Daniel 1

Wishing to precisely demonstrate the times of the captivity which befell the sons of Israel and the prophetic dreams of the blessed Daniel, and also the manner of his life from childhood in Babylon, I myself come forward to speak in order to testify to the holy and righteous prophetic man, even to him who became a witness of Christ, who not only then in those times, revealed the visions of king Nebuchadnezzar, but also similarly, having thoroughly taught his youths, led the faithful witnesses onward into the world.

Now this occurred during the kingdom of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, according to the times of the prophecy of the blessed Jeremiah, who…together with the rest of the captives was captured and brought with them into Babylon.

This is the beginning of the book, "In the third year of the kingdom of Jehoiakim the king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came into Jerusalem and blockaded it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand as well as some of the vessels of the House of God and he brought them into the land of Shinar, into the house of his god." [Daniel 1:1-2]

And so Scripture describes these things in this way so that it may indicate the occurrence of the captivity of the people, when Jehoiakim, the son of Eliakim who was also called Jehoiakim, was deported and the three youths together with Daniel were taken along with him. Thus, Jehoiakim was the husband of Susannah.

Therefore it is necessary for us, while making a proof of these matters, to precisely take up for the persuasion of our listeners, the things set before us; and we shall not pass over what captivities befell the people, and what befell some of the kings.

For these are the five sons of the blessed Josiah: Jehoahaz, Eliakim who was also called Jehoiakim, Johanan, Zedekiah who was also called Jeconiah, and Shallum.

And Jehoahaz, after the death of his father, was anointed by the people into the kingdom, being twenty-three years old. Pharaoh Necho arose against him in the third month of his kingdom and, taking him prisoner, he brought him into Egypt. And the Jews set a tribute upon the earth of one hundred talents of silver and ten talents of gold and Pharaoh Necho set in his place Eliakim, his brother, as king of the land, who also changed his name to Jehoiakim. He reigned for eleven years. Then, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon arose against him and, taking him prisoner, brought him and some of the vessels of the House of the Lord, which were in Jerusalem, into Babylon. As a friend of Pharaoh he was imprisoned and the king, having been restored by the next king of Babylon in the thirtieth year, was brought out by Evil Merodach king of Babylon. And he raised his head and was his adviser and ate with him at his table until the day in which he died.

Verse 1. "In the third year of the reign of Joacim (Jehoiakim) king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it." Jehoiakim, son of the Josiah in whose thirteenth regnal year Jeremiah began to prophesy, and under whom the woman Hulda prophesied, was the same man as was called by the other name of Eliakim, and reigned over the tribes of Judah and Jerusalem eleven years. His son Jehoiachin surnamed Jeconiah, followed him in the kingship, and on the tenth day of the third month of his reign he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar's generals and brought to Babylon. In his place his paternal uncle Zedekiah, a son of Josiah, was appointed king, and in his eleventh year Jerusalem was captured and destroyed. Let no one therefore imagine that the Jehoiakim in the beginning of Daniel is the same person as the one who is spelled Jehoiachin in the commencement of Ezekiel. For the latter has "-chin" as its final syllable, whereas the former has "-kim." And it is for this reason that in the Gospel according to Matthew there seems to be a generation missing, because the second group of fourteen, extending to the time of Jehoiakim, ends with a son of Josiah, and the third group begins with Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim. Being ignorant of this factor, Porphyry formulated a slander against the Church which only revealed his own ignorance, as he tried to prove the evangelist Matthew guilty of error.

Naturally, at the outset, the king who ruled is revealed and the year made clear, when the capture first occurred. And so by calling to mind the king that reigned at that point, he [Daniel] demonstrates … that he is a prophet. For other prophets begin in the very same way.

"And the Lord gave," etc. These words, "and the Lord gave," are written, that no one, in reading the introduction to the book, may attribute their capture to the strength of the captors and the slackness of their chief. And it is well said. "with part," for the deportation was for the correction, not the ruin, of the whole nation, that there might be no misapplication of the cause.

