1 choice: A.V., R.V. Cant. v. 15 ('excellent as the cedars').

1 majesty: A.V., R.V. Is. iv. 2 (R.V. marg. majestic).

IN majesty: A.V., R.V. Is. xii. 5.

S to make great: A.V., R.V. Is. xxviii. 29 ('is excellent [i.e. is surpassing] in wisdom,' lit. maketh wisdom great).

'surpassing: A.V., R.V. Dan. ii. 31, iv. 36, v. 12, 14, vi. 3.

Tà diapépovтa the things that excel (or are of value, Mt. x. 31) R.V. Rom. ii. 18 (A.V. more excellent); A.V., R.V. Phil. i. 10.

μεɣаλожрeπǹs magnificent, transcendent, A.V., R.V. 2 Pet. i. 17.

In Ps. cxxxvi. 5 P.B.V. there is nothing in the Heb. corresponding to excellent, though it evidently means surpassing; and in Eź. xvi. 7 A.V., R.V., ornament of ornaments' (i.e. choicest ornament) is paraphrased by excellent ornament(s).

More excellent is used in Eccl. vii. 11 R.V. for superior; in Rom. ii. 18 A.V. for diapépovτa; and in A.V., R.V. 1 Cor. xii. 31 in the rendering of τὴν καθ ̓ ὑπερβολὴν ὁδόν; Heb. i. 4, viii. 6 for διαφορώτερος; Heb. xi. 4 for πλείων. Most excellent represents κράτιστος in A. V., R. V. Luke i. 3, Acts xxiii. 26, and in R.V. Acts xxiv. 3, xxvi. 25.

Cf. in the Collect for St Peter's Day, 'many excellent gifts,' in the Collect for Quinquagesima Sunday, 'that most excellent gift of charity' (with allusion to 1 Cor. xii. 31, just quoted), in the form of Solemnization of Matrimony, 'who hast consecrated the state of Matrimony to such an excellent mystery,' and in the Ordering of Priests, as your office is...of so great excellency,'-all in the sense of pre-eminent, pre-eminency.

In view of the weakened sense in which both these words are used in modern times, it is to be regretted that they have been retained in R.V. in passages in which the real meaning is something so very different. Let the reader mark on the margin of his Revised Version the true meaning of the Hebrew (and Greek) in the passages in which it is not already given; and he will find (in most cases) how greatly they gain in expressiveness and force.

CHAP. III. DANIEL'S THREE COMPANIONS RESCUED FROM

THE FURNACE.

Nebuchadnezzar erects in the plain of Dura, near Babylon, a colossal golden image, and assembles for its dedication the high officials of his kingdom, all being commanded, under penalty of being cast into a burning fiery furnace, to fall down at a given signal and worship it (vv. 1-7). Daniel's three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, refusing to do this, are cast into the furnace; but, to the king's surprise, are wonderfully delivered from the power of the flame (vv. 8-27). Thereupon Nebuchadnezzar solemnly acknowledges the power of their God, issues a decree threatening death to any who presume to blaspheme Him, and bestows upon the three men various marks of favour (vv. 28-30).

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose 3

The narrative has a didactic aim. It depicts a signal example of religious heroism; and at the same time presents a striking concrete illustration of the words of the second Isaiah (xliii. 2), 'When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the fire kindle upon thee.' Circumstances sometimes arise, under which it may be a point of duty for the faithful servant of God to prefer death to apostasy; and the three Jewish youths are represented as yielding themselves courageously to a martyr's death, without the least expectation that they would be delivered from it. In the time of the Maccabees (see I Macc. i. 62, 63; and the words of Mattathias, ii. 19-22), as also during the persecutions in the early centuries of Christianity, the alternative, martyrdom or apostasy, became a very real one; and constancy and faith won many splendid triumphs.

There was a popular Jewish legend respecting Abraham that for refusing to worship Nimrod's gods he was cast by him into a furnace of fire, and miraculously delivered'.

1-7. Nebuchadnezzar's proclamation regarding the image.

1. Nebuchadnezzar] Sept., Theod., Pesh. prefix 'In the eighteenth year,' which would be the year before Jerusalem was finally taken by the Chaldaeans (2 Ki. xxv. 8). Sept. also has an addition stating the occasion on which the image was erected: it was while he was 'organizing (dcockv) cities and countries, and all the inhabitants of the earth, from India to Ethiopia.' The addition is probably nothing but a Midrashic embellishment: we at least know nothing from any other source of Nebuchadnezzar's empire as extending to the limits named, or of his conducting military expeditions except in the direction of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt (exclusive of Ethiopia).

