Daniel 1:5. So nourishing them three years— That after they had been educated for three years, at the end, &c. Houbigant; or, And that they should be thus bred up three years, and at the end thereof they should stand, &c. read more
4. no blemish—A handsome form was connected, in Oriental ideas, with mental power. "Children" means youths of twelve or fourteen years old. teach . . . tongue of . . . Chaldeans—their language and literature, the Aramaic-Babylonian. That the heathen lore was not altogether valueless appears from the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses; the Eastern Magi who sought Jesus, and who may have drawn the tradition as to the "King of the Jews" from :-, c., written in the East. As Moses was trained in... read more
5. king's meat—It is usual for an Eastern king to entertain, from the food of his table, many retainers and royal captives (Jeremiah 52:33; Jeremiah 52:34). The Hebrew for "meat" implies delicacies. stand before the king—as attendant courtiers; not as eunuchs. read more
Nebuchadnezzar’s enlightened policy was to employ the best minds in his kingdom in government service, regardless of their national or ethnic origin. We do not know how many other Jews and Gentiles were the classmates of Daniel and his three friends. However, they were evidently the only ones who expressed a desire to observe the Jewish dietary laws (Exodus 34:15; Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3; Proverbs 20:1)."In selecting these youths for education in the king’s court in... read more
B. Nebuchadnezzar’s training program for promising youths 1:3-7 read more
Introductory. The abstinence of Daniel and his Friends from Unclean FoodDaniel is introduced as one of a band of Jews taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in the third year of Jehoiakim (Daniel 1:1-2). Along with three of his youthful countrymen he is chosen to be trained during three years for personal attendance on the king (Daniel 1:3-7). As the food and drink provided for those in this position are ceremonially unclean Daniel resolves not to partake of them. After an unsuccessful... read more
(4) Children.—If the Babylonian customs were similar to the Persian, it is probable that the course of education would commence at an early age. So elaborate a system of science as the Babylonian, whether theological, astronomical, or magical, would naturally require an early training. It is reasonable to suppose that these “children” were quite young. So much may be inferred from Nebuchadnezzar’s amazement at what he considered to be Daniel’s precocious genius (Daniel 2:26).To stand, i.e., to... read more
(5) A daily portion.—(Comp. Jeremiah 52:34.) The meat was solid food, as opposed to the wine and vegetables which formed so important a part of Babylonian diet. The food appears to have been sent from the king’s table.Three years.—The king appears to have had sufficient insight into the extraordinary character of these youths, to enable him to prescribe not only the subjects of their studies, but also the length of their course of instruction. It appears that Nebuchadnezzar was a man of far... read more
Daniel 1:2 ; Daniel 1:6 I was taken captive when nearly sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God; and I was taken to Ireland in captivity with so many thousand men, in accordance with our deserts, because we departed from God and kept not His precepts. St. Patrick's Confessions. Daniel 1:8 The strangeness of foreign life threw me back into myself. Newman, Apologia, I. Daniel's Self-denial Daniel 1:8 We are told about a great many good men in the pages of the Bible: some who were... read more
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Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Daniel 1:3-4
Daniel 1:3-4. The master—the king's seed— The prince—the royal seed: the Hebrew word for princes פרתמים partemim. Aquila and the LXX, as cited in Montfaucon's Hexapla, render it επιλεκτων, choice persons, and another Greek version ευγενων, noble, well-born; it seems a compound of the Persic פר per, from the Hebrew פאר peer, to be glorious, honourable; and תם tam, perfect; and so expresses the most honourable, or noble. Bishop Chandler observes, that the word פר or פאר enters into the... read more