And so after his deportation his son Jehoiakim reigned three years. And so Nebuchadnezzar arose against him and deported both him and ten thousand men of the people into Babylon and set in his place Jeconiah the brother of his father, whom also changed his name to Zedekiah, with whom he, having made oaths and covenants, returned to Babylon. He, after reigning eleven years, withdrew from Nebuchadnezzar and gave himself to Pharaoh king of Egypt.

But in the twelfth year, Nebuchadnezzar and all the power of the Chaldeans came against him and besieged the city and camped around it and pressed in on it from all sides; from then on many of them were destroyed by famine, others killed by the sword, and some of them were taken as captives. The city was burned in fire and the temple and the wall were demolished. And the power of the Chaldeans took all the treasures which were found in the House of the Lord and all the vessels, both the gold and silver and all the copper vessels. Nebuzaradan the captain cut them out and brought them into Babylon, and Zedekiah himself, who was also called Jeconiah, fled through the night with seven-hundred men, but the powers of the Chaldeans pursued Zedekiah and seized him in Jericho and brought him to the king of Babylon in Deblatha.

And the king and those with him were judged in spirit because he transgressed the oath of the Lord and the covenant, which Nebuchadnezzar set before him. And taking his sons, Nebuchadnezzar slaughtered them before him and he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah who was also called Jeconiah, and shackled him in iron fetters and brought him into Babylon and he ground at the mill until the day in which he died. And when he died they took his body and hurled it behind the wall of Nineveh.

At this the prophecy of Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, who said, "As I live, says the Lord, though Jeconiah, who is the son of Josiah the king of Judah, is the signet ring upon my right hand, I will remove you from there and I will deliver you into the hands of those who seek your life, of whom you were wary of their face, into the hands of the Chaldeans. And I will cast you and your mother who bore you into a land, in which you were not born, and there you will die. But to the land which they pray for in their souls, they will certainly not return. Jeconiah is dishonored as a useless vessel which is not needed, on account of this he is cast out and banished to a land which he does not know. O Land, land! Hear the word of the Lord! Mark this man as an exiled man, because in truth he is not worthy to have one from his seed grow to sit upon the throne of David, a ruler still in Judah." [Jeremiah 22:24-30]

Verse 2. "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand." The fact that Jehoiachim is recorded to have been given over shows that it was not a victory for the might of his enemies but rather it was of the will of the Lord. "...and some of the vessels of the house of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the house of his god, and he conveyed them into the treasure house of his god" (Gen. 11). The land of Shinar is a region of Babylon in which the plain of Dura was located, and also the tower which those who had migrated from the East attempted to build up to heaven. From this circumstance and from the confusion of tongues the region received the name Babylon, which, translated into our language, means "confusion." At the same time it ought to be noted, by way of spiritual interpretation, that the king of Babylon was not able to transport all of the vessels of God, and place them in the idol-house which he had built himself, but only a part of the vessels of God's house. By these vessels we are to understand the dogmas of truth. For if you go through all of the works of the philosophers, you will necessarily find in them some portion of the vessels of God. For example, you will find in Plato that God is the fashioner of the universe, in Zeno the chief of the Stoics, that there are inhabitants in the infernal regions and that souls are immortal, and that honor is the one (true) good. But because the philosophers combine truth with error and corrupt the good of nature with many evils, for that reason they are recorded to have captured only a portion of the vessels of God's house, and not all of them in their completeness and perfection.

