Daniel 6:1
VI. (1) PRINCES. — See _Excursus A._ The LXX. make the number 127, so as to agree with Esther 1:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
VI. (1) PRINCES. — See _Excursus A._ The LXX. make the number 127, so as to agree with Esther 1:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
THREE PRESIDENTS. — See Note on Daniel 5:7. If there had been a triumvirate in Babylon, Darius continued the form of government which he found already existing, and retained Daniel in the official post to which he had been promoted by Belshazzar.... [ Continue Reading ]
WAS PREFERRED. — Literally, _he outshone_ the others. The pronoun “this” is prefixed to Daniel’s. name so as to point him out as the favoured one already mentioned. (Comp. Daniel 6:5; Daniel 6:28.)... [ Continue Reading ]
CONCERNING THE KINGDOM — _i.e., in his official capacity._ The plan of the conspirators was to place Daniel in such a situation that his civil and religious duties might be forced to clash with each other.... [ Continue Reading ]
This conspiracy was evidently the result of jealousy on the part of the other officers at the advancement of Daniel.... [ Continue Reading ]
ASSEMBLED. — See margin. Such conduct was very unusual in Eastern Courts, where, as a rule, the strictest decorum and order was preserved. This breach of etiquette must have prepared the king to expect some terrible crisis in the State.... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE PRESIDENTS. — Observe the order in which the State officers are mentioned — civil rulers, legal advisers, military governors — and comp. Note on Daniel 3:2. The spokesman represents all these officers to have come to a fixed determination after due deliberation. This was false, as it is plai... [ Continue Reading ]
SIGN THE WRITING. — Literally, _record the decree,_ so that there might be no possibility of its being recalled. (Comp. Esther 8:8.)... [ Continue Reading ]
TOWARD JERUSALEM. — On the custom of praying thus see 1 Kings 8:33; 1 Kings 8:35; Psalms 5:7; Psalms 28:2; and on prayer at the intervals mentioned here, see Psalms 55:17. There is nothing ostentatious in Daniel’s prayer. He removed the lattices (see Ezekiel 40:16) from his window, that he might see... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH IS OF THE CHILDREN. — By adding this to the charge of disobedience to the king’s commandment, they hoped to incense him still further against the prophet. Here was a foreigner, who had received the highest favours from the Court, setting himself up in antagonism to the laws of the kingdom.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY BROUGHT DANIEL. — According to Eastern custom, the sentence was generally executed on the day when it was pronounced. This explains why the king’s efforts to commute the sentence were prolonged till sunset (Daniel 6:14). The lions were probably kept here for sporting purposes. The form of the d... [ Continue Reading ]
SEALED IT. — This sealing both by the king and his nobles appears to have been due to the fear that the nobles had (Daniel 6:16) of the king’s attempting to rescue Daniel. The nobles also would be unable to put Daniel to death in the event of his escaping the fury of the lions.... [ Continue Reading ]
INSTRUMENTS OF MUSICK. — A word of very doubtful meaning. The root whence it is derived means _to rejoice,_ but what is signified cannot be exactly ascertained.... [ Continue Reading ]
IS THY GOD... ABLE? — The faith of this king is very weak. In Daniel 6:16 he expressed a vague hope that God would protect His servant. That hope seems now to have died out, though afterwards (Daniel 6:26) it appears stronger than that of Nebuchadnezzar. (Comp. Daniel 4:37.) The phrase “living God”... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS ANGEL. — Comp. Psalms 34:7; Psalms 34:10; Daniel 3:28. BEFORE THEE — _i.e._, thou knowest full well.... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTO THE END. — The language of this decree is remarkably Scriptural. This is due, no doubt, to the share which Daniel had in the composition of it. By the “end” is meant the end of all the heathen kingdoms which shall arise upon the earth, or, in other words, the setting up of the kingdom of the Me... [ Continue Reading ]
SO THIS DANIEL. — The first part of the book, which terminates here, concludes with a notice similar to that in Daniel 2:48; Daniel 3:30. The history of Daniel and of the three holy children has thus far been traced in its relation to their work amongst the people in the midst of whom they were livi... [ Continue Reading ]