tell him the interpretation4 ,ewald is probably not far wrong in thinking that a subtle element of irony and humour underlies this scene4 ,it was partly intended as a satirical reflection on the mad vagaries of ,epiphanes4 ,for the king at once breaks out into fury1 and tells them that they only want to gain 7lit4 buy7 time2#bhd but that this should not avail them4 ,the dream had evidently been of crucial significance and extreme urgency2 something important1 and perhaps even dreadful1 must be in the air4 ,the very raison d'tre of these thaumaturgists and stargazers was to read the omens of the future4 ,if the stars told of any human events1 they could not fail to indicate something about the vast trouble which overshadowed the monarch's dream1 even though he had forgotten its details4 ,the king gave them to understand that he looked on them as a herd of impostors2 that their plea for delay was due to mere tergiversation2#bhe and that1 in spite of the lying and corrupt words which they had prepared in order to gain respite till the time be changed#bhf--that is1 until they were saved by some lucky day or change of fortune#bhg--there was but one sentence for them1 which could only be averted by their vindicating their own immense pretensions1 and telling him his dream4 ,the ,chaldeans naturally answered that the king's request was impossible4 ,the adoption of the ,aramaic at this point may be partly due to the desire for local colouring4#bhh ,no king or ruler in the world had ever imposed such a test on any ,kartum or ,ashshaph in the world4#bhi ,no living man could possibly achieve anything so difficult4 ,there were some gods whose dwelling is with flesh2 they tenant the souls of their servants4 ,but it is not in the power of these genii to reveal what the king demands2 they are limited by the weakness of the souls which they inhabit4#bij ,it can only be done by those highest divinities whose dwelling is not with flesh1 but who haunt ,the lucid interspace of world and world1 and are too far above mankind to mingle with their thoughts4#bia ,thereupon the unreasonable king was angry and very furious1 and the decree went forth that the magi were to be slain en masse4 ,how it was that ,daniel and his companions were not summoned to help the king1 although they had been already declared to be ten times wiser than all the rest of the astrologers and magicians put together1 is a feature in the story with which the writer does not trouble himself1 because it in no way concerned his main purpose4 ,now1 however1 since they were prominent members of the magian guild1 they are doomed to death among their fellows4 ,thereupon ,daniel sought an interview with ,arioch1 the chief of the bodyguard1#bib and asked with gentle prudence why the decree was so harshly urgent4 ,by ,arioch's intervention he gained an interview with ,nebuchadrezzar1 and promised to tell him the dream and its interpretation1 if only the king would grant him a little time--perhaps but a single night4#bic ,the delay was conceded1 and ,daniel went to his three companions1 and urged then to join in prayer that ,god would make known the secret to them and spare their lives4 ,christ tells us that if two shall agree on earth as touching anything that they ask1 it shall be done for them4#bid ,the secret was revealed to ,daniel in a vision of the night1 and he blessed the ,god of heaven4#bie ,wisdom and might are ,his4 ,not dependent on lucky or unlucky days1 ,he changeth the times and seasons2#bif ,he setteth down one king and putteth up another4 ,by ,his revelation of deep and sacred things--for the light dwelleth with ,him--,he had1 in answer to their common prayer1 made known the secret4#big ,accordingly ,daniel bids ,arioch not to execute the magians1 but to go and tell the king that he will reveal to him the interpretation of his dream4 ,then1 by an obvious verbal inconsistency in the story1 ,arioch is represented as going with haste to the king1 with ,daniel1 and saying that he had found a captive ,jew who would answer the king's demands4 ,arioch could never have claimed any such merit1 seeing that ,daniel had already given his promise to ,nebuchadrezzar in person1 and did not need to be described4 ,the king formally puts to ,daniel the question whether he could fulfil his pledge2 and ,daniel answers that1 though none of the ,khakhamm1 ,ashshaphm1 ,chartummm1 or ,gazerm#bih could tell the king his dream1 yet there is a ,god in heaven--higher1 it is implied1 than either the genii or those whose dwelling is not with mortals--who reveals secrets1 and has made known to the king what shall be in the latter days4#bii ,the king1 before he fell asleep1 had been deeply pondering the issues of the future2 and ,god1 the revealer of secrets1#cjj had revealed those issues to him1 not because of any supreme wisdom possessed by ,daniel1 but simply that the interpretation might be made known4#cja ,the king had seen#cjb a huge gleaming1 terrible colossus of many colours and of different metals1 but otherwise not unlike the huge colossi which guarded the portals of his own palace4 ,its head was of fine gold2 its torso of silver2 its belly and thighs of brass2 its legs of iron2 its feet partly of iron and partly of clay4#cjc ,but while he gazed upon it as it reared into the sunlight1 as though in mute defiance and insolent security1 its grim metallic glare1 a mysterious and unforeseen fate fell upon it4#cjd ,the fragment of a rock broke itself loose1 not with hands1 smote the image upon its feet of iron and clay1 and broke them to pieces4 ,it had now nothing left to stand upon1 and instantly the hollow multiform monster collapsed into promiscuous ruins4#cje ,its shattered fragments became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor1 and the wind swept them away2#cjf but the rock1 unhewn by any earthly hands1 grew over the fragments into a mountain that filled the earth4 ,that was the haunting and portentous dream2 and this was its interpretation3-- ,the head of gold was ,nebuchadrezzar himself1 the king of what ,isaiah had called the golden city#cjg--;a ,king of kings1 ruler over the beasts of the field1 and the fowls of heaven1 and the children of men4#cjh ,after him should come a second and an inferior kingdom1 symbolised by the arms and heart of silver4 ,then a third kingdom of brass4 ,finally a fourth kingdom1 strong and destructive as iron4 ,but in this fourth kingdom was an element of weakness1 symbolised by the fact that the feet are partly of iron and partly of weak clay4 ,an attempt should be made1 by intermarriages1 to give greater coherency to these elements2 but it should fail1 because they could not intermix4 ,in the days of these kings1 indicated by the ten toes of the image1 swift destruction should come upon the kingdoms from on high2 for the ,king of heaven should set up a kingdom indestructible and eternal1 which should utterly supersede all former kingdoms4 ,the intense nothingness and transitoriness of man's might in its highest estate1 and the might of ,god's kingdom1 are the chief subjects of this vision4#cji ,volumes have been written about the four empires indicated by the constituents of the colossus in this dream2 but it is entirely needless to enter into them at length4 ,the vast majority of the interpretations have been simply due to a-priori prepossessions1 which are arbitrary and baseless4 ,the object has been to make the interpretations fit in with preconceived theories of prophecy1 and with the traditional errors about the date and object of the ,book of ,daniel4 ,if we first see the irresistible evidence that the ,book appeared in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 and then observe that all its earthly predictions culminate in a minute description of his epoch1 the general explanation of the four empires1 apart from an occasional and a subordinate detail1 becomes perfectly clear4 ,in the same way the progress of criticism has elucidated in its general outlines the interpretation of the ,book which has been so largely influenced by the ,book of ,daniel--the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john4 ,the all-but-unanimous consensus of the vast majority of the sanest and most competent exegetes now agrees in the view that the ,apocalypse was written in the age of ,nero1 and that its tone and visions were predominantly influenced by his persecution of the early ,christians1 as the ,book of ,daniel was by the ferocities of ,antiochus against the faithful ,jews4 ,ages of persecution1 in which plain-speaking was impossible to the oppressed1 were naturally prolific of apocalyptic cryptographs4 ,what has been called the futurist interpretation of these books--which1 for instance1 regards the fourth empire of ,daniel as some kingdom of ,antichrist as yet unmanifested--is now universally abandoned4 ,it belongs to impossible forms of exegesis1 which have long been discredited by the boundless variations of absurd conjectures1 and by the repeated refutation of the predictions which many have ventured to base upon these erroneous methods4 ,even so elaborate a work as ,elliott's ,hor ,apocalyptic would now be regarded as a curious anachronism4 ,that the first empire1 represented by the head of gold1 is the ,babylonian1 concentrated in ,nebuchadrezzar himself1 is undisputed1 because it is expressly stated by the writer 7ii4 #cg1 #ch74 ,nor can there be any serious doubt1 if the ,book be one coherent whole1 written by one author1 that by the fourth empire is meant1 as in later chapters1 that of ,alexander and his successors--the ,diadochi1 as they are often called4 ,for it must be regarded as certain that the four elements of the colossus1 which indicate the four empires as they are presented to the imagination of the heathen despot1 are closely analogous to the same four empires which in the seventh chapter present themselves as wild beasts out of the sea to the imagination of the ,hebrew seer4 ,since the fourth empire is there1 beyond all question1 that of ,alexander and his successors1 the symmetry and purpose of the ,book prove conclusively that the fourth empire here is also the ,grco-,macedonian1 strongly and irresistibly founded by ,alexander1 but gradually sinking to utter weakness by its own divisions1 in the persons of the kings who split his dominion into four parts4 ,if this needed any confirmation1 we find it in the eighth chapter1 which is mainly concerned with ,alexander the ,great and ,antiochus ,epiphanes2 and in the eleventh chapter1 which enters with startling minuteness into the wars1 diplomacy1 and intermarriages of the ,ptolemaic and ,seleucid dynasties4 ,in viii4 #ba we are expressly told that the strong he-goat is the ,king of ,grecia1 who puts an end to the kingdoms of ,media and ,persia4 ,the arguments of ,hengstenberg1 ,pusey1 etc41 that the ,greek ,empire was a civilising and an ameliorating power1 apply at least as strongly to the ,roman ,empire4 ,but when ,alexander thundered his way across the dreamy ,east1 he was looked upon as a sort of shattering levin-bolt4 ,the interconnexion of these visions is clearly marked even here1 for the juxtaposition of iron and miry clay is explained by the clause they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men3#caj but they shall not cleave one to another1 even as iron is not mixed with clay4 ,this refers to the same attempts to consolidate the rival powers of the ,kings of ,egypt and ,syria which are referred to in xi4 #f1 #g1 and #ag4 ,it is a definite allusion which becomes meaningless in the hands of those interpreters who attempt to explain the iron empire to be that of the ,romans4 ,that the ,greek ,empire is to be the last of the ,gentile empires appears from viii4 #ag1 where the vision is said to refer to 'the time of the end4' ,moreover1 in the last vision of all 7x4-xii471 the rise and progress of the ,greek ,empire are related with many details1 but nothing whatever is said of any subsequent empire4 ,thus to introduce the ,roman ,empire into the ,book of ,daniel is to set at naught the plainest rules of exegesis4#caa ,the reason of the attempt is to make the termination of the prophecy coincide with the coming of ,christ1 which is then--quite unhistorically--regarded as followed by the destruction of the fourth and last empire4 ,but the interpretation can only be thus arrived at by a falsification of facts4 ,for the victory of ,christianity over ,paganism1 so decisive and so ,divine1 was in no sense a destruction of the ,roman ,empire4 ,in the first place that victory was not achieved till three centuries after ,christ's advent1 and in the second place it was rather a continuation and defence of the ,roman ,empire than its destruction4 ,the ,roman ,empire1 in spite of ,alaric and ,genseric and ,attila1 and because of its alliance with ,christianity1 may be said to have practically continued down to modern times4 ,so far from being regarded as the shatterers of the ,roman ,empire1 the ,christian popes and bishops were1 and were often called1 the ,defensores ,civitatis4 ,that many of the ,fathers1 following many of the ,rabbis1 regarded ,rome as the iron empire1 and the fourth wild beast1 was due to the fact that until modern days the science of criticism was unknown1 and exegesis was based on the shifting sand4#cab ,if we are to accept their authority on this question1 we must accept it on many others1 respecting views and methods which have now been unanimously abandoned by the deeper insight and advancing knowledge of mankind4 ,the influence of ,jewish exegesis over the ,fathers--erroneous as were its principles and fluctuating as were its conclusions--was enormous4 ,it was not unnatural for the later ,jews1 living under the hatred and oppression of ,rome1 and still yearning for the fulfilment of ,messianic promises1 to identify ,rome with the fourth empire4 ,and this seems to have been the opinion of ,josephus1 whatever that may be worth4 ,but it is doubtful whether it corresponds to another and earlier ,jewish tradition4 ,for among the ,fathers even ,ephrm ,syrus identifies the ,macedonian ,empire with the fourth empire1 and he may have borrowed this from ,jewish tradition4 ,but of how little value were early conjectures may be seen in the fact that1 for reasons analogous to those which had made earlier ,rabbis regard ,rome as the fourth empire1 two medival exegetes so famous as ,saadia the ,gaon and ,abn ,ezra had come to the conclusion that the fourth empire was--the ,mohammedan6#cac ,every detail of the vision as regards the fourth kingdom is minutely in accord with the kingdom of ,alexander4 ,it can only be applied to ,rome by deplorable shifts and sophistries1 the untenability of which we are now more able to estimate than was possible in earlier centuries4 ,so far indeed as the iron is concerned1 that might by itself stand equally well for ,rome or for ,macedon1 if ,dan4 vii4 #g1 #h1 viii4 #c1 #d1 and xi4 #c did not definitely describe the conquests of ,alexander4 ,but all which follows is meaningless as applied to ,rome1 nor is there anything in ,roman history to explain any division of the kingdom 7ii4 #da71 or attempt to strengthen it by intermarriage with other kingdoms 7ver4 #dc74 ,in the divided ,grco-,macedonian ,empires of the ,diadochi1 the dismemberment of one mighty kingdom into the four much weaker ones of ,cassander1 ,ptolemy1 ,lysimachus1 and ,seleucus began immediately after the death of ,alexander 7,b4,c4 #cbc74 ,it was completed as the result of twenty-two years of war after the ,battle of ,ipsus 7,b4,c4 #cja74 ,the marriage of ,antiochus ,theos to ,berenice1 daughter of ,ptolemy ,philadelphus 7,b4,c4 #bdi1 ,dan4 xi4 #f71 was as ineffectual as the later marriage of ,ptolemy ,v4 7,epiphanes7 to ,cleopatra1 the daughter of ,antiochus the ,great 7,b4,c4 #aic71 to introduce strength or unity into the distracted kingdoms 7xi4 #ag1 #ah74 ,the two legs and feet are possibly meant to indicate the two most important kingdoms--that of the ,seleucid in ,asia1 and that of the ,ptolemies in ,egypt4 ,if we are to press the symbolism still more closely1 the ten toes may shadow forth the ten kings who are indicated by the ten horns in vii4 #g4 ,since1 then1 we are told that the first empire represents ,nebuchadrezzar by the head of gold1 and since we have incontestably verified the fourth empire to be the ,greek ,empire of ,alexander and his successors1 it only remains to identify the intermediate empires of silver and brass4 ,and it becomes obvious that they can only be the ,median and the ,persian4 ,that the writer of ,daniel regarded these empires as distinct is clear from v4 #ca and vi4 ,it is obvious that the silver is meant for the ,median ,empire1 because1 closely as it was allied with the ,persian in the view of the writer 7vi4 #i1 #ac1 #af1 viii4 #g71 he yet spoke of the two as separate4 ,the rule of ,darius the ,mede1 not of ,cyrus the ,persian1 is1 in his point of view1 the other smaller kingdom which arose after that of ,nebuchadrezzar 7v4 #ca74 ,indeed1 this is also indicated in the vision of the ram 7viii4 #c72 for it has two horns1 of which the higher and stronger 7the ,persian ,empire7 rose up after the other 7the ,median ,empire72 just as in this vision the ,persian ,empire represented by the thighs of brass is clearly stronger than the ,median ,empire1 which1 being wealthier1 is represented as being of silver1 but is smaller than the other4#cad ,further1 the second empire is represented later on by the second beast 7vii4 #e71 and the three ribs in its mouth may be meant for the three satrapies of vi4 #b4 ,it may then be regarded as a certain result of exegesis that the four empires are--7#a7 the ,babylonian2 7#b7 the ,median2 7#c7 the ,persian2 7#d7 the ,grco-,macedonian4 ,but what is the stone cut without hands which smote the image upon his feet8 ,it brake them in pieces1 and made the collapsing dbris of the colossus like chaff scattered by the wind from the summer threshing-floor4 ,it grew till it became a great mountain which filled the earth4 ,the meaning of the image being first smitten upon its feet is that the overthrow falls on the iron empire4 ,all alike are agreed that by the mysterious rock-fragment the writer meant the ,messianic ,kingdom4 ,the mountain out of which 7as is here first mentioned7 the stone is cut is the ,mount ,zion4#cae ,it commences in the days of these kings4 ,its origin is not earthly1 for it is cut without hands4 ,it represents a kingdom which shall be set up by the ,god of heaven1 and shall destroy and supersede all the kingdoms1 and shall stand for ever4 ,whether a personal ,messiah was definitely prominent in the mind of the writer is a question which will come before us when we consider the seventh chapter4 ,here there is only a ,divine ,kingdom2 and that this is the dominion of ,israel seems to be marked by the expression1 the kingdom shall not be left to another people4 ,the prophecy probably indicates the glowing hopes which the writer conceived of the future of his nation1 even in the days of its direst adversity1 in accordance with the predictions of the mighty prophets his predecessors1 whose writings he had recently studied4 ,very few of those predictions have as yet been literally fulfilled2 not one of them was fulfilled with such immediateness as the prophets conceived1 when they were rapt into future times4 ,to the prophetic vision was revealed the glory that should be hereafter1 but not the times and seasons1 which ,god hath kept in ,his own power1 and which ,jesus told ,his disciples were not even known to the ,son of ,man ,himself in ,his human capacity4 ,antiochus died1 and his attempts to force ,hellenism upon the ,jews were so absolute a failure1 that1 in point of fact1 his persecution only served to stereotype the ceremonial institutions which--not entirely proprio motu1 but misled by men like the false high priests ,jason and ,menelaus--he had attempted to obliterate4 ,but the magnificent expectations of a golden age to follow were indefinitely delayed4 ,though ,antiochus died and failed1 the ,jews became by no means unanimous in their religious policy4 ,even under the ,hasmonan princes fierce elements of discord were at work in the midst of them4 ,foreign usurpers adroitly used these dissensions for their own objects1 and in ,b4,c4 #cg ,judaism acquiesced in the national acceptance of a depraved ,edomite usurper in the person of ,herod1 and a section of the ,jews attempted to represent him as the promised ,messiah6#caf ,not only was the ,messianic prediction unfulfilled in its literal aspect in the days of these kings1#cag but even yet it has by no means received its complete accomplishment4 ,the stone cut without hands indicated the kingdom1 not--as most of the prophets seem to have imagined when they uttered words which meant more than they themselves conceived--of the literal ,israel1 but of that ideal ,israel which is composed1 not of ,jews1 but of ,gentiles4 ,the divinest side of ,messianic prophecy is the expression of that unquenchable hope and of that indomitable faith which are the most glorious outcome of all that is most ,divine in the spirit of man4 ,that faith and hope have never found even an ideal or approximate fulfilment save in ,christ and in ,his kingdom1 which is now1 and shall be without end4 ,but apart from the ,divine predictions of the eternal sunlight visible on the horizon over vast foreshortened ages of time which to ,god are but as one day1 let us notice how profound is the symbolism of the vision--how well it expresses the surface glare1 the inward hollowness1 the inherent weakness1 the varying successions1 the predestined transience of overgrown empires4 ,the great poet of ,catholicism makes magnificent use of ,daniel's image1 and sees its deep significance4 ,he too describes the ideal of all earthly empire as a colossus of gold1 silver1 brass1 and iron1 which yet mainly rests on its right foot of baked and brittle clay4 ,but he tells us that every part of this image1 except the gold1 is crannied through and through by a fissure1 down which there flows a constant stream of tears4#cah ,these effects of misery trickle downwards1 working their way through the cavern in ,mount ,ida in which the image stands1 till1 descending from rock to rock1 they form those four rivers of hell1-- ,abhorrd ,styx1 the flood of deadly hate2 ,sad ,acheron of sorrow1 black and deep2 ,cocytus1 named of lamentation loud ,heard on the rueful stream2 fierce ,phlegethon ,whose waves of torrent fire inflame with rage4#cai ,there is a terrible grandeur in the emblem4 ,splendid and venerable looks the idol of human empire in all its pomp and pricelessness4 ,but underneath its cracked and fissured weakness drop and trickle and stream the salt and bitter runnels of misery and anguish1 till the rivers of agony are swollen into overflow by their coagulated scum4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was natural that ,nebuchadrezzar should have felt deeply impressed when the vanished outlines of his dream were thus recalled to him and its awful interpretation revealed4 ,the manner in which he expresses his amazed reverence may be historically improbable1 but it is psychologically true4 ,we are told that he fell upon his face and worshipped ,daniel1 and the word worshipped implies genuine adoration4 ,that so magnificent a potentate should have lain on his face before a captive ,jewish youth and adored him is amazing4#cbj ,it is still more so that ,daniel1 without protest1 should have accepted1 not only his idolatrous homage1 but also the offering of an oblation and sweet incense4#cba ,that a ,nebuchadrezzar should have been thus prostrate in the dust before their young countryman would no doubt be a delightful picture to the ,jews1 and if1 as we believe1 the story is an unconnected ,haggada1 it may well have been founded on such passages as ,isa4 xlix4 #bc1 ,kings shall bow down to thee with their faces toward the earth1 and lick up the dust of thy feet2#cbb together with ,isa4 lii4 #ae1 ,kings shall shut their mouths at him3 for that which had not been told them shall they see2 and that which they had not heard shall they perceive4 ,but it is much more amazing that ,daniel1 who1 as a boy1 had been so scrupulous about the ,levitic ordinance of unclean meats1 in the scruple against which the gravamen lay in the possibility of their having been offered to idols1#cbc should1 as a man1 have allowed himself to be treated exactly as the king treated his idols6 ,to say that he accepted this worship because the king was not adoring him1 but the ,god whose power had been manifested in him1#cbd is an idle subterfuge1 for that excuse is offered by all idolaters in all ages4 ,very different was the conduct of ,paul and ,barnabas when the rude population of ,lystra wished to worship them as incarnations of ,hermes and ,zeus4 ,the moment they heard of it they rent their clothes in horror1 and leapt at once among the people1 crying out1 ,sirs1 why do ye such things8 ,we also are men of like passions with you1 and are preaching unto you that ye should turn from these vain ones unto the ,living ,god4#cbe ,that the ,king of ,babylon should be represented as at once acknowledging the ,god of ,daniel as a ,god of gods1 though he was a fanatical votary of ,bel-merodach1 belongs to the general plan of the ,book4 ,daniel received in reward many great gifts1 and is made ruler of all the wise men of ,babylon1 and chief of the governors signn over all the wise men of ,babylon4 ,about his acceptance of the civil office there is no difficulty2 but there is a quite insuperable historic difficulty in his becoming a chief magian4 ,all the wise men of ,babylon1 whom the king had just threatened with dismemberment as a pack of impostors1 were1 at any rate1 a highly sacerdotal and essentially idolatrous caste4 ,that ,daniel should have objected to particular kinds of food from peril of defilement1 and yet that he should have consented to be chief hierarch of a heathen cult1 would indeed have been to strain at gnats and to swallow camels6 ,and so great was the distinction which he earned by his interpretation of the dream1 that1 at his further request1 satrapies were conferred on his three companions2 but he himself1 like ,mordecai1 afterwards sat in the gate of the king4#cbf ,,footnotes3 #bfe ,dante1 ,inferno1 xiv4 #id-abj4 #bff ,the ,assyrian and ,babylonian kings1 however1 only dated their reigns from the first new year after their accession4 #bfg ,antt41 ,x4 x4 #c4 #bfh #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #ba4 ,see ,the ,second ,book of ,kings1 p4 #djd 7,expositor's ,bible74 #bfi ,see ,professor ,fuller1 ,speaker's ,commentary1 vi4 #bfe4 #bgj ,malcolm1 ,hist4 of ,persia1 i4 #ci4 #bga ,the belief that dreams come from ,god is not peculiar to the ,jews1 or to ,egypt1 or ,assyria1 or ,greece 7,hom41 ,il41 i4 #fc2 ,od41 iv4 #hda71 or ,rome 7,cic41 ,de ,div41 passim71 but to every nation of mankind1 even the most savage4 #bgb ,dan4 ii4 #a3 ,his dreaming brake from him4 ,comp4 vi4 #ah2 ,esther vi4 #a3 ,jerome says1 ,umbra qudam1 et1 ut ita dicam1 aura somnii atque vestigium remansit in corde regis1 ut1 referentibus aliis posset reminisci eorum qu viderat4 #bgc ,gen4 xli4 #h2 ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 p4 #bf2 ,records of the ,past1 i4 #acf4 #bgd ,the word is peculiar to ,daniel1 both here in the ,hebrew and in the ,aramaic4 ,pusey calls it a common ,syriac term1 representing some form of divination with which ,daniel had become familiar in ,babylonia 7p4 #dj74 #bge ,exod4 vii4 #aa2 ,deut4 xviii4 #aj2 ,isa4 xlvii4 #i1 #ab4 ,assyrian ,kashshapu4 #bgf ,as in the rule ,chaldos ne consulito4 ,see supra1 p4 #dh4 #bgg ,the equivalents in the ,,lxx41 ,vulgate1 ,a4,v41 and other versions are mostly based on uncertain guess-work4 ,see ,e4 ,meyer1 ,gesch4 d4 ,alterth41 i4 #ahe2 ,hommel1 ,gesch4 ,bab4 u4 ,assyr41 v4 #chf2 ,behrmann1 p4 #b4 #bgh ,e4g41 iii4 #b1 #c1 officers of state2 iii4 #d1 #e1 etc41 instruments of music2 iii4 #ba1 clothes4 #bgi ii4 #e3 ,the dream is gone from me1 as in ver4 #h 7,theodotion1 74 ,but the meaning may be the decree 7or word7 is sure3 for1 according to ,nldeke1 azda is a ,persian word for certain4 ,comp4 ,esther vii4 #g2 ,isa4 xlv4 #bc4 #bhj ,berachth1 f4 #aj1 #b4 ,this book supplies a charm to be spoken by one who has forgotten his dream 7f4 #ee1 #b74 #bha ,dan4 ii4 #e1 iii4 #bi4 ,theodot41 4 ,lit4 ye shall be made into limbs4 ,the ,,lxx4 render it by 1 membratim concidor1 in frusta fio4 ,comp4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #ea2 ,smith's ,assur-bani-pal1 p4 #acg4 ,the word haddam1 a limb1 seems to be of ,persian origin--in modern ,persian andam4 ,hence the verb hadm in the ,targum of #a ,kings xviii4 #cc4 ,comp4 #b ,macc4 i4 #af1 4 #bhb ,comp4 ,ezra vi4 #aa2 #b ,kings x4 #bg2 ,records of the ,past1 i4 #bg1 #dc4 #bhc ,in iii4 #if1 4 ,comp4 #b ,macc4 iii4 #ac3 ,but ,heliodorus1 because of the king's commandment1 said1 ,that in anywise it must be brought into the king's treasury4 #bhd ,,lxx4 ,theodot41 7not in a good sense1 as in ,eph4 v4 #af2 ,col4 iv4 #e74 #bhe ,theodot41 4 ,cf4 ,john ix4 #bb4 #bhf ,theodot41 4 #bhg ,esther iii4 #g4 #bhh ,the word ,aramth may be 7as ,lenormant thinks7 a gloss1 as in ,ezra iv4 #g4 #bhi ,a curious parallel is adduced by ,behrmann 7,daniel1 p4 #g74 ,rabia-ibn-nazr1 ,king of ,yemen1 has a dream which he cannot recall1 and acts precisely as ,nebuchadrezzar does 7,wstenfeld1 p4 #i74 #bij ,see ,lenormant1 ,la ,magie1 pp4 #aha-ahc4 #bia ,,lxx41 ii4 #aa3 4 #bib ,lit4 chief of the slaughter-men or executioners4 ,,lxx41 4 ,the title is perhaps taken from the story1 which in this chapter is so prominently in the writer's mind1 where the same title is given to ,potiphar 7,gen4 xxxvii4 #cf74 ,comp4 #b ,kings xxv4 #h2 ,jer4 xxxix4 #i4 ,the name ,arioch has been derived from ,er-aku1 servant of the moon-god 7supra1 p4 #di71 but is found in ,gen4 xiv4 #a as the name of the ,king of ,ellasar4 ,it is also found in ,judith i4 #f1 ,arioch1 ,king of the ,elymans4 ,an ,erim-ak1 ,king of ,larsa1 is found in cuneiform4 #bic ,if ,daniel went 7as the text says7 in person1 he must have been already a very high official4 7,comp4 ,esther v4 #a2 ,herod41 i4 #ii47 ,if so1 it would have been strange that he should not have been consulted among the magians4 ,all these details are regarded as insignificant1 being extraneous to the general purport of the story 7,ewald1 ,hist41 iii4 #aid74 #bid ,matt4 xviii4 #ai4 ,the ,,lxx4 interpolate a ritual gloss3 4 #bie ,the title is found in ,gen4 xxiv4 #g1 but only became common after the ,exile 7,ezra i4 #b1 vi4 #i1 #aj2 ,neh4 i4 #e1 ii4 #d74 #bif ,comp4 ,dan4 vii4 #ab2 ,jer4 xxvii4 #g2 ,acts i4 #g1 2 #a ,thess4 v4 #a2 ,acts xvii4 #bf1 4 #big ,with the phraseology of this prayer comp4 ,psalm xxxvi4 #i1 xli41 cxxxix4 #ab2 ,neh4 ix4 #e2 #a ,sam4 ii4 #h2 ,jer4 xxxii4 #ai2 ,job xii4 #bb4 #bih ,here the new title ,gazerm1 prognosticators1 is added to the others1 and is equally vague4 ,it may be derived from ,gazar1 to cut--that is1 to determine4 #bii ,comp4 ,gen4 xx4 #c1 xli4 #be2 ,numb4 xxii4 #ce4 #cjj ,comp4 ,gen4 xli4 #de4 #cja ,dan4 ii4 #cj3 ,for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king 7,a4,v474 ,but the phrase seems merely to be one of the vague forms for the impersonal which are common in the ,mishnah4 ,the ,r4,v4 and ,ewald rightly render it as in the text4 #cjb ,here we have 7ver4 #ca7 aloo6 behold6 as in iv4 #g1 #aj1 vii4 #h2 but in vii4 #b1 #e1 #f1 #g1 #ac1 we have aroo6 #cjc ,in the four metals there is perhaps the same underlying thought as in the ,hesiodic and ancient conceptions of the four ages of the world 7,ewald1 ,hist41 i4 #cfh74 ,comp4 the vision of ,zoroaster quoted from ,delitzsch by ,pusey1 p4 #ig3 ,zoroaster saw a tree from whose roots sprang four trees of gold1 silver1 steel1 and brass2 and ,ormuzd said to him1 ',this is the world2 and the four trees are the four times which are coming4' ,after the fourth comes1 according to ,persian doctrine1 ,sosiosh1 the ,saviour4 ,behrmann refers also to ,bahman ,yesht 7,spiegel1 ,eran4 ,alterth41 ii4 #aeb72 the ,laws of ,manu 7,schrder1 ,ind4 ,litt41 #ddh72 and ,roth 7,mythos von den ,weltaltern1 #ahfj74 #cjd ,much of the imagery seems to have been suggested by ,jer4 li4 #cje ,comp4 ,rev4 xx4 #aa3 4 #cjf ,psalm i4 #d1 ii4 #i2 ,isa4 xli4 #ae2 ,jer4 li4 #cc1 etc4 #cjg ,isa4 xiv4 #d4 #cjh ,king of kings4 ,comp4 ,ezek4 xxvi4 #g2 ,ezra vii4 #ab2 ,isa4 xxxvi4 #d4 ,it is the ,babylonian ,shar-sharrni1 or ,sharru-rabbu 7,behrmann74 ,the ,rabbis tried 7impossibly7 to construe this title1 which they thought only suitable to ,god1 with the following clause4 ,but ,nebuchadrezzar was so addressed 7,ezek4 xxvi4 #g71 as the ,assyrian kings had been before him 7,isa4 x4 #h71 and the ,persian kings were after him 7,ezra vii4 #ab74 ,the expression seems strange1 but comp4 ,jer4 xxvii4 #f1 xxviii4 #ad4 ,the ,,lxx4 and ,theodotion mistakenly interpolate 4 #cji ,pusey1 p4 #fc4 #caj ,comp4 ,jer4 xxxi4 #bg4 #caa ,bevan1 p4 #ff4 #cab ,the interpretation is first found1 amid a chaos of false exegesis1 in the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 iv4 #d1 #f4 #cac ,see ,bevan1 p4 #fe4 #cad ,on the distinction in the writer's mind between the ,median and ,persian ,empires see v4 #bh1 #ca1 vi4 #h1 #ab1 #ae1 ix4 #a1 xi4 #a1 compared with vi4 #bh1 x4 #a4 ,in point of fact1 the ,persians and ,medians were long spoken of as distinct1 though they were closely allied2 and to the ,medes had been specially attributed the forthcoming overthrow of ,babylon3 ,jer4 li4 #bh1 ,prepare against her the nations with the kings of the ,medes4 ,comp4 ,jer4 li4 #aa1 and ,isa4 xiii4 #ag1 xxi4 #b1 ,besiege1 ,o ,media4 #cae ,see ,isa4 ii4 #b1 xxviii4 #af2 ,matt4 xxi4 #db-dd4 ,le mot de ,messie n'est pas dans ,daniel4 ,le mot de ,meshiach1 ix4 #bf1 dsigne l'autorit 7probablement sacerdotale7 de la ,jude 7,renan1 ,hist41 iv4 #ceh74 #caf ,see ,kuenen1 ,the ,prophets1 iii4 #cag ,no kings have been mentioned1 but the ten toes symbolise ten kings4 ,comp4 vii4 #bd4 #cah ,dante1 ,inferno1 xiv4 #id-abj4 #cai ,milton1 ,paradise ,lost1 ii4 #ege4 #cbj ,it may be paralleled by the legendary prostrations of ,alexander the ,great before the high priest ,jaddua 7,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xi4 viii4 #e71 and of ,edwin of ,deira before ,paulinus of ,york 7,bda1 ,hist41 ii4 #ad-af74 #cba ,isa4 xlvi4 #f4 ,the same verbs1 they fall down1 yea they worship1 are there used of idols4 #cbb ,comp4 ,isa4 lx4 #ad3 ,the sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee2 and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet4 #cbc ,comp4 ,rom4 xiv4 #bc2 ,acts xv4 #bi2 ,heb4 xiii4 #i2 #a ,cor4 viii4 #a2 ,rev4 ii4 #ad1 #bj4 #cbd ,so ,jerome3 ,non tam ,danielem quam in ,daniele adorat ,deum1 qui mysteria revelavit4 ,comp4 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xi4 viii4 #e1 where ,alexander answers the taunt of ,parmenio about his of the high priest3 1 4 #cbe ,acts xiv4 #ad1 #ae4 #cbf ,esther iii4 #b4 ,comp4 #a ,chron4 xxvi4 #cj4 ,this corresponds to what ,xenophon calls 1 and to our right of entre4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,idol ,,of ,,gold1 ,,and ,,the ,,faithful ,,three ,every goldsmith is put to shame by his molten image3 for his molten image is vanity1 and there is no breath in them4 ,they are vanity1 a work of delusion3 in the time of their visitation they shall perish4--,,jer4 li4 #ag1 #ah4 ,the angel of the ,lord encampeth around them that fear ,him1 and shall deliver them4--,,psalm xxxiv4 #g4 ,when thou walkest through the fire1 thou shalt not be burnt2 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee4--,,isa4 xliii4 #b4 ,regarded as an instance of the use of historic fiction to inculcate the noblest truths1 the third chapter of ,daniel is not only superb in its imaginative grandeur1 but still more in the manner in which it sets forth the piety of ultimate faithfulness1 and of that ,death-defying utterance of truth which is the essence of the most heroic and inspiring forms of martyrdom4 ,so far from slighting it1 because it does not come before us with adequate evidence to prove that it was even intended to be taken as literal history1 ,i have always regarded it as one of the most precious among the narrative chapters of ,scripture4 ,it is of priceless value as illustrating the deliverance of undaunted faithfulness--as setting forth the truth that they who love ,god and trust in ,him must love ,him and trust in ,him even till the end1 in spite not only of the most overwhelming peril1 but even when they are brought face to face with apparently hopeless defeat4 ,death itself1 by torture or sword or flame1 threatened by the priests and tyrants and multitudes of the earth set in open array against them1 is impotent to shake the purpose of ,god's saints4 ,when the servant of ,god can do nothing else against the banded forces of sin1 the world1 and the devil1 he at least can die1 and can say like the ,maccabees1 ,let us die in our simplicity6 ,he may be saved from death2 but even if not1 he must prefer death to apostasy1 and will save his own soul4 ,that the ,jews were ever reduced to such a choice during the ,babylonian exile there is no evidence2 indeed1 all evidence points the other way1 and seems to show that they were allowed with perfect tolerance to hold and practise their own religion4#cbg ,but in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes the question which to choose--martyrdom or apostasy--became a very burning one4 ,antiochus set up at ,jerusalem the abomination of desolation1 and it is easy to understand what courage and conviction a tempted ,jew might derive from the study of this splendid defiance4 ,that the story is of a kind well fitted to haunt the imagination is shown by the fact that ,firdausi tells a similar story from ,persian tradition of a martyr hero who came unhurt out of a fiery furnace4#cbh ,this immortal chapter breathes exactly the same spirit as the forty-fourth ,psalm4 ,our heart is not turned back1 ,neither our steps gone out of ,thy way3 ,no1 not when ,thou hast smitten us into the place of dragons1 ,and covered us with the shadow of death4 ,if we have forgotten the ,name of our ,god1 ,and holden up our hands to any strange god1 ,shall not ,god search it out8 ,for ,he knoweth the very secrets of the heart4 ,nebuchadnezzar the king1 we are told in one of the stately overtures in which this writer rejoices1 made an image of gold1 whose height was threescore cubits1 and the breadth thereof six cubits1 and he set it up in the plains of ,dura1 in the province of ,babylon4 ,no date is given1 but the writer may well have supposed or have traditionally heard that some such event took place about the eighteenth year of ,nebuchadrezzar's reign1 when he had brought to conclusion a series of great victories and conquests4#cbi ,nor are we told whom the image represented4 ,we may imagine that it was an idol of ,bel-merodach1 the patron deity of ,babylon1 to whom we know that he did erect an image2#ccj or of ,nebo1 from whom the king derived his name4 ,when it is said to be of gold1 the writer1 in the grandiose character of his imaginative faculty1 may have meant his words to be taken literally1 or he may merely have meant that it was gilded1 or overlaid with gold4#cca ,there were colossal images in ,egypt and in ,nineveh1 but we never read in history of any other gilded image ninety feet high and nine feet broad4#ccb ,the name of the plain or valley in which it was erected--,dura--has been found in several ,babylonian localities4#ccc ,then the king proclaimed a solemn dedicatory festival1 to which he invited every sort of functionary1 of which the writer1 with his usual and rotundity of expression1 accumulates the eight names4 ,they were3-- #a4 ,the ,princes1 satraps1 or wardens of the realm4#ccd #b4 ,the ,governors#cce 7ii4 #dh74 #c4 ,the ,captains4#ccf #d4 ,the ,judges4#ccg #e4 ,the ,treasurers or ,controllers4#cch #f4 ,the ,counsellors4#cci #g4 ,the ,sheriffs4#cdj #h4 ,all the ,rulers of the ,provinces4 ,any attempts to attach specific values to these titles are failures4 ,they seem to be a catalogue of ,assyrian1 ,babylonian1 and ,persian titles1 and may perhaps 7as ,ewald conjectured7 be meant to represent the various grades of three classes of functionaries--civil1 military1 and legal4 ,then all these officials1 who with leisurely stateliness are named again1 came to the festival1 and stood before the image4 ,it is not improbable that the writer may have been a witness of some such splendid ceremony to which the ,jewish magnates were invited in the reign of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4#cda ,then a herald 7kerooza#cdb7 cried aloud#cdc a proclamation to all peoples1 nations1 and languages4 ,such a throng might easily have contained ,greeks1 ,phnicians1 ,jews1 ,arabs1 and ,assyrians1 as well as ,babylonians4 ,at the outburst of a blast of boisterous janizary-music they are all to fall down and worship the golden image4 ,of the six different kinds of musical instruments1 which1 in his usual style1 the writer names and reiterates1 and which it is neither possible nor very important to distinguish1 three--the harp1 psaltery1 and bagpipe--are ,greek2 two1 the horn and sackbut1 have names derived from roots found both in ,aryan and ,semitic languages2 and one1 the pipe1 is ,semitic4 ,as to the list of officials1 the writer had added and all the rulers of the provinces2 so here he adds and all kinds of music4#cdd ,any one who refused to obey the order was to be flung1 the same hour1 into the burning furnace of fire4 ,professor ,sayce1 in his ,hibbert ,lectures1 connects the whole scene with an attempt1 first by ,nebuchadrezzar1 then by ,nabunaid1 to make ,merodach--who1 to conciliate the prejudices of the worshippers of the older deity ,bel1 was called ,bel-merodach--the