And Scripture says, "And the king told Ashpenaz the chief of the eunuchs to bring in some of those from the sons of the captivity of Israel and from the seed of the king and from the princes, young men, who have no blemish, who are beautiful in appearance and are understanding in all wisdom, being well versed in knowledge, disposed to prudence, and who have in themselves the strength to stand in the house of the king, and to teach them the letters and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them on that very day to be nourished from the table of the king and from the wine which he drank in order for them to be nourished three years, and after these things to stand before the king. And there was among them from the sons of Judah, Daniel and Hanniah, Mishael, and Azariah." [Daniel 1:3-7]

It is necessary that those who love learning to not read these things cursorily, but to prepare the mind for the things that lie before us. For the divine writings do not idly preach to us, but their admonition is meant for us and also the blessing of these prophets and the demonstration of all the things which are spoken by them are for us as well.

For when Hezekiah king of Judah was sick unto death, then "Isaiah the prophet came to him and told him 'Set in order your sons and your daughters and your father's house, for you will die and you will not live.'" [2 Kings 20:1, also see Isaiah 38:1] Having been grieved at this word, "Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord saying, 'Lord remember me just as I have walked before you in truth and in faith and with a full heart and I have done what is pleasing in your presence.' And Hezekiah wept with great weeping." [2 Kings 20:1-3] After this occurred, Isaiah was sent to him a second time and he said to him, "The Lord the God of David your father says this, 'I have heard your prayer and have seen your tears. Behold, I set before you the days of your life, ten and five years and I will deliver you from the hand of the king of the Assyrians. This will be a sign to you from the Lord that the Lord will bring about this word which he spoke. Behold, I turn back the shadow on the stairs of the house of your father which the sun descends upon, the shadow shall descend ten steps so that there will be in that day thirty two hours.'" [2 Kings 20:9]

For after the sun ran its course and arrived at the tenth hour and the shadow had descended ten steps of the house of the temple, then the sun reversed again upon those ten steps behind it according to the saying of the Lord, and there were twenty hours in the day. And again the sun having encircled its own course according to its own path, it went to the west. Therefore there were thirty-two hours of daylight.

But perhaps one will say, "This is not possible." O man, what is impossible for God? From the beginning did not he himself design all creation from what was not and set the measures in creation for illumination of day and night, and to whom do all things, being in subjection, serve and to whom does creation tremble at the hearing of his voice? And so what is impossible for men, these things are possible for God. [Matthew 19:26]

But we also have another witness regarding this demonstration. For when Joshua the son of Nun was warring with the Amorites, the sun having descended already to the west and the battle nearly won, the blessed Joshua was shrewd lest night come to pass and the foreigners flee, so he shouted saying, "Stand still sun at Gibeon and moon at the chasm of Aijalon, as long as I war with this people." [Joshua 10:12-13] And the sun and moon stopped in their position and the sun did not go to set until the end of one day, so that that day was twenty-four hours of daylight. And on account of this Scripture testified saying, "There was never a day like that before when God heeded a man." [Joshua 10:14] And so from the beginning, having fixed the measures in heaven and having prescribed for these things perpetual courses according to his own authority, how could he not also divert and turn and change these things whenever he should will it to be possible? For before Joshua the sun stopped at Gibeon and the moon at the chasm of Aijalon for one day, but before Hezekiah the moon together with the sun reversed backwards, so that there would not be a disorderly collision of the two intervals of time, which follow one another. These periods of time not only happened before the Lord, when he suffered, but also the same day and all the world was shaken.

For also then, Berodach the Chaldean, the king of Babylon, because he practiced the astrological art and precisely measured out the course of the sun and moon, and learning the cause of the phenomenon, was astounded at what happened to Hezekiah, and sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah.

Just as in a similar manner also the Magi did, who came from the east. For after the Lord was born in Bethlehem and a star shone in heaven, according to what was prophesied, the Magi, being astonished at the occurrence of the sign, came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born the King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him." [Matthew 2:2] And so similarly also the Chaldeans then, not finding the habitual course of the sun, honored Hezekiah with gifts and letters as a God fearing and righteous man, having been amazed at the sign which was given by his God.

