Daniel 1:5

And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. AND THE KING APPOINTED THEM A DAILY PROVISION OF THE KING'S MEAT. It is usual for an eastern king to entertain, from the food of his table, many retainers and royal captives, as Evil-merodach king of Babylon entertained Jehoiachin king of Judah (Jeremiah 52:33-24). The Hebrew for "meat" [ patbag (H6598)] implies delicacies, dainties-literally, the food that the father (i:e., the king) provides. The latter syllable of the word is of Persian origin. Lorsbach takes it, 'food for the gods.' STAND BEFORE THE KING - as attendant courtiers; not as eunuchs...

In this verse, Daniel shews that the king had ordered some youths to be brought to him from Judea, and to be so nourished as to be intoxicated with delicacies, and thus rendered forgetful of their own nation. For we know that wherever there is any cunning in the world, it reigns especially in kings palaces! So Nebuchadnezzar, when he perceived he was dealing with an obstinate people, (and we know the Jews to have been of a hard and unsubdued spirit,) wished to acquire servants spontaneously obedient, aid thus endeavored to soften them with luxuries. This was the reason why he provided for them _an allotment of his own meat and drink; _as at present it is the greatest honor at princes’ tables to be served with a _bon-bouche, _as they say. Nebuchadnezzar wished this Daniel and his companions, though but captives and exiles, to be brought up not only splendidly but royally, if of the royal...

Verse Daniel 1:5. _A DAILY PROVISION_] _Athenaeus_, lib. iv., c. 10, says: The kings of Persia, (who succeeded the kings of Babylon, on whose empire they had seized,) were accustomed to order the food left at their own tables to be delivered to their courtiers. _SO NOURISHING THEM THREE YEARS_] This was deemed a sufficient time to acquire the _Chaldee language_, and the _sciences_ peculiar to that people. I suppose they had good _introductory books, able_ _teachers_, and a _proper method_; else they would have been obliged, like us, to send their children _seven years_ to _school_, and _as many_ to the _university_, to teach them any tolerable measure of useful and ornamental literature! O how reproachful to the nations of Europe, and particularly to our own, is this _backward_ mode of instruction. And what i

AND THE KING APPOINTED THEM - Calvin supposes that this arrangement was resorted to in order to render them effeminate, and, by a course of luxurious living, to induce them gradually to forget their own country, and that with the same view their names were changed. But there is no evidence that this was the object. The purpose was manifestly to train them in the manner in which it was supposed they would be best fitted, in bodily health, in personal beauty, and in intellectual attainments, to appear at court; and it was presumed that the best style of living which the realm furnished would conduce to this end. That the design was not to make them effeminate, is apparent from Daniel 1:15. A DAILY PROVISION - Hebrew, “The thing of a day in his day;” that is, he assigned to them each day a portion of what had been prepared f

EXPOSITION DANIEL 1:1-27 OCCASION OF DANIEL BEING IN BABYLON. DANIEL 1:1 IN THE THIRD YEAR OF THE REIGN OF JEHOIAKIM KING OF JUDAH. After the defeat and death of Josiah, the people of the land put on the throne Jehoahaz, or Shallum (Jeremiah 22:11), one of the sons of their late monarch (2 Kings 23:30). We see, by comparing 2 Kings 23:31 with 2 Kings 23:36, that in taking Jehoahaz to be their king they had passed over the law of primogeniture. The reason of this would not unlikely be that he represented the policy of his father Josiah, which may have meant the preferenc

AND THE KING APPOINTED THEM A DAILY PROVISION OF THE KING'S MEAT,.... Every day a portion was ordered them, from the king's table, of the richest dainties he himself ate of; which was done not only as an act of royal munificence and generosity, and in respect of their birth and breeding; but also as a bait and snare to allure and entice them, to make them in love with the country and condition in which they were, and to forget their own; as well also in order to preserve their well favoured look and good complexion, and fit them for their study of language and literature; which might be hindered for want of the necessaries of life, or by living on gross and coarse food: AND OF THE WINE WHICH HE DRANK; which, as it was of various sorts, so of the best and most excellent; and which, moderately drank, conduces to the health of the body, and cheerfulness of the mind; and which are both usef...

Daniel 1:1. _In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it._ Sin always brings its punishment. King Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord, so God used Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to be the rod in his hand to scourge his sinful people and their wicked king. Daniel 1:2. _And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,_ It was not merely that Nebuchadnezzar was strong enough to overcome the Jews; but God handed over his people into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. The enemy cannot touch the Church of God without the divine permission. Daniel 1:2. With part of the vessels of the house of God: which

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. DANIEL IN BABYLON, NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM, AND HISTORICAL EVENTS CHAPTER 1 Daniel and His Companions in Babylon _ 1. The introduction (Daniel 1:1)_ 2. The king's command (Daniel 1:3) 3. Daniel and his companions (Daniel 1:6) Daniel 1:1. Divine judgment, which had threatened so long, had finally fallen upon Jerusalem. It was executed by the divinely chosen instrument, Nebuchadnezzar. Three times he came against Jerusalem. In 606 B.C. he appeared the first time. This is the visitation mentioned here. In 598 he came again and carried away more captives, including Ezekiel. In 587 he burn

DANIEL 1. DANIEL AT THE COURT OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR. This introductory chapter describes the circumstances which brought Daniel to Babylon, introduced him into the Court, and gained him favour with the king. The writer's purpose is to enforce the duty of loyalty to the Law and the principles of religion, and he illustrates his point by describing Daniel's refusal to defile himself with the king's meat and wine (Daniel 1:8). There can be little doubt that his object in this chapter is to appeal to the Jews of his own day to resist the s to compel them to eat forbidden food. Daniel is held up as an example to the Jews of the Maccabean age. NEBUCHADNEZZAR (the name is more correctly spelt Nebuchadrezzar) was king of Babylon from 604 to 561 B.C. (pp. 60f.). Under his rule Babylon reached the summit of its power. The picture of the splendour and prosperity of his empire which is drawn in...

MEAT. food. Hebrew. _pathbag._. Persian or Aryan word. Occurs only in Daniel. WINE. Hebrew. _yayin._ App-27. THREE YEARS. Say 497, 496, and 495 B.C. See note on Daniel 2:1. It does not say these years were concluded before the events of Dan. took place. STAND BEFORE THE KING. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 41:46)....