chief deity of ,babylon4 ,he sees in the king's proclamation an underlying suspicion that some would be found to oppose his attempted centralisation of worship4#cde ,the music burst forth1 and the vast throng all prostrated themselves1 except ,daniel's three companions1 ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego4 ,we naturally pause to ask where then was ,daniel8 ,if the narrative be taken for literal history1 it is easy to answer with the apologist that he was ill2 or was absent2 or was a person of too much importance to be required to prostrate himself2 or that the ,chaldeans were afraid to accuse him4 ,certainly1 says ,professor ,fuller1 had this chapter been the composition of a pseudo-,daniel1 or the record of a fictitious event1 ,daniel would have been introduced and his immunity explained4 ,apologetic literature abounds in such fanciful and valueless arguments4 ,it would be just as true1 and just as false1 to say that certainly1 if the narrative were historic1 his absence would have been explained2 and all the more because he was expressly elected to be in the gate of the king4 ,but if we regard the chapter as a noble ,haggada1 there is not the least difficulty in accounting for ,daniel's absence4 ,the separate stories were meant to cohere to a certain extent2 and though the writers of this kind of ancient imaginative literature1 even in ,greece1 rarely trouble themselves with any questions which lie outside the immediate purpose1 yet the introduction of ,daniel into this story would have been to violate every vestige of verisimilitude4 ,to represent ,nebuchadrezzar worshipping ,daniel as a god1 and offering oblations to him on one page1 and on the next to represent the king as throwing him into a furnace for refusing to worship an idol1 would have involved an obvious incongruity4 ,daniel is represented in the other chapters as playing his part and bearing his testimony to the ,god of ,israel2 this chapter is separately devoted to the heroism and the testimony of his three friends4 ,observing the defiance of the king's edict1 certain ,chaldeans1 actuated by jealousy1 came near to the king and accused the ,jews4#cdf ,the word for accused is curious and interesting4 ,it is literally ate the pieces of the ,jews1#cdg evidently involving a metaphor of fierce devouring malice4#cdh ,reminding the king of his decree1 they inform him that three of the ,jews to whom he has given such high promotion thought well not to regard thee2 thy god will they not serve1 nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up4#cdi ,nebuchadrezzar1 like other despots who suffer from the vertigo of autocracy1 was liable to sudden outbursts of almost spasmodic fury4 ,we read of such storms of rage in the case of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 of ,nero1 of ,valentinian ,i41 and even of ,theodosius4 ,the double insult to himself and to his god on the part of men to whom he had shown such conspicuous favour transported him out of himself4 ,for ,bel-merodach1 whom he had made the patron god of ,babylon1 was1 as he says in one of his own inscriptions1 the ,lord1 the joy of my heart in ,babylon1 which is the seat of my sovereignty and empire4 ,it seemed to him too intolerable that this god1 who had crowned him with glory and victory1 and that he himself1 arrayed in the plenitude of his imperial power1 should be defied and set at naught by three miserable and ungrateful captives4 ,he puts it to them whether it was their set purpose#cej that they would not serve his gods or worship his image4 ,then he offers them a locus pnitenti4 ,the music should sound forth again4 ,if they would then worship--but if not1 they should be flung into the furnace1--and who is that ,god that shall deliver you out of my hands8 ,the question is a direct challenge and defiance of the ,god of ,israel1 like ,pharaoh's ,and who is ,jehovah1 that ,i should obey ,his voice8 or like ,sennacherib's ,who are they among all the gods that have delivered their land out of my hand8#cea ,it is answered in each instance by a decisive interposition4 ,the answer of ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego is truly magnificent in its unflinching courage4 ,it is3 ,o ,nebuchadnezzar1 we have no need to answer thee a word concerning this4#ceb ,if our ,god whom we serve be able to deliver us1 ,he will deliver us from the burning fiery furnace1 and out of thy hand1 ,o king4 ,but if not1#cec be it known unto thee1 ,o king1#ced that we will not serve thy gods1 nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up4 ,by the phrase if our ,god be able no doubt as to ,god's power is expressed4 ,the word able merely means able in accordance with ,his own plans4#cee ,the three children knew well that ,god can deliver1 and that ,he has repeatedly delivered ,his saints4 ,such deliverances abound on the sacred page1 and are mentioned in the ,dream of ,gerontius3-- ,rescue him1 ,o ,lord1 in this his evil hour1 ,as of old so many by ,thy mighty power3-- ,enoch and ,elias from the common doom2 ,noe from the waters in a saving home2 ,abraham from th' abounding guilt of ,heathenesse1 ,job from all his multiform and fell distress2 ,isaac1 when his father's knife was raised to slay2 ,lot from burning ,sodom on its judgment-day2 ,moses from the land of bondage and despair2 ,daniel from the hungry lions in their lair2 ,david from ,golia1 and the wrath of ,saul2 ,and the two ,apostles from their prison-thrall4 ,but the willing martyrs were also well aware that in many cases it has not been ,god's purpose to deliver ,his saints out of the peril of death2 and that it has been far better for them that they should be carried heavenwards on the fiery chariot of martyrdom4 ,they were therefore perfectly prepared to find that it was the will of ,god that they too should perish1 as thousands of ,god's faithful ones had perished before them1 from the tyrannous and cruel hands of man2 and they were cheerfully willing to confront that awful extremity4 ,thus regarded1 the three words ,and if not are among the sublimest words uttered in all ,scripture4 ,they represent the truth that the man who trusts in ,god will continue to say even to the end1 ,though ,he slay me1 yet will ,i trust in ,him4 ,they are the triumph of faith over all adverse circumstances4 ,it has been the glorious achievement of man to have attained1 by the inspiration of the breath of the ,almighty1 so clear an insight into the truth that the voice of duty must be obeyed to the very end1 as to lead him to defy every combination of opposing forces4 ,the gay lyrist of heathendom expressed it in his famous ode1-- ,justum et tenacem propositi virum ,non civium ardor prava jubentium ,non vultus instantis tyranni ,mente quatit solid4 ,it is man's testimony to his indomitable belief that the things of sense are not to be valued in comparison to that high happiness which arises from obedience to the law of conscience1 and that no extremities of agony are commensurate with apostasy4 ,this it is which1 more than anything else1 has1 in spite of appearances1 shown that the spirit of man is of heavenly birth1 and has enabled him to unfold ,the wings within him wrapped1 and proudly rise ,redeemed from earth1 a creature of the skies4 ,for wherever there is left in man any true manhood1 he has never shrunk from accepting death rather than the disgrace of compliance with what he despises and abhors4 ,this it is which sends our soldiers on the forlorn hope1 and makes them march with a smile upon the batteries which vomit their cross-fires upon them2 and so die by thousands the unnamed demigods4 ,by virtue of this it has been that all the martyrs have1 with the irresistible might of their weakness1 shaken the solid world4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on hearing the defiance of the faithful ,jews--absolutely firm in its decisiveness1 yet perfectly respectful in its tone--the tyrant was so much beside himself1 that1 as he glared on ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego1 his very countenance was disfigured4 ,the furnace was probably one used for the ordinary cremation of the dead4#cef ,he ordered that it should be heated seven times hotter than it was wont to be heated1#ceg and certain men of mighty strength who were in his army were bidden to bind the three youths and fling them into the raging flames4 ,so1 bound in their hosen1 their tunics1 their long mantles1#ceh and their other garments1 they were cast into the seven-times-heated furnace4 ,the king's commandment was so urgent1 and the tongue of flame was darting so fiercely from the horrible kiln1 that the executioners perished in planting the ladders to throw them in1 but they themselves fell into the midst of the furnace4 ,the death of the executioners seems to have attracted no special notice1 but immediately afterwards ,nebuchadrezzar started in amazement and terror from his throne1 and asked his chamberlains1#cei ,did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire8 ,true1 ,o king1 they answered4 ,behold1 he said1 ,i see four men loose1 walking in the midst of the fire1 and they have no hurt1 and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods6#cfj ,then the king approached the door of the furnace of fire1 and called1 ,ye servants of the ,most ,high ,god1#cfa come forth4 ,then ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire2 and all the satraps1 prefects1 presidents1 and court chamberlains gathered round to stare on men who were so completely untouched by the fierceness of the flames that not a hair of their heads had been singed1 nor their hosen shrivelled1 nor was there even the smell of burning upon them4#cfb ,according to the version of ,theodotion1 the king worshipped the ,lord before them1 and he then published a decree in which1 after blessing ,god for sending ,his angel to deliver ,his servants who trusted in ,him1 he somewhat incoherently ordained that every people1 nation1 or language which spoke any blasphemy against the ,god of ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego1 should be cut in pieces1 and his house made a dunghill3 since there is no other god that can deliver after this sort4 ,then the king--as he had done before--promoted ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego in the province of ,babylon4#cfc ,henceforth they disappear alike from history1 tradition1 and legend2 but the whole magnificent ,haggada is the most powerful possible commentary on the words of ,isa4 xliii4 #b3 ,when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned1 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee4#cfd ,how powerfully the story struck the imagination of the ,jews is shown by the not very apposite ,song of the ,three ,children1 with the other apocryphal additions4 ,here we are told that the furnace was heated with rosin1 pitch1 tow1 and small wood2 so that the flame streamed forth above the furnace forty and nine cubits4 ,and it passed through1 and burned those ,chaldeans it found about the furnace4 ,but the angel of the ,lord came down into the furnace together with ,azarias and his fellows1 and smote the flame of the fire out of the oven2 and made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind1#cfe so that the fire touched them not at all1 neither hurt nor troubled them4#cff ,in the ,talmud the majestic limitations of the ,biblical story are sometimes enriched with touches of imagination1 but more often coarsened by tasteless exhibitions of triviality and rancour4 ,thus in the ,vayyikra ,rabba ,nebuchadrezzar tries to persuade the youths by fantastic misquotations of ,isa4 x4 #aj1 ,ezek4 xxiii4 #ad1 ,deut4 iv4 #bh1 ,jer4 xxvii4 #h2 and they refute him and end with clumsy plays on his name1 telling him that he should bark 7nabach7 like a dog1 swell like a water-jar 7cod71 and chirp like a cricket 7tsirtsir71 which he immediately did--i4e41 he was smitten with lycanthropy4#cfg ,in ,sanhedrin1 f4 #ic1 #a1 the story is told of the adulterous false prophets ,ahab and ,zedekiah1 and it is added that ,nebuchadrezzar offered them the ordeal of fire from which the ,three ,children had escaped4 ,they asked that ,joshua the high priest might be with them1 thinking that his sanctity would be their protection4 ,when the king asked why ,abraham1 though alone1 had been saved from the fire of ,nimrod1 and the ,three ,children from the burning furnace1 and yet the high priest should have been singed 7,zech4 iii4 #b71 ,joshua answered that the presence of two wicked men gave the fire power over him1 and quoted the proverb1 ,two dry sticks kindle one green one4 ,in ,pesachin1 f4 #aah1 #a1 there is a fine imaginative passage on the subject1 attributed to ,rabbi ,samuel of ,shiloh3-- ,in the hour when ,nebuchadrezzar the wicked threw ,hananiah1 ,mishael and ,azariah into the midst of the furnace of fire1 ,gorgemi1 the prince of the hail1 stood before the ,holy ,one 7blessed be ,he67 and said1 ',lord of the world1 let me go down and cool the furnace4' ',no1' answered ,gabriel2 'all men know that hail quenches fire2#cfh but ,i1 the prince of fire1 will go down and make the furnace cool within and hot without1 and thus work a miracle within a miracle4' ,the ,holy ,one 7blessed be ,he67 said unto him1 ',go down4' ,in the self-same hour ,gabriel opened his mouth and said1 ',and the truth of the ,lord endureth for ever4' ,mr4 ,ball1 who quotes these passages from ,wnsche's ,bibliotheca ,rabbinica in his ,introduction to the ,song of the ,three ,children1#cfi very truly adds that many ,scriptural commentators wholly lack the orientation derived from the study of ,talmudic and ,midrashic literature which is an indispensable preliminary to a right understanding of the treasures of ,eastern thought4 ,they do not grasp the inveterate tendency of ,jewish teachers to convey doctrine by concrete stories and illustrations1 and not in the form of abstract thought4 ,the doctrine is everything2 the mode of presentation has no independent value4 ,to make the story the first consideration1 and the doctrine it was intended to convey an after-thought1 as we1 with our dry ,western literalness are predisposed to do1 is to reverse the ,jewish order of thinking1 and to inflict unconscious injustice on the authors of many edifying narratives of antiquity4 ,the part played by ,daniel in the apocryphal ,story of ,susanna is probably suggested by the meaning of his name3 ,judgment of ,god4 ,both that story and ,bel and the ,dragon are in their way effective fictions1 though incomparably inferior to the canonical part of the ,book of ,daniel4 ,and the startling decree of ,nebuchadrezzar finds its analogy in the decree published by ,antiochus the ,great to all his subjects in honour of the ,temple at ,jerusalem1 in which he threatened the infliction of heavy fines on any foreigner who trespassed within the limits of the ,holy ,court4#cgj ,,footnotes3 #cbg ,the false prophets ,ahab and ,zedekiah were roasted in the fire 7,jer4 xxix4 #bb71 which may have suggested the idea of this punishment to the writer2 but it was for committing lewdness--folly1 ,judg4 xx4 #f--;in ,israel1 and for adultery and lies1 which were regarded as treasonable4 ,in some traditions they are identified with the two elders of the ,story of ,susanna4 ,assur-bani-pal burnt ,samas-sum-ucin1 his brother1 who was ,viceroy of ,babylon 7about ,b4,c4 #fdh71 and ,te-,umman1 who cursed his gods 7,smith1 ,assur-bani-pal1 p4 #ach74 ,comp4 ,ewald1 ,prophets1 iii4 #bdj4 ,see supra1 p4 #dd4 #cbh ,malcolm1 ,persia1 i4 #bi1 #cj4 #cbi ,both in ,theodotion and the ,,lxx4 we have 4 ,the siege of ,jerusalem was not1 however1 finished till the nineteenth year of ,nebuchadrezzar 7#b ,kings xxv4 #h74 ,others conjecture that the scene occurred in his thirty-first year1 when he was at rest in his house1 and flourishing in his palace 7,dan4 iv4 #d74 #ccj ,records of the ,past1 v4 #aac4 ,the inscriptions of ,nebuchadrezzar are full of glorification of ,marduk 7,merodach71 id41 v4 #aae1 #ace1 vii4 #ge4 #cca ,comp4 ,isa4 xliv4 #i-bj4 ,mr4 ,hormuzd ,rassan discovered a colossal statue of ,nebo at ,nimroud in #ahec4 ,shalmanezer ,,iii4 says on his obelisk1 ,i made an image of my royalty2 upon it ,i inscribed the praise of ,asshur my master1 and a true account of my exploits4 ,herodotus 7i4 #ahc7 mentions a statue of ,zeus in ,babylon1 on which was spent eight hundred talents of gold1 and of another made of solid gold twelve ells high4 #ccb ,by the apologists the image or statue is easily toned down into a bust on a hollow pedestal 7,archdeacon ,rose1 ,speaker's ,commentary1 p4 #bgj74 ,the colossus of ,nero is said to have been a hundred and ten feet high1 but was of marble4 ,nestle 7,marginalia1 #ce7 quotes a passage from ,ammianus ,marcellinus1 which mentions a colossal statue of ,apollo reared by ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 to which there may be a side-allusion here4 #ccc ,schrader1 p4 #dcj3 ,dur-,yagina1 ,dur-,sargina1 etc4 ,,lxx41 4 #ccd ,,lxx4 and ,vulg41 satrap4 ,comp4 ,ezra viii4 #cf2 ,esther iii4 #ab4 ,supposed to be the ,persian ,khshatra-pwan 7,bevan1 p4 #gi74 #cce ,sign1 ,babylonian word 7,schrader1 p4 #daa74 #ccf ,,lxx41 4 ,comp4 ,pechah1 ,ezra v4 #ad4 ,an ,assyrian word 7,schrader1 p4 #egg74 #ccg ,,lxx41 4 ,perhaps the ,persian endarzgar1 or counsellor4 #cch ,,lxx41 4 ,comp4 ,ezra vii4 #ba2 but ,grtz thinks there is a mere scribe's mistake for the gadbar of vv4 #bd and #bg4 #cci ,this word is perhaps the old ,persian dtabard4 #cdj ,the word is found here alone4 ,perhaps advisers4 ,on these words see ,bevan1 p4 #gi2 ,speaker's ,commentary1 pp4 #bgh1 #bgi2 ,sayce1 ,assyr4 ,gr41 p4 #aaj4 #cda ,ewald1 ,prophets1 v4 #bji2 ,hist41 v4 #bid4 #cdb ,the word has often been compared with the ,greek 1 but the root is freely found in ,assyrian inscriptions 7,karaz1 an edict74 #cdc ,comp4 ,rev4 xviii4 #b1 4 #cdd ,see supra1 p4 #bb4 ,the qar'na 7horn1 7 and sab'ka 77 are in root both ,greek and ,aramean4 ,the pipe 7mash'rktha7 is ,semitic4 ,brandig tries to prove that even in ,nebuchadrezzar's time these three ,greek names 7even the symphonia7 had been borrowed by the ,babylonians from the ,greeks2 but the combined weight of philological authority is against him4 #cde ,see ,hibbert ,lectures1 chap4 lxxxix41 etc4 #cdf ,comp4 vi4 #ac1 #ad4 #cdg ,akaloo ,qar'tshn4 #cdh ,it is found in the ,targum rendering of ,lev4 xix4 #af for a talebearer1 and is frequent as a ,syriac and ,arabic idiom 7,fuller74 #cdi ,jerome emphasises the element of jealousy1 ,quos prtulisti nobis et captivos ac servos principes fecisti1 ii elati in superbiam tua prcepta contemnunt4 #cej ,the phrase is unique and of uncertain meaning4 #cea ,exod4 v4 #b2 ,isa4 xxxvi4 #bj2 #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #ac-ag4 #ceb ,dan4 iii4 #af4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 non oportet nos4 ,to soften the brusqueness of the address1 in which the ,rabbis 7e4g41 ,rashi7 rejoice1 the ,,lxx4 add another 4 #cec ,jerome explains ,but if not by ,quodsi noluerit2 and ,theodoret by 4 #ced iii4 #ah4 ,,lxx41 4 ,tert41 from the ,vet4 ,itala1 tunc manifestum erit tibi 7,scorp41 #h74 #cee ,comp4 ,gen4 xix4 #bb3 ,i cannot do anything until thou be come thither4 #cef ,cremation prevailed among the ,accadians1 and was adopted by the ,babylonians 7,g4 ,bertin1 ,bab4 and ,orient4 ,records1 i4 #ag-ba74 ,fire was regarded as the great purifier4 ,in the ,catacombs the scene of the ,three ,children in the fire is common4 ,they are painted walking in a sort of open cistern full of flames1 with doors beneath4 ,the ,greek word is 7,matt4 xiii4 #db71 a calcining furnace4 #ceg ,it seems very needless to introduce here1 as ,mr4 ,deane does in ,bishop ,ellicott's commentary1 the notion of the seven ,maskm or demons of ,babylonian mythology4 ,in the ,song of the ,three ,children the flames stream out forty-nine 7#g #g7 cubits4 ,comp4 ,isa4 xxx4 #bf4 #ceh ,the meaning of these articles of dress is only conjectural3 they are--7#a7 ,sarbln1 perhaps trousers1 ,,lxx4 1 ,vulg4 bracc2 7#b7 ,patsh1 ,,lxx4 1 ,vulg4 tiar2 7#c7 ,kar'bla1 ,,lxx4 1 ,vulg4 calceamenta4 ,it is useless to repeat all the guesses4 ,sarbala is a tunic in the ,talmud1 ,arab4 sirbal2 and some connect ,patsh with the ,greek 4 ,judging from ,assyrian and ,babylonian dress as represented on the monuments1 the youths were probably clad in turbans 7the ,median 71 an inner tunic 7the ,median 71 an outer mantle1 and some sort of leggings 7anaxurides74 ,it is interesting to compare with the passage the chapter of ,herodotus 7i4 #aij7 about the ,babylonian dress4 ,he says they wore a linen tunic reaching to the feet1 a woollen over-tunic1 a white shawl1 and slippers4 ,it was said to be borrowed from the dress of ,semiramis4 #cei ,chald41 haddab'rn2 ,,lxx41 4 #cfj ,the ,a4,v41 like the ,son of ,god1 is quite untenable4 ,the expression may mean a heavenly or an angelic being 7,gen4 vi4 #b2 ,job i4 #f74 ,so ordinary an expression does not need to be superfluously illustrated by references to the ,assyrian and ,babylonian inscriptions1 but they may be found in ,sayce1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 #abh and passim4 #cfa ,,lxx41 1 4 ,comp4 #b ,macc4 iii4 #ca2 ,mark v4 #g2 ,luke viii4 #bh2 ,acts xvi4 #ag1 from which it will be seen that it was not a ,jewish expression1 though it often occurs in the ,book of ,enoch 7,dillmann1 p4 #ih74 #cfb ,so in ,persian history the ,prince ,siawash clears himself from a false accusation in the reign of his father ,kai ,kaoos by passing through the fire 7,malcolm1 ,hist4 of ,persia1 i4 #ch74 #cfc ,comp4 ,psalm xvi4 #ab3 ,we went through fire and water1 and ,thou broughtest us out into a safe place4 #cfd ,comp4 ,gen4 xxiv4 #g2 ,exod4 xxiii4 #bj2 ,deut4 xxxvi4 #a4 ,the phrase applied to ,joshua the high priest 7,zech4 iii4 #b71 ,is not this a brand plucked out of the burning8 originated the legend that1 when the false prophets ,ahab and ,zedekiah had been burnt by ,nebuchadrezzar 7,jer4 xxix4 #bb71 ,joshua had been saved1 though singed4 ,this and other apocryphal stories illustrate the evolution of ,haggadoth out of metaphoric allusions4 #cfe 1 a dewy wind1 whistling continually4 #cff ,song of the ,three ,children1 #bc-bg4 #cfg ,vay4 ,rab41 xxv4 #a 7,wnsche1 ,bibliotheca ,rabbinica74 #cfh ,ecclus4 xviii4 #af3 ,shall not the dew assuage the heat8 #cfi ,speaker's ,commentary1 on the ,apocrypha1 ii4 #cje-cjg4 #cgj ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 iii4 #c2 ,jahn1 ,hebr4 ,commonwealth1 xc4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,babylonian ,,cedar1 ,,and ,,the ,,stricken ,,despot ,pride goeth before destruction1 and a haughty spirit before a fall4--,,prov4 xvi4 #ah4 ,thrice already1 in these magnificent stories1 had ,nebuchadrezzar been taught to recognise the existence and to reverence the power of ,god4 ,in this chapter he is represented as having been brought to a still more overwhelming conviction1 and to an open acknowledgment of ,god's supremacy1 by the lightning-stroke of terrible calamity4 ,the chapter is dramatically thrown into the form of a decree which1 after his recovery and shortly before his death1 the king is represented as having promulgated to all people1 nations1 and languages that dwell in all the earth4#cga ,but the literary form is so absolutely subordinated to the general purpose--which is to show that where ,god's judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the earth will learn righteousness1#cgb--that the writer passes without any difficulty from the first to the third person 7iv4 #bj-cj74 ,he does not hesitate to represent ,nebuchadrezzar as addressing all the subject nations in favour of the ,god of ,israel1 even placing in his imperial decree a cento of ,scriptural phraseology4 ,readers unbiassed by a-priori assumptions1 which are broken to pieces at every step1 will ask1 ,is it even historically conceivable that ,nebuchadrezzar 7to whom the later ,jews commonly gave the title of ,ha-,rashang1 'the wicked'7 could ever have issued such a decree8#cgc ,they will further ask1 ,is there any shadow of evidence to show that the king's degrading madness and recovery rest upon any real tradition8 ,as to the monuments and inscriptions1 they are entirely silent upon the subject2 nor is there any trace of these events in any historic record4 ,those who1 with the school of ,hengstenberg and ,pusey1 think that the narrative receives support from the phrase of ,berossus that ,nebuchadrezzar fell sick and departed this life when he had reigned forty-three years1 must be easily satisfied1 since he says very nearly the same of ,nabopolassar4#cgd ,such writers too much assume that immemorial prejudices on the subject have so completely weakened the independent intelligence of their readers1 that they may safely make assertions which1 in matters of secular criticism1 would be set aside as almost childishly nugatory4 ,it is different with the testimony of ,abydenus1 quoted by ,eusebius4#cge ,abydenus1 in his book on the ,assyrians1 quoted from ,megasthenes the story that1 after great conquests1 ,nebuchadrezzar 7as the ,chaldean story goes71 when he had ascended the roof of his palace1 was inspired by some god or other1 and cried aloud1 ',i1 ,nebuchadrezzar1 announce to you the future calamity which neither ,bel my ancestor1 nor our queen ,beltis1 can persuade the ,fates to avert4 ,there shall come a ,persian1 a mule1 who shall have your own gods as his allies1 and he shall make you slaves4 ,moreover1 he who shall help to bring this about shall be the son of a ,median woman1 the boast of the ,assyrian4 ,would that before his countrymen perish some whirlpool or flood might seize him and destroy him utterly2#cgf or else would that he might betake himself to some other place1 and might be driven to the desert1 where is no city nor track of men1 where wild beasts seek their food and birds fly hither and thither6 ,would that among rocks and mountain clefts he might wander alone6 ,and as for me1 may ,i1 before he imagines this1 meet with some happier end6' ,when he had thus prophesied1 he suddenly vanished4 ,i have italicised the passages which1 amid immense differences1 bear a remote analogy to the story of this chapter4 ,to quote the passage as any proof that the writer of ,daniel is narrating literal history is an extraordinary misuse of it4 ,megasthenes flourished ,b4,c4 #cbc1 and wrote a book which contained many fabulous stories1 three centuries after the events to which he alludes4 ,abydenus1 author of ,assyriaca1 was a ,greek historian of still later1 and uncertain1 date4 ,the writer of ,daniel may have met with their works1 or1 quite independently of them1 he may have learned from the ,babylonian ,jews that there was some strange legend or other about the death of ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,the ,jews in ,babylonia were more numerous and more distinguished than those in ,palestine1 and kept up constant communication with them4 ,so far from any historical accuracy about ,babylon in a ,palestinian ,jew of the age of the ,maccabees being strange1 or furnishing any proof that he was a contemporary of ,nebuchadrezzar1 the only subject of astonishment would be that he should have fallen into so many mistakes and inaccuracies1 were it not that the ancients in general1 and the ,jews particularly1 paid little attention to such matters4 ,aware1 then1 of some dim traditions that ,nebuchadrezzar at the close of his life ascended his palace roof and there received some sort of inspiration1 after which he mysteriously disappeared1 the writer1 giving free play to his imagination for didactic purposes1 after the common fashion of his age and nation1 worked up these slight elements into the stately and striking ,midrash of this chapter4 ,he too makes the king mount his palace roof and receive an inspiration2 but in his pages the inspiration does not refer to the mule or half-breed1 ,cyrus1 nor to ,nabunaid1 the son of a ,median woman1 nor to any imprecation pronounced upon them1 but is an admonition to himself2 and the imprecation which he denounced upon the future subverters of ,babylon is dimly analogous to the fate which fell on his own head4 ,instead of making him vanish immediately afterwards1 the writer makes him fall into a beast-madness for seven times1 after which he suddenly recovers and publishes a decree that all mankind should honour the true ,god4 ,ewald thinks that a verse has been lost at the beginning of the chapter1 indicating the nature of the document which follows2 but it seems more probable that the author began this1 as he begins other chapters1 with the sort of imposing overture of the first verse4 ,like ,assur-bani-pal and the ancient despots1 ,nebuchadrezzar addresses himself to all people in the earth1 and after the salutation of peace#cgg says that he thought it right to tell them the signs and wonders that the ,high ,god hath wrought towards me4 ,how great are ,his signs1 and how mighty are ,his wonders6 ,his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom1 and ,his dominion is from generation to generation4#cgh ,he goes on to relate that1 while he was at ease and secure in his palace1#cgi he saw a dream which affrighted him1 and left a train of gloomy forebodings4 ,as usual he summoned the whole train of ,khakhamm1 ,ashshaphm1 ,mekashshaphm1 ,kasdm1 ,chartummm1 and ,gazerm1 to interpret his dream1 and as usual they failed to do so4 ,then lastly1 ,daniel1 surnamed ,belteshazzar1 after ,bel1 ,nebuchradrezzar's god1#chj and chief of the magicians1#cha in whom was the spirit of the holy gods1 is summoned4 ,to him the king tells his dream4 ,the writer probably derives the images of the dream from the magnificent description of the ,king of ,assyria as a spreading cedar in ,ezek4 xxxi4 #c-ah3-- ,behold1 the ,assyrian was a cedar in ,lebanon with fair branches1 and with a shadowing shroud1 and of an high stature2 and his top was among the thick boughs4 ,the waters nourished him1 the deep made him to grow4444 ,therefore his stature was exalted above all the trees of the field2 and his boughs were multiplied1 and his branches became long by reason of many waters4 ,all the fowls of the air made their nests in his boughs1 and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young1 and under his shadow dwelt all great nations4444 ,the cedars in the garden of ,god could not hide him 444 nor was any tree in the garden of ,god like him in his beauty4444 ,therefore thus saith the ,lord ,god3 ,because thou art exalted in stature 444 ,i will deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations4444 ,and strangers1 the terrible of the nations1 have cut him off1 and have left him4 ,upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are broken 444 and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow1 and have left him4444 ,i made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall4 ,we may also compare this dream with that of ,cambyses narrated by ,herodotus#chb3 ,he fancied that a vine grew from the womb of his daughter and overshadowed the whole of ,asia4444 ,the magian interpreter expounded the vision to foreshow that the offspring of his daughter would reign over ,asia in his stead4 ,so too ,nebuchadrezzar in his dream had seen a tree in the midst of the earth1 of stately height1 which reached to heaven and overshadowed the world1 with fair leaves and abundant fruit1 giving large nourishment to all mankind1 and shade to the beasts of the field and fowls of the heaven4 ,the ,,lxx4 adds with glowing exaggeration1 ,the sun and moon dwelled in it1 and gave light to the whole earth4 ,and1 behold1 a watcher 'r#chc and a holy one qaddsh#chd came down from heaven1 and bade1 ,hew down1 and lop1 and strip the tree1 and scatter his fruit1 and scare away the beasts and birds from it1 but leave the stump in the greening turf bound by a band of brass and iron1 and let it be wet with heaven's dews1--and then1 passing from the image to the thing signified1 and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth4 ,let his heart be changed from man's1 and let a beast's heart be given unto him1 and let seven times pass over him4 ,we are not told to whom the mandate is given--that is left magnificently vague4 ,the object of this sentence of the watchers1 and utterance of the holy ones1 is that the living may know that the ,most ,high is the ,supreme ,king1 and can1 if ,he will1 give rule even to the lowliest4 ,nebuchadrezzar1 who tells us in his inscription that he never forgave impiety1 has to learn that he is nothing1 and that ,god is all1--that ,he pulleth down the mighty from their seat1 and exalteth the humble and meek4#che ,this dream ,nebuchadrezzar bids ,daniel to interpret1 because thou hast the spirit of a ,holy ,god in thee4 ,before we proceed let us pause for a moment to notice the agents of the doom4 ,it is one of the never-sleeping ones--an 'r and a holy one--who flashes down from heaven with the mandate2 and he is only the mouthpiece of the whole body of the watchers and holy ones4 ,generally1 no doubt1 the phrase means an angelic denizen of heaven4 ,the ,,lxx4 translates watcher by angel4 ,theodotion1 feeling that there is something technical in the word1 which only occurs in this chapter1 renders it by 4 ,this is the first appearance of the term in ,jewish literature1 but it becomes extremely common in later ,jewish writings--as1 for instance1 in the ,book of ,enoch4 ,the term a holy one#chf connotes the dedicated separation of the angels2 for in the ,old ,testament holiness is used to express consecration and setting apart1 rather than moral stainlessness4#chg ,the seven watchers are alluded to in the post-exilic ,zechariah 7iv4 #aj73 ,they see with joy the plummet in the hand of ,zerubbabel1 even those seven1 the eyes of the ,lord2 they run to and fro through the whole earth4 ,in this verse ,kohut#chh and ,kuenen read watchers 7'rm7 for eyes 7'nm71 and we find these seven watchers in the ,book of ,enoch 7chap4 xx474 ,we see as an historic fact that the familiarity of the ,jews with ,persian angelology and demonology seems to have developed their views on the subject4 ,it is only after the ,exile that we find angels and demons playing a more prominent part than before1 divided into classes1 and even marked out by special names4 ,the ,apocrypha becomes more precise than the canonical books1 and the later pseudepigraphic books1 which advance still further1 are left behind by the ,talmud4 ,some have supposed a connexion between the seven watchers and the ,persian amschashpands4#chi ,the shedm1 or evil spirits1 are also seven in number1-- ,seven are they1 seven are they6 ,in the channel of the deep seven are they1 ,in the radiance of heaven seven are they6#cij ,it is true that in ,enoch 7xc4 #ia7 the prophet sees the first six white ones1 and we find six also in ,ezek4 ix4 #b4 ,on the other hand1 we find seven in ,tobit3 ,i am ,raphael1 one of the seven holy angels which present the prayers of the saints1 and which go in and out before the glory of the ,holy ,one4#cia ,the names are variously given2 but perhaps the commonest are ,michael1 ,gabriel1 ,uriel1 ,raphael1 and ,raguel4#cib ,in the ,babylonian mythology seven deities stood at the head of all ,divine beings1 and the seven planetary spirits watched the gates of ,hades4#cic ,to ,daniel1 when he had heard the dream1 it seemed so full of portentous omen that he was astonished for one hour4#cid ,seeing his agitation1 the king bids him take courage and fearlessly interpret the dream4 ,but it is an augury of fearful visitation2 so he begins with a formula intended as it were to avert the threatened consequences4 ,my ,lord1 he exclaimed1 on recovering voice1 the dream be to them that hate thee1 and the interpretation to thine enemies4#cie ,the king would regard it as a sort of appeal to the averting deities 7the ,roman ,d ,averrunci71 and as analogous to the current formula of his hymns1 ,from the noxious spirit may the ,king of heaven and the king of earth preserve thee6#cif ,he then proceeds to tell the king that the fair1 stately1 sheltering tree--it is thou1 ,o king2 and the interpretation of the doom pronounced upon it is that he should be driven from men1 and should dwell with the beasts of the field1 and be reduced to eat grass like the oxen1 and be wet with the dew of heaven1 and seven times shall pass over thee1 till thou shalt know that the ,most ,high ruleth in the kingdom of men1 and giveth it to whomsoever ,he will4 ,but as the stump of the tree was to be left in the fresh green grass1 so the kingdom should be restored to him when he had learnt that the ,heavens do rule4 ,the only feature of the dream which is left uninterpreted is the binding of the stump with bands of iron and brass4 ,most commentators follow ,jerome in making it refer to the fetters with which maniacs are bound1#cig but there is no evidence that ,nebuchadrezzar was so restrained1 and the bands round the stump are for its protection from injury4 ,this seems preferable to the view which explains them as the stern and crushing sentence under which the king is to lie4#cih ,josephus and the ,jewish exegetes take the seven times to be seven years2 but the phrase is vague1 and the event is evidently represented as taking place at the close of the king's reign4 ,instead of using the awful name of ,jehovah1 the prophet uses the distant periphrasis of the ,heavens4 ,it was a phrase which became common in later ,jewish literature1 and a ,babylonian king would be familiar with it2 for in the inscriptions we find ,maruduk addressed as the great ,heavens1 the father of the gods4#cii ,having faithfully interpreted the fearful warning of the dream1 ,daniel points out that the menaces of doom are sometimes conditional1 and may be averted or delayed4 ,wherefore1 he says1 ,o king1 let my counsel be acceptable unto thee1 and break off thy sins by righteousness1 and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor2 if so be there may be a healing of thy error4#djj ,this pious exhortation of ,daniel has been severely criticised from opposite directions4 ,the ,jewish ,rabbis1 in the very spirit of bigotry and false religion1 said that ,daniel was subsequently thrown into the den of lions to punish him for the crime of tendering good advice to ,nebuchadrezzar2#dja and1 moreover1 the advice could not be of any real use2 for even if the nations of the world do righteousness and mercy to prolong their dominion1 it is only sin to them4#djb ,on the other hand1 the ,roman ,catholics have made it their chief support for the doctrine of good works1 which is so severely condemned in the twelfth of our ,articles4 ,probably no such theological questions remotely entered into the mind of the writer4 ,perhaps the words should be rendered break off thy sins by righteousness1 rather than 7as ,theodotion renders them7 redeem thy sins by almsgiving4#djc ,it is1 however1 certain that among the ,pharisees and the later ,rabbis there was a grievous limitation of the sense of the word tzedakah1 righteousness1 to mean merely almsgiving4 ,in ,matt4 vi4 #a it is well known that the reading alms 77 has in the received text displaced the reading righteousness 772 and in the ,talmud righteousness--like our shrunken misuse of the word charity--means almsgiving4 ,the value of alms has often been extravagantly exalted4 ,thus we read3 ,whoever shears his substance for the poor escapes the condemnation of hell 7,nedarm1 f4 #bb1 #a74 ,in ,baba ,bathra1 f4 #aj1 #a1 and ,rosh ,hashanah1 f4 #af1 #b1 we have alms delivereth from death1 as a gloss on the meaning of ,prov4 xi4 #d4djd ,we cannot tell that the writer shared these views4 ,he probably meant no more than that cruelty and injustice were the chief vices of despots1 and that the only way to avert a threatened calamity was by repenting of them4 ,the necessity for compassion in the abstract was recognised even by the most brutal ,assyrian kings4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we are next told the fulfilment of the dark dream4 ,the interpretation had been meant to warn the king2 but the warning was soon forgotten by one arrayed in such absolutism of imperial power4 ,the intoxication of pride had become habitual in his heart1 and twelve months sufficed to obliterate all solemn thoughts4 ,the ,septuagint adds that he kept the words in his heart2 but the absence of any mention of rewards or honours paid to ,daniel is perhaps a sign that he was rather offended than impressed4 ,a year later he was walking on the flat roof of the great palace of the kingdom of ,babylon4 ,the sight of that golden city in the zenith of its splendour may well have dazzled the soul of its founder4 ,he tells us in an inscription that he regarded that city as the apple of his eye1 and that the palace was its most glorious ornament4#dje ,it was in the centre of the whole country2 it covered a vast space1 and was visible far and wide4 ,it was built of brick and bitumen1 enriched with cedar and iron1 decorated with inscriptions and paintings4 ,the tower contained the treasures of my imperishable royalty2 and silver1 gold1 metals1 gems1 nameless and priceless1 and immense treasures of rare value1 had been lavished upon it4 ,begun in a happy month1 and on an auspicious day1 it had been finished in fifteen days by armies of slaves4 ,this palace and its celebrated hanging gardens were one of the wonders of the world4 ,beyond this superb edifice1 where now the hyna prowls amid miles of dbris and mounds of ruin1 and where the bittern builds amid pools of water1 lay the unequalled city4 ,its walls were three hundred and eighty feet high and eighty-five feet thick1 and each side of the quadrilateral they enclosed was fifteen miles in length4 ,the mighty ,euphrates flowed through the midst of the city1 which is said to have covered a space of two hundred square miles2 and on its farther bank1 terrace