Hezekiah rejoiced at these things and showed the Chaldeans all the treasures which were in the house of the Lord; next he showed them all the wealth and his glory. And so afterward, when Isaiah the prophet said "Who are these men and from where have they come to you?" Hezekiah answered, "They have come from a far off land to me, from the land of Babylon." Isaiah said to him, "What did they see in your house?" And Hezekiah said, "They saw all the things which are in my house and there is nothing which I did not show them, but even the things which are in my treasuries."

And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord, the all powerful Lord of Hosts. 'Behold, days are coming', says the Lord, 'when even all of the things which are in your house and as much as your fathers treasured until this day shall even go into Babylon and not one thing shall be left behind,' says the Lord, 'And from your children, who have come from you, being begotten by you, they shall be taken and be eunuchs in the house of the king of Babylon.'" [Isaiah 39:1-7]

And so therefore what was spoken by the Lord was fulfilled and the prophet, who spoke truthfully, showed that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came and took all the treasures which were found in the house of the Lord and made the people captives, he also took to himself the sons of the king and from those who were wellborn of nobility from boyhood, among whom were also called Daniel, Hanniah, Mishael and Azariah, whose lineage Scripture passes over in silence, but it describes their piety and faith and the acts which occurred there.

Verse 3. "And the king said to Ashpenaz the overseer of his eunuchs, that he should out of the number of the children of Israel and, of the royal seed and (the seed of) the rulers bring in some young lads who were free from all blemish." Instead of Ashpenaz ("Asphanez") I found Abriesdri written in the Vulgate edition. For the word phorlhommin which Theodotion uses, the Septuagint and Aquila translated "the chosen ones," whereas Symmachus rendered "Parthians," understanding it as the name of a nation instead of a common noun. This is in disagreement with the Hebrew edition as it is accurately read; I have translated it as "rulers," especially because it is preceded by the words "of the seed royal." From this passage the Hebrews think that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were eunuchs, thus fulfilling that prophecy which is spoken by Isaiah regarding Hezekiah: "And they shall take of thy seed and make eunuchs of them in the house of the king of Babylon" (Isaiah 39:7). If however they were of the seed royal, there is no doubt but what they were of the line of David. But perhaps the following words are opposed to this interpretation: "...lads, or youths, who were free from all blemish, in order that he might teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans." Philo supposes that Chaldee is the same thing as the Hebrew language, because Abraham came from the Chaldeans. But if we accept this we must ask how the Hebrew lads could now be bidden to be taught a language which they already knew; unless, perchance, we should say, as some believe, that Abraham was acquainted with two languages.

And so the God of all makes evident the foolishness, infirmity and loathsome ways of the world in order to put to shame its power and wisdom. People who care for bodily things and seek beauty, greatness and great bodily strength know nothing of divine wisdom but rather only a false and artificial sort of eloquence. And thus is the distance between humanity and God. The false pretense of the king is shown as he wished not only the other captives be servants but also that they be descendents from kings. Now all this happened just as Isaiah had predicted to Hezekiah …: "And some of your own sons will become slaves, yes eunuchs, in the palace of the king of Babylon."

So here he informs us of the king's generosity in providing them with nourishment that was not of an ordinary kind fit for captives and slaves; instead, he gave orders for them to share in the king's table. Shortly afterward he mentions their self-control and sound values, not indulging in self-glorification but proposing a beneficial lesson to those prepared to accept benefit. It is possible to see also the moderation in his thinking: after mentioning above that the king ordered young men of royal birth to be chosen, fair to behold and of becoming stature, and citing at this point the persons' names, he simply referred to the tribe of Judah and concealed their royal connections.