made an image of gold, &c.] The expression does not mean necessarily that it was of solid gold; it might be used of an image that was merely (in the ancient fashion) overlaid with gold: the altar of gold' of Ex. xxxix. 38 was in reality only overlaid with gold (Ex. xxx. 3). It is not expressly stated what the image represented; it is not however described as the image of a god, so in all probability it represented Nebuchadnezzar himself. It was a common practice of the Assyrian kings to erect images of themselves with laudatory inscriptions in conquered cities, or provinces, as symbols of their dominion, the usual expression in such cases being șa-lam šarrû-ti-a (šur-ba-a) ipu-uš, (great) image of my royalty I made"; see KB. i. 69, l. 98 f.; 73, l. 5; 99, 1. 25; 133, 1. 31; 135, 1. 71; 141, 1.93; 143, 1. 124; 147, l. 156; 155, 1. 26, &c. (all from the reigns of Asshur-nasir-abal, B.C. 885-860, and Shalmaneser II., B.C. 860-825). Jastrow (Relig. of Bab. and Ass., 1898, p. 669) remarks that, inasmuch as in the inscriptions the victories of the armies were commonly ascribed to the help of the gods, a homage

66

a

1 See Hastings' Dict. of the Bible, i. 17, Beer, Leben Abraham's nach der Füd. Sage, p. 11 ff.; and cf. Ball, Pref. to the Song of the Three Children, in the Speaker's Comm. on the Apocrypha, ii. 305-7 (where also various Talmudic and Midrashic developments of the narrative of Dan. iii. are quoted).

2

height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the

to some deity would be involved in the recital, though no instance is at present known of divine honours being paid to such statues.

threescore cubits, &c.] The image was thus some 90 feet high, and 9 broad. The disproportion of height and breadth-in the human figure the proportion is commonly 5-6 to 1-has not been satisfactorily explained. The dimensions themselves, also, are greater than are probable: but the 'India House Inscription,' by its descriptions of the decorations of temples, testifies to the amount of gold that was at Nebuchadnezzar's disposal; and Oriental monarchs have always prided themselves on the immense quantities of the precious metals in their possession.

set it up] "to set up an image' (the same words in the Aram.) is the usual phrase in the heathen inscriptions of Palmyra and the Ḥaurān” (Bevan); see e.g. de Vogué, Syrie Centrale (1868), Nos. 4, 5, 7, 10, 11. plain] properly a broad cleft,' or level (Is. xl. 4 end) plain, between mountains (see on Am. i. 5).

Dura] An inscription cited by Friedrich Delitzsch (Paradies, p. 216) mentions in Babylonia three places called Dûru. According to Oppert (Expéd. en Mésopotamie, i. 238 f.; cf. the chart of the environs of Babylon in Smith, DB., s.v. BABEL), there is a small river called the Dura, flowing into the Euphrates from the S., 6 or 7 miles below Babylon; and near this river, about 12 miles S.S.E. of Hillah, there are a number of mounds called the Tolul (or Mounds of) Dūra. One of these, called el-Mokhaṭṭat, consists of a huge rectangular brick structure, some 45 ft. square and 20 ft. high, which may, in Oppert's opinion, have formed once the pedestal of a colossal image.

2. princes] satraps, Aram. 'achashdarpan,—both this and the Gk. ¿εατράπηs, σαтрάπηя, being corruptions of the Old Persian kshatrapawan, lit. 'protector of the realm,' but denoting by usage (cf. on vi. 1) the chief ruler of a province. The term, as is well known, is a standing Persian one: in the O.T., it recurs vv. 3, 27, vi. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 (A.V. princes); and Ezr. viii. 36, Est. iii. 12, viii. 9, ix. 3 (A.V. lieutenants); R.V. always satraps. The use of the word here is an anachronism: both the name and the office were Persian, not Babylonian.

governors] praefects. The word (sgan) explained on ii. 48. captains] governors (R.V.), Aram. pechah, a term also (like sgan) of Assyrian origin, often used in Assyrian of the governor of a conquered province. It found its way into Hebrew, and is used in the O.T. both of an Assyrian officer (Is. xxxvi. 9=2 Ki. xviii. 24: A.V., R.V. captain), of Babylonian officers (Jer. li. 57; Ez. xxiii. 6, 12, 23: A.V. captains, R. V. governors), and especially, in post-exilic writings, of the governor of a Persian province (Hag. i. 1, ii. 2 ; Mal. i. 8; Ezr. v. 3, 6; Neh. ii. 7, 9, and elsewhere); as well as once or twice more generally (1 Ki. xx. 24; Jer. li. 23, 28). In Dan. it recurs vv. 3, 27, vi. 7.

judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then 3 the princes, the governors and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set

judges] So v. 3. Aram. 'adargāzar, in all probability the old Pers. andar-zaghar, later Pers. endarzgar, 'counsel-giver,' a title which was still in use under the Sassanian kings (Nöldeke, Tabari, p. 462). R.V. marg. 'chief soothsayers' implies a very improbable etymology.

treasurers] So v. 3: Aram. gedabar. An uncertain word. It may be a textual corruption, or a faulty pronunciation, of gizbar, 'treasurer' (Pehlevi ganzavar, Pers. ganjvar), which is found in Ezr. i. 8, vii. 21; it may have arisen by dittography from the following dethabar1; it may be an error for haddabar (in the plur., 7 for 7), the word which occurs in zv. 24, 27, iv. 36, vi. 7 (see on v. 24).