above terrace1 up to its central altar1 rose the huge ,temple of ,bel1 with all its dependent temples and palaces4#djf ,the vast circuit of the walls enclosed no mere wilderness of houses1 but there were interspaces of gardens1 and palm-groves1 and orchards1 and cornland1 sufficient to maintain the whole population4 ,here and there rose the temples reared to ,nebo1 and ,sin the moon-god1 and ,mylitta1 and ,nana1 and ,samas1 and other deities2 and there were aqueducts or conduits for water1 and forts and palaces2 and the walls were pierced with a hundred brazen gates4 ,when ,milton wanted to find some parallel to the city of ,pandemonium in ,paradise ,lost1 he could only say1-- ,not ,babylon1 ,nor great ,alcairo such magnificence ,equall'd in all their glories1 to enshrine ,belus or ,serapis their gods1 or seat ,their kings1 when ,egypt with ,assyria strove ,in wealth and luxury4 ,babylon1 to use the phrase of ,aristotle1 included1 not a city1 but a nation4#djg ,enchanted by the glorious spectacle of this house of his royalty and abode of his majesty1 the despot exclaimed almost in the words of some of his own inscriptions1 ,is not this great ,babylon that ,i have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my treasures and for the honour of my majesty8 ,the ,bible always represents to us that pride and arrogant self-confidence are an offence against ,god4 ,the doom fell on ,nebuchadrezzar while the haughty boast was still in the king's mouth4 ,the suddenness of the ,nemesis of pride is closely paralleled by the scene in the ,acts of the ,apostles in which ,herod ,agrippa ,i4 is represented as entering the theatre at ,csarea to receive the deputies of ,tyre and ,sidon4 ,he was clad1 says ,josephus1 in a robe of intertissued silver1 and when the sun shone upon it he was surrounded with a blaze of splendour4 ,struck by the scene1 the people1 when he had ended his harangue to them1 shouted1 ,it is the voice of a god1 and not of a man6 ,herod1 too1 in the story of ,josephus1 had received1 just before1 an ominous warning2 but it came to him in vain4 ,he accepted the blasphemous adulation1 and immediately1 smitten by the angel of ,god1 he was eaten of worms1 and in three days was dead4#djh ,and something like this we see again and again in what the late ,bishop ,thirlwall called the irony of history--the very cases in which men seem to have been elevated to the very summit of power only to heighten the dreadful precipice over which they immediately fall4 ,he mentions the cases of ,persia1 which was on the verge of ruin1 when with lordly arrogance she dictated the ,peace of ,antalcidas2 of ,boniface ,,viii41 in the ,jubilee of #acjj1 immediately preceding his deadly overthrow2 of ,spain1 under ,philip ,,ii41 struck down by the ruin of the ,armada at the zenith of her wealth and pride4 ,he might have added the instances of ,ahab1 ,sennacherib1 ,nebuchadrezzar1 and ,herod ,antipas2 of ,alexander the ,great1 dying as the fool dieth1 drunken and miserable1 in the supreme hour of his conquests2 of ,napoleon1 hurled into the dust1 first by the retreat from ,moscow1 then by the overthrow at ,waterloo4 ,while the word was yet in the king's mouth1 there fell a voice from heaven4 ,it was what the ,talmudists alluded to so frequently as the ,bath ,ql1 or daughter of a voice1 which came sometimes for the consolation of suffering1 sometimes for the admonition of overweening arrogance4 ,it announced to him the fulfilment of the dream and its interpretation4 ,as with one lightning-flash the glorious cedar was blasted1 its leaves scattered1 its fruits destroyed1 its shelter reduced to burning and barrenness4 ,then somehow the man's heart was taken from him4 ,he was driven forth to dwell among the beasts of the field1 to eat grass like oxen4 ,taking himself for an animal in his degrading humiliation he lived in the open field4 ,the dews of heaven fell upon him4 ,his unkempt locks grew rough like eagles' feathers1 his uncut nails like claws4 ,in this condition he remained till seven times--some vague and sacred cycle of days--passed over him4 ,his penalty was nothing absolutely abnormal4 ,his illness is well known to science and national tradition as that form of hypochondriasis in which a man takes himself for a wolf 7lycanthropy71 or a dog 7kynanthropy71 or some other animal4#dji ,probably the fifth-century monks1 who were known as ,boskoi1 from feeding on grass1 may have been1 in many cases1 half maniacs who in time took themselves for oxen4 ,cornill1 so far as ,i know1 is the first to point out the curious circumstance that a notion as to the points of analogy between ,nebuchadnezzar 7thus spelt7 and ,antiochus ,epiphanes may have been strengthened by the ,jewish method of mystic commentary known in the ,talmud as ,gematria1 and in ,greek as ,isopsephism4 ,that such methods1 in other forms1 were known and practised in early times we find from the substitution of ,sheshach for ,babel in ,jer4 xxv4 #bf1 li4 #da1 and of ,tabeal 7by some cryptogram7 for ,remaliah in ,isa4 vii4 #f2 and of lebh kamai 7them that dwell in the midst of them7 for ,kasdm 7,chaldeans7 in ,jer4 li4 #a4 ,these forms are only explicable by the interchange of letters known as ,athbash1 ,albam1 etc4 ,now ,nebuchadnezzar #dbc3-- #ej2 #b2 #f2 #bj2 #d2 #ej2 #a2 #ij2 #bjj #dbc4 ,and ,antiochus ,epiphanes #dbc3-- #a2 #ej2 #i2 #aj2 #f2 #bj2 #f2 #fj 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #afb #a2 #gj2 #aj2 #gj2 #ej2 #fj #bfa #dbc4 ,the madness of ,antiochus was recognised in the popular change of his name from ,epiphanes to ,epimanes4 ,but there were obvious points of resemblance between these potentates4 ,both of them conquered ,jerusalem4 ,both of them robbed the ,temple of its holy vessels4 ,both of them were liable to madness4 ,both of them tried to dictate the religion of their subjects4 ,what happened to the kingdom of ,babylon during the interim is a point with which the writer does not trouble himself4 ,it formed no part of his story or of his moral4 ,there is1 however1 no difficulty in supposing that the chief mages and courtiers may have continued to rule in the king's name--a course rendered all the more easy by the extreme seclusion in which most ,eastern monarchs pass their lives1 often unseen by their subjects from one year's end to the other4 ,alike in ancient days as in modern--witness the cases of ,charles ,,vi4 of ,france1 ,christian ,,vii4 of ,denmark1 ,george ,,iii4 of ,england1 and ,otho of ,bavaria--a king's madness is not allowed to interfere with the normal administration of the kingdom4 ,when the seven times--whether years or brief periods--were concluded1 ,nebuchadrezzar lifted up his eyes to heaven1 and his understanding returned to him4 ,no further light is thrown on his recovery1 which 7as is not infrequently the case in madness7 was as sudden as his aberration4 ,perhaps the calm of the infinite azure over his head flowed into his troubled soul1 and reminded him that 7as the inscriptions say7 the ,heavens are the father of the gods4#daj ,at any rate1 with that upward glance came the restoration of his reason4 ,he instantly blessed the ,most ,high1 and praised and honoured ,him who liveth for ever1 whose dominion is an everlasting dominion1 and ,his kingdom is from generation to generation4#daa ,and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing2 and ,he doeth according to ,his will#dab in the army of heaven1 and among the inhabitants of the earth2#dac and none can stay ,his hand1 or say unto ,him1 ,what doest ,thou8#dad ,then his lords and counsellors reinstated him in his former majesty2 his honour and brightness returned to him2 he was once more that head of gold in his kingdom4#dae ,he concludes the story with the words3 ,now ,i ,nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the ,king of heaven1 all whose works are truth and ,his ways judgment2#daf and those that walk in pride ,he is able to abase4#dag ,he died ,b4,c4 #efa1 and was deified1 leaving behind him an invincible name4 ,,footnotes3 #cga ,comp4 #a ,macc4 i4 #da1 #db3 ,and the king ,antiochus ,epiphanes wrote to his whole kingdom1 that all should be one people1 and every one should leave his laws4 #cgb ,isa4 xxvi4 #i4 #cgc ,professor ,fuller follows them in supposing that the decree is really a letter written by ,daniel1 as is shown by the analogy of similar documents1 and the attestation 767 of the ,,lxx4 7 74 ,he adds1 ,the undertone of genuineness which makes itself so inobtrusively felt to the ,assyrian scholar when reading it1 is quite sufficient to decide the question of authenticity6 ,such remarks are meant only for a certain circle of readers already convinced4 ,if they were true1 it would be singular that scarcely one living ,assyriologist accepts the authenticity of ,daniel2 and ,mr4 ,bevan calls this a narrative which contains scarcely anything specifically ,babylonian4 #cgd ,see ,jos4 c4 ,ap41 ,i4 #bj1 1 7of ,nebuchadrezzar72 and ,i4 #ai of ,nabopolassar4 #cge ,prp4 ,ev41 lx4 #da4 #cgf ,i follow the better readings which ,mr4 ,bevan adopts from ,von ,gutschmid and ,toup4 #cgg ,comp4 ,ezra iv4 #g1 vii4 #ab4 #cgh ,if ,nebuchadrezzar wrote this edict1 he must have been very familiar with the language of ,scripture4 ,see ,deut4 vi4 #bb2 ,isa4 viii4 #ah2 ,psalm lxxviii4 #ab-af1 cvi4 #b2 ,mic4 iv4 #g1 etc4 #cgi ,heykal1 palace2 ,bab41 ikallu4 ,comp4 ,amos viii4 #c4 ,see the palace described in ,layard1 ,nineveh and ,babylon4 #chj ,a mistake of the writer4 ,see supra1 p4 #abi4 #cha ,rab-chartummaya4 #chb ,herod41 i4 #ajh4 #chc 4 ,comp4 ,mal4 ii4 #ab 7perhaps the watchman and him that answereth74 ,,lxx41 2 ,theodot41 4 #chd ,comp4 ,deut4 xxxiii4 #b2 ,zech4 xiv4 #e2 ,psalm lxxxix4 #f2 ,job v4 #a1 etc4 #che ,the ,,lxx41 in its free manipulation of the original1 adds that the king saw the dream fulfilled4 ,in one day the tree was cut down1 and its destruction completed in one hour4 #chf ,comp4 ,zech4 xiv4 #e2 ,psalm lxxxix4 #f4 #chg ,see ,job xv4 #ae4 #chh ,dr4 ,a4 ,kohut1 ,die jdische ,angelologie1 p4 #f1 n4 #ag4 #chi ,for a full examination of the subject see ,oehler1 ,theol4 of the ,o4 ,t41 #ei1 pp4 #aie ff42 ,schultz1 ,alttest4 ,theol41 p4 #eee2 ,hamburger1 ,real-,encycl41 i41 s4v4 ,engel2 ,professor ,fuller1 ,speaker's ,commentary1 on the ,apocrypha1 ,tobit1 i41 #aga-ahc4 #cij ,sayce1 ,records of the ,past1 ix4 #adj4 #cia ,the number seven is not1 however1 found in all texts4 #cib ,the ,jewish tradition admits that the names of the angels came from ,persia 7,rosh ,hashanah1 f4 #ef1 #a2 ,bereshth ,rabba1 c4 #dh2 ,riehm1 ,r4 ,w4 ,b41 i4 #cha74 #cic ,descent of ,ishtar1 ,records of the ,past1 i4 #ada4 ,botta found seven rude figures buried under the thresholds of doors4 #cid ,the ,targum understands it for a moment4 #cie ,the wish was quite natural4 ,it is needless to follow ,rashi1 etc41 in making this an address to ,god1 as though it were a prayer to ,him that ruin might fall on ,his enemy ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,comp4 ,ov41 ,fast41 iii4 #did3 ,eveniat nostris hostibus ille color4 #cif ,records of the ,past1 i4 #acc4 #cig ,mark v4 #c4 #cih ,bevan1 p4 #ib4 #cii ,in the ,mishnah often ,shamaym2 ,n4 ,t41 4 #djj ,or1 as in ,a4,v4 and ,hitzig1 if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity2 but ,ewald reads arukah1 healing 7,isa4 lviii4 #h71 for ar'kah4 #dja ,baba ,bathra1 f4 #d1 #a4 #djb ,berachth1 f4 #aj1 #b2 f4 #eg1 #b4 #djc ,theodot41 2 ,vulg41 peccata tua eleemosynis redime4 ,comp4 ,psalm cxii4 #i4 ,this exaltation of almsgiving is a characteristic of later ,judaism 7,ecclus4 iv4 #e-aj2 ,tobit iv4 #aa74 #djd ,comp4 ,prov4 x4 #b1 xvi4 #f2 ,sukka1 f4 #di1 #b4 ,the theological and ethical question involved is discussed by ,calvin1 ,instt41 iii4 #d2 ,bellarmine1 ,de ,pnitent41 ii4 #f 7,behrmann74 #dje ,it is now called ,kasr1 but the ,arabs call it ,mujelib1 ,the ,ruined4 #djf ,birs-,nimrod 7,grote1 ,hist4 of ,greece1 ,,iii41 chap4 xix42 ,layard1 ,nin4 and ,bab41 chap4 ii474 #djg ,arist41 ,polit41 ,,iii4 i4 #ab4 ,he says that three days after its capture some of its inhabitants were still unaware of the fact4 #djh ,acts xii4 #bj-bc2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xiv4 viii4 #b4 #dji ,for further information on this subject ,i may refer to my paper on ,rabbinic ,exegesis1 ,expositor1 v4 #cfb-cgh4 ,the fact that there are slight variations in spelling ,nebuchadnezzar and ,antiochus ,epiphanes is of no importance4 #daj ,psalm cxxiii4 #a4 ,see ,eurypides1 ,bacch1 #fii4 #daa ,exod4 xvii4 #af4 #dab ,psalm cxlv4 #ac4 #dac ,isa4 xxiv4 #ba1 xl4 #ae1 #ag4 ,for the host of heaven 7 1 ,luke ii4 #ac7 see ,isa4 xl4 #bf2 ,job4 xxxviii4 #g2 #a ,kings xxii4 #ai2 ,enoch xviii4 #ad-af2 ,matt4 xi4 #be4 #dad ,isa4 xliii4 #ac1 xlv4 #i2 ,psalm cxxxv4 #f2 ,job ix4 #ab2 ,eccles4 viii4 #d4 ,the phrase for to reprove is literally to strike on the hand1 and is common in later ,jewish writers4 #dae ,dan4 ii4 #ch4 #daf ,psalm xxxiii4 #d4 #dag ,exod4 xviii4 #aa4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,fiery ,,inscription ,that night they slew him on his father's throne ,he died unnoticed1 and the hand unknown3 ,crownless and sceptreless ,belshazzar lay1 ,a robe of purple round a form of clay4 ,,sir ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,in this chapter again we have another magnificent fresco-picture1 intended1 as was the last--but under circumstances of aggravated guilt and more terrible menace--to teach the lesson that verily there is a ,god that judgeth the earth4 ,the truest way to enjoy the chapter1 and to grasp the lessons which it is meant to inculcate in their proper force and vividness1 is to consider it wholly apart from the difficulties as to its literal truth4 ,to read it aright1 and duly to estimate its grandeur1 we must relegate to the conclusion of the story all worrying questions1 impossible of final solution1 as to whom the writer intended by ,belshazzar1 or whom by ,darius the ,mede4#dah ,all such discussions are extraneous to edification1 and in no way affect either the consummate skill of the picture or the eternal truths of which it is the symbolic expression4 ,to those who1 with the present writer1 are convinced1 by evidence from every quarter--from philology1 history1 the testimony of the inscriptions1 and the manifold results obtained by the ,higher ,criticism--that the ,book of ,daniel is the work of some holy and highly gifted ,chasd in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 it becomes clear that the story of ,belshazzar1 whatever dim fragments of ,babylonian tradition it may enshrine1 is really suggested by the profanity of ,antiochus ,epiphanes in carrying off1 and doubtless subjecting to profane usage1 many of the sacred vessels of the ,temple of ,jerusalem4#dai ,the retribution which awaited the wayward ,seleucid tyrant is prophetically intimated by the menace of doom which received such immediate fulfilment in the case of the ,babylonian ,king4 ,the humiliation of the guilty conqueror1 ,nebuchadrezzar the ,wicked1 who founded the ,empire of ,babylon1 is followed by the overthrow of his dynasty in the person of his son1 and the capture of his vast capital4 ,it is natural1 says ,ewald1 that thus the picture drawn in this narrative should become1 under the hands of our author1 a true night-piece1 with all the colours of the dissolute1 extravagant riot of luxurious passion and growing madness1 of ruinous bewilderment1 and of the mysterious horror and terror of such a night of revelry and death4 ,the description of the scene begins with one of those crashing overtures of which the writer duly estimated the effect upon the imagination4 ,belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords1 and drank wine before the thousand4#dbj ,the banquet may have been intended as some propitiatory feast in honour of ,bel-merodach4 ,it was celebrated in that palace which was a wonder of the world1 with its winged statues and splendid spacious halls4 ,the walls were rich with images of the ,chaldeans1 painted in vermilion and exceeding in dyed attire--those images of goodly youths riding on goodly horses1 as in the ,panathenaic procession on the frieze of the ,acropolis--the frescoed pictures1 on which1 in the prophet's vision1 ,aholah and ,aholibah1 gloated in the chambers of secret imagery4#dba ,belshazzar's princes were there1 and his wives1 and his concubines1 whose presence the ,babylonian custom admitted1 though the ,persian regarded it as unseemly4#dbb ,the ,babylonian banquets1 like those of the ,greeks1 usually ended by a ,kmos or revelry1 in which intoxication was regarded as no disgrace4 ,wine flowed freely4 ,doubtless1 as in the grandiose picture of ,martin1 there were brasiers of precious metal1 which breathed forth the fumes of incense2#dbc and doubtless1 too1 there were women and boys and girls with flutes and cymbals1 to which the dancers danced in all the orgiastic abandonment of ,eastern passion4 ,all this was regarded as an element in the religious solemnity2 and while the revellers drank their wine1 hymns were being chanted1 in which they praised the gods of gold and of silver1 of brass1 of iron1 of wood1 and of stone4 ,that the king drank wine before the thousand is the more remarkable because usually the kings of the ,east banquet in solitary state in their own apartments4#dbd ,then the wild king1 with just such a burst of folly and irreverence as characterised the banquets of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 bethought him of yet another element of splendour with which he might make his banquet memorable1 and prove the superiority of his own victorious gods over those of other nations4 ,the ,temple of ,jerusalem was famous over all the world1 and there were few monarchs who had not heard of the marvels and the majesty of the ,god of ,israel4 ,belshazzar1 as the son of ,nebuchadrezzar1 must--if there was any historic reality in the events narrated in the previous chapter--have heard of the signs and wonders displayed by the ,king of heaven1 whose unparalleled awfulness his father had publicly attested in edicts addressed to all the world4 ,he must have known of the ,rab-mag ,daniel1 whose wisdom1 even as a boy1 had been found superior to that of all the ,chartummm and ,ashshaphm2 and how his three companions had been elevated to supreme satrapies2 and how they had been delivered unsinged from the seven-times-heated furnace1 whose flames had killed his father's executioners4 ,under no conceivable circumstances could such marvels have been forgotten2 under no circumstances could they have possibly failed to create an intense and a profound impression4 ,and ,belshazzar could hardly fail to have heard of the dreams of the golden image and of the shattered cedar1 and of ,nebuchadrezzar's unspeakably degrading lycanthropy4 ,his father had publicly acknowledged--in a decree published to all peoples1 nations1 and languages that dwell in all the earth--that humiliation had come upon him as a punishment for his overweening pride4 ,in that same decree the mighty ,nebuchadrezzar--only a year or two before1 if ,belshazzar succeeded him--had proclaimed his allegiance to the ,king of heaven2 and in all previous decrees he had threatened all people1 nations1 and languages that1 if they spake anything amiss against the ,god of ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego1 they should be cut in pieces1 and their houses made a dunghill4#dbe ,yet now ,belshazzar1 in the flush of pride and drunkenness1#dbf gives his order to insult this ,god with deadly impiety by publicly defiling the vessels of ,his awful ,temple1#dbg at a feast in honour of his own idol deities6 ,similarly ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 if he had not been half mad1 might have taken warning1 before he insulted the ,temple and the sacred vessels of ,jerusalem1 from the fact that his father1 ,antiochus the ,great1 had met his death in attempting to plunder the ,temple at ,elymais 7,b4,c4 #ahg74 ,he might also have recalled the celebrated discomfiture--however caused--of ,heliodorus in the ,temple of ,jerusalem4#dbh ,such insulting and reckless blasphemy could not go unpunished4 ,it is fitting that the ,divine retribution should overtake the king on the same night1 and that the same lips which thus profaned with this wine the holiest things should sip the wine of the ,divine poison-cup1 whose fierce heat must in the same night prove fatal to himself4 ,but even such sinners1 drinking as it were over the pit of hell1 according to a metaphor used elsewhere1#dbi must still at the last moment be warned by a suitable ,divine sign1 that it may be known whether they will honour the truth4#dcj ,nebuchadrezzar had received his warning1 and in the end it had not been wholly in vain4 ,even for ,belshazzar it might perhaps not prove to be too late4 ,for at this very moment#dca when the revelry was at its zenith1 when the whirl of excited self-exaltation was most intense1 when ,judah's gold was treading heavy on the lips--the profane lips--of satraps and concubines1 there appeared a portent1 which seems at first to have been visible to the king alone4 ,seated on his lofty and jewelled throne1 which ,outshone the wealth of ,ormuz or of ,ind1 ,or where the gorgeous ,east with richest hand ,showers on its kings barbaric pearl and gold1 his eye caught something visible on the white stucco of the wall above the line of frescoes4#dcb ,he saw it over the lights which crowned the huge golden ,nebrashta1 or chandelier4#dcc ,the fingers of a man's hand were writing letters on the wall1 and the king saw the hollow of that gigantic supernatural palm4#dcd ,the portent astounded and horrified him4 ,the flush of youth and of wine faded from his cheek2--his brightnesses were changed2 his thoughts troubled him2 the bands of his loins were loosed2#dce his knees smote one against another in his trembling attitude1#dcf as he stood arrested by the awful sight4 ,with a terrible cry he ordered that the whole familiar tribe of astrologers and soothsayers should be summoned4 ,for though the hand had vanished1 its trace was left on the wall of the banqueting-chamber in letters of fire4 ,and the stricken king1 anxious to know above all things the purport of that strange writing1 proclaims that he who could interpret it should be clothed in scarlet1 and have a chain of gold about his neck1 and should be one of the triumvirs of the kingdom4#dcg ,it was the usual resource2 and it failed as it had done in every previous instance4 ,the ,babylonian magi in the ,book of ,daniel prove themselves to be more futile even than ,pharaoh's magicians with their enchantments4 ,the dream-interpreters in all their divisions entered the banquet-hall4 ,the king was perturbed1 the omen urgent1 the reward magnificent4 ,but it was all in vain4 ,as usual they failed1 as in every instance in which they are introduced in the ,old ,testament4 ,and their failure added to the visible confusion of the king1 whose livid countenance retained its pallor4 ,the banquet1 in all its royal magnificence1 seemed likely to end in tumult and confusion2 for the princes1 and satraps1 and wives1 and concubines all shared in the agitation and bewilderment of their sovereign4 ,meanwhile the tidings of the startling prodigy had reached the ears of the ,gebrah--the queen-mother--who1 as always in the ,east1 held a higher rank than even the reigning sultana4#dch ,she had not been present at--perhaps had not approved of--the luxurious revel1 held when the ,persians were at the very gates4 ,but now1 in her young son's extremity1 she comes forward to help and advise him4 ,entering the hall with her attendant maidens1 she bids the king to be no longer troubled1 for there is a man of the highest rank--invariably1 as would appear1 overlooked and forgotten till the critical moment1 in spite of his long series of triumphs and achievements--who was quite able to read the fearful augury1 as he had often done before1 when all others had been foiled by ,him who frustrateth the tokens of the liars and maketh diviners mad4#dci ,strange that he should not have been thought of1 though the king thy father1 the king1 ,i say1 thy father1 made him master of the whole college of mages and astrologers4 ,let ,belshazzar send for ,belteshazzar1 and he would untie the knot and read the awful enigma4#ddj ,then1 ,daniel was summoned2 and since the king has heard of him1 that the spirit of the gods is in him1 and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in him1 and that he is one who can interpret dreams1 and unriddle hard sentences and untie knots1 he shall have the scarlet robe1 and the golden chain1 and the seat among the triumvirs1 if he will read and interpret the writing4 ,let thy gifts be thine1 and thy rewards to another1#dda answered the seer1 with fearless forthrightness3 yet1 ,o king1 ,i will read and interpret the writing4 ,then1 after reminding him of the consummate power and majesty of his father ,nebuchadrezzar2 and how his mind had become indurated with pride2 and how he had been stricken with lycanthropy1 till he knew that the ,most ,high ,god ruled in the kingdom of men2 and that1 in spite of all this1 he1 ,belshazzar1 in his infatuation1 had insulted the ,most ,high ,god by profaning the holy vessels of ,his ,temple in a licentious revelry in honour of idols of gold1 silver1 brass1 iron1 and stone1 which neither see1 nor know1 nor hear1--for this reason 7said the seer7 had the hollow hand been sent and the writing stamped upon the wall4 ,and now what was the writing8 ,daniel at the first glance had read that fiery quadrilateral of letters1 looking like the twelve gems of the high priest's ephod with the mystic light gleaming upon them4 ------------ ,m4 ,n4 ,a4 ------------ ,m4 ,n4 ,a4 ------------ ,t4 ,q4 ,l4 ------------ ,p4 ,r4 ,s4 ------------ ,four names of weight4#ddb ------------------- ,a ,mina4 ------------------- ,a ,mina4 ------------------- ,a ,shekel4 ------------------- ,a ,half-mina4#ddc ------------------- ,what possible meaning could there be in that8 ,did it need an archangel's colossal hand1 flashing forth upon a palace-wall to write the menace of doom1 to have inscribed no more than the names of four coins or weights8 ,no wonder that the ,chaldeans could not interpret such writing6 ,it may be asked why they could not even read it1 since the words are evidently ,aramaic1 and ,aramaic was the common language of trade4 ,the ,rabbis say that the words1 instead of being written from right to left1 were written 1 pillar-wise1 as the ,greeks called it1 from above downwards3 thus-- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ,read from left to right1 they would look like gibberish2 read from above downwards1 they became clear as far as the reading was concerned1 though their interpretation might still be surpassingly enigmatic4 ,but words may stand for all sorts of mysterious meanings2 and in the views of analogists--as those are called who not only believe in the mysterious force and fascination of words1 but even in the physiological quality of sounds--they may hide awful indications under harmless vocables4 ,herein lay the secret4 ,a mina6 a mina6 ,yes2 but the names of the weights recall the word m'nah1 hath numbered3 and ,god hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it4 ,a shekel6 ,yes2 t'qilta3 ,thou hast been weighed in a balance and found wanting4 ,peres--a half-mina6 ,yes2 but p'rsath3 ,thy kingdom has been divided1 and given to the ,medes and ,persians4#ddd ,at this point the story is very swiftly brought to a conclusion1 for its essence has been already given4 ,daniel is clothed in scarlet1 and ornamented with the chain of gold1 and proclaimed triumvir4#dde ,but the king's doom is sealed6 ,that night was ,belshazzar1 king of the ,chaldeans1 slain4 ,his name meant1 ,bel6 preserve thou the king6 ,but ,bel bowed down1 and ,nebo stooped1 and gave no help to their votary4 ,evil things in robes of sorrow ,assailed the monarch's high estate2 ,ah1 woe is me6 for never morrow ,shall dawn upon him desolate6 ,and all about his throne the glory ,that blushed and bloomed ,is but an ill-remembered story ,of the old time entombed4 ,and ,darius the ,mede took the kingdom1 being about sixty-two years old4 ,as there is no such person known as ,darius the ,mede1 the age assigned to him must be due either to some tradition about some other ,darius1 or to chronological calculations to which we no longer possess the key4#ddf ,he is called the son of ,achashverosh1 ,ahasuerus 7ix4 #a71 or ,xerxes4 ,the apologists have argued that-- #a4 ,darius was ,cyaxares ,,ii41 father of ,cyrus1 on the authority of ,xenophon's romance1#ddg and ,josephus's echo of it4#ddh ,but the ,cyropdia is no authority1 being1 as ,cicero said1 a non-historic fiction written to describe an ideal kingdom4#ddi ,history knows nothing of a ,cyaxares ,,ii4 #b4 ,darius was ,astyages4#dej ,not to mention other impossibilities which attach to this view1 ,astyages would have been far older than sixty-two at the capture of ,babylon by ,cyrus4 ,cyrus had suppressed the ,median dynasty altogether some years before he took ,babylon4 #c4 ,darius was the satrap ,gobryas1 who1 so far as we know1 only acted as governor for a few months4 ,but he is represented on the contrary as an extremely absolute king1 setting one hundred and twenty princes over the whole kingdom1 and issuing mandates to all people1 nations1 and languages that dwell in all the earth4 ,even if such an identification were admissible1 it would not in the least save the historic accuracy of the writer4 ,this ,darius the ,mede is ignored by history1 and ,cyrus is represented by the ancient records as having been the sole and undisputed king of ,babylon from the time of his conquest4#dea ,darius the ,mede probably owes his existence to a literal understanding of the prophecies of ,isaiah 7xiii4 #ag7 and ,jeremiah 7li4 #aa1 #bh74 ,we can now proceed to the examination of the next chapter unimpeded by impossible and half-hearted hypotheses4 ,we understand it1 and it was meant to be understood1 as a moral and spiritual parable1 in which unverified historic names and traditions are utilised for the purpose of inculcating lessons of courage and faithfulness4 ,the picture1 however1 falls far below those of the other chapters in power1 finish1 and even an approach to natural verisimilitude4 ,,footnotes3 #dah ,the question has already been fully discussed 7supra1 pp4 #ed-eg74 ,the apologists say that-- #a4 ,belshazzar was ,evil-merodach 7,niebuhr1 ,wolff1 ,bishop ,westcott1 ,zckler1 ,keil1 etc471 as the son of ,nebuchadrezzar 7,dan4 v4 #b1 #aa1 #ah1 #bb71 and his successor 7,baruch i4 #aa1 #ab1 where he is called ,balthasar1 as in the ,,lxx474 ,the identification is impossible 7see ,dan4 v4 #bh1 #ca72 for ,evil-merodach 7,b4,c4 #efa7 was murdered by his brother-in-law ,neriglissar 7,b4,c4 #eei74 ,besides1 the ,jews were well acquainted with ,evil-merodach 7#b ,kings xxv4 #bg2 ,jer4 lii4 #ca47 #b4 ,belshazzar was ,nabunaid 7,st4 ,jerome1 ,ewald1 ,winer1 ,herzfeld1 ,auberlen1 etc474 ,but the usurper ,nabunaid1 son of a ,rab-mag1 was wholly unlike ,belshazzar2 and so far from being slain1 he was pardoned1 and sent by ,cyrus to be ,governor of ,karmania1 in which position he died4 #c4 ,belshazzar was the son of ,nabunaid4 ,but though ,nabunaid had a son of the name he was never king4 ,we know nothing of any relationship between him and ,nebuchadrezzar1 nor does ,cyrus in his records make the most distant allusion to him4 ,the attempt to identify ,nebuchadrezzar with an unknown ,marduk-sar-utsur1 mentioned in ,babylonian tablets1 breaks down2 for ,mr4 ,boscawen 7,soc4 ,bibl41 in vi41 p4 #ajh7 finds that he reigned before ,nabunaid4 ,further1 the son of ,nabunaid perished1 not in ,babylon1 but in ,accad4 #dai ,see #a ,macc4 i4 #ba-bd4 ,he entered proudly into the sanctuary1 and took away the golden altar1 and the candlestick of light1 and all the vessels thereof1 and the table of the shewbread1 and the pouring vessels1 and the vials1 and the censers of gold4444 ,he took also the silver and the gold1 and the precious vessels3 also he took the hidden treasures which he found1 etc4 ,comp4 #b ,macc4 v4 #aa-ad2 ,diod4 ,sic41 ,,xxxi4 i4 #dh4 ,the value of precious metals which he carried off was estimated at one thousand eight hundred silver talents--about #cej1jjj 7#b ,macc4 v4 #ba74 #dbj ,the ,,lxx4 says two thousand4 ,comp4 ,esther i4 #c1 #d4 ,jerome adds1 ,unusquisque secundum suam bibit tatem4 #dba ,ezek4 xxiii4 #ae4 #dbb ,herod41 i4 #aia1 v4 #ah2 ,xen41 ,cyrop41 ,v4 ii4 #bh2 ,q4 ,curt41 ,v4 i4 #ch4 ,theodotion1 perhaps scandalised by the fact1 omits the wives1 and the ,,lxx4 omits both wives and concubines4 #dbc ,layard1 ,nin4 and ,bab41 ii4 #bfb-bfi4 #dbd ,athen41 ,deipnos1 iv4 #ade4 ,see the bas-relief in the ,british ,museum of ,king ,assur-bani-pal drinking wine with his queen1 while the head of his vanquished enemy1 ,te-,umman1 ,king of ,elam1 dangles from a palm-branch full in his view1 so that he can feast his eyes upon it4 ,none others are present except the attendant eunuchs4 #dbe ,dan4 iii4 #bi4 #dbf ,the ,babylonians were notorious for drunken revels4 ,q4 ,curt41 ,v4 i41 ,babylonii maxime in vinum et qu ebrietatem sequuntur1 effusi sunt4 #dbg ,dan4 i4 #b4 ,comp4 #a ,macc4 i4 #ba ff4 #dbh #b ,macc4 iii4 #dbi ,psalm lv4 #ae4 #dcj ,ewald4 #dca ,comp4 ,dan4 iii4 #g4 #dcb ,see ,layard1 ,nin4 and ,bab41 ii4 #bfi4 #dcc ,a word of uncertain origin4 ,the ,talmud uses it for the word 7the ,greek 74 #dcd ,hollow4 ,heb41 pas2 ,theodot41 2 ,vulg41 articulos4 ,the word may mean palm of the hand1 or sole of the foot 7,bevan74 #dce ,psalm lxix4 #bc4 ,bands--lit4 fastenings2 ,theodot41 2 ,vulg41 compages4 #dcf ,comp4 ,ezek4 vii4 #ag1 and the ,homeric 1 ,od41 iv4 #gjc2 ,ov41 ,met41 ii4 #ahj1 genua intremuere timore4 #dcg ,doubtless suggested by ,gen4 xli4 #db 7comp4 ,herod41 iii4 #bj2 ,xen41 ,anab41 ,i4 ii4 #bg2 ,cyrop41 ,,viii4 v4 #ah71 as other parts of ,daniel's story recall that of ,joseph4 ,comp4 ,esther vi4 #h1 #i4 ,the word for scarlet or red-purple is argona4 ,the word for chain 7,q'r4 ham'nka7 is in ,theodotion rendered 1 and occurs in later ,aramaic4 ,the phrase rendered third ruler is very uncertain4 ,the inference drawn from it in the ,speaker's ,commentary--that ,nabunaid was king1 and ,belshazzar second ruler--is purely nugatory4 ,for the ,hebrew word talt cannot mean third1 which would be 4 ,ewald and most ,hebraists take it to mean rule1 as one of the board of three4 ,for triumvir comp4 vi4 #b4 #dch #a ,kings xv4 #ac4 ,she is precariously identified by the apologists with the ,nitocris of ,herodotus2 and it is imagined that she may have been a daughter of ,nebuchadrezzar1 married to ,nabunaid before the murder of ,neriglissar4 #dci ,isa4 xliv4 #be4 #ddj ,the word ,qistrn1 knots1 may mean hard questions2 but ,mr4 ,bevan 7p4 #ajd7 thinks there may be an allusion to knots used as magic spells4 7,comp4 ,sen41 dip41 #aja1 ,nodosa sortis verba et implexos dolos47 ,he quotes ,al-,baidawi on the ,koran1 lxiii4 #d1 who says that a ,jew casts a spell on ,mohammed by tying knots in a cord1 and hiding it in a well4 ,but ,gabriel told the prophet to send for the cord1 and at each verse of the ,koran recited over it a knot untied itself4 ,see ,records of the ,past1 iii4 #ada2 and ,duke1 ,rabb4 ,blumenlehre1 #bca4 #dda ,so ,elisha1 #b ,kings v4 #af4 #ddb ,the ,men is repeated for emphasis4 ,in the ,upharsn 7ver4 #be7 the u is merely the and1 and the word is slightly altered1 perhaps to make the paronomasia with ,persians more obvious4 ,according to ,buxtorf and ,gesenius1 peras1 in the sense of divide1 is very rare in the ,targums4 #ddc ,journal ,asiatique1 #ahhf4 7,comp4 ,nldeke1 ,ztschr4 fr ,assyriologie1 i4 #dad-dah2 ,kamphausen1 p4 #df47 ,it is ,m4 ,clermont-,ganneau who has the credit of discovering what seems to be the true interpretation of these mysterious words4 ,m'n 7,heb4 ,maneh7 is the ,greek 1 ,lat4 mina1 which the ,greeks borrowed from the ,assyrians4 ,tekel 7in the ,targum of ,onkelos tkla7 is the ,hebrew shekel4 ,in the ,mishnah a half-mina is called peras1 and an ,assyrian weight in the ,british ,museum bears the inscription perash in the ,aramaic character4 7,see ,bevan1 p4 #ajf2 ,schrader1 s4v4 ,mene in ,riehm1 ,r4,w4,b47 ,peres is used for a half-mina in ,yoma1 f4 #d1 #d2 often in the ,talmud2 and in ,corp4 ,inscr4 ,sem41 ii4 #aj 7,behrmann74 #ddd ,the word occurs in ,perez ,uzza4 ,there still1 however1 remain some obviously unexplored mysteries about these words4 ,paronomasia1 as ,i showed long ago in other works1 plays a noble and profound part in the language of emotion2 and that the interpretation should here be made to turn upon it is not surprising by any means4 ,we find it in the older prophets4 ,thus in ,jer4 i4 #aa1 #ab3 ,what seest thou8 ,and ,i said1 ,i see a rod of an almond tree4 ,then said the ,lord unto me1 ,thou hast well seen3 for ,i will hasten ,my word to perform it4 ,the meaning here depends on the resemblance in ,hebrew between shaqeed1 an almond tree 7a wakeful1 or early tree71 and shoqeed1 ,i will hasten1 or am wakeful over4 ,and that the same use of plays on words was still common in the ,maccabean epoch we see in the ,story of ,susanna4 ,there ,daniel plays on the resemblance between 1 a mastick tree1 and 1 shall cut thee in two2 and 1 a holm oak1 and 1 to cut asunder4 ,we may also point to the fine paronomasia in the ,hebrew of ,isa4 v4 #g1 ,mic4 i4 #aj-ae1 and other passages4 ,such a conceit1 says ,mr4 ,ball1 may seem to us far-fetched and inappropriate2 but the ,oriental mind delights in such lusus verborum1 and the peculiar force of all such passages in the ,hebrew prophets is lost in our version because they have not been preserved in translation4 ,as regards the ,medes1 they are placed after the ,persians in ,isa4 xxi4 #b1 ,esther i4 #c1 but generally before them4 #dde ,,lxx41 2 ,theodot41 4 ,see supra1 p4 #baj4 #ddf ,the ,,lxx4 evidently felt some difficulty or followed some other text1 for they render it1 ,and ,artaxerxes of the ,medes took the kingdom1 and ,darius full of days and glorious in old age4 ,so1 too1 ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #d71 who says that he was called by another name among the ,greeks4 #ddg ,cyrop41 ,i4 v4 #b4 #ddh ,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #d4 ,this was the view of ,vitringa1 ,bertholdt1 ,gesenius1 ,winer1 ,keil1 ,hengstenberg1 ,hvernick1 etc4 #ddi ,ad4 ,q4 ,fratr41 i4 #h4 #dej ,the view of ,niebuhr and ,westcott4 #dea ,see ,herod41 i4 #aji4 ,the ,median ,empire fell ,b4,c4 #eei2 ,babylon was taken about ,b4,c4 #eci4 ,it is regarded as important that a late ,greek lexicographer1 long after the ,christian era1 makes the vague and wholly unsupported assertion that the ,daric was named after some ,darius other than the father of ,xerxes6 ,see supra1 pp4 #eg-fj4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,stopping ,,the ,,mouths ,,of ,,lions ,thou shalt tread upon the lion 444 the young lion shalt thou trample under thy feet4--,,psalm xci4 #ac4 ,on the view which regards these pictures as powerful parables1 rich in spiritual instructiveness1 but not primarily concerned with historic accuracy1 nor even necessarily with ancient tradition1 we have seen how easily the great strong fresco-strokes which the narrator loves to use may have been suggested to him by his diligent study of the ,scriptures4 ,the first chapter is a beautiful picture which serves to set forth the glory of moderation and to furnish a vivid concrete illustration of such passages as those of ,jeremiah3 ,her ,nazarites were purer than snow2 they were whiter than milk2 they were more ruddy in body than rubies2 their polishing was of sapphire4#deb ,the second chapter1 closely reflecting in many of its details the story of ,joseph1 illustrated how ,god frustrateth the tokens of the liars1 and maketh diviners mad2 turneth wise men backward1 and maketh their knowledge foolish2 confirmeth the word of ,his servant1 and performeth the counsel of ,his messengers4#dec ,the third chapter gives vividness to the promise1 ,when thou walkest through the fire1 thou shalt not be burned1 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee4#ded ,the fourth chapter repeats the apologue of ,ezekiel1 in which he compares the ,king of ,assyria to a cedar in ,lebanon with fine branches1 and with a shadowy shroud1 and fair by the multitude of his branches1 so that all the trees of ,eden that were in the garden of ,god envied him1 but whose boughs were broken by all the watercourses until the peoples of the earth left his shadow4#dee ,it was also meant to show that pride goeth before destruction1 and a haughty spirit before a fall4#def ,it illustrates the words of ,isaiah3 ,behold1 the ,lord1 the ,lord of hosts1 shall lop the bough with terror2 and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down1 and the haughty shall be humbled4#deg ,the fifth chapter gives a vivid answer to ,isaiah's challenge3 ,let now the astrologers1 the stargazers1 the monthly prognosticators1 stand up and save thee from these things which shall come upon thee4#deh ,it describes a fulfilment of his vision3 ,a grievous vision is declared unto thee2 the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously1 and the spoiler spoileth4 ,go up1 ,o ,elam3 besiege1 ,o ,media4#dei ,the more detailed prophecy of ,jeremiah had said3 ,prepare against ,babylon the nations with the kings of the ,medes4444 ,the mighty men of ,babylon have forborne to fight4444 ,one post shall run to meet another1 and one messenger to meet another1 to show the ,king of ,babylon that his city is taken at one end4444 ,in their heat ,i will make their feasts1 and ,i will make them drunken1 that they shall rejoice1 and sleep a perpetual sleep1 and not wake1 saith the ,lord4444 ,how is ,sheshach taken6#dfj and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised6444 ,and ,i will make drunk her princes1 and her wise men1 her captains1 and her rulers1 and her mighty men2 and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep1 and not wake1 saith the ,king1 whose name is the ,lord of hosts4#dfa ,the sixth chapter puts into concrete form such passages of the ,psalmist as3 ,my soul is among lions3 and ,i lie even among them that are set on fire1 even the sons of men1 whose teeth are spears and arrows1 and their tongue a sharp sword2#dfb and--,break the jaw-bones of the lions1 ,o ,lord2#dfc and--,they have cut off my life in the dungeon1 and cast a stone upon me#dfd3--;and more generally such promises as those in ,isaiah3 ,no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper2 and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn4 ,this is the heritage of the servants of the ,lord1 and their righteousness is of ,me1 saith the ,lord4#dfe ,this genesis of ,haggadoth is remarkably illustrated by the apocryphal additions to ,daniel4 ,thus the ,history of ,susanna was very probably suggested by ,jeremiah's allusion 7xxix4 #bb7 to the two false prophets ,ahab and ,zedekiah1 whom ,nebuchadrezzar burnt4#dff ,similarly the story of ,bel and the ,dragon is a fiction which expounds ,jer4 li4 #dd3 ,and ,i will punish ,bel in ,babylon1 and ,i will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up4#dfg ,hitherto the career of ,daniel had been personally prosperous4 ,we have seen him in perpetual honour and exaltation1 and he had not even incurred--though he may now have been ninety years old--such early trials and privations in a heathen land as had fallen to the lot of ,joseph1 his youthful prototype4 ,his three companions had been potential martyrs2 he had not even been a confessor4 ,terrible as was the doom which he had twice been called upon to pronounce upon ,nebuchadrezzar and upon his kingdom1 the stern messages of prophecy1 so far from involving him in ruin1 had only helped to uplift him to the supremest honours4 ,not even the sternness of his bearing1 and the terrible severity of his interpretations of the flaming message to ,belshazzar1 had prevented him from being proclaimed triumvir1 and clothed in scarlet1 and decorated with a chain of gold1 on the last night of the ,babylonian ,empire4 ,and now a new king of a new dynasty is represented as seated on the throne2 and it might well have seemed that ,daniel was destined to close his days1 not only in peace1 but in consummate outward felicity4 ,darius the ,mede began his reign by appointing one hundred and twenty princes over the whole kingdom2#dfh and over these he placed three presidents4 ,daniel is one of these eyes of the king4#dfi ,because an excellent spirit was in him1 he acquired preponderant influence among the presidents2 and the king1 considering that ,daniel's integrity would secure him from damage in the royal accounts1 designed to set him over the whole realm4 ,but assuming that the writer is dealing1 not with the real1 but with the ideal1 something would be lacking to ,daniel's eminent saintliness1 if he were not set forth as no less capable of martyrdom on behalf of his convictions than his three companions had been4 ,from the fiery trial in which their faithfulness had been proved like gold in the furnace he had been exempt4 ,his life thus far had been a course of unbroken prosperity4 ,but the career of a pre-eminent prophet and saint hardly seems to have won its final crown1 unless he also be called upon to mount his ,calvary1 and to share with all prophets and all saints the persecutions which are the invariable concomitants of the hundredfold reward4#dgj ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego had been tested in early youth3 the trial of ,daniel is reserved for his extreme old age4 ,it is not1 it could not be1 a severer trial than that which his friends braved1 nor could his deliverance be represented as more supernatural or more complete1 unless it were that they endured only for a few moments the semblable violence of the fire1 while he was shut up for all the long hours of night alone in the savage lions' den4 ,there are1 nevertheless1 two respects in which this chapter serves as a climax to those which preceded it4 ,on the one hand1 the virtue of ,daniel is of a marked character in that it is positive1 and not negative--in that it consists1 not in rejecting an overt sin of idolatry1 but in continuing the private duty of prayer2 on the other1 the decree of ,darius surpasses even those of ,nebuchadrezzar in the intensity of its acknowledgment of the supremacy of ,israel's ,god4 ,daniel's age--for by this time he must have passed the allotted limit of man's threescore years and ten--might have exempted him from envy1 even if1 as the ,,lxx4 adds1 he was clad in purple4 ,but jealous that a captive ,jew should be exalted above all the native satraps and potentates by the king's favour1 his colleagues the presidents 7whom the ,,lxx4 calls two young men7 and the princes rushed before the king with a request which they thought would enable them to overthrow ,daniel by subtlety4 ,faithfulness is required in stewards2#dga and they knew that his faithfulness and wisdom were such that they would be unable to undermine him in any ordinary way4 ,there was but one point at which they considered him to be vulnerable1 and that was in any matter which affected his allegiance to an alien worship4 ,but it was difficult to invent an incident which would give them the sought-for opportunity4 ,all polytheisms are as tolerant as their priests will let them be4 ,the worship of the ,jews in the ,exile was of a necessarily private nature4 ,they had no ,temple1 and such religious gatherings as they held were in no sense unlawful4 ,the problem of the writer was to manage his ,haggada in such a way as to make private prayer an act of treason2 and the difficulty is met--not1 indeed1 without violent improbability1 for which1 however1 ,jewish haggadists cared little1 but with as much skill as the circumstances permitted4 ,the phrase that they made a tumult or rushed#dgb before the king1 which recurs in vi4 #aa and #ah1 is singular1 and looks as if it were intentionally grotesque by way of satire4 ,the etiquette of ,oriental courts is always most elaborately stately1 and requires solemn obeisance4 ,this is why schylus makes ,agamemnon say1 in answer to the too-obsequious fulsomeness of his false wife1-- 1 1 4 ,besides1 prithee1 use not too fond a care ,to me1 as to some virgin whom thou strivest ,to deck with ornaments1 whose softness looks ,softer1 hung round the softness of her youth2 ,ope not the mouth to me1 nor cry amain ,as at the footstool of a man of the ,east ,prone on the ground3 so stoop not thou to me6 ,that these presidents and satraps1 instead of trying to win the king by such flatteries and gaping upon him an earth-grovelling howl1 should on each occasion have rushed into his presence1 must be regarded either as a touch of intentional sarcasm1 or1 at any rate1 as being more in accord with the rude familiarities of licence permitted to the courtiers of the half-mad ,antiochus1 than with the prostrations and solemn approaches which since the days of ,deoces would alone have been permitted by any conceivable ,darius the ,mede4 ,however1 after this tumultuous intrusion into the king's presence1 all the presidents1 governors1 chief chamberlains1 present to him the monstrous but unanimous request that he would1 by an irrevocable interdict1 forbid that any man should1 for thirty days1 ask any petition of any god or man1 on peril of being cast into the den of lions4#dgc ,professor ,fuller1 in the ,speaker's ,commentary1 considers that this chapter gives a valuable as well as an interesting insight into ,median customs1 because the king is represented as living a secluded life1 and keeps lions1 and is practically deified6 ,the importance of the remark is far from obvious4 ,the chapter presents no particular picture of a secluded life4 ,on the contrary1 the king moves about freely1 and his courtiers seem to have free access to him whenever they choose4 ,as for the semi-deification of kings1 it was universal throughout the ,east1 and even ,antiochus ,,ii4 had openly taken the surname of ,theos1 the god4 ,again1 every ,jew throughout the world must have been very well aware1 since the days of the ,exile1 that ,assyrian and other monarchs kept dens of lions1 and occasionally flung their enemies to them4#dgd ,but so far as the decree of ,darius is concerned1 it may well be said that throughout all history no single parallel to it can be quoted4 ,kings have very often been deified in absolutism2 but not even a mad ,antiochus1 a mad ,caligula1 a mad ,elagabalus1 or a mad ,commodus ever dreamt of passing an interdict that no one was to prefer any petition either to ,god or man for thirty days1 except to himself6 ,a decree so preposterous1 which might be violated by millions many times a day without the king being cognisant of it1 would be a proof of positive imbecility in any king who should dream of making it4 ,strange1 too--though a matter of indifference to the writer1 because it did not affect his moral lesson--that ,darius should not have noticed the absence of his chief official1 and the one man in whom he placed the fullest and deepest confidence4 ,the king1 without giving another thought to the matter1 at once signs the irrevocable decree4 ,it naturally does not make the least difference to the practices or the purpose of ,daniel4 ,his duty towards ,god transcends his duty to man4 ,he has been accustomed1 thrice a day1 to kneel and pray to ,god1 with the window of his upper chamber open1 looking towards the ,kibleh of ,jerusalem2#dge and the king's decree makes no change in his manner of daily worship4 ,then the princes rushed thither again1 and found ,daniel praying and asking petitions before his ,god4 ,instantly they go before the king1 and denounce ,daniel for his triple daily defiance of the sacrosanct decree1 showing that he regardeth not thee1 ,o king1 nor the decree that thou hast signed4 ,their denunciations produced an effect very different from what they had intended4 ,they had hoped to raise the king's wrath and jealousy against ,daniel1 as one who lightly esteemed his divine autocracy4 ,but so far from having any such ignoble feeling1 the king only sees that he has been an utter fool1 the dupe of the worthlessness of his designing courtiers4#dgf ,all his anger was against himself for his own folly2 his sole desire was to save the man whom for his integrity and ability he valued more than the whole crew of base plotters who had entrapped him against his will into a stupid act of injustice4 ,all day1 till sunset1 he laboured hard to deliver ,daniel4#dgg ,the whole band of satraps and chamberlains feel that this will not do at all2 so they again rush to the king to remind him of the ,median and ,persian law that no decree which the king has passed can be altered4#dgh ,to alter it would be a confession of fallibility1 and therefore an abnegation of godhead6 ,yet the strenuous action which he afterwards adopted shows that he might1 even then1 have acted on the principle which the mages laid down to ,cambyses1 son of ,cyrus1 that the king can do no wrong4 ,there seems to be no reason why he should not have told these tumultuous princes that if they interfered with ,daniel they should be flung into the lions' den4 ,this would probably have altered their opinion as to pressing the royal infallibility of irreversible decrees4 ,but as this resource did not suggest itself to ,darius1 nothing could be done except to cast ,daniel into the den or pit of lions2 but in sentencing him the king offers the prayer1 ,may the ,god whom thou servest continually deliver thee6#dgi ,then a stone is laid over the mouth of the pit1 and1 for the sake of double security1 that even the king may not have the power of tampering with it1 it is sealed1 not only with his own seal1 but also with that of his lords4#dhj ,from the lion-pit the king went back to his palace1 but only to spend a miserable night4 ,he could take no food4#dha ,no dancing-women were summoned to his harem2#dhb no sleep visited his eyelids4 ,at the first glimpse of morning he rose1#dhc and went with haste to the den--taking the satraps with him1 adds the ,,lxx4--and cried with a sorrowful voice1 ,o ,daniel1 servant of the living ,god1 hath thy ,god whom thou servest continually been able to deliver thee from the lions8 ,and the voice of the prophet answered1 ,o king1 live for ever6 ,my ,god sent ,his angel1#dhd and shut the mouths of the lions1 that they should not destroy me3 forasmuch as before ,him innocency was found in me2 and also before thee1 ,o king1 have ,i committed no offence4 ,thereupon the happy king ordered that ,daniel should be taken up out of the lion-pit2 and he was found to be unhurt1 because he believed in his ,god4 ,we would have gladly spared the touch of savagery with which the story ends4 ,the deliverance of ,daniel made no difference in the guilt of his accusers4 ,what they had charged him with was a fact1 and was a transgression of the ridiculous decree which they had caused the king to pass4 ,but his deliverance was regarded as a ,divine judgment upon them--as proof that vengeance should fall on them4 ,accordingly1 not they only1 but1 with the brutal solidarity of revenge and punishment which1 in savage and semi-civilised races1 confounds the innocent with the guilty1 their wives and even their children were also cast into the den of lions1 and they did not reach the bottom of the pit before the lions got hold of them and crushed all their bones4#dhe ,they are devoured1 or caught1 by the hungry lions in mid-air4 ,then ,king ,darius wrote to all the nations1 communities1 and tongues who dwell in the whole world1 ,may your peace be multiplied6 ,i make a decree1 ,that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the ,god of ,daniel3 for ,he is the living ,god1 and steadfast for ever1 and ,his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed1 and ,his dominion even unto the end4 ,he delivereth and ,he rescueth1 and ,he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth1 who delivered ,daniel from the power of the lions4 ,the language1 as in ,nebuchadrezzar's decrees1 is purely ,scriptural4#dhf ,what the ,median mages and the ,persian fire-worshippers would think of such a decree1 and whether it produced the slightest effect before it vanished without leaving a trace behind1 are questions with which the author of the story is not concerned4 ,he merely adds that ,daniel prospered in the reign of ,darius and of ,cyrus the ,persian4 ,,footnotes3 #deb ,lam4 iv4 #g4 #dec ,isa4 xliv4 #be1 #bf4 #ded ,isa4 xliii4 #b4 #dee ,ezek4 xxxi4 #b-ae4 #def ,prov4 xvi4 #ah4 #deg ,isa4 x4 #cc4 #deh ,isa4 xlvii4 #ac4 #dei ,isa4 xxi4 #b4 #dfj ,the word is a cabalistic cryptogram--an instance of ,gematria--for ,babel4 #dfa ,jer4 li4 #bh-eg4 #dfb ,psalm lvii4 #d4 #dfc ,psalm lviii4 #f4 #dfd ,lam4 iii4 #ec4 #dfe ,isa4 liv4 #ag4 #dff ,sanhedrin1 f4 #ic1 #a4 ,see another story in ,vayyikra ,rabba1 c4 xix4 #dfg ,bereshth ,rabba1 #fh4 #dfh ,the ,,lxx4 says #abg1 and ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 xi4 #d7 says #cfj 7comp4 ,esther i4 #a1 viii4 #i1 ix4 #c74 ,under ,darius1 son of ,hystaspes1 there were only twenty divisions of the empire 7,herod41 iii4 #hi74 #dfi ,dan4 vi4 #b3 ,of whom ,daniel was--not first1 as in ,a4,v41 but one1 ,r4,v4 #dgj ,matt4 xix4 #bi4 #dga #a ,cor4 iv4 #b4 #dgb ,dan4 vi4 #f1 char'ggishoo2 ,vulg41 surripuerunt regi2 ,a4,v4 marg41 came tumultuously4 ,the word is found in the ,targum in ,ruth i4 #ai 7,bevan74 #dgc ,the den 7goob or gubba7 seems to mean a vault4 ,the ,hebrew word for pit is boor4 #dgd ,see ,layard1 ,nin4 and ,bab41 i4 #cce1 #ddg1 #dge2 ,smith1 ,hist4 of ,assur-bani-pal1 xxiv4 #dge ,the chamber was perhaps supposed to be a on the roof4 ,the kneeling in prayer 7as in #a ,kings viii4 #ed2 #b ,chron4 vi4 #ac2 ,ezra ix4 #e7 is in the ,east a less common attitude than standing4 ,see #a ,sam4 i4 #bf2 ,mark xi4 #be2 ,luke xviii4 #aa3 but see ,neh4 viii4 #f2 ,gen4 xxiv4 #bf4 ,the ,temple1 and ,jerusalem1 was the ,kibleh1 or sacred direction of devotion 7#a ,kings viii4 #dd2 ,ezek4 viii4 #af2 ,psalm v4 #g1 xxviii4 #b1 lv4 #ag1 etc474 #dgf ,comp4 ,mark vi4 #bf4 #dgg ,theodot41 4 #dgh ,esther i4 #ai1 viii4 #h4 #dgi ,courage1 till to-morrow 7 71 adds the ,,lxx4 #dhj ,comp4 ,lam4 iii4 #ec4 ,seal-rings are very ancient 7,herod41 i4 #aie74 ,it is useless to speculate on the construction of the lion-pit4 ,the only opening mentioned seems to have been at the top2 but there must necessarily have been side-openings also4 #dha ,theodot41 4 ,daniel1 on the other hand1 in the apocryphal ,haggada1 gets his dinner miraculously from the ,prophet ,habakkuk4 #dhb ,heb41 dachavn2 ,r4,v41 instruments of music2 ,r4,v4 marg41 dancing-girls2 ,gesenius1 ,zckler1 etc41 concubines4 #dhc ,theodot41 4 #dhd ,comp4 ,dan4 iii4 #h2 ,psalm xxxiv4 #g-aj2 ,acts xii4 #aa4 #dhe ,comp4 ,esther ix4 #ac1 #ad2 ,josh4 vii4 #bd2 #b ,sam4 xxi4 #a-f4 ,the ,,lxx4 modifies the savagery of the story by making the vengeance fall only on the two young men who were ,daniel's fellow-presidents4 ,but comp4 ,herod41 iii4 #aai2 ,am4 ,marcell41 xxiii4 #f2 and ,ob noxam unius omnis propinquitas perit1 etc4 #dhf ,psalm xxix4 #a1 x4 #af1 etc4 ,professor ,fuller calls it a ,mazdean colouring in the language6 ,,part ,,iii ,,the ,,prophetic ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,book ,,chapter ,i ,,vision ,,of ,,the ,,four ,,wild ,,beasts ,we now enter upon the second division of the ,book of ,daniel--the apocalyptic4 ,it is unquestionably inferior to the first part in grandeur and importance as a whole1 but it contains not a few great conceptions1 and it was well adapted to inspire the hopes and arouse the heroic courage of the persecuted ,jews in the terrible days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,daniel now speaks in the first person1#dhg whereas throughout the historic section of the ,book the third person has been used4 ,in the form of apocalypse which he adopts he had already had partial precursors in ,ezekiel and ,zechariah2 but their symbolic visions were far less detailed and developed--it may be added far more poetic and classical--than his4 ,and in later apocalypses1 for which this served as a model1 little regard is paid to the grotesqueness or incongruity of the symbols1 if only the intended conception is conveyed4 ,in no previous writer of the grander days of ,hebrew literature would such symbols have been permitted as horns which have eyes and speak1 or lions from which the wings are plucked1 and which thereafter stand on their feet as a man1 and have a man's heart given to them4 ,the vision is dated1 ,in the first year of ,belshazzar1 ,king of ,babylon4 ,it therefore comes chronologically between the fourth and fifth chapters4 ,on the pseudepigraphic view of the ,book we may suppose that this date is merely a touch of literary verisimilitude1 designed to assimilate the prophecies to the form of those uttered by the ancient prophets2 or perhaps it may be intended to indicate that with three of the four empires--the ,babylonian1 the ,median1 and the ,persian--,daniel had a personal acquaintance4 ,beyond this we can see no significance in the date2 for the predictions which are here recorded have none of that immediate relation to the year in which they originated which we see in the writings of ,isaiah and ,jeremiah4 ,perhaps the verse itself is a later guess or gloss1 since there are slight variations in ,theodotion and the ,,lxx4 ,daniel1 we are told1 both saw and wrote and narrated the dream4#dhh ,in the vision of the night he had seen the four winds of heaven travailing1 or bursting forth1 on the great sea2#dhi and from those tumultuous waves came four immense wild beasts1 each unlike the other4 ,the first was a lion1 with four eagles' wings4 ,the wings were plucked off1 and it then raised itself from the earth1 stood on its feet like a man1 and a man's heart was given to it4 ,the second was like a bear1 raising itself on one side1 and having three ribs between its teeth2 and it is bidden to arise and devour much flesh4 ,the third is a leopard1 or panther1 with four wings and four heads1 to which dominion is given4 ,the fourth--a yet more terrible monster1 which is left undescribed1 as though indescribable--has great devouring teeth of iron1 and feet that stamp and crush4#dij ,it has ten horns1 and among them came up a little horn1 before which three of the others are plucked up by the roots2 and this horn has eyes1 and a mouth speaking great things4 ,then the thrones were set for the ,divine judges1#dia and the ,ancient of ,days seats ,himself--,his raiment as white snow1 ,his hair as bright wool1 ,his throne of flames1 ,his wheels of burning fire4 ,a stream of dazzling fire goes out before ,him4 ,thousand thousands stand before ,him2 ten thousand times ten thousand minister to ,him4 ,the judgment is set2 the books are opened4 ,the fourth monster is then slain and burned because of the blaspheming horn2 the other beasts are suffered to live for a season and a time1 but their dominion is taken away4#dib 99 99 99 99 99 ,but then1 in the night vision1 there came one even as a son of man with the clouds of heaven1 and is brought before the ,ancient of ,days1 and receives from ,him power and glory and a kingdom--an everlasting dominion1 a kingdom that shall not be destroyed--over all people1 nations1 and languages4 ,such is the vision1 and its interpretation follows4 ,the heart of ,daniel is pierced in the midst of its sheath by what he has seen1 and the visions of his head troubled him4 ,coming near to one of them that stood by--the angelic ministrants of the ,ancient of ,days--he begs for an interpretation of the vision4 ,it is given him with extreme brevity4 ,the four wild beasts represent four kings1 the founders of four successive kingdoms4 ,but the ultimate and eternal dominion is not to be with them4 ,it is to be given1 till the eternities of the eternities1 to the holy ones of the ,lofty ,one4#dic ,what follows is surely an indication of the date of the ,book4 ,daniel is quite satisfied with this meagre interpretation1 in which no single detail is given as regards the first three world-empires1 which one would have supposed would chiefly interest the real ,daniel4 ,his whole curiosity is absorbed in a detail of the vision of the fourth monster4 ,it is all but inconceivable that a contemporary prophet should have felt no further interest in the destinies which affected the great golden ,empire of ,babylon under which he lived1 nor in those of ,media and ,persia1 which were already beginning to loom large on the horizon1 and should have cared only for an incident in the story of a fourth empire as yet unheard of1 which was only to be fulfilled four centuries later4 ,the interests of every other ,hebrew prophet are always mainly absorbed1 so far as earthly things are concerned1 in the immediate or not-far-distant future4 ,that is true also of the author of ,daniel1 if1 as we have had reason to see1 he wrote under the rule of the persecuting and blaspheming horn4 ,in his appeal for the interpretation of this symbol there are fresh particulars about this horn which had eyes and spake very great things4 ,we are told that his look was more stout than his fellows2 and that he made war against the saints and prevailed against them1 until the ,ancient of ,days came4 ,then judgment was given to the saints1 and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom4 ,the interpretation is that the fourth beast is an earth-devouring1 trampling1 shattering kingdom1 diverse from all kingdoms2 its ten horns are ten kings that shall arise from it4#did ,then another king shall arise1 diverse from the first1 who shall subdue three kings1 shall speak blasphemies1 shall wear out the saints1 and will strive to change times and laws4 ,but after a time1 two times1 and a half1#die the judgment shall sit1 and he will be annihilated1 and his dominion shall be given for ever to the people of the saints of the ,most ,high4 ,such was the vision2 such its interpretation2 and there can be no difficulty as to its general significance4 ,i4 ,that the four empires1 and their founders1 are not identical with the four empires of the metal colossus in ,nebuchadrezzar's dream1 is an inference which1 apart from dogmatic bias1 would scarcely have occurred to any unsophisticated reader4 ,to the imagination of ,nebuchadrezzar1 the heathen potentate1 they would naturally present themselves in their strength and towering grandeur1 splendid and impassive and secure1 till the mysterious destruction smites them4 ,to the ,jewish seer they present themselves in their cruel ferocity and headstrong ambition as destroying wild beasts4 ,the symbolism would naturally occur to all who were familiar with the winged bulls and lions and other gigantic representations of monsters which decorated the palace-walls of ,nineveh and ,babylon4 ,indeed1 similar imagery had already found a place on the prophetic page4#dif ,,ii4 ,the turbulent sea1 from which the immense beasts emerge after the struggling of the four winds of heaven upon its surface1 is the sea of nations4#dig ,,iii4 ,the first great beast is ,nebuchadrezzar and the ,babylonian ,empire4#dih ,there is nothing strange in the fact that there should be a certain transfusion or overlapping of the symbols1 the object not being literary congruity1 but the creation of a general impression4 ,he is represented as a lion1 because lions were prevalent in ,babylonia1 and were specially prominent in ,babylonian decorations4 ,his eagle-wings symbolise rapacity and swiftness4#dii ,but1 according to the narrative already given1 a change had come over the spirit of ,nebuchadrezzar in his latter days4 ,that subduing and softening by the influence of a ,divine power is represented by the plucking off of the lion's eagle-wings1 and its fall to earth4 ,but it was not left to lie there in impotent degradation4 ,it is lifted up from the earth1 and humanised1 and made to stand on its feet as a man1 and a man's heart is given to it4#ejj ,,iv4 ,the bear1 which places itself upon one side1 is the ,median ,empire1 smaller than the ,chaldean1 as the bear is smaller and less formidable than the lion4 ,the crouching on one side is obscure4 ,it is explained by some as implying that it was lower in exaltation than the ,babylonian ,empire2 by others that it gravitated1 as regards its power1 only towards the countries west of the ,tigris and ,euphrates4#eja ,the meaning of the three ribs in its mouth is also uncertain4 ,some regard the number three as a vague round number2 others refer it to the three countries over which the ,median dominion extended--,babylonia1 ,assyria1 and ,syria2 others1 less probably1 to the three chief cities4 ,the command1 ,arise1 devour much flesh1 refers to the prophecies of ,median conquest1#ejb and perhaps to uncertain historical reminiscences which confused ,darius the ,mede with ,darius the son of ,hystaspes4 ,those who explain this monster as an emblem1 not of the ,median but of the ,medo-,persian ,empire1 neglect the plain indications of the ,book itself1 for the author regards the ,median and ,persian ,empires as distinct4#ejc ,v4 ,the leopard or panther represents the ,persian kingdom4#ejd ,it has four wings on its back1 to indicate how freely and swiftly it soared to the four quarters of the world4 ,its four heads indicate four kings4 ,there were indeed twelve or thirteen kings of ,persia between ,b4,c4 #ecf and ,b4,c4 #ccc2 but the author of the ,book of ,daniel1 who of course had no books of history before him1 only thinks of the four who were most prominent in popular tradition--namely 7as it would seem71 ,cyrus1 ,darius1 ,artaxerxes1 and ,xerxes4#eje ,these are the only four names which the writer knew1 because they are the only ones which occur in ,scripture4 ,it is true that the ,darius of ,neh4 xii4 #bb is not the ,great ,darius1 son of ,hystaspes1 but ,darius ,codomannus 7,b4,c4 #dbd-djd74 ,but this fact may most easily have been overlooked in uncritical and unhistoric times4 ,and power was given to it1 for it was far stronger than the preceding kingdom of the ,medes4 ,,vi4 ,the fourth monster won its chief aspect of terribleness from the conquests of ,alexander1 which blazed over the ,east with such irresistible force and suddenness4#ejf ,the great ,macedonian1 after his massacres at ,tyre1 struck into the ,eastern world the intense feeling of terror which we still can recognise in the narrative of ,josephus4 ,his rule is therefore symbolised by a monster diverse from all the beasts before it in its sudden leap out of obscurity1 in the lightning-like rapidity of its flash from ,west to ,east1 and in its instantaneous disintegration into four separate kingdoms4 ,it is with one only of those four kingdoms of the ,diadochi1 the one which so terribly affected the fortunes of the ,holy ,land1 that the writer is predominantly concerned--namely1 the empire of the ,seleucid kings4 ,it is in that portion of the kingdom--namely1 from the ,euxine to the confines of ,arabia--that the ten horns arise which1 we are told1 symbolise ten kings4 ,it seems almost certain that these ten kings are intended for3-- ,b4,c4 #a4 ,seleucus ,i4 7,nicator7#ejg #cab-bhj #b4 ,antiochus ,i4 7,soter7 #bhj-bfa #c4 ,antiochus ,,ii4 7,theos7 #bfa-bdf #d4 ,seleucus ,,ii4 7,kallinikos7 #bdf-bbf #e4 ,seleucus ,,iii4 7,keraunos7 #bbf-bbc #f4 ,antiochus ,,iii4 7,megas7 #bbc-ahg #g4 ,seleucus ,,iv4 7,philopator7 #ahg-agf ,then followed the three kings 7actual or potential7 who were plucked up before the little horn3 namely-- ,b4,c4 #h4 ,demetrius #age #i4 ,heliodorus #agf #aj4 ,ptolemy ,philometor #aha-adf ,of these three who succumbed to the machinations of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 or the little horn1#ejh the first1 ,demetrius1 was the only son of ,seleucus ,philopator1 and true heir to the crown4 ,his father sent him to ,rome as a hostage1 and released his brother ,antiochus4 ,so far from showing gratitude for this generosity1 ,antiochus1 on the murder of ,seleucus ,,iv4 7,b4,c4 #age71 usurped the rights of his nephew 7,dan4 xi4 #ba74 ,the second1 ,heliodorus1 seeing that ,demetrius the heir was out of the way1 poisoned ,seleucus ,philopator1 and himself usurped the kingdom4#eji ,ptolemy ,philometor was the son of ,cleopatra1 the sister of ,seleucus ,philopator4 ,a large party was in favour of uniting ,egypt and ,persia under his rule4 ,but ,antiochus ,epiphanes ignored the compact which had made ,cle-,syria and ,phnicia the dower of ,cleopatra1 and not only kept ,philometor from his rights1 but would have deprived him of ,egypt also but for the strenuous interposition of the ,romans and their ambassador ,m4 ,popilius ,lnas4#eaj ,when the three horns had thus fallen before him1 the little horn--,antiochus ,epiphanes--sprang into prominence4 ,the mention of his eyes seems to be a reference to his shrewdness1 cunning1 and vigilance4#eaa ,the mouth that spoke very great things#eab alludes to the boastful arrogance which led him to assume the title of ,epiphanes1 or the illustrious--which his scornful subjects changed into ,epimanes1 the mad--and to his assumption even of the title ,theos1 the god1 on some of his coins4#eac ,his look was bigger than his fellows1 for he inspired the kings of ,egypt and other countries with terror4 ,he made war against the saints1 with the aid of ,jason and ,menelaus1 those ungodly wretches1 and prevailed against them4 ,he wore out the saints of the ,most ,high1 for he took ,jerusalem by storm1 plundered it1 slew eighty thousand men1 women1 and children1 took forty thousand prisoners1 and sold as many into slavery 7,b4,c4 #agj74ead ,as he entered the sanctuary to plunder it1 under the guidance of the apostate high priest ,menelaus1 he uttered words of blasphemy1 and he carried off all the gold and silver he could find1 including the golden table1 altar of incense1 candlesticks1 and vessels1 and even rifled the subterraneous vaults1 so that he seized no less than eighteen hundred talents of gold4#eae ,he then sacrificed swine upon the altar1 and sprinkled the whole ,temple with the broth4 ,further than all this1 he thought to change times and laws2 and they were given into his hand until a time1 and two times1 and a half4 ,for he made a determined attempt to put down the ,jewish feasts1 the ,sabbath1 circumcision1 and all the most distinctive ,jewish ordinances4#eaf ,in ,b4,c4 #afg1 two years after his cruel devastation of the city1 he sent ,apollonius1 his chief collector of tribute1 against ,jerusalem1 with an army of twenty-two thousand men4 ,on the first ,sabbath after his arrival1 ,apollonius sent his soldiers to massacre all the men whom they met in the streets1 and to seize the women and children as slaves4 ,he occupied the castle on ,mount ,zion1 and prevented the ,jews from attending the public ordinances of their sanctuary4 ,hence in ,june ,b4,c4 #afg the daily sacrifice ceased1 and the ,jews fled for their lives from the ,holy ,city4 ,antiochus then published an edict forbidding all his subjects in ,syria and elsewhere--even the ,zoroastrians in ,armenia and ,persia--to worship any gods1 or acknowledge any religion but his4#eag ,the ,jewish sacred books were burnt1 and not only the ,samaritans but many ,jews apostatised1 while others hid themselves in mountains and deserts4#eah ,he sent an old philosopher named ,athenus to instruct the ,jews in the ,greek religion1 and to enforce its observance4 ,he dedicated the ,temple to ,zeus ,olympios1 and built on the altar of ,jehovah a smaller altar for sacrifice to ,zeus1 to whom he must also have erected a statue4 ,this heathen altar was set up on ,kisleu 7,december7 #ae1 and the heathen sacrifice began on ,kisleu #be4 ,all observance of the ,jewish ,law was now treated as a capital crime4 ,the ,jews were forced to sacrifice in heathen groves at heathen altars1 and to walk1 crowned with ivy1 in ,bacchic processions4 ,two women who had braved the despot's wrath by circumcising their children were flung from the ,temple battlements into the vale below4#eai ,the triumph of this blasphemous and despotic savagery was arrested1 first by the irresistible force of determined martyrdom which preferred death to unfaithfulness1 and next by the armed resistance evoked by the heroism of ,mattathias1 the priest at ,modin4 ,when ,apelles visited the town1 and ordered the ,jews to sacrifice1 ,mattathias struck down with his own hand a ,jew who was preparing to obey4 ,then1 aided by his strong heroic sons1 he attacked ,apelles1 slew him and his soldiers1 tore down the idolatrous altar1 and with his sons and adherents fled into the wilderness1 where they were joined by many of the ,jews4 ,the news of this revolt brought ,antiochus to ,palestine in ,b4,c4 #aff1 and among his other atrocities he ordered the execution by torture of the venerable scribe ,eleazar1 and of the pious mother with her seven sons4 ,in spite of all his efforts the party of the ,chasidm grew in numbers and in strength4 ,when ,mattathias died1 ,judas the ,maccabee became their leader1 and his brother ,simon their counsellor4#ebj ,while ,antiochus was celebrating his mad and licentious festival at ,daphne1 ,judas inflicted a severe defeat on ,apollonius1 and won other battles1 which made ,antiochus vow in an access of fury that he would exterminate the nation 7,dan4 xi4 #dd74 ,but he found himself bankrupt1 and the ,persians and ,armenians were revolting from him in disgust4 ,he therefore sent ,lysias as his general to ,juda1 and ,lysias assembled an immense army of forty thousand foot and seven thousand horse1 to whom ,judas could only oppose six thousand men4#eba ,lysias pitched his camp at ,beth-shur1 south of ,jerusalem4 ,there ,judas attacked him with irresistible valour and confidence1 slew five thousand of his soldiers1 and drove the rest to flight4 ,lysias retired to ,antioch1 intending to renew the invasion next year4 ,thereupon ,judas and his army recaptured ,jerusalem1 and restored and cleansed and reconsecrated the dilapidated and desecrated sanctuary4 ,he made a new shewbread-table1 incense-altar1 and candlestick of gold in place of those which ,antiochus had carried off1 and new vessels of gold1 and a new veil before the ,holiest ,place4 ,all this was completed on ,kisleu #be1 ,b4,c4 #afe1 about the time of the winter solstice1 on the same day of the year on which1 three years before1 it had been profaned by ,antiochus1 and just three years and a half--'a time1 two times1 and half a time'--after the city and ,temple had been desolated by ,apollonius4#ebb ,they began the day by renewing the sacrifices1 kindling the altar and the candlestick by pure fire struck by flints4 ,the whole law of the ,temple service continued thenceforward without interruption till the destruction of the ,temple by the ,romans4 ,it was a feast in commemoration of this dedication--called the ,encnia and the ,lights--which ,christ honoured by ,his presence at ,jerusalem4#ebc ,the neighbouring nations1 when they heard of this revolt of the ,jews1 and its splendid success1 proposed to join with ,antiochus for their extermination4 ,but meanwhile the king1 having been shamefully repulsed in his sacrilegious attack on the ,temple of ,artemis at ,elymais1 retired in deep chagrin to ,ecbatana1 in ,media4 ,it was there that he heard of the ,jewish successes and set out to chastise the rebels4 ,on his way he heard of the recovery of ,jerusalem1 the destruction of his heathen altars1 and the purification of the ,temple4 ,the news flung him into one of those paroxysms of fury to which he was liable1 and1 breathing out threatenings and slaughter1 he declared that he would turn ,jerusalem into one vast cemetery for the whole ,jewish race4 ,suddenly smitten with a violent internal malady1 he would not stay his course1 but still urged his charioteer to the utmost speed4#ebd ,in consequence of this the chariot was overturned1 and he was flung violently to the ground1 receiving severe injuries4 ,he was placed in a litter1 but1 unable to bear the agonies caused by its motion1 he stopped at ,tab1 in the mountains of ,partacene1 on the borders of ,persia and ,babylonia1 where he died1 ,b4,c4 #afd1 in very evil case1 half mad with the furies of a remorseful conscience4#ebe ,the ,jewish historians say that1 before his death1 he repented1 acknowledged the crimes he had committed against the ,jews1 and vowed that he would repair them if he survived4 ,the stories of his death resemble those of the deaths of ,herod1 of ,galerius1 of ,philip ,,ii41 and of other bitter persecutors of the saints of ,god4 ,judas the ,maccabee1 who had overthrown his power in ,palestine1 died at ,eleasa in ,b4,c4 #afa1 after a series of brilliant victories4 ,such were the fortunes of the king whom the writer shadows forth under the emblem of the little horn with human eyes and a mouth which spake blasphemies1 whose power was to be made transitory1 and to be annihilated and destroyed unto the end4#ebf ,and when this wild beast was slain1 and its body given to the burning fire1 the rest of the beasts were indeed to be deprived of their splendid dominions1 but a respite of life is given them1 and they are suffered to endure for a time and a period4#ebg ,but the eternal life1 and the imperishable dominion1 which were denied to them1 are given to another in the epiphany of the ,ancient of ,days4 ,the vision of the seer is one of a great scene of judgment4 ,thrones are set for the heavenly assessors1 and the ,almighty appears in snow-white raiment1 and on ,his chariot-throne of burning flame which flashes round ,him like a vast photosphere4#ebh ,the books of everlasting record are opened before the glittering faces of the myriads of saints who accompany ,him1 and the fiery doom is passed on the monstrous world-powers who would fain usurp ,his authority4#ebi ,but who is the one even as a son of man1 who comes with the clouds of heaven1 and who is brought before the ,ancient of ,days1#ecj to whom is given the imperishable dominion8 ,that he is not an angel appears from the fact that he seems to be separate from all the ten thousand times ten thousand who stand around the cherubic chariot4 ,he is not a man1 but something more4 ,in this respect he resembles the angels described in ,dan4 viii4 #ae1 x4 #af-ah4 ,he has the appearance of a man1 and is like the similitude of the sons of men4#eca ,we should naturally answer1 in accordance with the multitude of ancient and modern commentators both ,jewish and ,christian1 that the ,messiah is intended2#ecb and1 indeed1 our ,lord alludes to the prophecy in ,matt4 xxvi4 #fd4 ,that the vision is meant to indicate the establishment of the ,messianic theocracy cannot be doubted4 ,but if we follow the interpretation given by the angel himself in answer to ,daniel's entreaty1 the personality of the ,messiah seems to be at least somewhat subordinate or indistinct4 ,for the interpretation1 without mentioning any person1 seems to point only to the saints of ,israel who are to inherit and maintain that ,divine kingdom which has been already thrice asserted and prophesied4 ,it is the holy ones 7,qaddshn71 the holy ones of the ,most ,high 7,qaddsh ,elonn71 upon whom the never-ending sovereignty is conferred2#ecc and who these are cannot be misunderstood1 for they are the very same as those against whom the little horn has been engaged in war4#ecd ,the ,messianic kingdom is here predominantly represented as the spiritual supremacy of the chosen people4 ,neither here1 nor in ii4 #dd1 nor in xii4 #c1 does the writer separately indicate any ,davidic king1 or priest upon his throne1 as had been already done by so many previous prophets4#ece ,this vision