Verse 7. "And the overseer of the eunuchs imposed names upon them, calling Daniel Belteshazzar (Balthasar), and Hananiah Shadrach, and Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego." It was not only the overseer or master of the eunuchs (as others have rendered it, the "chief-eunuch") who changed the names of saints, but also Pharaoh called Joseph in Egypt Somtonphanec (Genesis 41:45), for neither of them wished them to have Jewish names in the land of captivity. Wherefore the prophet says in the Psalm: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Psalm 137:4). Furthermore the Lord Himself changes names benignly, and on the basis of events imposes names of special significance, so as to call Abram Abraham (Genesis 17:5), and Sarai Sarah (Genesis 17:15). Also in the Gospel, the former Simon received the name of Peter (Mark 3:16), and the sons of Zebedee are called "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17) - which is not boanerges, as most people suppose, but is more correctly read benereem.

For these, having acquired the fear of God from boyhood, did not want to partake from the table of the king nor to drink from the wine which he drank. O blessed boys, who guarded the covenant of the fathers and did not transgress the law which was given through Moses, but who feared God on account of his preaching! These captives who were in a strange land were not beguiled by the many foods nor enslaved by the pleasure of the wine, nor enticed by the kingly glory. They who were plundered kept their mouths undefiled and pure, as a pure word, which comes forth from a pure mouth, hymns through the mouth to the heavenly Father, just as it is written, "If you shall bring forth honor from worthlessness you will be as my mouth." [Jeremiah 15:19] And so, you know, O man, what has been spoken. A mouth brings forth the paternal honorable Word from itself, so that again a second time the Word is shown as being begotten by the saints, which always begets the saints and itself is begotten by the saints.

And so Scripture says, "And Daniel set in his heart not to be defiled with what was on the table of the king and with the wine which he drank and he asked the chief eunuch to give them vegetables", so that it may be shown that a man does not live by bread alone. [Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3]

Verse 8. "Daniel, however, purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled by food from the king's table, nor by the wine which he drank, and he asked the chief of the eunuchs that he might not be polluted." He who would not eat or drink of the king's food or wine lest he be denied (especially if he should be aware that the wisdom and teaching of the Babylonians is mistaken), would never consent to utter what was wrong. On the contrary they speak it forth, not that they may follow it themselves, but in order to pass judgment upon it and refute it. Just as anyone would expose himself to ridicule if he being untrained in mathematics should desire to write in confutation of mathematicians, or, being ignorant of the teachings of philosophers should desire to write in opposition to philosophers. Hence they study the teaching of the Chaldeans with the same intention as Moses studied the wisdom of the Egyptians.

For those who love God do not seek after the God of all in just one place, but even in the midst of this misfortune they worshiped as if in the house of the Creator. In that place there are many wondrous moments to be found. For having been reared on the teachings of the Jews and having learned the customary service to God, they now were dwelling in a foreign land and were being forced into slavery exactly at the prime of their life. They were forced to abide under the foreign customs. But having seen the Babylonians offer defiled meat to the idols and the polluted libations at the temple, they took heed and, neglecting their own safety, rejected the king's banquet, beseeching the chief eunuch to allow them to be excused from partaking of the king's food.

"And God gave Daniel mercy and favor before the chief eunuch. But the chief eunuch was saying to them, 'I myself fear my lord the king who has marked out your bread and your drink, lest he see that your face is sullen compared to the other youths at your assembly and you condemn my head to the king.'" [Daniel 1:9-10]

And so what was spoken by Melgad was true. For he did not understand them because of their purposes, and was concerned that their appearance would seem sullen compared to the youths who were eating from the table of the king and that by this he, having been found culpable, would be put to death.

Verse 9. "God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the prince of eunuchs..." He who was taken into captivity on account of the sins of his forebears received an immediate recompense for the magnitude of his own virtues. For he had purposed in his heart that he would not be denied by food from the king's table, and preferred humble fare to royal delicacies; therefore by the bounteous bestowal of the Lord he received favor and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs. By this we may understand that if ever under pressing circumstances holy men are loved by unbelievers, it is a matter of the mercy of God, not of the goodness of perverted men.

This pointless objection of the eunuch was cowardly. He [the eunuch] was a man whose spirit did not know grace but took pleasure in his own sensuality. Of this man and human morality, take heed as there is the opinion that sumptuous feeding on nutritious foods provides for the body nourishment enough for it to flourish. In fact, it is not with such indulgence that you should chance your life, for it was with a small portion and by way of self-control that they [Daniel and his friends] flourished.

But they wished to prove to him that beauty and strength does not come by earthly food which was supplied to the humans, but that the grace of God which was given through the Word supplies beauty and strength, and so they said to him, "Then test your slaves for ten days and give us vegetables and we shall eat them and drink water and our appearances shall be seen and you shall see the appearances of the boys who eat from the table of the king and, just as you see, in this way do to us." [Daniel 1:12-13] Do you see the unalterable faith of the youths and the immutable fear of God? They asked for intervals of time, ten days, so that in this they may prove that they are not able to procure grace from God differently from other men, but only by believing the preaching of the word through Jesus.

Verse 12. "I beg thee, try us thy servants for ten days, and let pulse be given us to eat and water to drink." His faith was so incredibly great that he not only promised he would be in good flesh by eating the humbler food, but he even set a time-limit. Therefore it was not a matter of temerity but of faith, for the sake of which he despised the sumptuous fare of the king.

A fish is caught by being enticed by a hook. A bird falls into a net while trying to get food. Animals that are tough by nature's endowment fall into a pit from the desire to eat, and what nature does not soften, food deceives. Therefore, learn temperance and parsimony from the prayer and the examples of ancients: from prayer, because the Lord says, "Lest your hearts be overburdened with self-indulgence and drunkenness"; from examples, because David was unwilling to drink the water he wanted, since he recognized the danger of being responsible for another's blood;6 because Daniel scorned the feasts of kings and lived on vegetables. What you possess in common with your companions should be acceptable to you, and you should not cause others to be intemperate; also, do not become a cause for scandal to those to whom you wish to set an example by encouragement and by proof of a good life.

The exception of certain kinds from use as food is a partial fast.… Daniel and his companions, preferring as they did a diet of vegetables and the beverage of water to the royal dishes and decanters, were found "more handsome" … and in addition were more spiritually cultured. For God gave to the young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature, and to Daniel in every word, and in dreams and in every kind of wisdom; which [wisdom] was to make him wise in this very thing also, namely, by what means the recognition of mysteries was to be obtained from God.

And so Scripture says, "And the chief eunuch heard them and tested them for ten days and after the end of the ten days their appearances appeared better and stronger in body compared to the boys who ate at the table of the king." [Daniel 1:14-15] And so these boys, though nourished with bread and water alone, were equipped with heavenly wisdom, and they had grace beyond all the boys their same age.

At the end of the 10 days, Daniel and his three companions looked healthier; this was a miracle, not a proof that fasting is physically beneficial. (Fr. Most)

For the king commanded them to be partakers of his own table, a luxurious, unclean and profane table, a thing which was forbidden them, and seemed more terrible than death; and they were lonely men hemmed in like lambs amongst so many wolves. And they were constrained to choose between being consumed by famine or rather led off to execution, and tasting of forbidden meats. What then did these youths do, forlorn as they were, captives, strangers, slaves of those who commanded these things. They did not consider that this strait or the absolute power of him who possessed the state sufficed to justify their compliance; but they employed every device and expedient to enable them to avoid the sin, although they were abandoned on every side. For they could not influence men by money: how should they, being captives? nor by friendship and social intercourse? how should they being strangers? nor could they get the better of them by any exertion of power: how was it possible being slaves? nor matter them by force of numbers: how could they being only three? Therefore they approached the eunuch who possessed the necessary authority, and persuaded him by their arguments. For when they saw him fearful and trembling, and in an agony of alarm concerning his own safety, and the dread of death which agitated his soul was intolerable: "for I fear" said he "my lord the king, lest he should see your countenances sadder than the children which are of your sort and so shall ye endanger my head to the king," having released him from this fear they persuaded him to grant them the favour. And inasmuch as they brought to the work all the strength which they had, God also henceforth contributed his strength to it. For it was not God's doing only that they achieved those things for the sake of which they were to receive a reward, but the beginning and starting point was from their own purpose, and having manifested that to be noble and brave, they won for themselves the help of God, and so accomplished their aim.