does not seem to have brought into prominence the rule of any ,divinely ,incarnate ,christ over the kingdom of the ,highest4 ,in this respect the interpretation of the one even as a son of man comes upon us as a surprise1 and seems to indicate that the true interpretation of that element of the vision is that the kingdom of the saints is there personified2 so that as wild beasts were appropriate emblems of the world-powers1 the reasonableness and sanctity of the saintly theocracy are indicated by a human form1 which has its origin in the clouds of heaven1 not in the miry and troubled sea4 ,this is the view of the ,christian father ,ephrm ,syrus1 as well as of the ,jewish exegete ,abn ,ezra2 and it is supported by the fact that in other apocryphal books of the later epoch1 as in the ,assumption of ,moses and the ,book of ,jubilees1 the ,messianic hope is concentrated in the conception that the holy nation is to have the dominance over the ,gentiles4 ,at any rate1 it seems that1 if truth is to guide us rather than theological prepossession1 we must take the significance of the writer1 not from the emblems of the vision1 but from the divinely imparted interpretation of it2 and there the figure of one as a son of man is persistently 7vv4 #ah1 #bb1 #bg7 explained to stand1 not for the ,christ ,himself1 but for the holy ones of the ,most ,high1#ecf whose dominion ,christ's coming should inaugurate and secure4 ,the chapter closes with the words3 ,here is the end of the matter4 ,as for me1 ,daniel1 my thoughts much troubled me1 and my brightness was changed in me3 but ,i kept the matter in my heart4 ,,footnotes3 #dhg ,except in the heading of chap4 x4 #dhh ,in the opinion of ,lagarde and others this chapter--which is not noticed by ,josephus1 and which ,meinhold thinks cannot have been written by the author of chap4 ii41 since it says nothing of the sufferings or deliverance of ,israel--did not belong to the original form of the ,book4 ,lagarde thinks that it was written ,a4,d4 #fi1 after the persecution of the ,christians by ,nero4 #dhi ,st4 ,ephrm ,syrus says1 ,the sea is the world4 ,isa4 xvii4 #ab1 xxvii4 #a1 xxxii4 #b4 ,but compare ,dan4 vii4 #ag2 ,ezek4 xxix4 #c2 ,rev4 xiii4 #a1 xvii4 #a-h1 xxi4 #a4 #dij ,in the vision of the colossus in ii4 #da-dc stress is laid on the division of the fourth empire into stronger and weaker elements 7iron and clay74 ,that point is here passed over4 #dia ,a4,v41 the thrones were cast down4 #dib ,in ii4 #ce1 #dd1 the four empires are represented as finally destroyed4 #dic ,a4,v4 marg41 high ones--i4e41 things or places4 #did ,not kingdoms1 as in viii4 #h4 #die ,comp4 ,rev4 xii4 #ad2 ,luke iv4 #be2 ,james v4 #ag4 #dif ,isa4 xxvii4 #a1 li4 #i2 ,ezek4 xxix4 #c1 xxxii4 #b4 #dig ,comp4 ,job xxxviii4 #af1 #ag2 ,isa4 viii4 #g1 xvii4 #ab4 #dih ,comp4 ,dan4 ii4 #ch4 ,jeremiah had likened ,nebuchadrezzar both to the lion 7iv4 #g1 xlix4 #ai1 etc47 and to the eagle 7xlviii4 #dj1 xlix4 #bb74 ,ezekiel had compared the king 7xvii4 #c71 and ,habakkuk his armies 7i4 #h71 as also ,jeremiah 7iv4 #ac2 ,lam4 iv4 #ai71 to the eagle 7,pusey1 p4 #fij74 ,see too ,layard1 ,nin4 and ,bab41 ii4 #dfj4 ,for other beast-symbols see ,isa4 xxvii4 #a1 li4 #i2 ,ezek4 xxix4 #c2 ,psalm lxxiv4 #ac4 #dii ,comp4 ,jer4 iv4 #g1 #ac1 xlix4 #af2 ,ezek4 xvii4 #c1 #ab2 ,hab4 i4 #h2 ,lam4 iv4 #ai4 #ejj ,the use of ensh--not eesh--indicates chastening and weakness4 #eja ,ewald4 #ejb ,isa4 xiii4 #ag2 ,jer4 li4 #aa1 #bh4 ,aristotle1 ,h4 ,n41 viii4 #e1 calls the bear 1 all-devouring4 ,a bear appears as a dream-symbol in an ,assyrian book of auguries 7,lenormant1 ,magie1 #dib74 #ejc ,dan4 v4 #bh1 #ca1 vi4 #h1 #ab1 #ae1 #bh1 viii4 #bj1 ix4 #a1 xi4 #a4 #ejd ,the composite beast of ,rev4 xiii4 #b combines leopard1 bear1 and lion4 #eje ,comp4 viii4 #d-h4 #ejf ,battle of the ,granicus1 ,b4,c4 #ccd2 ,battle of ,issus1 #ccc2 ,siege of ,tyre1 #ccb2 ,battle of ,arbela1 #cca2 ,death of ,darius1 #ccj4 ,alexander died ,b4,c4 #cbc4 #ejg ,this was the interpretation given by the great father ,ephrm ,syrus in the first century4 ,hitzig1 ,kuenen1 and others count from ,alexander the ,great1 and omit ,ptolemy ,philometor4 #ejh ,dan4 xi4 #ba4 #eji ,appian1 ,syr41 #de2 ,liv41 xli4 #bd4 ,the story of his attempt to rob the ,temple at ,jerusalem1 rendered so famous by the great picture of ,raphael in the ,vatican stanze1 is not mentioned by ,josephus1 but only in #b ,macc4 iii4 #bd-dj4 ,in #d ,macc4 it is told1 without the miracle1 of ,apollonius4 ,there can be little doubt that something of the kind happened1 but it was perhaps due to an imposture of the ,jewish high priest4 #eaj ,porphyry interpreted the three kings who succumbed to the little horn to be ,ptolemy ,philometor1 ,ptolemy ,euergetes ,,ii41 and ,artaxias1 ,king of ,armenia4 ,the critics who begin the ten kings with ,alexander the ,great count ,seleucus ,,iv4 7,philopator7 as one of the three who were supplanted by ,antiochus4 ,von ,gutschmid counts as one of the three a younger brother of ,demetrius1 said to have been murdered by ,antiochus 7,mller1 ,fr4 ,hist4 ,grc41 iv4 #eeh74 #eaa ,comp4 viii4 #bc4 #eab ,comp4 7,rev4 xiii4 #e72 ,hom41 ,od41 xvi4 #bdc4 #eac ,comp4 xi4 #cf4 #ead ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,i4 i4 #b1 ,,vi4 x4 #a4 ,in ,antt41 ,,xii4 v4 #c1 ,josephus says he took ,jerusalem by stratagem4 #eae ,jahn1 ,hebr4 ,commonwealth1 xciv42 ,ewald1 ,hist4 of ,isr41 v4 #bic-cjj4 #eaf #b ,macc4 iv4 #i-ae3 ,the priests had no courage to serve any more at the altar1 but despising the ,temple1 and neglecting the sacrifices1 hastened to be partakers of the unlawful allowance in the place of exercise1 after the game of ,discus 444 not setting by the honours of their fathers1 but liking the glory of the ,grecians best of all4 #eag #a ,macc4 i4 #bi-dj2 #b ,macc4 v4 #bd-bf2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 v4 #d4 ,comp4 ,dan4 xi4 #cj1 #ca4 ,see ,schrer1 i4 #aee ff4 #eah ,jerome1 ,comm4 in ,dan41 viii41 ix42 ,tac41 ,hist41 v4 #h2 #a ,macc4 i4 #da-ec2 #b ,macc4 v4 #bg1 vi4 #b2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 v4 #d4 #eai #a ,macc4 ii4 #da-fd1 iv4 #ed2 #b ,macc4 vi4 #a-i1 x4 #e2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 v4 #d2 ,dan4 xi4 #ca4 #ebj ,maccabee perhaps means the ,hammerer 7comp4 the names ,charles ,martel and ,malleus hreticorum74 ,simeon was called ,tadsh1 he increases 78 ,gk41 74 #eba ,the numbers vary in the records4 #ebb ,prideaux1 ,connection1 ii4 #bab4 ,comp4 ,rev4 xii4 #ad1 xi4 #b1 #c4 #ebc ,john x4 #bb4 #ebd ,on the death of ,antiochus see #a ,macc4 vi4 #h2 #b ,macc4 ix42 ,polybius1 xxxi4 #aa2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 ix4 #a1 #b4 #ebe ,polybius1 ,de ,virt4 et ,vit41 ,exc4 ,vales1 p4 #add2 ,q4 ,curtius1 v4 #ac2 ,strabo1 xi4 #ebb2 ,appian1 ,syriaca1 xlvi4 #hj2 #a ,macc4 vi42 #b ,macc4 ix42 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 ix4 #a2 ,prideaux1 ii4 #bag2 ,jahn1 ,hebr4 ,commonwealth xcvi4 #ebf ,dan4 vii4 #bf4 #ebg ,dan4 vii4 #ab4 ,this is only explicable at all--and then not clearly--on the supposition that the fourth beast represents ,alexander and the ,diadochi4 ,see even ,pusey1 p4 #gh4 #ebh ,ezek4 i4 #bf2 ,psalm l4 #c4 ,comp4 the adaptation of this vision in ,enoch xlvi4 #a-c4 #ebi ,isa4 l4 #aa1 lx4 #aj-ab1 lxvi4 #bd1 ,joel iii4 #a1 #b4 ,see ,rev4 i4 #ac4 ,in the ,gospels it is not a son of man1 but generally 4 ,comp4 ,matt4 xvi4 #ac1 xxiv4 #cj2 ,john xii4 #cd2 ,acts vii4 #ef2 ,justin1 ,dial4 c4 ,tryph41 #ca4 #ecj ,comp4 ,mark xiv4 #fb2 ,rev4 i4 #g2 ,hom41 ,il41 v4 #hfg1 4 #eca ,comp4 ,ezek4 i4 #bf4 #ecb ,it is so understood by the ,book of ,enoch2 the ,talmud 7,sanhedrin1 f4 #ih1 #a72 the early father ,justin ,martyr1 ,dial4 c4 ,tryph41 #ca1 etc4 ,some of the ,jewish commentators 7e4g41 ,abn ,ezra7 understood it of the people of ,god1 and so ,hofmann1 ,hitzig1 ,meinhold1 etc4 ,see ,behrmann1 ,dan41 p4 #dh4 #ecc ,dan4 iv4 #c1 #cd1 vi4 #bf4 ,see ,schrer1 ii4 #bdg2 ,wellhausen1 ,die ,pharis4 u4 ,sadd41 #bd ff4 #ecd ,dan4 vii4 #af1 #bb1 #bc1 #bg4 #ece ,zech4 ix4 #i4 #ecf ,see ,schrer1 ii4 #ach-ahg1 ,the ,messianic ,hope3 he refers to ,ecclus4 xxxii4 #ah1 #ai1 xxxiii4 #a-aa1 xl4 #ac1 l4 #bd2 ,judith xvi4 #ab2 #b ,macc4 ii4 #ah2 ,baruch ii4 #bg-ce2 ,tobit xiii1 #aa-ah2 ,wisdom iii4 #h1 v4 #a1 etc4 ,the ,messianic ,king appears more distinctly in ,orac4 ,sibyll41 iii42 in parts of the ,book of ,enoch 7of which1 however1 xlv4-lvii4 are of unknown date72 and the ,psalms of ,solomon4 ,in ,philo we seem to have traces of the ,king as well as of the kingdom4 ,see ,drummond1 ,the ,jewish ,messiah1 pp4 #aif ff42 ,stanton1 ,the ,jewish and ,christian ,messiah1 pp4 #aji-aah4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,ram ,,and ,,the ,,he-,,goat ,this vision is dated as having occurred in the third year of ,belshazzar2 but it is not easy to see the significance of the date1 since it is almost exclusively occupied with the establishment of the ,greek ,empire1 its dissolution into the kingdoms of the ,diadochi1 and the godless despotism of ,king ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,the seer imagines himself to be in the palace of ,shushan3 ,as ,i beheld ,i was in the castle of ,shushan4#ecg ,it has been supposed by some that ,daniel was really there upon some business connected with the kingdom of ,babylon4 ,but this view creates a needless difficulty4 ,shushan1 which the ,greeks called ,susa1 and the ,persians ,shush 7now ,shushter71 the city of the lily1 was the palace or fortress 7brah#ech7 of the ,achmenid kings of ,persia1 and it is most unlikely that a chief officer of the kingdom of ,babylon should have been there in the third year of the imaginary ,king ,belshazzar1 just when ,cyrus was on the eve of capturing ,babylon without a blow4 ,if ,belshazzar is some dim reflection of the son of ,nabunaid 7though he never reigned71 ,shushan was not then subject to the ,king of ,babylonia4 ,but the ideal presence of the prophet there1 in vision1 is analogous to the presence of the exile ,ezekiel in ,jerusalem 7,ezek4 xl4 #a72 and these transferences of the prophets to the scenes of their operation were sometimes even regarded as bodily1 as in the legend of ,habakkuk taken to the lions' den to support ,daniel4 ,shushan is described as being in the province of ,elam or ,elymais1 which may be here used as a general designation of the district in which ,susiana was included4 ,the prophet imagines himself as standing by the river-basin 7oobl#eci7 of the ,ulai1 which shows that we must take the words in the castle of ,shushan in an ideal sense2 for1 as ,ewald says1 it is only in a dream that images and places are changed so rapidly4 ,the ,ulai is the river called by the ,greeks the ,eulus1 now the ,karn4#edj ,shushan is said by ,pliny and ,arrian to have been on the river ,eulus1 and by ,herodotus to have been on the banks of ,choaspes1 amber stream1 ,the drink of none but kings4 ,it seems now to have been proved that the ,ulai was merely a branch of the ,choaspes or ,kerkhah4#eda ,lifting up his eyes1 ,daniel sees a ram standing eastward of the river-basin4 ,it has two lofty horns1 the loftier of the two being the later in origin4 ,it butts westward1 northward1 and southward1 and does great things4#edb ,but in the midst of its successes a he-goat1 with a conspicuous horn between its eyes1#edc comes from the ,west so swiftly over the face of all the earth that it scarcely seems even to touch the ground1#edd and runs upon the ram in the fury of his strength1#ede conquering and trampling upon him1 and smashing in pieces his two horns4 ,but his impetuosity was short-lived1 for the great horn was speedily broken1 and four others#edf rose in its place towards the four winds of heaven4 ,out of these four horns shot up a puny horn1#edg which grew exceedingly great towards the ,south1 and towards the ,east1 and towards the ,glory--i4e41 towards the ,holy ,land4#edh ,it became great even to the host of heaven1 and cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground1 and trampled on them4#edi ,he even behaved proudly against the prince of the host1 took away from him#eej the daily 7sacrifice71 polluted the dismantled sanctuary with sacrilegious arms1#eea and cast the truth to the ground and prospered4 ,then one holy one called to another and asked1 ,for how long is the vision of the daily sacrifice1 and the horrible sacrilege1 that thus both the sanctuary and host are surrendered to be trampled underfoot8#eeb ,and the answer is1 ,until two thousand three hundred 'erebh-bqer1 'evening-morning'2 then will the sanctuary be justified4 ,daniel sought to understand the vision1 and immediately there stood before him one in the semblance of a man1 and he hears the distant voice of some one#eec standing between the ,ulai--i4e41 between its two banks1#eed or perhaps between its two branches1 the ,eulus and the ,choaspes--who called aloud to ,gabriel4 ,the archangel ,gabriel is here first mentioned in ,scripture4#eee ,gabriel1 cried the voice1 explain to him what he has seen4 ,so ,gabriel came and stood beside him2 but he was terrified1 and fell on his face4 ,observe1 thou son of man1#eef said the angel to him2 for unto the time of the end is the vision4 ,but since ,daniel still lay prostrate on his face1 and sank into a swoon1 the angel touched him1 and raised him up1 and said that the great wrath was only for a fixed time1 and he would tell him what would happen at the end of it4 ,the two-horned ram1 he said1 the ,baal-keranam1 or lord of two horns1 represents the ,king of ,media and ,persia2 the shaggy goat is the ,empire of ,greece2 and the great horn is its first king--,alexander the ,great4#eeg ,the four horns rising out of the broken great horn are four inferior kingdoms4 ,in one of these1 sacrilege would culminate in the person of a king of bold face1#eeh and skilled in cunning1 who would become powerful1 though not by his own strength4#eei ,he would prosper and destroy mighty men and the people of the holy ones1#efj and deceit would succeed by his double-dealing4 ,he would contend against the ,prince of princes1#efa and yet without a hand would he be broken in pieces4 ,such is the vision and its interpretation2 and though there is here and there a difficulty in the details and translation1 and though there is a necessary crudeness in the emblematic imagery1 the general significance of the whole is perfectly clear4 ,the scene of the vision is ideally placed in ,shushan1 because the ,jews regarded it as the royal capital of the ,persian dominion1 and the dream begins with the overthrow of the ,medo-,persian ,empire4#efb ,the ram is a natural symbol of power and strength1 as in ,isa4 lx4 #g4 ,the two horns represent the two divisions of the empire1 of which the later--the ,persian--is the loftier and the stronger4 ,it is regarded as being already the lord of the ,east1 but it extends its conquests by butting westward over the ,tigris into ,europe1 and southwards to ,egypt and ,africa1 and northwards towards ,scythia1 with magnificent success4 ,the he-goat is ,greece4#efc ,its one great horn represents the great ,emathian conqueror4#efd ,so swift was the career of ,alexander's conquests1 that the goat seems to speed along without so much as touching the ground4#efe ,with irresistible fury1 in the great battles of the ,granicus 7,b4,c4 #ccd71 ,issus 7,b4,c4 #ccc71 and ,arbela 7,b4,c4 #cca71 he stamps to pieces the power of ,persia and of its king1 ,darius ,codomannus4#eff ,in this short space of time ,alexander conquers ,syria1 ,phnicia1 ,cyprus1 ,tyre1 ,gaza1 ,egypt1 ,babylonia1 ,persia1 ,media1 ,hyrcania1 ,aria1 and ,arachosia4 ,in ,b4,c4 #ccj ,darius was murdered by ,bessus1 and ,alexander became lord of his kingdom4 ,in ,b4,c4 #cbi the ,greek ,king conquered ,bactria1 crossed the ,oxus and ,jaxartes1 and defeated the ,scythians4 ,in ,b4,c4 #cbh he conquered ,sogdiana4 ,in ,b4,c4 #cbg and #cbf he crossed the ,indus1 ,hydaspes1 and ,akesines1 subdued ,northern and ,western ,india1 and--compelled by the discontent of his troops to pause in his career of victory--sailed down the ,hydaspes and ,indus to the ,ocean4 ,he then returned by land through ,gedrosia1 ,karmania1 ,persia1 and ,susiana to ,babylon4 ,there the great horn is suddenly broken without hand4#efg ,alexander in ,b4,c4 #cbc1 after a reign of twelve years and eight months1 died as a fool dieth1 of a fever brought on by fatigue1 exposure1 drunkenness1 and debauchery4 ,he was only thirty-two years old4 ,the dismemberment of his empire immediately followed4 ,in ,b4,c4 #cbb its vast extent was divided among his principal generals4 ,twenty-two years of war ensued2 and in ,b4,c4 #cja1 after the defeat of ,antigonus and his son ,demetrius at the ,battle of ,ipsus1 four horns are visible in the place of one4 ,the battle was won by the confederacy of ,cassander1 ,lysimachus1 ,ptolemy1 and ,seleucus1 and they founded four kingdoms4 ,cassander ruled in ,greece and ,macedonia2 ,lysimachus in ,asia ,minor2 ,ptolemy in ,egypt1 ,cle-,syria1 and ,palestine2 ,seleucus in ,upper ,asia4 ,with one only of the four kingdoms1 and with one only of its kings1 is the vision further concerned--with the kingdom of the ,seleucid1 and with the eighth king of the dynasty1 ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,in this chapter1 however1 a brief sketch only of him is furnished4 ,many details of the minutest kind are subsequently added4 ,he is called a puny horn1 because1 in his youth1 no one could have anticipated his future greatness4 ,he was only a younger son of ,antiochus ,,iii4 7the ,great74 ,when ,antiochus ,,iii4 was defeated in the ,battle of ,magnesia under ,mount ,sipylus 7,b4,c4 #aij71 his loss was terrible4 ,fifty thousand foot and four thousand horse were slain on the battlefield1 and fourteen hundred were taken prisoners4 ,he was forced to make peace with the ,romans1 and to give them hostages1 one of whom was ,antiochus the ,younger1 brother of ,seleucus1 who was heir to the throne4 ,antiochus for thirteen years languished miserably as a hostage at ,rome4 ,his father1 ,antiochus the ,great1 was either slain in ,b4,c4 #ahg by the people of ,elymais1 after his sacrilegious plundering of the ,temple of ,jupiter-,belus2#efh or murdered by some of his own attendants whom he had beaten during a fit of drunkenness4#efi ,seleucus ,philopator succeeded him1 and after having reigned for thirteen years1 wished to see his brother ,antiochus again4 ,he therefore sent his son ,demetrius in exchange for him1 perhaps desiring that the boy1 who was then twelve years old1 should enjoy the advantage of a ,roman education1 or thinking that ,antiochus would be of more use to him in his designs against ,ptolemy ,philometor1 the child-king of ,egypt4 ,when ,demetrius was on his way to ,rome1 and ,antiochus had not yet reached ,antioch1 ,heliodorus the treasurer seized the opportunity to poison ,seleucus and usurp the crown4 ,the chances1 therefore1 of ,antiochus seemed very forlorn4 ,but he was a man of ability1 though with a taint of folly and madness in his veins4 ,by allying himself with ,eumenes1 ,king of ,pergamum1 as we shall see hereafter1 he suppressed ,heliodorus1 secured the kingdom1 and becoming very great1 though only by fraud1 cruelty1 and stratagem1 assumed the title of ,epiphanes the ,illustrious4 ,he extended his power towards the ,south by intriguing and warring against ,egypt and his young nephew1 ,ptolemy ,philometor2#egj and towards the ,sunrising by his successes in the direction of ,media and ,persia2#ega and towards the ,glory or ,ornament 7hatstseb7--i4e41 the ,holy ,land4#egb ,inflated with insolence1 he now set himself against the stars1 the host of heaven--i4e41 against the chosen people of ,god and their leaders4 ,he cast down and trampled on them1#egc and defied the ,prince of the host2 for he ,not e'en against the ,holy ,one of heaven ,refrained his tongue blasphmous4 ,his chief enormity was the abolition of the daily 7tamd7--i4e41 the sacrifice daily offered in the ,temple2 and the desecration of the sanctuary itself by violence and sacrilege1 which will be more fully set forth in the next chapters4 ,he also seized and destroyed the sacred books of the ,jews4 ,as he forbade the reading of the ,law--of which the daily lesson was called the ,parashah--there began from this time the custom of selecting a lesson from the ,prophets1 which was called the ,haphtarah4#egd ,it was natural to make one of the holy ones1 who are supposed to witness this horrible iniquity1#ege inquire how long it was to be permitted4 ,the enigmatic answer is1 ,until an evening-morning two thousand three hundred4 ,in the further explanation given to ,daniel by ,gabriel a few more touches are added4 ,antiochus ,epiphanes is described as a king bold of visage1 and skilled in enigmas4 ,his boldness is sufficiently illustrated by his many campaigns and battles1 and his braggart insolence has been already alluded to in vii4 #h4 ,his skill in enigmas is illustrated by his dark and tortuous diplomacy1 which was exhibited in all his proceedings1#egf and especially in the whole of his dealings with ,egypt1 in which country he desired to usurp the throne from his young nephew ,ptolemy ,philometor4 ,the statement that he will have mighty strength1 but not by his own strength1 may either mean that his transient prosperity was due only to the permission of ,god1 or that his successes were won rather by cunning than by prowess4 ,after an allusion to his cruel persecution of the holy people1 ,gabriel adds that without a hand shall he be broken in pieces2 in other words1 his retribution and destruction shall be due to no human intervention1 but will come from ,god ,himself4#egg ,daniel is bidden to hide the vision for many days--a sentence which is due to the literary plan of the ,book2 and he is assured that the vision concerning the evening-morning was true4 ,he adds that the vision exhausted and almost annihilated him2 but1 afterwards1 he arose and did the king's business4 ,he was silent about the vision1 for neither he nor any one else understood it4#egh ,of course1 had the real date of the chapter been in the reign of ,belshazzar1 it was wholly impossible that either the seer or any one else should have been able to attach any significance to it4#egi ,emphasis is evidently attached to the two thousand three hundred evening-morning during which the desolation of the sanctuary is to continue4 ,what does the phrase evening-morning 7'erebh-bqer7 mean8 ,in ver4 #bf it is called the vision concerning the evening and the morning4 ,does evening-morning mean a whole day1 like the ,greek 1 or half a day8 ,the expression is doubly perplexing4 ,if the writer meant days1 why does he not say days1 as in xii4 #aa1 #ab8ehj ,and why1 in any case1 does he here use the solecism 'erebh-bqer 7,abendmorgen71 and not1 as in ver4 #bf1 evening and morning8 ,does the expression mean two thousand three hundred days8 or eleven hundred and fifty days8 ,it is a natural supposition that the time is meant to correspond with the three years and a half 7a time1 two times1 and half a time7 of vii4 #be4 ,but here again all certainty of detail is precluded by our ignorance as to the exact length of years by which the writer reckoned2 and how he treated the month ,ve-adar1 a month of thirty days1 which was intercalated once in every six years4 ,supposing that he allowed an intercalary fifteen days for three and a half years1 and took the ,babylonian reckoning of twelve months of thirty days1 then three and a half years gives us twelve hundred and seventy-five days1 or1 omitting any allowance for intercalation1 twelve hundred and sixty days4 ,if1 then1 two thousand three hundred evening-morning means two thousand three hundred half days1 we have one hundred and ten days too many for the three and a half years4 ,and if the phrase means two thousand three hundred full days1 that gives us 7counting thirty intercalary days for ,ve-adar7 too little for seven years by two hundred and fifty days4 ,some see in this a mystic intimation that the period of chastisement shall for the elect's sake be shortened4#eha ,some commentators reckon seven years roughly1 from the elevation of ,menelaus to the high-priesthood 7,kisleu1 ,b4,c4 #afh3 #b ,macc4 v4 #aa7 to the victory of ,judas ,maccabus over ,nicanor at ,adasa1 ,march1 ,b4,c4 #afa 7#a ,macc4 vii4 #be-ej2 #b ,macc4 xv4 #bj-ce74 ,in neither case do the calculations agree with the twelve hundred and ninety or the thirteen hundred and thirty-five days of xii4 #ab1 #ac4 ,entire volumes of tedious and wholly inconclusive comment have been written on these combinations1 but by no reasonable supposition can we arrive at close accuracy4 ,strict chronological accuracy was difficult of attainment in those days1 and was never a matter about which the ,jews1 in particular1 greatly troubled themselves4 ,we do not know either the terminus a quo from which or the terminus ad quem to which the writer reckoned4 ,all that can be said is that it is perfectly impossible for us to identify or exactly equiparate the three and a half years 7vii4 #be71 the two thousand three hundred evening-morning 7viii4 #ad71 the seventy-two weeks 7ix4 #bf71 and the twelve hundred and ninety days 7xii4 #aa74 ,yet all those dates have this point of resemblance about them1 that they very roughly indicate a space of about three and a half years 7more or less7 as the time during which the daily sacrifice should cease1 and the ,temple be polluted and desolate4#ehb ,turning now to the dates1 we know that ,judas the ,maccabee cleansed#ehc 7justified or vindicated1 viii4 #ad7 the ,temple on ,kisleu #be 7,december #beth1 ,b4,c4 #afe74 ,if we reckon back two thousand three hundred full days from this date1 it brings us to ,b4,c4 #aga1 in which ,menelaus1 who bribed ,antiochus to appoint him high priest1 robbed the ,temple of some of its treasures1 and procured the murder of the high priest ,onias ,,iii4 ,in this year ,antiochus sacrificed a great sow on the altar of burnt offerings1 and sprinkled its broth over the sacred building4 ,these crimes provoked the revolt of the ,jews1 in which they killed ,lysimachus1 governor of ,syria1 and brought on themselves a heavy retribution4#ehd ,if we reckon back two thousand three hundred half-days1 eleven hundred and fifty whole days1 we must go back three years and seventy days1 but we cannot tell what exact event the writer had in mind as the starting-point of his calculations4 ,the actual time which elapsed from the final defilement of the ,temple by ,apollonius1 the general of ,antiochus1 in ,b4,c4 #afh1 till its repurification was roughly three years4 ,perhaps1 however--for all is uncertain--the writer reckoned from the earliest steps taken1 or contemplated1 by ,antiochus for the suppression of ,judaism4 ,the purification of the ,temple did not end the time of persecution1 which was to continue1 first1 for one hundred and forty days longer1 and then forty-five days more 7xii4 #aa1 #ab74 ,it is clear from this that the writer reckoned the beginning and the end of troubles from different epochs which we have no longer sufficient data to discover4 ,it must1 however1 be borne in mind that no minute certainty about the exact dates is attainable4 ,many authorities1 from ,prideaux#ehe down to ,schrer1#ehf place the desecration of the ,temple towards the close of ,b4,c4 #afh4 ,kuenen sees reason to place it a year later4 ,our authorities for this period of history are numerous1 but they are fragmentary1 abbreviated1 and often inexact4 ,fortunately1 so far as we are able to see1 no very important lesson is lost by our inability to furnish an undoubted or a rigidly scientific explanation of the minuter details4 ,,approximate ,,dates1 ,,as ,,inferred ,,by ,,cornill ,,and ,,others#ehg ,b4,c4 ,jeremiah's prophecy in ,jer4 xxv4 #ab #fje ,jeremiah's prophecy in ,jer4 xxix4 #aj #eid ,destruction of the ,temple #ehf or #ehh ,return of the ,jewish exiles #ecg ,decree of ,artaxerxes ,longimanus 7,ezra vii4 #a7 #deh ,second decree 7,neh4 ii4 #a7 #dde ,accession of ,antiochus ,epiphanes 7,august1 ,clinton7 #age ,usurpation of the high-priesthood by ,jason #age ,jason displaced by ,menelaus #agb787 ,murder of ,onias ,,iii4 7,june7 #aga ,apollonius defiles the ,temple #afh ,war of independence #aff ,purification of the ,temple by ,judas the ,maccabee 7,december7 #afe ,death of ,antiochus #afc ,,footnotes3 #ecg ,ezra vi4 #b2 ,neh4 i4 #a2 ,herod41 v4 #di2 ,polyb41 v4 #dh4 ,a supposed tomb of ,daniel has long been revered at ,shushan4 #ech ,pers41 baru2 ,skr41 bura2 ,assyr41 birtu2 ,gk41 4 ,comp4 sch41 ,pers41 #eed2 ,herod41 ii4 #if4 #eci ,theodot41 2 ,ewald1 ,stromgebiet--a place where several rivers meet4 ,the ,jews prayed on river-banks 7,acts xvi4 #ac71 and ,ezekiel had seen his vision on the ,chebar 7,ezek4 i4 #a1 iii4 #ae1 etc472 but this ,ulai is here mentioned because the palace stood on its bank4 ,both the ,,lxx4 and ,theodotion omit the word ,ulai4 #edj ,susianam ab ,elymaide disterminat amnis ,eulus 7,plin41 ,h4 ,n41 vi4 #bg74 #eda ,see ,loftus1 ,chalda1 p4 #cdf1 who visited ,shush in #ahed2 ,herzog1 ,r4 ,e41 s4v4 ,susa4 ,a tile was found by ,layard at ,kuyunjik representing a large city between two rivers4 ,it probably represents ,susa4 ,loftus says that the city stood between the ,choaspes and the ,kopratas 7now the ,dizful74 #edb ,the ,latin word for to butt is arietare1 from aries1 a ram4 ,it butts in three directions 7comp4 ,dan4 vii4 #e74 ,its conquests in the ,east were apart from the writer's purpose4 ,crsus called the ,persians 1 and schylus 1 ,pers41 #gie 7,stuart74 ,for horns as the symbol of strength see ,amos vi4 #ac2 ,psalm lxxv4 #e4 #edc ,unicorns are often represented on ,assyrio-,babylonian sculptures4 #edd #a ,macc4 i4 #a-c2 ,isa4 xli4 #b2 ,hosea xiii4 #g1 #h2 ,hab4 i4 #f4 #ede ,fury 7chemah71 heat1 violence--also of deadly venom 7,deut4 xxxii4 #bd74 #edf ,a4,v41 four notable horns2 but the word chazoth means literally a sight of four--i4e41 four other horns 7comp4 ver4 #h74 ,grtz reads achroth2 ,,lxx41 7comp4 xi4 #d74 #edg ,lit4 out of littleness4 #edh ,hatstseb4 ,comp4 xi4 #de2 ,ezek4 xx4 #f2 ,jer4 iii4 #ai2 ,zech4 vii4 #ad2 ,psalm cvi4 #bd4 ,the ,rabbis make the word mean the gazelle for fanciful reasons 7,taanth1 #fi1 a74 #edi ,the physical image implies the war against the spiritual host of heaven1 the holy people with their leaders4 ,see #a ,macc4 i4 #bd-cj2 #b ,macc4 ix4 #aj4 ,the ,tsebaoth mean primarily the stars and angels1 but next the ,israelites 7,exod4 vii4 #d74 #eej ,so in the ,hebrew margin 7,q'r71 followed by ,theodoret and ,ewald2 but in the text 7,kethbh7 it is1 by him the daily was abolished2 and with this reading the ,peshito and ,vulgate agree4 ,hattamd1 the daily sacrifice2 ,,lxx41 2 ,numb4 xxviii4 #c2 #a ,macc4 i4 #ci1 #de1 iii4 #de4 #eea ,the ,hebrew is here corrupt4 ,the ,r4,v4 renders it1 ,and the host was given over to it1 together with the continual burnt offering through transgression2 and it cast down truth to the ground1 and it did its pleasure and prospered4 #eeb ,dan4 viii4 #ac4 ,i follow ,ewald in this difficult verse1 and with him ,von ,lengerke and ,hitzig substantially agree2 but the text is again corrupt1 as appears also in the ,,lxx4 ,it would be useless here to enter into minute philological criticism4 ,how long8 7comp4 ,isa4 vi4 #aa74 #eec ,,lxx41 2 nescio quis 7,vulg41 viri74 #eed ,comp4 for the expression xii4 #f4 #eee ,we find no names in ,gen4 xxxii4 #cj2 ,judg4 xiii4 #ah4 ,for the presence of angels at the vision comp4 ,zech4 i4 #i1 #ac1 etc4 ,gabriel means man of ,god4 ,in ,tobit iii4 #ag ,raphael is mentioned2 in #b ,esdras v4 #bj1 ,uriel4 ,this is the first mention of any angel's name4 ,michael is the highest archangel 7,weber1 ,system41 #afb ff471 and in ,jewish angelology ,gabriel is identified with the ,holy ,spirit 7,ruach ,haqqodesh74 ,as such he appears in the ,qurn1 ii4 #ia 7,behrmann74 #eef ,ben-,adam 7,ezek4 ii4 #a74 #eeg ,comp4 ,isa4 xiv4 #i3 ,all the great goats of the earth4 ,a ram is a natural symbol for a chieftain4--,hom41 ,il41 xiii4 #dia-dic2 ,cic41 ,de ,div41 i4 #bb2 ,plut41 ,sulla1 c4 #bg2 ,jer4 l4 #h2 ,ezek4 xxxiv4 #ag2 ,zech4 x4 #c1 etc4 ,see ,vaux1 ,persia1 p4 #gb4 #eeh ,strength of face 7,,lxx41 2 ,deut4 xxviii4 #ej1 etc474 ,understanding dark sentences 7,judg4 xiv4 #ab2 ,ezek4 xvii4 #b3 comp4 v4 #ab74 #eei ,the meaning is uncertain4 ,it may mean 7#a7 that he is only strong by ,god's permission2 or 7#b7 only by cunning1 not by strength4 #efj ,comp4 #b ,macc4 iv4 #i-ae3 ,the priests had no courage to serve any more at the altar1 but despising the ,temple1 and neglecting the sacrifices1 hastened to be partakers of the unlawful allowance in the place of exercise 444 not setting by the honours of their fathers1 but liking the glory of the ,grecians best of all4 #efa ,not merely the angelic prince of the host 7,josh4 v4 #ad71 but ,god--,lord of lords4 #efb ,comp4 ,esther i4 #b4 ,though the vision took place under ,babylon1 the seer is strangely unconcerned with the present1 or with the fate of the ,babylonian ,empire4 #efc ,it is said to be the national emblem of ,macedonia4 #efd ,he is called the ,king of ,javan--i4e41 of the ,ionians4 #efe ,isa4 v4 #bf-bi4 ,comp4 #a ,macc4 i4 #c4 #eff ,the fury of the he-goat represents the vengeance cherished by the ,greeks against ,persia since the old days of ,marathon1 ,thermopyl1 ,salamis1 ,plata1 and ,mycale4 ,persia had invaded ,greece under ,mardonius 7,b4,c4 #dib71 under ,datis and ,artaphernes 7,b4,c4 #dij71 and under ,xerxes 7,b4,c4 #dhj74 #efg #a ,macc4 vi4 #a-af2 #b ,macc4 ix4 #i2 ,job vii4 #f2 ,prov4 xxvi4 #bj4 #efh ,so ,diodorus ,siculus 7,exc4 ,vales41 p4 #bic72 ,justin1 xxxii4 #b2 ,jer4 in ,dan41 xi42 ,strabo1 xvi4 #gdd4 #efi ,aurel4 ,vict41 ,de ,virr4 ,illustr41 c4 liv4 #egj ,he conquered ,egypt ,b4,c4 #agj 7#a ,macc4 i4 #ag-bj74 #ega ,see #a ,macc4 iii4 #bi-cg4 #egb ,comp4 ,ezek4 xx4 #f1 which is the glory of all lands2 ,psalm l4 #b2 ,lam4 ii4 #ae4 #egc #a ,macc4 i4 #bd-cj4 ,dr4 ,pusey endeavours1 without even the smallest success1 to show that many things said of ,antiochus in this book do not apply to him4 ,the argument is based on the fact that the characteristics of ,antiochus--who was a man of versatile impulses--are somewhat differently described by different authors2 but here we have the aspect he presented to a few who regarded him as the deadliest of tyrants and persecutors4 #egd ,see ,hamburger1 ii4 #ccd 7s4v4 ,haftara74 #ege ,comp4 7#a ,macc4 i4 #fd2 ,isa4 x4 #e1 #be1 xxvi4 #bj2 ,jer4 l4 #e2 ,rom4 ii4 #e1 etc474 #egf ,comp4 xi4 #ba4 #egg ,comp4 ii4 #cd1 xi4 #de4 ,antiochus died of a long and terrible illness in ,persia4 ,polybius 7xxxi4 #aa7 describes his sickness by the word 4 ,arrian 7,syriaca1 #ff7 says 4 ,in #a ,macc4 vi4 #h-af he dies confessing his sins against the ,jews1 but there is another story in #b ,macc4 ix4 #d-bh4 #egh ,ver4 #bg1 ,i was gone 7or1 came to an end7 whole days4 ,with this comp4 ii4 #a1 vii4 #bh2 ,exod4 xxxiii4 #bj2 ,isa4 vi4 #e2 ,luke ix4 #cb2 ,acts ix4 #d1 etc4 ,comp4 xii4 #h2 ,jer4 xxxii4 #ad1 and 7contra7 ,rev4 xxii4 #aj4 #egi ,in ver4 #bf the ,r4,v4 renders it belongeth to many days to come4 #ehj ,comp4 ,gen4 i4 #e2 #b ,cor4 xi4 #be4 ,the word tamd includes both the morning and evening sacrifice 7,exod4 xxix4 #da74 ,pusey says 7p4 #bbj71 ,the shift of halving the days is one of those monsters which have disgraced scientific expositions 'of ,hebrew4' ,yet this is the view of such scholars as ,ewald1 ,hitzig1 ,kuenen1 ,cornill1 ,behrmann4 ,the latter quotes a parallel3 vgl4 im ,hildebrandsliede sumaro ente wintro sehstie #cj ,jahr4 #eha ,matt4 xxiv4 #bb4 #ehb ,these five passages agree in making the final distress last during three years and a fraction3 the only difference lies in the magnitude of the fraction 7,bevan1 p4 #abg74 #ehc #a ,macc4 iv4 #da-ef2 #b ,macc4 x4 #a-e4 #ehd ,see on this period ,diod4 ,sic41 ,fr41 xxvi4 #gi2 ,liv41 xlii4 #bi2 ,polyb41 ,legat41 #ga2 ,justin1 xxxiv4 #b2 ,jer41 ,comm4 in ,dan41 xi4 #bb2 ,jahn1 ,hebr4 ,commonwealth1 xciv42 ,prideaux1 ,connection1 ii4 #adf4 #ehe ,connection1 ii4 #ahh4 #ehf ,gesch4 d4 ,v4 ,isr41 i4 #aee4 #ehg ,some of these dates are uncertain1 and are variously given by different authorities4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,seventy ,,weeks ,this chapter is occupied with the prayer of ,daniel1 and with the famous vision of the seventy weeks which has led to such interminable controversies1 but of which the interpretation no longer admits of any certainty1 because accurate data are not forthcoming4 ,the vision is dated in the first year of ,darius1 the son of ,achashverosh1 of the ,median stock4#ehh ,we have seen already that such a person is unknown to history4 ,the date1 however1 accords well in this instance with the literary standpoint of the writer4 ,the vision is sent as a consolation of perplexities suggested by the writer's study of the ,scriptures2 and nothing is more naturally imagined than the fact that the overthrow of the ,babylonian ,empire should have sent a ,jewish exile to the study of the rolls of his holy prophets1 to see what light they threw on the exile of his people4 ,he understood from the books the number of the years whereof the word of the ,lord came to ,jeremiah the prophet for the accomplishing of the desolation of ,jerusalem1 even seventy years4#ehi ,such is the rendering of our ,revisers1 who here follow the ,a4,v4 7,i understood by books71 except that they rightly use the definite article 7,,lxx41 74 ,such too is the view of ,hitzig4 ,mr4 ,bevan seems to have pointed out the real meaning of the passage1 by referring not only to the ,pentateuch generally1 as helping to interpret the words of ,jeremiah1 but especially to ,lev3 xxvi4 #ah1 #ba1 #bd1 #bh4eij ,it was there that the writer of ,daniel discovered the method of interpreting the seventy years spoken of by ,jeremiah4 ,the ,book of ,leviticus had four times spoken of a sevenfold punishment--a punishment seven times more for the sins of ,israel4 ,now this thought flashed upon the writer like a luminous principle4 ,daniel1 in whose person he wrote1 had arrived at the period at which the literal seventy years of ,jeremiah were--on some methods of computation--upon the eve of completion3 the writer himself is living in the dreary times of ,antiochus4 ,jeremiah had prophesied that the nations should serve the ,king of ,babylon seventy years 7,jer4 xxv4 #aa71 after which time ,god's vengeance should fall on ,babylon2 and again 7,jer4 xxix4 #aj1 #aa71 that after seventy years the exiles should return to ,palestine1 since the thoughts of ,jehovah towards them were thoughts of peace and not of evil1 to give them a future and a hope4 ,the writer of ,daniel saw1 nearly four centuries later1 that after all only a mere handful of the exiles1 whom the ,jews themselves compared to the chaff in comparison with the wheat1 had returned from exile2 that the years which followed had been cramped1 dismal1 and distressful2 that the splendid hopes of the ,messianic kingdom1 which had glowed so brightly on the foreshortened horizon of ,isaiah and so many of the prophets1 had never yet been fulfilled2 and that these anticipations never showed fewer signs of fulfilment than in the midst of the persecuting furies of ,antiochus1 supported by the widespread apostasies of the ,hellenising ,jews1 and the vile ambition of such renegade high priests as ,jason and ,menelaus4 ,that the difficulty was felt is shown by the fact that the ,epistle of ,jeremy 7ver4 #b7 extends the epoch of captivity to two hundred and ten years 7#g #cj71 whereas in ,jer4 xxix4 #aj seventy years are distinctly mentioned4#eia ,what was the explanation of this startling apparent discrepancy between the sure word of prophecy and the gloomy realities of history8 ,the writer saw it in a mystic or allegorical interpretation of ,jeremiah's seventy years4 ,the prophet could not 7he thought7 have meant seventy literal years4 ,the number seven indeed played its usual mystic part in the epoch of punishment4 ,jerusalem had been taken ,b4,c4 #ehh2 the first return of the exiles had been about ,b4,c4 #ech4 ,the ,exile therefore had1 from one point of view1 lasted forty-nine years--i4e41 #g #g4 ,but even if seventy years were reckoned from the fourth year of ,jehoiakim 7,b4,c4 #fjf87 to the decree of ,cyrus 7,b4,c4 #ecf71 and if these seventy years could be made out1 still the hopes of the ,jews were on the whole miserably frustrated4#eib ,surely then--so thought the writer--the real meaning of ,jeremiah must have been misunderstood2 or1 at any rate1 only partially understood4 ,he must have meant1 not years1 but weeks of years--,sabbatical years4 ,and that being so1 the real ,messianic fulfilments were not to come till four hundred and ninety years after the beginning of the ,exile2 and this clue he found in ,leviticus4 ,it was indeed a clue which lay ready to the hand of any one who was perplexed by ,jeremiah's prophecy1 for the word 1 1 means1 not only the week1 but also seven1 and the seventh year2#eic and the ,chronicler had already declared that the reason why the land was to lie waste for seventy years was that the land was to enjoy her ,sabbaths2 in other words1 that1 as seventy ,sabbatical years had been wholly neglected 7and indeed unheard of7 during the period of the monarchy--which he reckoned at four hundred and ninety years--therefore it was to enjoy those ,sabbatical years continuously while there was no nation in ,palestine to cultivate the soil4#eid ,another consideration may also have led the writer to his discovery4 ,from the coronation of ,saul to the captivity of ,zachariah1 reckoning the recorded length of each reign and giving seventeen years to ,saul 7since the forty years of ,acts xiii4 #ba is obviously untenable71 gave four hundred and ninety years1 or1 as the ,chronicler implies1 seventy unkept ,sabbatic years4 ,the writer had no