Of Daniel and his companions, who were continent, it is said that "God gave them knowledge and discipline in every book and wisdom." Delight concerning touch assails the gift of understanding most greatly: drunkenness from the anterior part and lust from the posterior part.

The third key is the understanding of the Inspired Word by whom all things are revealed; for there is no revelation except through this Inspired Word. Daniel understood the words: understanding is needed in the case of a vision. For unless the word resound in the ear of the heart, the splendor shine in the eye, the vapor and emanation of the Almighty be perceived as smell and His sweetness as taste, and unless eternity fill the soul, man is not fit to understand visions. "God gave to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams." By what means? Through the Inspired Word.

Verse 17. "But God gave these lads knowledge and learning in every book and branch of wisdom, and He gave to Daniel besides an understanding of all visions and dreams." Note that God is said to have given the holy lads knowledge and learning in secular literature, in every book and branch of wisdom. Symmachus rendered this by "grammatical art," implying that they understood everything they read, and by the Spirit of God could make a judgment concerning the lore of the Chaldeans. But Daniel had an outstanding gift over and above the three lads, in that he could astutely discern the significance of visions and dreams in which things to come are shown forth by means of certain symbols and mysteries. Therefore that which others saw only in a shadowy appearance he could perceive clearly with the eyes of his understanding.

In regard to the prophets among the Jews, some of them were wise men before they became divinely inspired prophets, while others became wise by the illumination that their minds received when divinely inspired. They were selected by divine providence to receive the divine Spirit and to be the depositaries of his holy oracles, on the ground of their leading a life of almost unapproachable excellence, intrepid, noble, unmoved by danger or death.

Verse 18. "Therefore when the days had been completed at the end of which the king had bidden them to be presented to him, the chief of the eunuchs presented them in the presence of Nebuchadnezzar." By the "completed days" understand the period of three years which the king had appointed, so that after they had been nourished and trained for three years, they should then stand in the presence of the king.

"For God gave them understanding and prudence in all learning and wisdom and Daniel understood all visions and dreams. And after the end of the days the chief eunuch brought them before the king and the king spoke with them and none were found from all of them like Daniel and Hanniah and Mishael and Azariah." [Daniel 1:17-19] And so the Word brought them forth in all wisdom, displaying them as faithful witnesses in Babylon, so that through them the worship of the Babylonians might be disgraced and Nebuchadnezzar might be defeated by the three boys and through their faith the fire in the furnace might be banished and the blessed Susannah might be rescued from death and the profane lust of the lawless Elders might be convicted.

These four boys, heeding God and having the fear of God in their hearts, carried out these victories in the city of Babylon. Therefore, come blessed Daniel, the avenger of Susannah, so that you may also show us the things that are destined to occur!

Verse 20. "And every word of wisdom and understanding the king inquired of them, he found it in them ten times as great as all the soothsayers and magicians put together who were to be found in his entire realm." For "soothsayers" and "magicians" the Vulgate edition translated "sophists" and "philosophers" - terms to be understood not in the sense of the philosophy and sophistic erudition which Greek learning holds forth, but rather in the sense of the lore of a barbarian people, which the Chaldeans pursue as philosophy even to this day.

Verse 21. "Daniel therefore continued unto the first year of Cyrus the king." In the later discussion we shall explain how it was that Daniel who is here described as having continued till the first year of king Cyrus afterwards held office in the third year of that same Cyrus and is even recorded to have lived in the first year of Darius.