means for an accurate computation of the time which had elapsed since the destruction of the ,temple4 ,but as there were four hundred and eighty years and twelve high priests from ,aaron to ,ahimaaz1 and four hundred and eighty years and twelve high priests from ,azariah ,i4 to ,jozadak1 who was priest at the beginning of the ,captivity1--so there were twelve high priests from ,jozadak to ,onias ,,iii42 and this seemed to imply a lapse of some four hundred and ninety years in round numbers4#eie ,the writer introduces what he thus regarded as a consoling and illuminating discovery in a striking manner4 ,daniel coming to understand for the first time the real meaning of ,jeremiah's seventy years1 set his face unto the ,lord ,god1 to seek prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes4#eif ,his prayer is thus given3-- ,it falls into three strophes of equal length1 and is all alive and aglow with a pure fire of genuine repentance1 humbly assured faith1 and most intense petition4#eig ,at the same time it is the composition of a literary writer1 for in phrase after phrase it recalls various passages of ,scripture4#eih ,it closely resembles the prayers of ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 and is so nearly parallel with the prayer of the apocryphal ,baruch that ,ewald regards it as an intentional abbreviation of ,baruch ii4 #a-;iii4 #ci4 ,ezra1 however1 confesses the sins of his nation without asking for forgiveness2 and ,nehemiah likewise praises ,god for ,his mercies1 but does not plead for pardon or deliverance2 but ,daniel entreats pardon for ,israel and asks that his own prayer may be heard4 ,the sins of ,israel in vv4 #e1 #f1 fall under the heads of wandering1 lawlessness1 rebellion1 apostasy1 and heedlessness4 ,it is one of the marked tendencies of the later ,jewish writings to degenerate into centos of phrases from the ,law and the ,prophets4 ,it is noticeable that the name ,jehovah occurs in this chapter of ,daniel alone 7in vv4 #b1 #d1 #aj1 #ac1 #ad1 #bj72 and that he also addresses ,god as ,el1 ,elohim1 and ,adonai4 ,in the first division of the prayer 7vv4 #d-aj7 ,daniel admits the faithfulness and mercy of ,god1 and deplores the transgressions of his people from the highest to the lowest in all lands4 ,in the second part 7vv4 #aa-ad7 he sees in these transgressions the fulfilment of the curse and the oath written in the ,law of ,moses1 with special reference to ,lev4 xxvi4 #ad1 #ah1 etc4 ,in spite of all their sins and miseries they had not stroked the face of the ,lord their ,god4#eii ,the third section 7vv4 #ae-ai7 appeals to ,god by ,his past mercies and deliverances to turn away ,his wrath and to pity the reproach of ,his people4 ,daniel entreats ,jehovah to hear his prayer1 to make ,his face shine on ,his desolated sanctuary1 and to behold the horrible condition of ,his people and of ,his holy city4 ,not for their sakes is ,he asked to show ,his great compassion1 but because ,his ,name is called upon ,his city and ,his people4#fjj ,such is the prayer2 and while ,daniel was still speaking1 praying1 confessing his own and ,israel's sins1 and interceding before ,jehovah for the holy mountain--yea1 even during the utterance of his prayer--the ,gabriel of his former vision came speeding to him in full flight#fja at the time of the evening sacrifice4#fjb ,the archangel tells him that no sooner had his supplication begun than he sped on his way1 for ,daniel is a dearly beloved one4#fjc ,therefore he bids him take heed to the word and to the vision3-- #a4 ,seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people1 and upon thy holy city#fjd-- 77 to finish 7or restrain7 the transgression2 77 to make an end of 7or seal up1 ,theodot4 7 sins2#fje 77 to make reconciliation for 7or to purge away7 iniquity2 77 to bring in everlasting righteousness2 77 to seal up vision and prophet 7,heb41 nb2 ,,lxx41 72 and 77 to anoint the ,most ,holy 7or a ,most ,holy ,place2 ,,lxx41 74 #b4 ,from the decree to restore ,jerusalem unto the ,anointed ,one 7or the ,messiah71 the ,prince1 shall be seven weeks4 ,for sixty-two weeks ,jerusalem shall be built again with street and moat1 though in troublous times4#fjf #c4 ,after these sixty-two weeks-- 77 an ,anointed ,one shall be cut off1 and shall have no help 787 7or there shall be none belonging to him72#fjg 77 the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary2 77 his end and the end shall be with a flood1 and war1 and desolation2 77 for one week this alien prince shall make a covenant with many2 77 for half of that week he shall cause the sacrifice and burnt offering to cease2 77 and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate2 77 and unto the destined consummation wrath shall be poured out upon a desolate one 787 7or the horrible one74 ,much is uncertain in the text1 and much in the translation2 but the general outline of the declaration is clear in many of the chief particulars1 so far as they are capable of historic verification4 ,instead of being a mystical prophecy which floated purely in the air1 and in which a week stands 7as ,keil supposes7 for unknown1 heavenly1 and symbolic periods--in which case no real information would have been vouchsafed--we are expressly told that it was intended to give the seer a definite1 and even a minutely detailed1 indication of the course of events4 ,let us now take the revelation which is sent to the perplexed mourner step by step4 #a4 ,seventy weeks are to elapse before any perfect deliverance is to come4 ,we are nowhere expressly told that year-weeks are meant1 but this is implied throughout1 as the only possible means of explaining either the vision or the history4 ,the conception1 as we have seen1 would come to readers quite naturally1 since ,shabbath meant in ,hebrew1 not only the seventh day of the week1 but the seventh year in each week of years4 ,hence seventy weeks means four hundred and ninety years4#fjh ,not until the four hundred and ninety years--the seventy weeks of years--are ended will the time have come to complete the prophecy which only had a sort of initial and imperfect fulfilment in seventy actual years4 ,the precise meaning attached in the writer's mind to the events which are to mark the close of the four hundred and ninety years--namely1 77 the ending of transgression2 77 the sealing up of sins2 77 the atonement for iniquity2 77 the bringing in of everlasting righteousness2 and 77 the sealing up of the vision and prophet 7or prophecy#fji7--;cannot be further defined by us4 ,it belongs to the ,messianic hope4#faj ,it is the prophecy of a time which may have had some dim and partial analogies at the end of ,jeremiah's seventy years1 but which the writer thought would be more richly and finally fulfilled at the close of the ,antiochian persecution4 ,at the actual time of his writing that era of restitution had not yet begun4 ,but 77 another event1 which would mark the close of the seventy year-weeks1 was to be the anointing of a ,most ,holy4 ,what does this mean8 ,theodotion and the ancient translators render it a ,holy of ,holies4 ,but throughout the whole ,old ,testament ,holy of ,holies is never once used of a person1 though it occurs forty-four times4#faa ,keil and his school point to #a ,chron4 xxiii4 #ac as an exception2 but ,nil agit exemptum quod litem lite resolvit4 ,in that verse some propose the rendering1 to sanctify1 as most holy1 ,aaron and his sons for ever2 but both the ,a4,v4 and the ,r4,v4 render it1 ,aaron was separated that he should sanctify the most holy things1 he and his sons for ever4 ,if there be a doubt as to the rendering1 it is perverse to adopt the one which makes the usage differ from that of every other passage in ,holy ,writ4 ,now the phrase most holy is most frequently applied to the great altar of sacrifice4#fab ,it is therefore natural to explain the present passage as a reference to the reanointing of the altar of sacrifice1 primarily in the days of ,zerubbabel1 and secondarily by ,judas ,maccabus after its profanation by ,antiochus ,epiphanes4#fac #b4 ,but in the more detailed explanation which follows1 the seventy year-weeks are divided into #g #fb #a4 7a7 ,at the end of the first seven week-years 7after forty-nine years7 ,jerusalem should be restored1 and there should be an ,anointed1 a ,prince4#fad ,some ancient ,jewish commentators1 followed by many eminent and learned moderns1#fae understand this ,anointed ,one 7,mashiach7 and ,prince 7,nagd7 to be ,cyrus2 and that there can be no objection to conferring on him the exalted title of ,messiah is amply proved by the fact that ,isaiah himself bestows it upon him 7,isa4 xlv4 #a74 ,others1 however1 both ancient 7like ,eusebius7 and modern 7like ,grtz71 prefer to explain the term of the anointed ,jewish high priest1 ,joshua1 the son of ,jozadak4 ,for the term ,anointed is given to the high priest in ,lev4 iv4 #c1 vi4 #bj2 and ,joshua's position among the exiles might well entitle him1 as much as ,zerubbabel himself1 to the title of ,nagd or ,prince4#faf 77 ,after this restoration of ,temple and priest1 sixty-two weeks 7i4e41 four hundred and thirty-four years7 are to elapse1 during which ,jerusalem is indeed to exist with street and trench--but in the straitness of the times4#fag ,this1 too1 is clear and easy of comprehension4 ,it exactly corresponds with the depressed condition of ,jewish life during the ,persian and early ,grecian epochs1 from the restoration of the ,temple1 ,b4,c4 #ech1 to ,b4,c4 #aga1 when the false high priest ,menelaus robbed the ,temple of its best treasures4 ,this is indeed1 so far as accurate chronology is concerned1 an unverifiable period1 for it only gives us three hundred and sixty-seven years instead of four hundred and thirty-four3--but of that ,i will speak later on4 ,the punctuation of the original is disputed4 ,theodotion1 the ,vulgate1 and our ,a4,v4 punctuate in ver4 #be1 ,from the going forth of the commandment 7decree or word7 that ,jerusalem should be restored and rebuilt1 unto an ,anointed1 a ,prince1 are seven weeks1 and sixty-two weeks4 ,accepting this view1 ,von ,lengerke and ,hitzig make the seven weeks run parallel with the first seven in the sixty-two4 ,this indeed makes the chronology a little more accurate1 but introduces an unexplained and a fantastic element4 ,consequently most modern scholars1 including even such writers as ,keil1 and our ,revisers follow the ,masoretic punctuation1 and put the stop after the seven weeks1 separating them entirely from the following sixty-two4 #c4 ,after the sixty-two weeks is to follow a series of events1 and all these point quite distinctly to the epoch of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 77 ,ver4 #bf4--;,an ,anointed ,one#fah shall be cut off with all that belongs to him4 ,there can be no reasonable doubt that this is a reference to the deposition of the high priest ,onias ,,iii41 and his murder by ,andronicus 7,b4,c4 #aga74fai ,this startling event is mentioned in #b ,macc4 iv4 #cd1 and by ,josephus 7,antt41 ,,xii4 v4 #a71 and in ,dan4 xi4 #bb4 ,it is added1 and no 444 to him4#fbj ,perhaps the word helper 7xi4 #de7 has fallen out of the text1 as ,grtz supposes2 or the words may mean1 there is no priest for it the people4#fba ,the ,a4,v4 renders it1 but not for himself2 and in the margin1 and shall have nothing2 or1 and they the ,jews shall be no more his people4 ,the ,r4,v4 renders it1 and shall have nothing4 ,i believe1 with ,dr4 ,jol1 that in the ,hebrew words veeyn l there may be a sort of cryptographic allusion to the name ,onias4#fbb 77 ,the people of the coming prince shall devastate the city and the sanctuary 7translation uncertain74 ,this is an obvious allusion to the destruction and massacre inflicted on ,jerusalem by ,apollonius and the army of ,antiochus ,epiphanes 7,b4,c4 #afg74 ,antiochus is called the prince that shall come1 because he was at ,rome when ,onias ,,iii4 was murdered 7,b4,c4 #aga74fbc 77 ,and until the end shall be a war1 a sentence of desolation 7,hitzig1 etc472 or1 as ,ewald renders it1 ,until the end of the war is the decision concerning the horrible thing4 ,this alludes to the troubles of ,jerusalem until the heaven-sent ,nemesis fell on the profane enemy of the saints in the miserable death of ,antiochus in ,persia4 77 ,but meanwhile he will have concluded a covenant with many for one week4#fbd ,in any case1 whatever be the exact reading or rendering1 this seems to be an allusion to the fact that ,antiochus was confirmed in his perversity and led on to extremes in the enforcement of his attempt to ,hellenise the ,jews and to abolish their national religion by the existence of a large party of flagrant apostates4 ,these were headed by their godless and usurping high priests1 ,jason and ,menelaus4 ,all this is strongly emphasised in the narrative of the ,book of ,maccabees4 ,this attempted apostasy lasted for one week--i4e41 for seven years2 the years intended being probably the first seven of the reign of ,antiochus1 from ,b4,c4 #age to ,b4,c4 #afh4 ,during this period he was aided by wicked men1 who said1 ,let us go and make a covenant with the heathen round about us2 for since we departed from them we have had much sorrow4 ,antiochus gave them licence to do after the ordinances of the heathen1 so that they built a gymnasium at ,jerusalem1 obliterated the marks of circumcision1 and were joined to the heathen 7#a ,macc4 i4 #aj-ae74 77 ,for the half of this week 7i4e41 for three and a half years7 the king abolished the sacrifice and the oblation or meat offering4#fbe ,this alludes to the suppression of the most distinctive ordinances of ,jewish worship1 and the general defilement of the ,temple after the setting up of the heathen altar4 ,the reckoning seems to be from the edict promulgated some months before ,december1 #afh1 to ,december1 #afe1 when ,judas the ,maccabee reconsecrated the ,temple4 77 ,the sentence which follows is surrounded with every kind of uncertainty4 ,the ,r4,v4 renders it1 ,and upon the wing or1 pinnacle of abominations shall come or1 be one that maketh desolate4 ,the ,a4,v4 has1 ,and for the overspreading of abominations 7or marg41 with the abominable armies7 he shall make it desolate4#fbf ,it is from the ,,lxx4 that we derive the famous expression1 abomination of desolation1 referred to by ,st4 ,matthew 7xxiv4 #ae3 cf4 ,luke xxi4 #bj7 in the last discourse of our ,lord4 ,other translations are as follows3-- ,gesenius3 ,desolation comes upon the horrible wing of a rebel's host4 ,ewald3 ,and above will be the horrible wing of abominations4 ,wieseler3 ,and a desolation shall arise against the wing of abominations4 ,von ,lengerke1 ,hengstenberg1 ,pusey3 ,and over the edge or1 pinnacle#fbg of abominations cometh the desolator2--which they understand to mean that ,antiochus will rule over the ,temple defiled by heathen rites4 ,kranichfeld and ,keil3 ,and a destroyer comes on the wings of idolatrous abominations4 ,kuenen1 followed by others1 boldly alters the text from ve'al k'naph1 and upon the wing1 into ve'al kann1 and instead thereof4#fbh ,and instead thereof 7i4e41 in the place of the sacrifice and meat offering7 there shall be abominations4 ,it is needless to weary the reader with further attempts at translation2 but however uncertain may be the exact reading or rendering1 few modern commentators doubt that the allusion is to the smaller heathen altar built by ,antiochus above 7i4e41 on the summit7 of the ,most ,holy--i4e41 the great altar of burnt sacrifice--overshadowing it like a wing 7kanaph71 and causing desolations or abominations 7shiqqootsm74 ,that this interpretation is the correct one can hardly be doubted in the light of the clearer references to the abomination that maketh desolate in xi4 #ca and xii4 #aa4 ,in favour of this we have the almost contemporary interpretation of the ,book of ,maccabees4 ,the author of that history directly applies the phrase the abomination of desolation to the idol altar set up by ,antiochus 7#a ,macc4 i4 #ed1 vi4 #g74 77 ,lastly1 the terrible drama shall end by an outpouring of wrath1 and a sentence of judgment on the desolation 7,r4,v47 or the desolate 7,a4,v474 ,this can only refer to the ultimate judgment with which ,antiochus is menaced4 ,it will be seen then that1 despite all uncertainties in the text1 in the translation1 and in the details1 we have in these verses an unmistakably clear foreshadowing of the same persecuting king1 and the same disastrous events1 with which the mind of the writer is so predominantly haunted1 and which are still more clearly indicated in the subsequent chapter4 ,is it necessary1 after an inquiry inevitably tedious1 and of little or no apparently spiritual profit or significance1 to enter further into the intolerably and interminably perplexed and voluminous discussions as to the beginning1 the ending1 and the exactitude of the seventy weeks8#fbi ,even ,st4 ,jerome gives1 by way of specimen1 nine different interpretations in his time1 and comes to no decision of his own4 ,after confessing that all the interpretations were individual guesswork1 he leaves every reader to his own judgment1 and adds3 ,dicam quid unusquisque senserit1 lectoris arbitrio derelinquens cujus expositionem sequi debeat4 ,i cannot think that the least advantage can be derived from doing so4 ,for scarcely any two leading commentators agree as to details2--or even as to any fixed principles by which they profess to determine the date at which the period of seventy weeks is to begin or is to end2--or whether they are to be reckoned continuously1 or with arbitrary misplacements or discontinuations2--or even whether they are not purely symbolical1 so as to have no reference to any chronological indications2#fcj--or whether they are to be interpreted as referring to one special series of events1 or to be regarded as having many fulfilments by springing and germinal developments4 ,the latter view is1 however1 distinctly tenable4 ,it applies to all prophecies1 inasmuch as history repeats itself2 and our ,lord referred to another abomination of desolation which in ,his days was yet to come4#fca ,there is not even an initial agreement--or even the data as to an agreement--whether the years to be counted are solar years of three hundred and forty-three days1 or lunar years1 or mystic years1 or ,sabbath years of forty-nine years1 or indefinite years2 or where they are to begin and end1 or in what fashion they are to be divided4 ,all is chaos in the existing commentaries4 ,as for any received or authorised interpretation1 there not only is none1 but never has been4 ,the ,jewish interpreters differ from one another as widely as the ,christian4 ,even in the days of the ,fathers1 the early exegetes were so hopelessly at sea in their methods of application that ,st4 ,jerome contents himself1 just as ,i have done1 with giving no opinion of his own4#fcb ,the attempt to refer the prophecy of the seventy weeks primarily or directly to the coming and death of ,christ1 or the desolation of the ,temple by ,titus1 can only be supported by immense manipulations1 and by hypotheses so crudely impossible that they would have made the prophecy practically meaningless both to ,daniel and to any subsequent reader4 ,the hopelessness of this attempt of the so-called orthodox interpreters is proved by their own fundamental disagreements4#fcc ,it is finally discredited by the fact that neither our ,lord1 nor ,his ,apostles1 nor any of the earliest ,christian writers once appealed to the evidence of this prophecy1 which1 on the principles of ,hengstenberg and ,dr4 ,pusey1 would have been so decisive6 ,if such a proof lay ready to their hand--a proof definite and chronological--why should they have deliberately passed it over1 while they referred to other prophecies so much more general1 and so much less precise in dates8 ,of course it is open to any reader to adopt the view of ,keil and others1 that the prophecy is ,messianic1 but only typically and generally so4 ,on the other hand1 it may be objected that the ,antiochian hypothesis breaks down1 because--though it does not pretend to resort to any of the wild1 arbitrary1 and ,i had almost said preposterous1 hypotheses invented by those who approach the interpretation of the ,book with a-priori and a-posteriori#fcd assumptions--it still does not accurately correspond to ascertainable dates4 ,but to those who are guided in their exegesis1 not by unnatural inventions1 but by the great guiding principles of history and literature1 this consideration presents no difficulty4 ,any exact accuracy of chronology would have been far more surprising in a writes of the ,maccabean era than round numbers and vague computations4 ,precise computation is nowhere prevalent in the sacred books4 ,the object of those books always is the conveyance of eternal1 moral1 and spiritual instruction4 ,to such purely mundane and secondary matters as close reckoning of dates the ,jewish writers show themselves manifestly indifferent4 ,it is possible that1 if we were able to ascertain the data which lay before the writer1 his calculations might seem less divergent from exact numbers than they now appear4 ,more than this we cannot affirm4 ,what was the date from which the writer calculated his seventy weeks8 ,was it from the date of ,jeremiah's first prophecy 7xxv4 #ab71 ,b4,c4 #fje8 or his second prophecy 7xxix4 #aj71 eleven years later1 ,b4,c4 #eid8 or from the destruction of the first ,temple1 ,b4,c4 #ehf8 or1 as some ,jews thought1 from the first year of ,darius the ,mede8 or from the decree of ,artaxerxes in ,neh4 ii4 #a-i8 or from the birth of ,christ--the date assumed by ,apollinaris8 ,all these views have been adopted by various ,rabbis and ,fathers2 but it is obvious that not one of them accords with the allusions of the narrative and prayer1 except that which makes the destruction of the ,temple the terminus a quo4 ,in the confusion of historic reminiscences and the rarity of written documents1 the writer may not have consciously distinguished this date 7,b4,c4 #ehh7 from the date of ,jeremiah's prophecy 7,b4,c4 #eid74 ,that there were differences of computation as regards ,jeremiah's seventy years1 even in the age of the ,exile1 is sufficiently shown by the different views as to their termination taken by the ,chronicler 7#b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #bb71 who fixes it ,b4,c4 #ecf1 and by ,zechariah 7,zech4 i4 #ab71 who fixes it about ,b4,c4 #eai4 ,as to the terminus ad quem1 it is open to any commentator to say that the prediction may point to many subsequent and analogous fulfilments2 but no competent and serious reader who judges of these chapters by the chapters themselves and by their own repeated indications1 can have one moment's hesitation in the conclusion that the writer is thinking mainly of the defilement of the ,temple in the days of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 and its reconsecration 7in round numbers7 three and a half years later by ,judas ,maccabus 7,december #beth1 ,b4,c4 #afd74 ,it is true that from ,b4,c4 #ehh to ,b4,c4 #afd only gives us four hundred and twenty-four years1 instead of four hundred and ninety years4 ,how is this to be accounted for8 ,ewald supposes the loss of some passage in the text which would have explained the discrepancy2 and that the text is in a somewhat chaotic condition is proved by its inherent philological difficulties1 and by the appearance which it assumes in the ,septuagint4 ,the first seven weeks indeed1 or forty-nine years1 approximately correspond to the time between ,b4,c4 #ehh 7the destruction of the ,temple7 and ,b4,c4 #ecf 7the decree of ,cyrus72 but the following sixty-two weeks should give us four hundred and thirty-four years from the time of ,cyrus to the cutting off of the ,anointed ,one1 by the murder of ,onias ,,iii4 in ,b4,c4 #aga1 whereas it only gives us three hundred and sixty-five4 ,how are we to account for this miscalculation to the extent of at least sixty-five years8 ,not one single suggestion has ever accounted for it1 or has ever given exactitude to these computations on any tenable hypothesis4#fce ,but ,schrer has shown that exactly similar mistakes of reckoning are made even by so learned and industrious an historian as ,josephus4 #a4 ,thus in his ,jewish ,war 7,,vi4 iv4 #h7 he says that there were six hundred and thirty-nine years between the second year of ,cyrus and the destruction of the ,temple by ,titus 7,a4,d4 #gj74 ,here is an error of more than thirty years4 #b4 ,in his ,antiquities 7,,xx4 x47 he says that there were four hundred and thirty-four years between the ,return from the ,captivity 7,b4,c4 #ecf7 and the reign of ,antiochus ,eupator 7,b4,c4 #afd-afb74 ,here is an error of more than sixty years4 #c4 ,in ,antt41 ,,xiii4 xi4 #a1 he reckons four hundred and eighty-one years between the ,return from the ,captivity and the time of ,aristobulus 7,b4,c4 #aje-ajd74 ,here is an error of some fifty years4 ,again1 the ,jewish ,hellenist ,demetrius#fcf reckons five hundred and seventy-three years from the ,captivity of the ,ten ,tribes 7,b4,c4 #gbb7 to the time of ,ptolemy ,,iv4 7,b4,c4 #bbb71 which is seventy years too many4 ,in other words1 he makes as nearly as possible the same miscalculations as the writer of ,daniel4 ,this seems to show that there was some traditional error in the current chronology2 and it cannot be overlooked that in ancient days the means for coming to accurate chronological conclusion were exceedingly imperfect4 ,until the establishment of the ,seleucid era 7,b4,c4 #cab71 the ,jew had no fixed era whatsoever2#fcg and nothing is less astonishing than that an apocalyptic writer of the date of ,epiphanes1 basing his calculations on uncertain data to give an allegoric interpretation to an ancient prophecy1 should have lacked the records which would alone have enabled him to calculate with exact precision4#fch ,and1 for the rest1 we must say with ,grotius1 ,modicum nec prtor curat1 nec propheta4 ,,footnotes3 #ehh ,achashverosh1 ,esther viii4 #aj2 perhaps connected with ,kshajrsha1 eye of the kingdom 7,corp4 ,inscr4 ,sem41 ii4 #abe74 #ehi ,by the books is here probably meant the ,thorah or ,pentateuch1 in which the writer discovered the key to the mystic meaning of the seventy years4 ,it was not in the two sections of ,jeremiah himself 7called1 according to ,kimchi1 ,sepher ,hamattanah and ,sepher ,hagalon7 that he found this key4 ,jeremiah is here ,yir'myah1 as in ,jer4 xxvii4-xxix4 ,see ,jer4 xxv4 #aa2 ,ezek4 xxxvii4 #ba2 ,zech4 i4 #ab4 ,in the ,epistle of ,jeremy 7ver4 #b7 the seventy years become seven generations 7 74 ,see too ,dillman's ,enoch1 p4 #bic4 #eij ,dan41 p4 #adf4 ,comp4 a similar usage in ,aul4 ,gell41 ,noct4 ,att41 iii4 #aj1 ,se jam undecimam annorum hebdomadem ingressum esse2 and ,arist41 ,polit41 vii4 #af4 #eia ,see ,fritzsche ad loc42 ,ewald1 ,hist4 of ,isr41 v4 #adj4 #eib ,the writer of #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #ag1 #ah1 xxxvi4 #ba1 #bb1 evidently supposed that seventy years had elapsed between the destruction of ,jerusalem and the decree of ,cyrus--which is only a period of fifty years4 ,the ,jewish writers were wholly without means for forming an accurate chronology4 ,for instance1 the ,prophet ,zechariah 7i4 #ab71 writing in the second year of ,darius1 son of ,hystaspes 7,b4,c4 #ebj71 thinks that the seventy years were only then concluding4 ,in fact1 the seventy years may be dated from ,b4,c4 #fjf 7fourth year of ,jehoiakim72 or ,b4,c4 #eih 7,jehoiachin72 or from the destruction of the ,temple 7,b4,c4 #ehh72 and may be supposed to end at the decree of ,cyrus 7,b4,c4 #ecf72 or the days of ,zerubbabel 7,ezra v4 #a72 or the decree of ,darius 7,b4,c4 #eah1 ,ezra vi4 #a-ab74 #eic ,lev4 xxv4 #b1 #d4 #eid #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #ba4 ,see ,bevan1 p4 #ad4 #eie ,see ,cornill1 ,die ,siebzig ,jahrwochen ,daniels1 pp4 #ad-ah4 #eif ,the ,,lxx4 and ,theodotion1 with a later ritual bias1 make the fasting a means towards the prayer3 4 #eig ,ewald1 p4 #bgh4 ,the first part 7vv4 #d-ad7 is mainly occupied with confessions and acknowledgment of ,god's justice2 the last part 7vv4 #ae-ai7 with entreaty for pardon3 confessio 7vv4 #d-ad72 consolatio 7vv4 #ae-ai7 7,melancthon74 #eih ,besides the parallels which follow1 it has phrases from ,exod4 xx4 #f2 ,deut4 vii4 #ba1 x4 #ag2 ,jer4 vii4 #ai2 ,psalm xliv4 #af1 cxxx4 #d2 #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #ae1 #af4 ,mr4 ,deane 7,bishop ,ellicott's ,commentary1 p4 #djg7 thus exhibits the details of special resemblances3-- ---------------------------------------- ,dan4 ix4 ,ezra ix4 ,neh4 ix4 ,baruch4 ---------------------------------------- ,verse4 ,verse4 ,verse4 #d #g #cb -- #e #g #cc1 #cd i4 #aa #f #g #cb1 #cc -- #g #f1 #g #cb1 #cc i4 #ae-ag #h #f1 #g #cc -- #i -- #ag -- #ac -- -- ii4 #g #ad #ae #cc -- #ae -- #aj ii4 #aa #ah -- -- ii4 #ai #ai -- -- ii4 #ae ---------------------------------------- #eii ix4 #ac 7,heb474 ,comp4 ,exod4 xxxii4 #ac2 #a ,sam4 xiii4 #ab2 #a ,kings xiii4 #f1 etc4 #fjj ,comp4 ,jer4 xxxii4 #ag-bc2 ,isa4 lxiii4 #aa-af4 #fja ix4 #ba4 ,,lxx41 2 ,theodot41 2 ,vulg41 cito volans2 ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v41 being made to fly swiftly2 ,r4,v4 marg41 being sore wearied2 ,a4,v4 marg41 with weariness2 ,von ,lengerke1 being caused to hasten with haste4 ,the verb elsewhere always connotes weariness4 ,if that be the meaning here1 it must refer to ,daniel4 ,if it here means flying1 it is the only passage in the ,old ,testament where angels fly2 but see ,isa4 vi4 #b2 ,psalm civ4 #d1 etc4 ,the wings of angels are first mentioned in the ,book of ,enoch1 lxi42 but see ,rev4 xiv4 #f--;cherubim and seraphim have wings4 #fjb ,in the time of the historic ,daniel1 as in the brief three and a half years of ,antiochus1 the tamd had ceased4 #fjc ix4 #bc4 ,heb41 eesh hamudth2 ,vulg41 vir desideriorum1 a man of desires2 ,theodot41 4 ,comp4 x4 #aa1 #ai1 and ,jer4 xxxi4 #bj1 where a pleasant child is a son of caresses2 and the amor et delici generis humani applied to ,titus2 and the names ,david1 ,jedidiah1 beloved of ,jehovah4 ,the ,,lxx4 render the word 1 an object of pity4 #fjd ,daniel used ,shabum for weeks1 not ,shabuth4 #fje ,in ver4 #bd the ,q'r and ,kethbh vary1 as do also the versions4 #fjf ,for charoots1 moat 7,ewald71 the ,a4,v4 has wall1 and in the marg4 breach or ditch4 ,the word occurs for ditches in the ,talmud4 ,the text of the verse is uncertain4 #fjg ,perhaps because neither ,jason nor ,menelaus 7being apostate7 were regarded as genuine successors of ,onias ,,iii4 #fjh ,numb4 xiv4 #cd2 ,lev4 xxvi4 #cd2 ,ezek4 iv4 #f4 #fji ,comp4 ,jer4 xxxii4 #aa1 #dd4 #faj ,see ,isa4 xlvi4 #c1 li4 #e1 liii4 #aa2 ,jer4 xxiii4 #f1 etc4 #faa ,for the anointing of the altar see ,exod4 xxix4 #cf1 xl4 #aj2 ,lev4 viii4 #aa2 ,numb4 vii4 #a4 ,it would make no difference in the usus loquendi if neither ,zerubbabel's nor ,judas's altar was actually anointed4 #fab ,it is only used thirteen times of the ,debhr1 or ,holiest ,place4 #fac #a ,macc4 iv4 #ed4 #fad ,theodot41 4 #fae ,saadia the ,gaon1 ,rashi1 ,von ,lengerke1 ,hitzig1 ,schrer1 ,cornill4 #faf ,hag4 i4 #a2 ,zech4 iii4 #a2 ,ezra iii4 #b4 ,comp4 ,ecclus4 xlv4 #bd2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 iv4 #b1 2 and see ,bevan1 p4 #aef4 #fag ,we see from ,zech4 i4 #ab1 ii4 #d1 that even in the second year of ,darius ,hystaspis ,jerusalem had neither walls nor gates2 and even in the twentieth year of ,artaxerxes the wall was still broken down and the gates burnt 7,neh4 i4 #c74 #fah ,,lxx41 2 ,theodot41 2 ,aquil41 4 4 #fai ,see xi4 #bb4 ,von ,lengerke1 however1 and others refer it to ,seleucus ,philopator1 murdered by ,heliodorus 7,b4,c4 #age74 #fbj ,syr4 ,aquil41 2 ,theodot41 2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ,et non erit ejus populus qui eum negaturus est4 ,the ,a4,v4 and not for himself is untenable4 ,it would have been 4 ,see ,pusey1 p4 #ahb1 n4 #fba ,steudel1 ,hofmann4 ,so too ,cornill1 p4 #aj3 ,ein frommer ,jude das ,hoher ,priesterthum mit ,onias fr erloschen ansah4 #fbb ,comp4 and 7,jol1 ,notizen1 p4 #ba74 #fbc ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 v4 #d2 #a ,macc4 i4 #bi-dj4 #fbd ,here again the meaning is uncertain2 and ,grtz1 altering the reading1 thinks that it should be1 ,he shall abolish the covenant with ,god for the many2 or1 shall cause the many to transgress the covenant4 #fbe ,dan4 ix4 #bg4 ,heb41 ,zebach oo-minchah1 the bloody and unbloody offering4 #fbf ,the special allusion1 whatever it may precisely mean1 is found under three different designations3 7i7 ,in viii4 #ac it is called happeshang shomeem2 ,gk41 2 ,vulg41 peccatum desolationis4 7ii7 ,in ix4 #bg 7comp4 ix4 #ca7 it is shiqqootsm m'shomeem2 ,gk41 2 ,vulg41 abominatio desolationis4 7iii7 ,in xii4 #aa it is shiqqoots shomeem2 ,gk41 2 ,vulg41 abominatio in desolationem4 ,some traditional fact must 7as ,dr4 ,jol says7 have underlain the rendering of desolation for of the desolator4 ,in xi4 #ca ,theodotion has 1 of things done away with1 for 4 ,the expression with which the ,new ,testament has made us so familiar is found also in #a ,macc4 i4 #ea 7comp4 #a ,macc4 vi4 #g73 they built the abomination of desolation upon the altar4 ,there the abomination seems clearly to mean a smaller altar for heathen sacrifice to ,zeus1 built on the great altar of burnt offering4 ,perhaps the writer of ,daniel took the word shomeem1 desolation1 as a further definition of shiqqoots1 abomination1 from popular speech2 and it may have involved a reference to ,lev4 xxvi4 #ae-ca3 ,if ye shall despise ,my statutes 444 ,i will even appoint over you terror 444 and ,i will make your cities waste1 and appoint your sanctuaries unto desolation4 ,the old ,jewish exegetes referred the prophecy to ,antiochus ,epiphanes2 ,josephus and later writers applied it to the ,romans4 ,old ,christian expositors regarded it as ,messianic2 but even ,jerome records nine different views of commentators1 many of them involving the grossest historic errors and absurdities4 ,of ,post-,reformation expositors down to the present century scarcely two agree in their interpretations4 ,at the present day modern critics of any weight almost unanimously regard these chapters1 in their primary significance1 as vaticinia ex eventu1 as some older ,jewish and ,christian exegetes had already done4 ,hitzig sarcastically says that the exegetes have here fallen into all sorts of shiqqootsm themselves4 #fbg ,comp4 7,matt4 iv4 #e74 #fbh ,kuenen1 ,hist4 ,crit4 ,onderzook41 ii4 #dgb4 #fbi ,any one who thinks the inquiry likely to lead to any better results than those here indicated has only to wade through ,zckler's comment in ,lange's ,bibelwerk 7,ezekiel and ,daniel1 i4 #ahf-bba74 ,it is hard to conceive any reading more intolerably wearisome2 and at the close it leaves the reader in a state of more hopeless confusion than before4 ,the discussion also occupies many pages of ,pusey 7pp4 #afb-bca72 but neither in his hypothesis nor any other are the dates exact4 ,he can only say1 ,it were not of any account if we could not interpret these minor details4 ,de minimis non curat lex4 ,on the view that the seventy weeks were to end with the advent of ,christ we ask3 7#a7 ,why do no two ,christian interpreters agree about the interpretation8 7#b7 ,why did not the ,apostles and ,evangelists refer to so decisive an evidence8 #fcj ,on this1 however1 we may remark with ,cornill1 ,eine ,apokalypse1 deren unenthlbar sind1 wre ein nonsens1 eine contradictio in adjecto 7,die ,siebzig ,jahrwochen1 p4 #c74 ,the indication was obviously meant to be understood1 and to the contemporaries of the writer1 familiar with the minuter facts of the day1 it probably was perfectly clear4 #fca ,luke ii4 #be1 #bf1 #ch2 ,matt4 xxiv4 #ae4 ,comp4 #b ,thess4 ii42 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 xxii4 #g4 #fcb ,scio de hac qustione ab eruditissimis viris varie disputatum et unumquemque pro captu ingenii sui dixisse quod senserat 7,jer4 in ,dan41 ix474 ,in other words1 there was not only no received interpretation in ,st4 ,jerome's day1 but the comments of the ,fathers were even then a chaos of arbitrary guesses4 #fcc ,pusey makes out a table of the divergent interpretation of the commentators1 whom1 in his usual ecclesiastical fashion1 he charitably classes together as unbelievers1 from ,corrodi and ,eichhorn down to ,herzfeld4 ,but quite as striking a table of divergencies might be drawn up of orthodox commentators4 #fcd ,thus ,eusebius1 without a shadow of any pretence at argument makes the last week mean seventy years6 7,dem4 ,evan41 viii474 #fce ,jost 7,gesch4 d4 ,judenthums1 i4 #ii7 contents himself with speaking of die ,liebe zu prophetischer ,auffassung der ,vergangenheit1 mit mglichst genauen ,zahlenagaben1 befriedigt1 die uns leider nicht mehr verstndlich erscheinen4 #fcf ,in ,clem4 ,alex41 ,strom41 i4 #ba4 #fcg ,cornill1 p4 #ad2 ,bevan1 p4 #ed4 #fch ,schrer1 ,hist4 of ,jewish ,people1 iii4 #ec1 #ed 7,e4 ,tr474 ,this is also the view of ,graf1 ,nldeke1 ,cornill1 and many others4 ,in any case we must not be misled into an impossible style of exegesis of which ,bleck says that bei ihr alles mglich ist und alles fr erlaubt gilt4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,concluding ,,vision ,the remaining section of the ,book of ,daniel forms but one vision1 of which this chapter is the ,introduction or ,prologue4 ,daniel is here spoken of in the third person4 ,it is dated in the third year of ,cyrus 7,b4,c4 #ece74fci ,we have already been told that ,daniel lived to see the first year of ,cyrus 7i4 #ba74 ,this verse1 if accepted historically1 would show that at any rate ,daniel did not return to ,palestine with the exiles4 ,age1 high rank1 and opportunities of usefulness in the ,persian ,court may have combined to render his return undesirable for the interests of his people4 ,the date--the last given in the life of the real or ideal ,daniel--is perhaps here mentioned to account for the allusions which follow to the kingdom of ,persia4 ,but with the great and moving fortunes of the ,jews after the accession of ,cyrus1 and even with the beginning of their new national life in ,jerusalem1 the author is scarcely at all concerned4 ,he makes no mention of ,zerubbabel the prince1 nor of ,joshua the priest1 nor of the decree of ,cyrus1 nor of the rebuilding of the ,temple2 his whole concern is with the petty wars and diplomacy of the reign of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 of which an account is given1 so minute as either to furnish us with historical materials unknown to any other historian1 or else is difficult to reconcile with the history of that king's reign as it has been hitherto understood4 ,in this chapter1 as in the two preceding1 there are great difficulties and uncertainties about the exact significance of some of the verses1 and textual emendations have been suggested4 ,the readers of the ,expositor's ,bible would not1 however1 be interested in minute and dreary philological disquisitions1 which have not the smallest moral significance1 and lead to no certain result4 ,the difficulties affect points of no doctrinal importance1 and the greatest scholars have been unable to arrive at any agreement respecting them4 ,such difficulties will1 therefore1 merely be mentioned1 and ,i shall content myself with furnishing what appears to be the best authenticated opinion4 ,the first and second verses are rendered partly by ,ewald and partly by other scholars1 ,truth is the revelation1 and distress is great2#fdj therefore understand thou the revelation1 since there is understanding of it in the vision4 ,the admonition calls attention to the importance of the word1 and the fact that reality lies beneath its enigmatic and apocalyptic form4 ,daniel had been mourning for three full weeks1#fda during which he ate no dainty bread1#fdb nor flesh1 nor wine1 nor did he anoint himself with oil4#fdc ,but in the ,passover month of ,abib or ,nisan1 the first month of the year1 and on the twenty-fourth day of that month1#fdd he was seated on the bank of the great river1 ,hiddekel or ,tigris1#fde when1 lifting up his eyes1 he saw a certain man clothed in fine linen like a ,jewish priest1 and his loins girded with gold of ,uphaz4#fdf ,his body was like chrysolite1#fdg his face flashed like lightning1 his eyes were like torches of fire1 his arms and feet gleamed like polished brass1#fdh and the sound of his words was as the sound of a deep murmur4#fdi ,daniel had companions with him2#fej they did not see the vision1 but some supernatural terror fell upon them1 and they fled to hide themselves4#fea ,at this great spectacle his strength departed1 and his brightness was changed to corruption2#feb and when the vision spoke he fell to the earth face downwards4 ,a hand touched him1 and partly raised him to the trembling support of his knees and the palms of his hands1#fec and a voice said to him1 ,daniel1 thou greatly beloved1#fed stand upright1 and attend2 for ,i am sent to thee4 ,the seer was still trembling2 but the voice bade him fear not1 for his prayer had been heard1 and for that reason this message had been sent to him4 ,gabriel's coming had1 however1 been delayed for three weeks1 by his having to withstand for twenty days the prince of the kingdom of ,persia4#fee ,the necessity of continuing the struggle was only removed by the arrival of ,michael1 one of the chief princes1#fef to help him1 so that ,gabriel was no longer needed#feg to resist the kings of ,persia4#feh ,the vision was for many days1#fei and he had come to enable ,daniel to understand it4 ,once more ,daniel was terrified1 remained silent1 and fixed his eyes on the ground1 until one like the sons of men touched his lips1 and then he spoke to apologise for his timidity and faintheartedness4 ,a third time the vision touched1 strengthened1 blessed him1 and bade him be strong4 ,knowest thou1 the angel asked1 why ,i am come to thee8 ,i must return to fight against the ,prince of ,persia1 and while ,i am gone the ,prince of ,greece ,javan will come4 ,i will1 however1 tell thee what is announced in the writing of truth1 the book of the decrees of heaven1 though there is no one to help me against these hostile princes of ,persia and ,javan1 except ,michael your prince4 ,the difficulties of the chapter are1 as we have said1 of a kind that the expositor cannot easily remove4 ,i have given what appears to be the general sense4 ,the questions which the vision raises bear on matters of angelology1 as to which all is purposely left vague and indeterminate1 or which lie in a sphere wholly beyond our cognisance4 ,it may first be asked whether the splendid angel of the opening vision is also the being in the similitude of a man who thrice touches1 encourages1 and strengthens ,daniel4 ,it is perhaps simplest to suppose that this is the case1#ffj and that the ,great ,prince tones down his overpowering glory to more familiar human semblance in order to dispel the terrors of the seer4 ,the general conception of the archangels as princes of the nations1 and as contending with each other1 belongs to the later developments of ,hebrew opinion on such subjects4#ffa ,some have supposed that the princes of ,persia and ,javan to whom ,gabriel and ,michael are opposed are1 not good angels1 but demonic powers1--the world-rulers of this darkness--subordinate to the evil spirit whom ,st4 ,paul does not hesitate to call the god of this world1 and the prince of the powers of the air4 ,this is how they account for this war in heaven1 so that the dragon and his angels fight against ,michael and his angels4 ,be that as it may1 this mode of presenting the guardians of the destinies of nations is one respecting which we have no further gleams of revelation to help us4 ,ewald regards the two last verses of the chapter as a sort of soliloquy of the angel ,gabriel with himself4 ,he is pressed for time4 ,his coming has already been delayed by the opposition of the guardian-power of the destinies of ,persia4 ,if ,michael1 the great archangel of the ,hebrews1 had not come to his aid1 and 7so to speak7 for a time relieved guard1 he would have been unable to come4 ,but even the respite leaves him anxious4 ,he seems to feel it almost necessary that he should at once return to contend against the ,prince of ,persia1 and against a new adversary1 the ,prince of ,javan1 who is on his way to do mischief4 ,yet on the whole he will stay and enlighten ,daniel before he takes his flight1 although there is no one but ,michael who aids him against these menacing princes4 ,it is difficult to know whether this is meant to be ideal or real--whether it represents a struggle of angels against demons1 or is merely meant for a sort of parable which represents the to-and-fro conflicting impulses which sway the destinies of earthly kingdoms4 ,in any case the representation is too unique and too remote from earth to enable us to understand its spiritual meaning1 beyond the bare indication that ,god sitteth above the water-floods and ,god remaineth a king for ever4 ,it is another way of showing us that the heathen rage1 and the people imagine a vain thing2 that the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together2 but that they can only accomplish what ,god's hand and ,god's counsel have predetermined to be done2 and that when they attempt to overthrow the destinies which ,god has foreordained1 ,he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn1 the ,lord shall have them in derision4 ,these1 apart from all complications or developments of angelology or demonology1 are the continuous lesson of the ,word of ,god1 and are confirmed by all that we decipher of ,his providence in ,his ways of dealing with nations and with men4 ,,footnotes3 #fci ,the ,,lxx4 date it in the first year of ,cyrus1 perhaps an intentional alteration 7i4 #ba74 ,we see from ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 and the latest of the ,minor ,prophets that there was scarcely even an attempt to restore the ruined walls of ,jerusalem before ,b4,c4 #ddd4 #fdj ,lit4 great warfare4 ,it will be seen that the ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v4 and other renderings vary widely from this2 but nothing very important depends on the variations4 ,instead of taking the verbs as imperatives addressed to the reader1 ,hitzig renders1 ,he heeded the word1 and gave heed to the vision4 #fda ,lit4 weeks of days 7,gen4 xli4 #a2 ,deut4 xxi4 #ac3 years of days74 #fdb ,bread of desires is the opposite of bread of affliction in ,deut4 xvi4 #c4 ,comp4 ,gen4 xxvii4 #be2 ,isa4 xxii4 #ac1 etc4 #fdc ,comp4 ,amos vi4 #f2 ,ruth iii4 #c2 #b ,sam4 xii4 #bj1 xiv4 #b4 #fdd ,he fasted from ,abib #c to #bd4 ,the festival of the ,new ,moon might prevent him from fasting on ,abib #a1 #b4 #fde ,hiddekel 7the rushing7 occurs only in ,gen4 ii4 #ad4 ,it is the ,assyrian idiglat4 #fdf ,for the girdle see ,ezek4 xxiii4 #ae4 ,ewald 7with the ,vulg41 ,chald41 and ,syriac7 regards ,uphaz as a clerical error for ,ophir 7,psalm xlv4 #i74 ,,lxx41 7,jer4 x4 #i1 where alone it occurs74 ,the ,,lxx4 omit it here4 ,vulg41 ,auro obrizo4 #fdg ,heb41 eben tarshish 7,exod4 xxviii4 #b72 ,vulg41 crysolithus2 ,r4,v4 and ,a4,v41 beryl 7,ezek4 i4 #af74 ,comp4 ,skr41 tarisha1 the sea4 #fdh ,theodot41 2 ,,lxx41 7,rev4 i4 #ae7--lit4 foot-hold2 ,vulg41 qu deorsum sunt usque ad pedes4 #fdi ,this description of the vision follows ,ezek4 i4 #af-bd1 ix4 #b1 and is followed in ,rev4 i4 #ac-ae4 ,the deep murmur is referred to the sound of the sea by ,st4 ,john2 ,a4,v41 the voice of a multitude2 ,,lxx41 4 ,comp4 ,isa4 xiii4 #d2 ,ezek4 xliii4 #b4 #fej ,rashi guesses that they were ,haggai1 ,zechariah1 and ,malachi4 #fea ,comp4 ,acts ix4 #g1 xxii4 #aa4 #feb ,comp4 ,hab4 iii4 #af2 ,dan4 viii4 #ah4 #fec ,lit4 shook or caused me to tremble upon my knees and the palms of my hand4 #fed x4 #aa4 ,,lxx41 2 ,tert41 ,de ,jejun41 #g1 homo es miserabilis 7sc41 jejunando74 #fee ,the protecting genius of ,persia 7,isa4 xxiv4 #ba2 ,psalm lxxxii42 ,ecclus4 xvii4 #ag74 #fef ,michael1 who is like ,god 7,jude #i2 ,rev4 xii4 #g74 #feg ,heb41 nthart4 ,i came off victorious1 or obtained the precedence 7,luther1 ,gesenius1 etc472 ,i was delayed 7,hitzig72 ,i was superfluous 7,ewald72 ,was left over 7,zckler72 ,i remained 7,a4,v472 ,was not needed 7,r4,v4 marg474 ,the ,,lxx4 and ,theodoret seem to follow another text4 #feh ,,lxx41 with the army of the king of the ,persians4 #fei ,again the text and rendering are uncertain4 #ffj ,so ,hitzig and ,ewald4 ,the view that they are distinct persons is taken by ,zckler1 ,von ,lengerke1 etc4 ,other guesses are that the man clothed in linen is the angel who called ,gabriel 7viii4 #af72 or ,michael2 or the angel of the ,covenant 7,vitringa72 or ,christ2 or he who letteth 7 1 #b ,thess4 ii4 #g71 whom ,zckler takes to be the good principle of the world-power4 #ffa ,thus in the ,,lxx4 7,dent1 xxxii4 #h7 we read of angels of the nations4 ,see too ,isa4 xlvi4 #b2 ,jer4 xlvi4 #be4 ,comp4 ,baruch iv4 #g2 ,ecclus4 xvii4 #ag2 ,frankel1 ,vorstudien1 p4 #ff4 ,,chapter ,v ,,an ,,enigmatic ,,prophecy ,,passing ,,into ,,details ,,of ,,the ,,reign ,,of ,,antiochus ,,epiphanes ,pone hc dici de ,antiocho1 quid nocet religioni nostr8--,,hieron4 ed4 ,,vallars1 v4 #gbb4 ,if this chapter were indeed the utterance of a prophet in the ,babylonian ,exile1 nearly four hundred years before the events--events of which many are of small comparative importance in the world's history--which are here so enigmatically and yet so minutely depicted1 the revelation would be the most unique and perplexing in the whole ,scriptures4 ,it would represent a sudden and total departure from every method of ,god's providence and of ,god's manifestation of ,his will to the minds of the prophets4 ,it would stand absolutely and abnormally alone as an abandonment of the limitations of all else which has ever been foretold4 ,and it would then be still more surprising that such a reversal of the entire economy of prophecy should not only be so widely separated in tone from the high moral and spiritual lessons which it was the special glory of prophecy to inculcate1 but should come to us entirely devoid of those decisive credentials which could alone suffice to command our conviction of its genuineness and authenticity4 ,we find in this chapter1 says ,mr4 ,bevan1 a complete survey of the history from the beginning of the ,persian period down to the time of the author4 ,here1 even more than in the earlier vision1 we are able to perceive how the account gradually becomes more definite as it approaches the latter part of the reign of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 and how it then passes suddenly from the domain of historical facts to that of ideal expectations4#ffb ,in recent days1 when the force of truth has compelled so many earnest and honest thinkers to the acceptance of historic and literary criticism1 the few scholars who are still able to maintain the traditional views about the ,book of ,daniel find themselves driven1 like ,zckler and others1 to admit that even if the ,book of ,daniel as a whole can be regarded as the production of the exiled seer five and a half centuries before ,christ1 yet in this chapter at any rate there must be large interpolations4#ffc ,there is here an unfortunate division of the chapters4 ,the first verse of chap4 xi4 clearly belongs to the last verses of chap4 x4 ,it seems to furnish the reason why ,gabriel could rely on the help of ,michael1 and therefore may delay for a few moments his return to the scene of conflict with the ,prince of ,persia and the coming ,king of ,javan4 ,michael will for that brief period undertake the sole responsibility of maintaining the struggle1 because ,gabriel has put him under a direct obligation by special assistance which he rendered to him only a little while previously in the first year of the ,median ,darius4#ffd ,now1 therefore1 ,gabriel1 though in haste1 will announce to ,daniel the truth4 ,the announcement occupies five sections4 ,,first ,,section 7xi4 #b-i74--;,events from the rise of ,alexander the ,great 7,b4,c4 #ccf7 to the death of ,seleucus ,nicator 7,b4,c4 #bhj74 ,there are to be three kings of ,persia after ,cyrus 7who is then reigning71 of whom the third is to be the richest2#ffe and when he is waxed strong through his riches1 he shall stir up the all#fff against the realm of ,javan4 ,there were of course many more than four kings of ,persia#ffg3 viz4-- ,b4,c4 ,cyrus #ecf ,cambyses #ebi ,pseudo-,smerdis #ebb ,darius ,hystaspis #eba ,xerxes ,i4 #dhe ,artaxerxes ,i4 7,longimanus7 #dfd ,xerxes ,,ii4 #dbe ,sogdianus #dbe ,darius ,nothus #dbd ,artaxerxes ,,ii4 7,mnemon7 #dje ,artaxerxes ,,iii4 #cei ,darius ,codomannus #ccf ,but probably the writer had no historic sources to which to refer1 and only four ,persian kings are prominent in ,scripture--,cyrus1 ,darius1 ,xerxes1 and ,artaxerxes4 ,darius ,codomannus is indeed mentioned in ,neh4 xii4 #bb1 but might have easily been overlooked1 and even confounded with another ,darius in uncritical and unhistorical times4 ,the rich fourth king who stirs up the all against the realm of ,grecia might be meant for ,artaxerxes ,i41 but more probably refers to ,xerxes 7,achashverosh1 or ,ahasuerus71 and his immense and ostentatious invasion of ,greece 7,b4,c4 #dhj74 ,his enormous wealth is dwelt upon by ,herodotus4#ffh ,ver4 #c 7,b4,c4 #ccf-cbc74--,then shall rise a mighty king 7,alexander the ,great71 and shall rule with great dominion1 and do according to his will4 ,fortunam solus omnium mortalium in potestate habuit1 says his historian1 ,quintus ,curtius4#ffi ,ver4 #d 7,b4,c4 #cbc74--;,but when he is at the apparent zenith of his strength his kingdom shall be broken1 and shall not descend to any of his posterity1#fgj but 7,b4,c4 #cbc-cja7 shall be for others1 and shall ultimately 7after the ,battle of ,ipsus1 ,b4,c4 #cja7 be divided towards the four winds of heaven1 into the kingdoms of ,cassander 7,greece and ,macedonia71 ,ptolemy 7,egypt1 ,cle-,syria1 and ,palestine71 ,lysimachus 7,asia ,minor71 and ,seleucus 7,upper ,asia74 ,ver4 #e4--,of these four kingdoms and their kings the vision is only concerned with two--the kings of the ,south#fga 7i4e41 the ,lagid1 or ,egyptian ,ptolemies1 who sprang from ,ptolemy ,lagos71 and the kings of the ,north 7i4e41 the ,antiochian ,seleucid74 ,they alone are singled out because the ,holy ,land became a sphere of contentions between these rival dynasties4#fgb ,b4,c4 #cjf4--,the ,king of the ,south 7,ptolemy ,soter1 son of ,lagos7 shall be strong1 and shall ultimately assume the title of ,ptolemy ,i41 ,king of ,egypt4 ,but one of his princes or generals 7,seleucus ,nicator7 shall be stronger1#fgc and1 asserting his independence1 shall establish a great dominion over ,northern ,syria and ,babylonia4 ,ver4 #f 7,b4,c4 #bej74--,the vision then passes over the reign of ,antiochus ,,ii4 7,soter71 and proceeds to say that at the end of years 7i4e41 some half-century later1 ,b4,c4 #bej7 the kings of the ,north and ,south should form a matrimonial alliance4 ,the daughter of the ,king of the ,south--the ,egyptian ,princess ,berenice1 daughter of ,ptolemy ,,ii4 7,philadelphus71 should come to the ,king of the ,north 7,antiochus ,theos7 to make an agreement4 ,this agreement 7marg41 equitable conditions7 was that ,antiochus ,theos should divorce his wife and half-sister ,laodice1 and disinherit her children1 and bequeath the throne to any future child of ,berenice1 who would thus unite the empires of the ,ptolemies and the ,seleucid4#fgd ,berenice took with her so vast a dowry that she was called the dowry-bringer 774#fge ,antiochus himself accompanied her as far as ,pelusium 7,b4,c4 #bdg74 ,but the compact ended in nothing but calamity4 ,for1 two years after1 ,ptolemy ,,ii4 died1 leaving an infant child by ,berenice4 ,but ,berenice did not retain the strength of her arm1#fgf since the military force which accompanied her proved powerless for her protection2 nor did ,ptolemy ,,ii4 abide1 nor any support which he could render4 ,on the contrary1 there was overwhelming disaster4 ,berenice's escort1 her father1 her husband1 all perished1 and she herself and her infant child were murdered by her rival1 ,laodice 7,b4,c4 #bdf71 in the sanctuary of ,daphne1 whither she had fled for refuge4 ,ver4 #g 7,b4,c4 #bhe-bdg74--;,but the murder of ,berenice shall be well avenged4 ,for out of a shoot from her roots stood up one in his office1 even her brother ,ptolemy ,,iii4 7,euergetes71 who1 unlike the effeminate ,ptolemy ,,ii41 did not entrust his wars to his generals1 but came himself to his army4 ,he shall completely conquer the ,king of the ,north 7,seleucus ,,ii41 ,kallinikos1 son of ,antiochus ,theos and ,laodice71 shall seize his fortress 7,seleucia1 the port of ,antioch74#fgg ,ver4 #h 7,b4,c4 #bdg74--;,in this campaign ,ptolemy ,euergetes1 who earned the title of ,benefactor by this vigorous invasion1 shall not only win immense booty--four thousand talents of gold and many jewels1 and forty thousand talents of silver--but shall also carry back with him to ,egypt the two thousand five hundred molten images1#fgh and idolatrous vessels1 which1 two hundred and eighty years before 7,b4,c4 #ebg71 ,cambyses had carried away from ,egypt4#fgi ,after this success he will1 for some years1 refrain from attacking the ,seleucid kings4#fhj ,ver4 #i 7,b4,c4 #bdj74--,seleucus ,kallinikos makes an attempt to avenge the shame and loss of the invasion of ,syria by invading ,egypt1 but he returns to his own land totally foiled and defeated1 for his fleet was destroyed by a storm4#fha ,,second ,,section 7vv4 #aj-ai74--;,events from the death of ,ptolemy ,euergetes 7,b4,c4 #bdg7 to the death of ,antiochus ,,iii4 7the ,great1 ,b4,c4 #age74 ,in the following verses1 as ,behrmann observes1 there is a sort of dance of shadows1 only fully intelligible to the initiated4 ,ver4 #aj4--,the sons of ,seleucus ,kallinikos were ,seleucus ,,iii4 7,keraunos1 ,b4,c4 #bbg-bbd7 and ,antiochus the ,great 7,b4,c4 #bbd-ahg74 ,keraunos only reigned two years1 and in ,b4,c4 #bbd his brother ,antiochus ,,iii4 succeeded him4 ,both kings assembled immense forces to avenge the insult of the ,egyptian invasion1 the defeat of their father1 and the retention of their port and fortress of ,seleucia4 ,it was only sixteen miles from ,antioch1 and being still garrisoned by ,egyptians1 constituted a standing danger and insult to their capital city4 ,ver4 #aa4--;,after twenty-seven years the port of ,seleucia is wrested from the ,egyptians by ,antiochus the ,great1 and he so completely reverses the former successes of the ,king of the ,south as to conquer ,syria as far as ,gaza4 ,ver4 #ab 7,b4,c4 #bag74--;,but at last the young ,egyptian ,king1 ,ptolemy ,,iv4 7,philopator71 is roused from his dissipation and effeminacy1 advances to ,raphia 7southwest of ,gaza7 with a great army of twenty thousand foot1 five thousand horse1 and seventy-three elephants1 and there1 to his own immense self-exaltation1 he inflicts a severe defeat on ,antiochus1 and casts down tens of thousands4#fhb ,yet the victory is illusive1 although it enables ,ptolemy to annex ,palestine to ,egypt4 ,for ,ptolemy shall not show himself strong1 but shall1 by his supineness1 and by making a speedy peace1 throw away all the fruits of his victory1 while he returns to his past dissipation 7,b4,c4 #bag-bjd74fhc ,ver4 #ac4--,twelve years later 7,b4,c4 #bje7 ,ptolemy ,philopator died1 leaving an infant son1 ,ptolemy ,epiphanes4 ,antiochus1 smarting from his defeat at ,raphia1 again assembled an army which was still greater than before 7,b4,c4 #bjc71 and much war-material4 ,in the intervening years he had won great victories in the ,east as far as ,india4 ,ver4 #ad4--;,antiochus shall be aided by the fact that many--including his ally ,philip1 ,king of ,macedon1 and various rebel-subjects of ,ptolemy ,epiphanes--stood up against the ,king of ,egypt and wrested ,phnicia and ,southern ,syria from him4 ,the ,syrians were further strengthened by the assistance of the children of the violent among the ,jews1 who shall lift themselves up to fulfil the vision of the oracle2#fhd but they shall fall4 ,we read in ,josephus that many of the ,jews helped ,antiochus2#fhe but the allusion to the vision is entirely obscure4 ,ewald supposes a reference to some prophecy no longer extant4 ,dr4 ,jol thinks that the ,hellenising ,jews may have referred to ,isa4 xix4 in favour of the plans of ,antiochus against ,egypt4 ,vv4 #ae1 #af4--;,but however much any of the ,jews may have helped ,antiochus under the hope of ultimately regaining their independence1 their hopes were frustrated4 ,the ,syrian ,king came1 besieged1 and took a well-fenced city--perhaps an allusion to the fact that he wrested ,sidon from the ,egyptians4 ,after his great victory over the ,egyptian general ,scopas at ,mount ,panium 7,b4,c4 #aih71 the routed ,egyptian forces1 to the number of ten thousand1 flung themselves into that city4#fhf ,this campaign ruined the interests of ,egypt in ,palestine1 the glorious land4#fhg ,palestine now passed to ,antiochus1 who took possession with destruction in his hand4 ,ver4 #ag 7,b4,c4 #aih-aie74--;,after this there shall again be an attempt at equitable negotiations2 by which1 however1 ,antiochus hoped to get final possession of ,egypt and destroy it4 ,he arranged a marriage between a daughter of women--his daughter ,cleopatra--and ,ptolemy ,epiphanes4 ,but this attempt also entirely failed4 ,ver4 #ah 7,b4,c4 #aij74--;,antiochus therefore sets his face in another direction1 and tries to conquer the islands and coasts of ,asia ,minor4 ,but a captain--the ,roman general1 ,lucius ,cornelius ,scipio ,asiaticus--puts an end to the insolent scorn with which he had spoken of the ,romans1 and pays him back with equal scorn1#fhh utterly defeating him in the great ,battle of ,magnesia 7,b4,c4 #aij71 and forcing him to ignominious terms4 ,ver4 #ai 7,b4,c4 #age74--;,antiochus next turns his attention 7sets his face7 to strengthen the fortresses of his own land in the east and west2 but making an attempt to recruit his dissipated wealth by the plunder of the ,temple of ,belus in ,elymais1 stumbles and falls1 and is not found4 ,,third ,,section 7vv4 #bj-bg74--;,events under ,seleucus ,philopator down to the first attempts of ,antiochus ,epiphanes against ,egypt 7,b4,c4 #agj74 ,ver4 #bj4--,seleucus ,philopator 7,b4,c4 #ahg-agf7 had a character the reverse of his father's4 ,he was no restless seeker for glory1 but desired wealth and quietness4#fhi ,among the ,jews1 however1 he had a very evil reputation1 for he sent an exactor--a mere tax-collector1 ,heliodorus--to pass through the glory of the kingdom4#fij ,he only reigned twelve years1 and then was broken--i4e41 murdered by ,heliodorus1 neither in anger nor in battle1 but by poison administered by this tax-collector4 ,the versions all vary1 but ,i feel little doubt that ,dr4 ,jol is right when he sees in the curious phrase nogesh heder malkooth1 one that shall cause a raiser of taxes to pass over the kingdom--of which neither ,theodotion nor the ,vulgate can make anything--a cryptographic allusion to the name ,heliodorus2#fia and possibly the predicted fate may 7by a change of subject7 also refer to the fact that ,heliodorus was checked1 not by force1 but by the vision in the ,temple 7#b ,macc4 v4 #ah1 iii4 #bd-bi74 ,we find from #b ,macc4 iv4 #a that ,simeon1 the governor of the ,temple1 charged ,onias with a trick to terrify ,heliodorus4 ,this is a very probable view of what occurred4#fib ,ver4 #ba4--,seleucus ,philopator died ,b4,c4 #age without an heir4 ,this made room for a contemptible person1 a reprobate1 who had no real claim to royal dignity1#fic being only a younger son of ,antiochus the ,great4 ,he came by surprise1 in time of security1 and obtained the kingdom by flatteries4#fid ,ver4 #bb4--,yet the overflowing wings of ,egypt 7or the arms of a flood7 were swept away before him and broken2 yea1 and even a covenanted or allied prince4 ,some explain this of his nephew ,ptolemy ,philometor1 others of ,onias ,,iii41 the prince of the covenant--i4e41 the princely high priest1 whom ,antiochus displaced in favour of his brother1 the apostate ,joshua1 who ,grcised his name into ,jason1 as his brother ,onias did in calling himself ,menelaus4#fie ,ver4 #bc4--,this mean king should prosper by deceit which he practised on all connected with him2#fif and though at first he had but few adherents1 he should creep into power4 ,ver4 #bd4--;,in time of security shall he come1 even upon the fattest places of the province4 ,by this may be meant his invasions of ,galilee and ,lower ,egypt4 ,acting unlike any of his royal predecessors1 he shall lavishly scatter his gains and his booty among needy followers1#fig and shall plot to seize ,pelusium1 ,naucratis1 ,alexandria1 and other strongholds of ,egypt for a time4 ,ver4 #be4--;,after this 7,b4,c4 #aga7 he shall1 with a great army1 seriously undertake his first invasion of ,egypt1 and shall be met by his nephew ,ptolemy ,philometor with another immense army4 ,in spite of this1 the young ,egyptian ,king shall fail through the treachery of his own courtiers4 ,he shall be outwitted and treacherously undermined by his uncle ,antiochus4 ,yes6 even while his army is fighting1 and many are being slain1 the very men who eat of his dainties1 even his favourite and trusted courtiers ,eulus and ,lenus1 will be devising his ruin1 and his army shall be swept away4 ,vv4 #bf1 #bg 7,b4,c4 #agd74--,the ,syrians and the ,egyptian ,king1 nephew and uncle1 shall in nominal amity sit at one banquet1 eating from one table2#fih but all the while they will be distrustfully plotting against each other and speaking lies to each other4 ,antiochus will pretend to ally himself with the young ,philometor against his brother ,ptolemy ,euergetes ,,ii4--generally known by his derisive nickname as ,ptolemy ,physkon#fii--whom after eleven months the ,alexandrians had proclaimed king4 ,but all these plots and counter-plots should be of none effect1 for the end was not yet4 ,,fourth ,,section 7vv4 #bh-ce74--;,events between the first attack of ,antiochus on ,jerusalem 7,b4,c4 #agj7 and his plunder of the ,temple to the first revolt of the ,maccabees 7,b4,c4 #afg74 ,ver4 #bh 7,b4,c4 #afh74--,returning from ,egypt with great plunder1 ,antiochus shall set himself against the ,holy ,covenant4 ,he put down the usurping high priest ,jason1 who1 with much slaughter1 had driven out his rival usurper and brother1 ,menelaus4 ,he massacred many ,jews1 and returned to ,antioch enriched with golden vessels seized from the ,temple4#gjj ,ver4 #bi4--;,in ,b4,c4 #afh ,antiochus again invaded ,egypt1 but with none of the former splendid results4 ,for ,ptolemy ,philometor and ,physkon had joined in sending an embassy to ,rome to ask for help and protection4 ,in consequence of this1 ships from ,kittim#gja--namely1 the ,roman fleet--came against him1 bringing the ,roman commissioner1 ,gaius ,popilius ,lnas4 ,when ,popilius met ,antiochus1 the king put out his hand to embrace him2 but the ,roman merely held out his tablets1 and bade ,antiochus read the ,roman demand that he and his army should at once evacuate ,egypt4 ,i will consult my friends on the subject1 said ,antiochus4 ,popilius1 with infinite haughtiness and audacity1 simply drew a circle in the sand with his vine-stick round the spot on which the king stood1 and said1 ,you must decide before you step out of that circle4 ,antiochus stood amazed and humiliated2 but seeing that there was no help for it1 promised in despair to do all that the ,romans demanded4#gjb ,ver4 #cj4--,returning from ,egypt in an indignant frame of mind1 he turned his exasperation against the ,jews and the ,holy ,covenant1 especially extending his approval to those who apostatised from it4 ,ver4 #ca4--,then 7,b4,c4 #afh7 shall come the climax of horror4 ,antiochus shall send troops to the ,holy ,land1 who shall desecrate the sanctuary and fortress of the ,temple1 and abolish the daily sacrifice 7,kisleu #ae71 and set up the abomination that maketh desolate4#gjc ,ver4 #cb4--,to carry out these ends the better1 and with the express purpose of putting an end to the ,jewish religion1 he shall pervert or make profane by flatteries the renegades who are ready to apostatise from the faith of their fathers4 ,but there shall be a faithful remnant who will bravely resist him to the uttermost4 ,the people who know their ,god will be valiant1 and do great deeds4 ,ver4 #cc4--,to keep alive the national faith wise teachers of the people shall instruct many1 and will draw upon their own heads the fury of persecution1 so that many shall fall by sword1 and by flame1 and by captivity1 and by spoliation for many days4 ,ver4 #cd4--;,but in the midst of this fierce onslaught of cruelty they shall be holpen with a little help4 ,there shall arise the sect of the ,chasidm1 or the ,pious1 bound together by ,tugendbund to maintain the ,laws which ,israel received from ,moses of old4#gjd ,these good and faithful champions of a righteous cause will indeed be weakened by the false adherence of waverers and flatterers4 ,ver4 #ce4--,to purge the party from such spies and ,laodiceans1 the teachers1 like the aged priest ,mattathias at ,modin1 and the aged scribe ,eleazar1 will have to brave even martyrdom itself till the time of the end4 ,,fifth ,,section 7vv4 #cf-de1 ,b4,c4 #adg-afd74--;,events from the beginning of the ,maccabean rising to the death of ,antiochus ,epiphanes4 ,ver4 #cf4--;,antiochus will grow more arbitrary1 more insolent1 more blasphemous1 from day to day1 calling himself ,god 7,theos7 on his coins1 and requiring all his subjects to be of his religion1#gje and so even more kindling against himself the wrath of the ,god of gods by his monstrous utterances1 until the final doom has fallen4 ,ver4 #cg4--;,he will1 in fact1 make himself his own god1 paying no regard 7by comparison7 to his national or local god1 the ,olympian ,zeus1 nor to the ,syrian deity1 ,tammuz-,adonis1 the desire of women4#gjf ,tammuz came next behind1 ,whose yearly wound in ,lebanon allured ,the ,syrian damsels to lament his fate ,in amorous ditties all a summer day4 ,while smooth ,adonis from his native rock ,ran purple to the sea--supposed with blood ,of ,tammuz yearly wounded4 ,the love tale ,infected ,zion's daughters with like heat4 ,ver4 #ch4--,the only ,god to whom he shall pay marked respect shall be the ,roman ,jupiter1 the god of the ,capitol4 ,to this god1 to ,jupiter ,capitolinus1 not to his own ,zeus ,olympios1 the god of his ,greek fathers1 he shall erect a temple in his capital city of ,antioch1 and adorn it with gold and silver and precious stones4#gjg ,ver4 #ci4--;,and he shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a strange god#gjh--namely1 the ,capitoline ,jupiter 7,zeus ,polieus7--and shall crowd the strongholds of ,juda with heathen colonists who worship the ,tyrian ,hercules 7,melkart7 and other idols2 and to these heathen he shall give wealth and power4 ,ver4 #dj4--;,but his evil career shall be cut short4 ,egypt1 under the now-allied brothers ,philometor and ,physkon1 shall unite to thrust at him4 ,antiochus will advance against them like a whirlwind1 with many chariots and horsemen1 and with the aid of a fleet4 ,vv4 #da-de4--;,in the course of his march he shall pass through ,palestine1 the glorious land1#gji with disastrous injury2 but ,edom1 ,moab1 and the bloom of the kingdom of ,ammon shall escape his hand4 ,egypt1 however1 shall not escape4 ,by the aid of the ,libyans and ,ethiopians who are in his train he shall plunder ,egypt of its treasures4#gaj ,how far these events correspond to historic realities is uncertain4 ,jerome says that ,antiochus invaded ,egypt a third time in ,b4,c4 #afe1 the eleventh year of his reign2 but there are no historic traces of such an invasion1 and most certainly ,antiochus towards the close of his reign1 instead of being enriched with vast ,egyptian spoils1 was struggling with chronic lack of means4 ,some therefore suppose that the writer composed and published his enigmatic sketch of these events before the close of the reign of ,antiochus1 and that he is here passing from contemporary fact into a region of ideal anticipations which were never actually fulfilled4 ,ver4 #dc 7,b4,c4 #afe74--;,in the midst of this devastating invasion of ,egypt1 ,antiochus shall be troubled with disquieting rumours of troubles in ,palestine and other realms of his kingdom4 ,he will set out with utter fury to subjugate and to destroy1 determining above all to suppress the heroic ,maccabean revolt which had inflicted such humiliating disasters upon his generals1 ,seron1 ,apollonius1 and ,lysias4#gaa ,ver4 #de 7,b4,c4 #afd74--;,he shall indeed advance so far as to pitch his palatial tent#gab between the sea and the mountain of the ,high ,glory2 but he will come to a disastrous and an unassisted end4#gac ,these latter events either do not correspond with the actual history1 or cannot be verified4 ,so far as we know ,antiochus did not invade ,egypt at all after ,b4,c4 #afh4 ,still less did he advance from ,egypt1 or pitch his tent anywhere near ,mount ,zion4 ,nor did he die in ,palestine1 but in ,persia 7,b4,c4 #afe74 ,the writer1 indeed1 strong in faith1 anticipated1 and rightly1 that ,antiochus would come to an ignominious and a sudden end--,god shooting at him with a swift arrow1 so that he should be wounded4 ,but all accurate details seem suddenly to stop short with the doings in the fourth section1 which may refer to the strange conduct of ,antiochus in his great festival in honour of ,jupiter at ,daphne4 ,had the writer published his book after this date1 he could not surely have failed to speak with triumphant gratitude and exultation of the heroic stand made by ,judas ,maccabus and the splendid victories which restored hope and glory to the ,holy ,land4 ,i therefore regard these verses as a description rather of ideal expectation than of historic facts4 ,we find notices of ,antiochus in the ,books of ,maccabees1 in ,josephus1 in ,st4 ,jerome's ,commentary on ,daniel1 and in ,appian's ,syriaca4 ,we should know more of him and be better able to explain some of the allusions in this chapter if the writings of the secular historians had not come down to us in so fragmentary a condition4 ,the relevant portions of ,callinicus ,sutoricus1 ,diodorus ,siculus1 ,polybius1 ,posidonius1 ,claudius1 ,theon1 ,andronicus1 ,alypius1 and others are all lost--except a few fragments which we have at second or third hand4 ,porphyry introduced quotations from these authors into the twelfth book of his ,arguments against the ,christians2 but we only know his book from ,jerome's ex-parte quotations4 ,other ,christian treatises1 written in answer to ,porphyry by ,apollinaris1 ,eusebius1 and ,methodius1 are only preserved in a few sentences by ,nicetas and ,john of ,damascus4 ,the loss of ,porphyry and ,apollinarius is especially to be regretted4 ,jerome says that it was the extraordinarily minute correspondence of this chapter of ,daniel with the history of ,antiochus ,epiphanes that led ,porphyry to the conviction that it only contained vaticinia ex eventu4#gad ,antiochus died at ,tab in ,paratacne on the frontiers of ,persia and ,babylonia about ,b4,c4 #afc4 ,the ,jewish account of his remorseful deathbed may be read in #a ,macc4 vi4 #a-af3 ,he laid him down upon his bed1 and fell sick for grief2 and there he continued many days1 for his grief was ever more and more2 and he made account that he should die4 ,he left a son1 ,antiochus ,eupator1 aged nine1 under the charge of his flatterer and foster-brother ,philip4#gae ,recalling the wrongs he had inflicted on ,juda and ,jerusalem1 he said3 ,i perceive1 therefore1 that for this cause these troubles are come upon me2 and1 behold1 ,i perish through great grief in a strange land4 ,,footnotes3 #ffb ,daniel1 p4 #afb4 #ffc ,on this chapter see ,smend1 ,zeitschr4 fr ,alttest4 ,wissenschaft1 v4 #bda4 #ffd ,ewald1 ,prophets1 v4 #bic 7,e4 ,tr474 #ffe ,doubtless the three mentioned in ,ezra iv4 #e-g3 ,ahasuerus 7,xerxes71 ,artaxerxes1 and ,darius4 #fff ,heb41 ,hakkl--lit4 the all4 ,there were probably ,jews in his army 7,jos4 c4 ,ap41 ,i4 #bb3 comp4 ,herod41 vii4 #hi74 #ffg ,zckler met the difficulty by calling the number four symbolic1 a method as easy as it is profoundly unsatisfactory4 #ffh ,herod41 iii4 #if1 iv4 #bg-bi4 #ffi ,q4 ,curt41 ,x4 v4 #ce4 #fgj ,see ,grote1 xii4 #acc4 ,alexander had a natural son1 ,herakles1 and a posthumous son1 ,alexander1 by ,roxana4 ,both were murdered--the former by ,polysperchon4 ,see ,diod4 ,sic41 xix4 #aje1 xx4 #bh2 ,pausan41 ix4 #g2 ,justin1 xv4 #b2 ,appian1 ,syr41 c4 #ea4 #fga ,the ,king of the ,negeb 7comp4 ,isa4 xxx4 #f1 #g74 ,,lxx41 ,egypt4 ,ptolemy assumed the crown about ,b4,c4 #cjd4 #fgb ,see ,stade1 ,gesch41 ii4 #bgf4 ,seleucus ,nicator was deemed so important as to give his name to the ,seleucid ra 7#a ,macc4 i4 #aj1 74 #fgc ,diod4 ,sic41 xix4 #ee-eh2 ,appian1 ,syr41 c4 #eb4 ,he ruled from ,phrygia to the ,indus1 and was the most powerful of the ,diadochi4 ,the word one is not expressed in the ,hebrew3 but as for one of his captains4 ,there may be some corruption of the text4 ,seleucus can scarcely be regarded as a vassal of ,ptolemy1 but of ,alexander4 #fgd ,appian1 ,syr41 c4 #ee2 ,polynus1 viii4 #ej2 ,justin1 xxvii4 #a4 ,see ,herzberg1 ,gesch4 v4 ,hellas u4 ,rom41 i4 #egf4 ,dates are not certain4 #fge ,jer41 ad loc4 7,dan4 xi4 #f74 #fgf ,the rendering is much disputed1 and some versions1 punctuating differently1 have1 his seed i4e41 his daughter shall not stand4 ,every clause of the passage has received varying interpretations4 #fgg ,polyb41 v4 #eh4 #fgh ,heb41 naskm2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 sculptilia4 #fgi ,herodotus 7iii4 #dg7 says that he ordered the images to be burnt4 ,on the ,marmor ,adulitanum1 ,ptolemy ,euergetes boasted that he had united ,mesopotamia1 ,babylonia1 ,persia1 ,susiana1 ,media1 and all countries as far as ,bactria under his rule4 ,the inscription was seen at ,adules by ,cosmas ,indicopleustes1 and recorded by him 7,wolf u4 ,buttmann1 ,museum1 ii4 #afb74 #fhj ,r4,v4 marg41 ,he shall continue more years than the ,king of the ,north4 ,ptolemy ,euergetes died ,b4,c4 #bdg2 ,seleucus ,kallinikos1 ,b4,c4 #bbe4 ,it must be borne in mind that in almost every clause the readings1 renderings1 and interpolations vary4 ,i give what seem to be the best attested and the most probable4 #fha ,justin1 xxvii4 #b4 #fhb ,see #c ,macc4 i4 #b-h2 ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,,iv4 xi4 #e4 ,the ,seleucid army lost ten thousand foot1 three hundred horse1 five elephants1 and more than four thousand prisoners 7,polyb41 v4 #hf74 #fhc ,justin says 7xxx4 i73 ,spoliasset regem ,antiochum si fortunam virtute juvisset4 #fhd ,chzn1 the vision4 ,grtz renders it1 to cause the ,law to totter2 but this cannot be right4 #fhe ,e4g41 ,joseph1 and his son ,hyrcanus4 #fhf ,polyb41 xxviii4 #a2 ,liv41 xxxiii4 #ai2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 iii4 #d4 ,see ,st4 ,jerome1 ad loc4 #fhg ,vulg41 terra inclyta2 but in viii4 #i1 fortitudo4 #fhh ,in the choice of the ,hebrew words qatsn cher'patho lo1 ,dr4 ,jol suspects a sort of anagram of ,cornelius ,scipio1 like the for ,ptolemy1 and the for ,arsione in ,lycophron2 but the real meaning and rendering of the verse are highly uncertain4 #fhi ,liv41 xii4 #ai3 ,otiosum1 nullisque admodum rebus gestis nobilitatum4 #fij #b ,macc4 iii4 #g ff4 ,the reading and rendering are very uncertain4 #fia ,jol1 ,notizen1 p4 #af4 #fib ,see ,jost1 i4 #aaj4 #fic ,vulg41 vilissimus et indignus decore regio2 ,r4,v41 to whom they had not given the honour of a kingdom2 ,ewald1 upon him shall not be set the splendour of a kingdom4 ,dr4 ,jol sees in nibzeh a contemptuous paronomasia on ,epiphanes 7,notizen1 p4 #ag74 #fid ,dan4 viii4 #bb2 #b ,macc4 v4 #be4 #fie ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 v4 #a4 #fif ,jerome1 amicitias simulans4 #fig ,see #a ,macc4 iii4 #cj2 #a ,macc4 i4 #ai2 ,polyb41 xxvii4 #ag2 ,diod4 ,sic41 xxx4 #bb4 ,what his unkingly stratagems were we do not know4 #fih ,liv41 xliv4 #ai3 ,antiochus per honestam speciem majoris ,ptolemi reducendi in regnum1 etc4 #fii ,or ,paunch4 ,he was so called from his corpulence4 ,comp4 the name ,mirabeau1 ,tonneau4 #gjj #b ,macc4 v4 #e-ba2 #a ,macc4 i4 #bj-bd4 #gja ,the ,,lxx4 render this 4 ,comp4 ,numb4 xxiv4 #bd2 ,jerome1 ,trieres et ,romani4 ,on ,chittim 7,gen4 x4 #d7 see ,jos41 ,antt41 ,i4 vi4 #a4 #gjb ,polyb41 xxix4 #aa2 ,appian1 ,syr41 #ff2 ,liv41 xlv4 #ab2 ,vell4 ,paterc41 i4 #aj4 ,according to ,polybius 7xxxi4 #e71 ,epiphanes1 by his crafty dissimulation1 afterwards completely hoodwinked the ambassador ,tiberius ,gracchus4 #gjc #b ,macc4 vi4 #b4 ,our best available historical comments on this chapter are to be found in the two books of ,maccabees4 #gjd #a ,macc4 ii4 #db1 iii4 #aa1 iv4 #ad1 vii4 #ac2 #b ,macc4 xiv4 #f4 #gje ,diod4 ,sic1 xxxi4 #a2 #a ,macc4 i4 #dc4 ,polybius 7xxxi4 #d7 says he committed sacrilege in most of the temples 7 74 #gjf ,jahn 7,heb4 ,com41 xcii47 sees in the words neither shall he regard the desire of women an allusion to his exclusion of women from the festival at ,daphne4 ,some explain the passage by his robbery of the ,temple of ,artemis or ,aphrodite in ,elymais 7,polyb41 xxxi4 #aa2 ,appian1 ,syr41 #ff2 #a ,macc4 vi4 #a-d2 #b ,macc4 ix4 #b74 ,all is vague and uncertain4 #gjg ,polyb41 xxvi4 #aj2 #b ,macc4 vi4 #b2 ,liv41 xii4 #bj4 ,the ,hebrew ,eloah ,mauzzm is understood by the ,,lxx41 ,theodotion1 the ,vulgate1 and ,luther to be a god called ,mauzzim 774 ,see ,herzog1 ,real-,encycl41 s4v4 ,meussin4 ,cicero 7c4 ,verr41 vii4 #gb7 calls the ,capitol arx omnium nationum4 ,the reader must judge for himself as to the validity of the remark of ,pusey 7p4 #ib71 that all this is alien from the character of ,antiochus4 #gjh ,r4,v4 ,the translation is difficult and uncertain4 #gji ,the ,,lxx4 here render this expression 7which puzzled them1 and which they omit in vv4 #af1 #da7 by 4 ,theodot41 4 #gaj ,ewald takes these for metaphoric designations of the ,hellenising ,jews4 ,some 7e4g41 ,zckler7 understand these verses as a recapitulation of the exploits of ,antiochus4 ,the whole clause is surrounded by historic uncertainties4 #gaa ,the origin of the name ,maccabee still remains uncertain4 ,some make it stand for the initials of the ,hebrew words1 ,who among the gods is like ,jehovah8 in ,exod4 xv4 #aa2 or of ,mattathias ,kohen 7priest71 ,ben-,johanan 7,biesenthal74 ,others make it mean the ,hammerer 7comp4 ,charles ,martel74 ,see ,jost1 i4 #aaf2 ,prideaux1 ii4 #aii 7so ,grotius1 and ,buxtorf1 ,de ,abbreviaturis74 #gab ,vulg41 ,aphadno4 ,the ,,lxx4 omit it4 ,theodot41 ,apadano2 ,symm41 his stable4 #gac ,porphyry says that he pitched his tent in a place called ,apedno1 between the ,tigris and ,euphrates2 but even if these rivers should be called seas1 they have nothing to do with the ,holy ,mountain4 ,apedno seems to be a mere guess from the word 1 palace or tent1 in this verse4 ,see ,jer4 xliii4 #aj 7,targum74 ,roland1 however1 quotes ,procopius 7,de dif4 ,justiniani1 ii4 #d7 as authority for a place called ,apadnas1 near ,amida1 on the ,tigris4 ,see ,pusey1 p4 #ci4 #gad ,jahn1 xcv4 #gae #b ,macc4 ix42 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 ix4 #a1 #b2 ,milman1 ,hist4 of the ,jews1 ii4 #i4 ,appian describes his lingering and wasting illness by the word 7,syriaca1 #ff74 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,epilogue ,the twelfth chapter of the ,book of ,daniel serves as a general epilogue to the ,book1 and is as little free from difficulties in the interpretation of the details as are the other apocalyptic chapters4 ,the keynote1 however1 to their right understanding must be given in the words ,at that time1 with which the first verse opens4 ,the words can only mean the time spoken of at the end of the last chapter1 the days of that final effort of ,antiochus against the holy people which ended in his miserable death4 ,at that time1 then--i4e41 about the year ,b4,c4 #afc--the guardian archangel of ,israel1 ,michael1 the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people1 shall stand up for their deliverance4 ,but this deliverance should resemble many similar crises in its general characteristics4 ,it should not be immediate4 ,on the contrary1 it should be preceded by days of unparalleled disorder and catastrophe--a time of trouble1 such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time4 ,we may1 for instance1 compare with this the similar prophecy of ,jeremiah 7xxx4 #d-aa73 ,and these are the words which the ,lord spake concerning ,israel and concerning ,judah4 ,for thus saith the ,lord2 ,we have heard a voice of trembling1 of fear1 and not of peace4444 ,alas6 for that day is great1 so that none is like it3 it is even the time of ,jacob's trouble2 but he shall be saved out of it4 ,and it shall come to pass in that day1 saith the ,lord1 that ,i will burst thy bonds4444 ,therefore fear thou not1 ,o ,jacob1 ,my servant1 saith the ,lord2 neither be dismayed1 ,o ,israel4444 ,for ,i am with thee1 saith the ,lord1 to save thee4 ,for ,i will make a full end of all the nations whither ,i have scattered thee1 but ,i will not make a full end of thee3 but ,i will correct thee with judgment1 and will in nowise leave thee unpunished4#gaf ,the general conception is so common as even to have found expression in proverbs1--such as1 ,the night is darkest just before the dawn2 and1 ,when the tale of bricks is doubled1 ,moses comes4 ,some shadow of similar individual and historic experiences is found also among the ,greeks and ,romans4 ,it lies in the expression 1 and also in the lines of ,horace1-- ,nec ,deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus ,intersit4 ,we find the same expectation in the apocryphal ,book of ,enoch1#gag and we find it reflected in the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1#gah where he describes the devil as let loose and the powers of evil as gathering themselves together for the great final battle of ,armageddon before the eternal triumph of the ,lamb and of ,his saints4 ,in ,rabbinic literature there was a fixed anticipation that the coming of the ,messiah must inevitably be preceded by pangs or birth-throes1 of which they spoke as the 4#gai ,these views may partly have been founded on individual and national experience1 but they were doubtless deepened by the vision of ,zechariah 7xii474 ,behold1 a day of the ,lord cometh1 when thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee4 ,for ,i will gather all nations against ,jerusalem to battle2 and the city shall be taken1 and the houses rifled1 and the women ravished2 and half of the people shall go forth into captivity1 and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city4 ,then shall the ,lord go forth1 and fight against those nations1 as when ,he fought in the day of battle4 ,and ,his feet shall stand in that day upon the ,mount of ,olives4444 ,and it shall come to pass in that day1 that the light shall not be light1 but cold and ice3#gbj but it shall be one day that is known unto the ,lord1 not day and not night3 but it shall come to pass that at evening time there shall be light4#gba ,the anticipation of the saintly writer in the days of the early ,maccabean uprising1 while all the visible issues were still uncertain1 and hopes as yet unaccomplished could only be read by the eyes of faith1 were doubtless of a similar character4 ,when he wrote ,antiochus was already concentrating his powers to advance with the utmost wrath and fury against the ,holy ,city4 ,humanly speaking1 it was certain that the holy people could oppose no adequate resistance to his overwhelming forces1 in which he would doubtless be able to enlist contingents from many allied nations4 ,what could ensue but immeasurable calamity to the great majority8 ,michael indeed1 their prince1 should do his utmost for them2 but it would not be in his power to avert the misery which should fall on the nation generally4 ,nevertheless1 they should not be given up to utter or to final destruction4 ,as in the days of the ,assyrians the name ,shear-jashub1 which ,isaiah gave to one of his young sons1 was a sign that a remnant should be left1 so now the seer is assured that thy people shall be delivered--at any rate every one that shall be found written in the book4 ,written in the book--for all true ,israelites had ever believed that a book of record1 a book of remembrance1 lies ever open before the throne of ,god1 in which are inscribed the names of ,god's faithful ones2 as well as that awful book in which are written the evil deeds of men4#gbb ,thus in ,exodus 7xxxii4 #cc7 we read1 ,whosoever hath sinned against ,me1 him will ,i blot out of ,my book1 which tells us of the records against the guilty4 ,in ,psalm lxix4 #bh we read1 ,let them be blotted out of the book of life1 and not be written with the righteous4 ,that book of the righteous is specially mentioned by ,malachi3 ,then they that feared the ,lord spake one with another3 and the ,lord hearkened and heard1 and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the ,lord and called upon ,his ,name4#gbc ,and ,st4 ,john refers to these books at the close of the ,apocalypse3 ,and ,i saw the dead1 the great and the small1 standing before the throne2 and books were opened3 and another book was opened1 which is the book of life3 and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books1 according to their works4444 ,and if any one was not found written in the book of life1 he was cast in the lake of fire4#gbd ,in the next verse the seer is told that many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake1 some to everlasting life1 and some to shame and everlasting abhorrence4#gbe ,it is easy to glide with insincere confidence over the difficulties of this verse1 but they are many4 ,we should naturally connect it with what goes before as a reference to that time2 and if so1 it would seem as though--perhaps with reminiscences of the concluding prophecy of ,isaiah#gbf--the writer contemplated the end of all things and the final resurrection4#gbg ,if so1 we have here another instance to be added to the many in which this prophetic vision of the future passed from an immediate horizon to another infinitely distant4 ,and if that be the correct interpretation1 this is the earliest trace in ,scripture of the doctrine of individual immortality4 ,of that doctrine there was no full knowledge--there were only dim prognostications or splendid hopes#gbh--until in the fulness of the times ,christ brought life and immortality to light4 ,for instance1 the passage here seems to be doubly limited4 ,it does not refer to mankind in general1 but only to members of the chosen people2 and it is not said that all men shall rise again and receive according to their works1 but only that many shall rise to receive the reward of true life1#gbi while others shall live indeed1 but only in everlasting shame4 ,to them that be wise--to the teacher1#gcj and to those that turn the many to righteousness--there is a further promise of glory4 ,they shall shine as the brightness of the firmament1 and as the stars for ever and ever4 ,there is here1 perhaps1 a reminiscence of ,prov4 iv4 #ah1 #ai1 which tells us that the way of the wicked is as darkness1 whereas the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day4 ,our ,lord uses a similar metaphor in his explanation of the ,parable of the ,tares3 ,then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their ,father4#gca ,we find it once again in the last verse of the ,epistle of ,st4 ,james3 ,let him know1 that he who hath converted a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death1 and shall hide a multitude of sins4 ,but there is a further indication that the writer expected this final consummation to take place immediately after the troubles of the ,antiochian assault2 for he describes the angel ,gabriel as bidding ,daniel to seal the ,book even to the time of the end4 ,now as it is clear that the ,book was1 on any hypothesis1 meant for the special consolation of the persecuted ,jews under the cruel sway of the ,seleucid ,king1 and that then first could the ,book be understood1 the writer evidently looked for the fulfilment of his last prophecies at the termination of these troubles4 ,this meaning is a little obscured by the rendering1 many shall run to and fro1 and knowledge shall be increased4 ,ewald1 ,maurer1 and ,hitzig take the verse1 which literally implies movement hither and thither1 in the sense1 many shall peruse the ,book4#gcb ,mr4 ,bevan1 however1 from a consideration of the ,septuagint ,version of the words1 and knowledge shall be increased--for which they read1 and the land be filled with injustice--thinks that the original rendering would be represented by1 many shall rush hither and thither1 and many shall be the calamities4 ,in other words1 the revelation must remain concealed1 because there is to ensue a long period of commotion and distress4#gcc ,if we have been convinced by the concurrence of many irresistible arguments that the ,book of ,daniel is the product of the epoch which it most minutely describes1 we can only see in this verse a part of the literary form which the ,book necessarily assumed as the vehicle for its lofty and encouraging messages4 ,the angel here ceases to speak1 and ,daniel1 looking round him1 becomes aware of the presence of two other celestial beings1 one of whom stood on either bank of the river4#gcd ,and one said to the man clothed in linen1 which was above the waters of the river1 ,how long to the end of these wonders8#gce ,there is a certain grandeur in the vagueness of description1 but the speaker seems to be one of the two angels standing on either lip of the ,tigris4 ,the man clothed in linen1 who is hovering in the air above the waters of the river1 is the same being who in viii4 #af wears the appearance of a man1 and calls from between the banks of ,ulai to ,gabriel that he is to make ,daniel understand the vision4 ,he is also1 doubtless1 the one man clothed in linen1 whose loins were girded with fine gold of ,uphaz1 his body like the beryl1 his face as flashing lightning1 his eyes as burning torches1 and his voice like the deep murmur of a multitude1 who strikes such terror into ,daniel and his comrades in the vision of chap4 x4 #e1 #f2--;and though all is left uncertain1 the great prince ,michael may perhaps be intended4 ,the question how long these marvels were to last1 and at what period the promised deliverance should be accomplished1 was one which would naturally have the intensest interest to those ,jews who--in the agonies of the ,antiochian persecution and at the beginning of the little help caused by the ,maccabean uprising--read for the first time the fearful yet consolatory and inspiring pages of this new apocalypse4 ,the answer is uttered with the most solemn emphasis4 ,the ,vision of the priest-like and gold-girded angel1 as he hovers above the river-flood1 held up both his hands to heaven1 and swears by ,him that liveth for ever and ever that the continuance of the affliction shall be for a time1 times1 and a half4 ,so ,abraham1 to emphasise his refusal of any gain from the ,king of ,sodom1 says that he has lifted up his hand unto the ,lord1 the ,most ,high ,god1 that he would not take from a thread to a shoe-latchet4 ,and in ,exod4 vi4 #h1 when ,jehovah says ,i did swear1 the expression means literally1 ,i lifted up ,my hand4#gcf ,it is the natural attitude of calling ,god to witness2 and in ,rev4 x4 #e1 #f1 with a reminiscence of this passage1 the angel is described as standing on the sea1 and lifting his right hand to heaven to swear a mighty oath that there should be no longer delay4 ,the time1 two times1 and half a time of course means three years and a half1 as in vii4 #be4 ,there can be little doubt that their commencement is the terminus a quo which is expressly mentioned in ver4 #aa3 the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away4 ,we have already had occasion to see that three years1 with a margin which seems to have been variously computed1 does roughly correspond to the continuance of that total desecration of the ,temple1 and extinction of the most characteristic rites of ,judaism1 which preceded the death of ,antiochus and the triumph of the national cause4 ,unhappily the reading1 rendering1 and interpretation of the next clause of the angel's oath are obscure and uncertain4 ,it is rendered in the ,r4,v41 and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people1 all these things shall be finished4 ,as to the exact translation many scholars differ4 ,von ,lengerke translates it1 and when the scattering of a part of the holy people should come to an end1 all this should be ended4 ,the ,septuagint ,version is wholly unintelligible4 ,mr4 ,bevan suggests an alteration of the text which would imply that1 when the power of the shatterer of the holy people i4e41 ,antiochus should come to an end1 all these things should be ended4 ,this no doubt would not only give a very clear sense1 but also one which would be identical with the prophecy of vii4 #be1 that they the times and the law shall be given unto his hand until a time and times and half a time4#gcg ,but if we stop short at the desperate and uncertain expedient of correcting the original ,hebrew1 we can only regard the words as implying 7in the rendering of our ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v47 that the persecution and suppression of ,israel should proceed to their extremest limit1 before the woe was ended2 and of this we have already been assured4#gch ,the writer1 in the person of ,daniel1 is perplexed by the angel's oath1 and yearns for further enlightenment and certitude4 ,he makes an appeal to the vision with the question1 ,o my lord1 what shall be the issue or1 latter end of these things8 ,in answer he is simply bidden to go his way--i4e41 to be at peace1 and leave all these events to ,god1#gci since the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end4 ,in other words1 the ,daniel of the ,persian ,court could not possibly have attached any sort of definite meaning to minutely detailed predictions affecting the existence of empires which would not so much as emerge on the horizon till centuries after his death4 ,these later visions could only be apprehended by the contemporaries of the events which they shadowed forth4 ,many1 continued the angel1 shall purify themselves1 and make themselves white1 and be refined2 but the wicked shall do wickedly3 and none of the wicked shall understand2 the teachers shall understand4#gdj ,the verse describes the deep divisions which should be cleft among the ,jews by the intrigues and persecutions of ,antiochus4 ,many would cling to their ancient and sacred institutions1 and purified by pain1 purged from all dross of worldliness and hypocrisy in the fires of affliction1 like gold in the furnace1 would form the new parties of the ,chasidm and the ,anavm1 the pious and the poor4 ,they would be such men as the good high priest ,onias1 ,mattathias of ,modin and his glorious sons1 the scribe ,eleazar1 and the seven dauntless martyrs1 sons of the holy woman who unflinchingly watched their agonies and encouraged them to die rather than to apostatise4 ,but the wicked would continue to be void of all understanding1 and would go on still in their wickedness1 like ,jason and ,menelaus1 the renegade usurpers of the high-priesthood4 ,these and the whole ,hellenising party among the ,jews1 for the sake of gain1 plunged into heathen practices1 made abominable offerings to gods which were no gods1 and in order to take part in the naked contests of the ,greek gymnasium which they had set up in ,jerusalem1 deliberately attempted to obliterate the seal of circumcision which was the covenant pledge of their national consecration to the ,jehovah of their fathers4 ,and from the time that the continual burnt offering shall be taken away1 and the abomination that maketh desolate set up1 there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days4 ,if we suppose the year to consist of twelve months of thirty days1 then 7with the insertion of one intercalary month of thirty days7 twelve hundred and ninety days is exactly three and a half years4 ,we are1 however1 faced by the difficulty that the time from the desecration of the ,temple till its reconsecration by ,judas ,maccabus seems to have been exactly three years2#gda and if that view be founded on correct chronology1 we can give no exact interpretation of the very specific date here furnished4 ,our difficulties are increased by the next clause3 ,blessed is he that waiteth1 and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days4 ,all that we can conjecture from this is that1 at the close of twelve hundred and ninety days1 by the writer's reckoning from the cessation of the daily burnt offering1 and the erection of the heathen abomination which drove all faithful ,jews from the ,temple1 up to the date of some marked deliverance1 would be three and a half years1 but that this deliverance would be less complete and beatific than another and later deliverance which would not occur till forty-five days later4#gdb ,reams of conjecture and dubious history and imaginative chronology have been expended upon the effort to give any interpretation of these precise data which can pretend to the dignity of firm or scientific exegesis4 ,some1 for instance1 like ,keil1 regard the numbers as symbolical1 which is equivalent to the admission that they have little or no bearing on literal history2 others suppose that they are conjectural1 having been penned before the actual termination of the ,seleucid troubles4 ,others regard them as only intended to represent round numbers4 ,others again attempt to give them historic accuracy by various manipulations of the dates and events in and after the reign of ,antiochus4 ,others relegate the entire vision to periods separated from the ,maccabean age by hundreds of years1 or even into the remotest future4 ,and none of these commentators1 by their researches and combinations1 have succeeded in establishing the smallest approach to conviction in the minds of those who take the other views4 ,there can be little doubt that to the writer and his readers the passage pointed either to very confident expectations or very well-understood realities2 but for us the exact clue to the meaning is lost4 ,all that can be said is that we should probably understand the dates better if our knowledge of the history of ,b4,c4 #afe-afd was more complete4 ,we are forced to content ourselves with their general significance4 ,it is easy to record and to multiply elaborate guesses1 and to deceive ourselves with the merest pretence and semblance of certainty4 ,for reverent and severely honest inquiries it seems safer and wiser to study and profit by the great lessons and examples clearly set before us in the ,book of ,daniel1 but1 as regards many of its unsolved difficulties1 to obey the wise exhortation of the ,rabbis1-- ,learn to say1 ',i do not know4' ,,footnotes3 #gaf ,see too ,joel ii4 #b4 #gag ,enoch xc4 #af4 #gah ,rev4 xvi4 #ad1 xix4 #ai4 #gai ,comp4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #f1 #g1 #ba1 #bb4 #gbj ,such is the reading of the ,,lxx41 ,vulgate1 ,peshitta1 ,symmachus1 etc4 #gba ,zech4 xiv4 #a-g4 #gbb ,comp4 vii4 #aj3 ,and the books were opened4 #gbc ,mal4 iii4 #af4 #gbd ,rev4 xx4 #ab-ae4 ,compare too ,phil4 iv4 #c3 ,with ,clement also1 and the rest of my fellow-workers1 whose names are in the book of life4 #gbe ,many sleepers in the land of dust seems to mean the dead4 ,comp4 ,jer4 li4 #ci2 ,psalm xxii4 #bi2 #a ,thess4 iv4 #ad2 ,acts vii4 #fj4 ,for shame see ,jer4 xxiii4 #dj4 ,the word for abhorrence only occurs in ,isa4 lxvi4 #bd4 ,the allusion seems to be to the 7,john v4 #bi71 the of ,rev4 xx4 #ad4 ,comp4 ,enoch xxii4 #gbf ,isa4 lxvi4 #bd4 #gbg ,it is certain that the doctrine of the ,resurrection acquired more clearness in the minds of the ,jews at and after the period of the ,exile2 nor is there anything derogatory to the workings of the ,spirit of ,god which lighteth every man1 in the view which supposes that they may have learnt something on this subject from the ,babylonians and ,assyrians4 ,see the testimonies of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul as to some degree of ,ethnic inspiration in ,acts x4 #cd1 #ce1 xvii4 #be-ca4 #gbh ,see ,ezek4 xxxvii4 #a-d4 #gbi ,theodoret says that many means all1 as in ,rom4 v4 #ae2 but there it is the many1 and the parallel is altogether defective4 ,hofmann gets over the difficulty by rendering it1 ,and in multitudes shall they arise4 ,many commentators explain it not of the final but of some partial resurrection4 ,few will now be content with such autocratic remarks as that of ,calvin3 ,multos hic ponit pro omnibus ut certum est4 #gcj ,lit4 those that justify the multitude4 ,comp4 ,isa4 liii4 #aa1 and see ,dan4 xi4 #cc-ce4 #gca ,matt4 xiii4 #dc2 #a ,cor4 xv4 #da2 ,rev4 ii4 #bh4 #gcb ,comp4 ,zech4 iv4 #aj4 ,this sense cannot be rigidly established4 #gcc ,he refers to #a ,macc4 i4 #i1 which says of the successors of ,alexander1 4 #gcd ,jerome guesses that they are the angels of ,persia and ,greece4 ,the word lit4 the canal1 is often used of the ,nile4 #gce ,the ,,lxx4 reads 1 and ,i said1 making ,daniel the speaker 7so too the ,vulgate72 but the form of the passage is so closely analogous to viii4 #ac1 as to leave no doubt that here too one saint is speaking to another saint4 #gcf ,comp4 ,gen4 xiv4 #bb2 ,deut4 xxxii4 #dj1 ,for ,i lift up ,my hand unto heaven1 and say1 ,i live for ever2 ,ezek4 xx4 #e1 #f1 etc4 #gcg ,those who can rest content with such exegesis may explain this to imply that the reign of antichrist will be divided into three periods--the first long1 the second longer1 the third shortest of all1 just as the seventy weeks of chap4 ix4 are composed of #g #fb #a4 #gch ,by way of comment see #a ,macc4 v42 #b ,macc4 viii4 #gci is encouraging1 as in ver4 #ac4 #gdj ,comp4 ,rev4 xxii4 #aa4 #gda ,the small heathen altar to ,zeus was built by ,antiochus upon the great altar of burnt offering on ,kisleu #ae1 ,b4,c4 #afh4 ,the revolt of ,mattathias and his seven sons began ,b4,c4 #afg4 ,judas the ,maccabee defeated the ,syrian generals ,apollonius1 ,seron1 and ,gorgias ,b4,c4 #aff1 and ,lysias at ,beth-sur in ,b4,c4 #afe4 ,he cleansed and rededicated the ,temple on ,kisleu #be1 ,b4,c4 #afe4 #gdb ,the time1 times1 and a half4 ,the #a1bij days1 #a1cce days and the #a1aej days1 and the #b1cjj days of viii4 #ad all agree in indicating three years with a shorter or longer fraction4 ,it will be observed that in each case there is a certain reticence or vagueness as to the terminus ad quem4 ,it is interesting to note that in ,rev4 xi4 #b1 #c1 the period of #db months #a1bfj days #c-a_/b years of months of #cj days with no intercalary month4 ,,approximate ,,chronological ,,tables ,b4,c4 ,jehoiakim #fjh-eig ,zedekiah #eig-ehh ,jerusalem taken #ehh ,death of ,nebuchadrezzar #efa ,evil-merodach #efa ,neriglissar #eei ,laborosoarchod #eee ,nabunaid #eee ,capture of ,babylon #ech ,decree of ,cyrus #ecf ,cambyses #ebi ,darius1 son of ,hystaspes #eba ,dedication of the ,second ,temple #eaf ,battle of ,salamis #dhj ,ezra #deh ,nehemiah #ddd ,nehemiah's reforms #dbh ,malachi #dbj ,alexander the ,great invades ,persia #ccd ,battle of ,granicus #ccd ,battle of ,issus #ccc ,battle of ,arbela #cca ,death of ,darius ,codomannus #ccj ,death of ,alexander #cbc ,ptolemy ,soter captures ,jerusalem #cbj ,simon the ,just high priest #caj ,beginning of ,septuagint translation #bhd ,antiochus the ,great conquers ,palestine 787 #bjb ,b4,c4 ,accession of ,antiochus ,epiphanes #agf ,dan4 vii4 #h1 #bj4 ,joshua 7,jason71 brother of ,onias ,,iii41 gets the priesthood by bribery1 and promotes ,hellenism among the ,jews #agd ,dan4 xi4 #bc-bd1 ix4 #bf4 ,first expedition of ,antiochus against ,egypt4--,murder of ,onias ,,iii #aga ,his second expedition 787 #agj ,his plunder of the ,temple and massacre at ,jerusalem #agj ,dan4 viii4 #i1 #aj2 xi4 #bh4 ,third expedition of ,antiochus #afi ,dan4 xi4 #bi1 #cj4 ,apollonius1 the general of ,antiochus1 advances against ,jerusalem with an army of #bb1jjj4--,massacre4--,the abomination of desolation in the ,dan4 vii4 #ba1 #bd1 #be2 ,temple4--,antiochus carries off some viii4 #aa-ac1 #bd1 #be2 of the holy vessels 7#a ,macc4 i4 #be72 xi4 #cj-ce1 etc4 forbids circumcision2 burns the books of the ,law2 puts down the daily sacrifice #afi-h ,desecration of the ,temple4--,jews compelled to pay public honour to false gods4--,faithfulness of scribes and ,chasidm4--,revolt of ,maccabees #afg ,dan4 xi4 #cd1 #ce2 xii4 #c4 ,jewish war of independence4--,death of the priest ,mattathias4--,judas ,maccabus defeats ,lysias #aff ,battles of ,beth-zur and ,dan4 vii4 ,,ii1 #bf2 viii4 ,emmaus4--,purification of ,temple #ad2 xi4 #de1 etc4 7,kisleu #be7 #afe ,death of ,antiochus ,epiphanes #afc ,judas ,maccabus dies in battle at ,eleasa #afa ,,genealogical ,,table ,,of ,,the ,,lagid1 ,,ptolemies1 ,,and ,,seleucid ,seleucus ,nicator1 ,b4,c4 #cab-bhj4 ,ptolemy ,soter 7,dan4 xi4 #e74 ,antiochus ,i4 7,soter71 ,ptolemy ,philadelphus4 ,b4,c4 #bhj4 ---------------------- ----------------- ,laodice,antiochus ,,ii4 7,theos7,berenice4 ,ptolemy ,euergetes1 ,b4,c4 #bfj-bdf4 ,b4,c4 #bhe-bdg 7,dan4 xi4 #g1h74 ,an infant1 murdered ---------------- by ,laodice4 ,ptolemy ,philopator1 ,seleucus ,,ii4 ,antiochus4 ,b4,c4 #bbb-bje 7,kallinikos71 7,dan4 xi4 #aj-ab74 d4 ,b4,c4 #bbf4 -------------------- ,seleucus ,,iii4 ,antiochus ,,iii4 7the ,great71 7,keraunos74 ,b4,c4 #bbd 7,dan4 xi4 #aj-ab1 #ad74 ------------------------------------- ,seleucus ,antiochus ,,iv4 ,cleopatra,ptolemy ,epiphanes1 ,philopator4 7,epiphanes71 ,b4,c4 #age4 ,b4,c4 #bje-aha 7,dan4 xi4 #ad74 -------------------- ,demetrius4 ,antiochus ,v41 ,b4,c4 #afd4 ,ptolemy ,philometor1 ,ptolemy ,b4,c4 #aha-adf ,euergetes ,,ii4 7,dan4 xi4 #be-cj74 ,for a fuller list and further identifications see ,driver1 pp4 #dfa1 #dfb1 and supra4 ,for the genealogical table see ,mr4 ,deane 7,bishop ,ellicott's ,commentary1 v4 #djb74 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,editor of ,the ,expositor1 etc4 ,in large crown #hvo1 cloth4 ,price to ,subscribers in ,advance1 #bhs4 ,separate ,vols41 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,,the ,,record says3-- ,few series of volumes gives us so much pleasure to review as the ',expositor's ,bible4' ,we never open a volume without expecting to find in it much that is inspiriting and much that is suggestive1 and we are never disappointed4 ,we have no hesitation in advising any ,clergyman who is thinking of expounding a book of ,scripture to his congregation to procure1 as one of his most valuable aids1 the right volume of the ',expositor's ,bible4' ,first ,series4 ,subscription ,price1 #bds4 ,separate ,volumes1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,mark ,by the ,very ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,armagh4 ,the ,epistles to the ,colossians and ,philemon ,by the ,rev4 ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,book of ,genesis ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,first ,book of ,samuel ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,the ,second ,book of ,samuel ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,the ,epistle to the ,hebrews ,by the ,rev4 ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d41 ,author of ,a ,commentary on the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians4 ,all the ,sets may be had at the ,subscription ,price1 but the ,volumes of the different ,series are not assorted on ,subscription ,terms4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,second ,series4 ,subscription ,price1 #bds4 ,separate ,volumes1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,the ,epistle to the ,galatians ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a41 ,headingley ,college1 ,leeds4 ,in this volume we have the mature results of broad and accurate scholarship1 exegetical tact1 and a firm grasp of the great principles underlying the ,gospel of ,paul presented in a form so lucid and attractive that every thoughtful reader can enjoy it4--,,professor ,,beet4 ,the ,book of ,isaiah ,chapters ,i4-,,xxxix4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,,adam ,,smith1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,this is a very attractive book4 ,mr4 ,george ,adam ,smith has evidently such a mastery of the scholarship of his subject that it would be a sheer impertinence for most scholars1 even though tolerable ,hebraists1 to criticise his translations2 and certainly it is not the intention of the present reviewer to attempt anything of the kind1 to do which he is absolutely incompetent4 ,all we desire is to let ,english readers know how very lucid1 impressive--and1 indeed1 how vivid--a study of ,isaiah is within their reach2 the fault of the book1 if it has a fault1 being rather that it finds too many points of connection between ,isaiah and our modern world1 than that it finds too few4 ,in other words1 no one can say that the book is not full of life4--,spectator4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles ,by the ,rev4 ,,alfred ,,plummer1 ,d4,d41 ,master of ,university ,college1 ,durham4 ,an admirable sample of what popular theology ought to be4--,saturday ,review4 ,the treatment is throughout scholarlike1 lucid1 thoughtful4--,guardian4 ,the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,a clear1 close1 unaffected1 unostentatious exposition1 not verse by verse1 but thought after thought1 of this most interesting perhaps1 and certainly most various1 of all the ,apostle's writings4--,london ,quarterly ,review4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john ,by the ,right ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d41 ,lord ,bishop of ,derry and ,raphoe4 ,these commentaries are explicitly intended to help the preacher1 and in ,dr4 ,alexander's ',discourses' they will find material ready shaped to their hand--not facts only1 but imagery1 references1 and allusions1 none of them cheap or commonplace1 and some of them felicitous in a high degree4--,guardian4 ,the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d41 of the ,university of ,aberdeen4 ,lucid1 scholarly4--,academy4 ,the style is admirably lucid1 expressive1 and withal stately4 ,the task of the reader could not possibly be easier1 and in the case of such an abstruse theme the result is no small feat of intellectual and literary ingenuity4--,aberdeen ,free ,press4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,third ,series4 ,subscription ,price1 #bds4 ,separate ,volumes1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,judges and ,ruth ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,this volume deals chiefly with a book considered by some one of the most difficult of expositions from a ,christian point of view4 ,while feeling this to be the case1 the writer is able to deduce valuable instruction from the history by the only legitimate mode1 that of remembering that the character and laws of ,god are essentially unchangeable1 though the amount of their revelation must vary with the capacity of those who receive it4444 ,the moralisings on the ,book of ,ruth are also most excellent1 and just what are adapted to present circumstances4--,spectator4 ,the ,prophecies of ,jeremiah ,with a ,sketch of his ,life and ,times4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a41 ,chaplain of ,lincoln's ,inn4 ,mr4 ,ball brings competent knowledge to his task4444 ,a useful running commentary4--,saturday ,review4 ,it consists of an interesting and sympathetic delineation of the prophet's life and character1 of a new translation1 and of expository remarks1 which are partly critical and partly homiletic4 ,the critical portion will be prized most1 as it exhibits deep learning1 breadth of view1 and clear insight into the prophet's meaning4--,manchester ,examiner4 ,the ,book of ,exodus ,by the ,very ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,armagh4 ,marked by sound exegesis1 common sense1 and a devotional spirit4--,record4 ,every part of the book is replete with instruction and interest1 and a unity of thought and purpose pervades it all4--,glasgow ,herald4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,matthew ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d41 ,author of ,the ,ages before ,moses1 etc4 ,a careful exposition in which one important part is not slightly dealt with while disproportionate space is given to another1 but by studied economy of labour and space due care and labour are given to every part4 ,the exposition is sober1 reverent1 and systematic2 it is also enlightened and well informed4--,london ,quarterly ,review4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,luke ,by the ,rev4 ,,henry ,,burton1 ,m4,a4 ,full of vivid illustration and fresh1 bright exposition4--,record4 ,in the unfolding of truth ,mr4 ,burton writes as a poet4 ,there is glow and colour and melody in his descriptions4 ,often there are passages of great beauty4--,methodist ,recorder4 ,the ,book of ,isaiah ,chapters ,,xl4 to ,,lxvi4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,,adam ,,smith1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,a work of no ordinary merit2 indeed1 it is but rare that such exegetical power and mature scholarship are united with an ease of style and a fertility of modern illustration that leave but little to desire4--,speaker4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,fourth ,series4 ,subscription ,price1 #bds4 ,separate ,volumes1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,dr4 ,dods' exposition1 besides being characterised by all the literary grace by which his previous works are distinguished1 is also thoroughly evangelical in tone1 without1 however1 being at all narrow2 while the arguments which this portion of ,scripture so powerfully suggests in proof of the divinity of ,christ are handled in such a way as will carry them home to all who accept the narrative as authentic4--,scotsman4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,one of the most valuable contributions to the history of the ,primitive ,church that have appeared within recent years4--,dundee ,advertiser4 ,the ,book of ,leviticus ,by the ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,the relation of law and gospel is grandly exhibited1 and a difficult portion of ,holy ,writ explained in detail and with power4--,christian4 ,he has certainly succeeded in investing with fresh interest this old book of laws4--,scotsman4 ,the ,book of ,proverbs ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,ably and freshly written4--,church ,times4 ,a book which may be read by all with pleasure and profit1 and which1 by ministers of all orders1 may be taken as a model of one kind of expository teaching4--,christian ,world4 ,the expositor has done his work in a most masterly fashion4--,glasgow ,herald4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d41 ,master of ,university ,college1 ,durham4 ,it is even a better piece of work than his former volume on the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,it contains everything that the student can desire by way of introduction to the two ,epistles1 while for those who read with an eye to the manufacture of sermons1 or for their own edification1 the doctrinal and moral lessons are developed in a style redolent of books1 yet singularly easy and unaffected4 ,points of interest abound4--,saturday ,review4 ,a very able and interesting exposition4444 ,an excellent example of ,scriptural exegesis4--,academy4 ,the ,book of ,ecclesiastes ,with a ,new ,translation4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,the most luminous1 original1 and practical exposition of ,ecclesiastes which is within the reach of ordinary ,english readers4--,speaker4 ,dr4 ,cox's work is likely to count as one of the most interesting of the many interesting studies of which ,ecclesiastes has been the basis4--,guardian4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,fifth ,series4 ,subscription ,price1 #bds4 ,separate ,volumes1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,the ,epistles to the ,thessalonians ,by the ,rev4 ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,as an expositor we are able to say that ,mr4 ,denney seems to have entered very fully into the spirit of the ,apostle ,paul1 and to have succeeded in expressing very clearly1 and impressing very forcibly1 the general meaning of the ,apostle's words4444 ,it is a very ably written work1 and one which is well calculated to make the ,apostle's teaching in these two epistles more intelligible and more telling4--,scotsman4 ,the ,book of ,job ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,s4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d41 ,author of ,gospels of ,yesterday1 etc4 ,dr4 ,watson does not fall behind his predecessors in doing justice to this magnificent effort of ,hebrew genius or inspiration4 ,the opening scene on earth and the opening scene in heaven are brought before us with graphic power1 and the problem raised by the situation of ,job by the unmerited suffering of the good man stated and discussed with much force and philosophical insight4 ,dr4 ,watson has written with conspicuous ability and a thorough mastery of his subject4--,scotsman4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,dr4 ,dods appears to us always to write with clearness and vigour4444 ,he has the gift of lucid expression1 and by means of apt illustrations he avoids the cardinal sin of dryness1 so that the interest even of the general reader will not flag as he smoothly glides through these chapters4--,guardian4 ,the ,epistle to the ,ephesians ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,every page shows that he has made a minute and careful examination of the text1 while in every chapter there are inferences drawn and suggestions thrown out which will find their way into many sermons4 ,they who know this ,epistle best will be the first to acknowledge the value of ,prof4 ,findlay's exposition4--,expositor4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,the second volume is as readable as the first1 full of learning without a spice of pedantry4444 ,the volume is highly to be commended for knowledge1 sobriety1 and manly piety4--,saturday ,review4 ,the ,psalms4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,dr4 ,maclaren has evidently mastered his subject with the aid of the best authorities1 and has put the results of his studies before his readers in a most attractive form2 and if we add that his commentary really helps to the better understanding of the ,psalms1 that1 far from degrading1 it vivifies and illuminates these sublime stories1 and that it is written in a charming style1 very seldom falling below the dignity of the subject1 we believe we only give it the praise which is its due4--,scotsman4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,sixth ,series4 ,subscription ,price1 #bds4 ,separate ,volumes1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,the ,epistle to the ,philippians ,by the ,rev4 ,principal ,,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,a piece of good and thorough work1 the work of a sound and well-read expositor1 and especially of an orthodox ,scotch divine4--,london ,quarterly ,review4 ,the ,first ,book of ,kings ,by the ,venerable ,f4 ,w4 ,,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,f4,r4,s41 ,archdeacon of ,westminster4 ,dr4 ,farrar brings his versatile literary powers to bear upon these majestic and imposing scenes1 with all his gifts of poetic description1 his wealth of quotations1 and his aptitude for picturesque comparisons4--,guardian4 ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 and ,esther ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,mr4 ,adeney has evidently grasped the whole story with clearness and force3 his portraits are lifelike2 he has all the instinct of the expositor in high development4 ,it is no small triumph to have done so well with one of the least pictorial and fascinating of ,old ,testament histories4--,independent4 ,the ,book of ,joshua ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,we have no hesitation in saying that for every-day working purposes expositors of the ,book of ,joshua will find this volume more helpful than many more critical and modernised works4444 ,his expositions are usually fresh and interesting1 and there is an eye for the practical in all he writes4--,glasgow ,herald4 ,the ,psalms4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,the volume is as attractive as the first1 and shows throughout the same high qualities of penetration and spiritual sympathy4 ,its pages give abundant evidence of care1 critical study1 and acquaintance with the best that our most competent scholars have contributed to the exposition of the ,psalms4--,critical ,review4 ,the ,epistles of ,peter ,by the ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,lumby1 ,d4,d41 ,cambridge4 ,a sound and finely practical commentary4--,saturday ,review4 ,we have been impressed by the carefulness1 fulness1 and almost minuteness of the expositions which ,dr4 ,lumby gives in this volume4--,literary ,world4 ,for ,list of ,volumes in the #gth and the concluding 7#hth7 ,series see back of title4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout4 ,inconsistent hyphenation is as in the original4