counsellers] justices (so v. 3): Aram. dethabar, from the Old Pers. databara, Pehlevi dātōbar, Modern Pers. dawar, properly 'law-bearer,' from dat, 'law,' and bar, an affix meaning 'bearer.' Cf. the βασιλήϊοι Sikaσral of Hdt. iii. 14, 31, v. 25, vii. 194. This word has been found by Hilprecht (frequently) in the commercial inscriptions belonging to the reigns of Artaxerxes I. and Darius II. (B.C. 465-425, 424—405), excavated recently at Nippur by the expedition organized by the American University of Pennsylvania.

sheriffs] Aram. tiphtayê; only found besides in v. 3, and of very uncertain meaning. Bevan thinks it may be the mutilated form of some Persian title ending in pat, 'chief'; and so Behrmann compares the Sanskr. adhipati, which would correspond to an Old Pers. adipati, 'over-chief': while Andreas2 proposes to read for ♬, i.e. denpetayê, 'chiefs of religion,' i.e. priestly dignitaries. Lawyers (R.V. marg.) depends upon an improbable connexion with the Arab. 'afta, to notify a decision of the law (whence Mufti, a jurisconsult).

and all the rulers of the provinces] conceived apparently as subordinate to the 'satraps,' and so as forming the class in which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were included (ii. 49). It has often been asked, where was Daniel? Possibly he is to be regarded as not included in the classes of officials enumerated, on account of his exceptional position at the court (ii. 49): but in point of fact the narrative seems to be written without reference to Daniel; so that more probably the question is one which the author did not deem it necessary to answer. The names of officials are the same as in v. 2.

3.

1 It is some support to this view that whereas the Aramaic text has in both v. 2 and v. 3 eight names of officials, the Sept. and Theod. have each only seven : see Lagarde's lucid exposition of the facts in Agathangelus, p. 157.

2 In the glossary in Marti's Gramm. der Bibl.-Aram. Sprache, p. 89.

4 up. Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, 5 O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery,

4.

And the herald cried aloud] lit. with might: so iv. 14, v. 7; and in Heb. (though the substantive is a different one) Jonah iii. 8.

peoples, nations, and languages] the same pleonastic combination, vv. 7, 29, iv. 1, v. 19, vi. 25, vii. 14; cf. also Is. lxvi. 18. Similarly Rev. v. 9, vii. 9, x. 11, xi. 9, xiii. 7, xiv. 6, xvii. 16. Here the combination is no doubt used under the idea that strangers from different countries ruled by Nebuchadnezzar, as well as from other parts (such as were always to be found in Babylon: Is. xiii. 146, xlvii. 15; Jer. 1. 16), would be present on such an occasion.

peoples] i.e. nations, a sense not now expressed by the English 'people.' See the remarks on this word in the Preface to the Revised Version of the O.T.

5. cornet] lit. horn: so vv. 7, 10, 15; elsewhere in this sense only in the 'ram's horn,' Jos. vi. 5. The usual Hebrew name for this (or some similar) instrument is shōphār. The word used here (karnā) is, however, common in the same sense in Syriac.

flute] pipe, Aram. mashroķitha (from the root sherak, to hiss, Heb. p, Is. v. 26), not the word usually rendered 'flute,' and found besides (in the O. T.) only in vv. 7, 10, 15. It occurs, though very rarely (P. S. Col. 4339), in Syriac in the same sense.

harp] or lyre, Aram. kitharos, i.e. the Greek klapis: so vv. 7, 10, 15. sackbut] trigon (vv. 7, 10, 15), Aram. sabbeka, whence no doubt the Gk. σaμẞúкn was derived, which was a small triangular instrument, of the nature of a harp, but possessing only four strings (see Athen. IV. p. 175, d, e, where it is said to be a Syrian invention; XIV. p. 633 f.; and the other passages cited by Gesenius in his Thesaurus, p. 935). Sambucistriae and psaltriae (see the next word) are mentioned by Livy (xxxix. 6) as a luxurious accompaniment at banquets, introduced into Rome from the East in 187 B.C. (The mediaeval 'sack but,'-Span. sacabuche, a sackbut, and also a tube used as a pump: from sacar, to draw out, and bucha, a box,-meaning properly a tube that can be drawn out at will, was something quite different, viz. "a bass trumpet with a slide like the modern trombone," Chappell, Music of the most Ancient Nations, i. 35, as quoted in Wright's Bible Word-Book, s.v.)

psaltery] Aram. psanțērīn, i.e. aλrýρlov: so vv. 7, 10, 15. The Greek yaλrýpov, and the Latin psalterium, was a stringed instrument, of triangular shape, like an inverted A: it differed from the cithara (as Augustine repeatedly states) in having the sounding-board above the strings, which were played with a plectrum and struck downwards1. The number of strings in the ancient psaltery appears to have varied. The 'psaltery' is often mentioned in old English writers: in Chaucer it appears in the form 'sawtrie,' or 'sauterie,' as Manciple's Tale, 17,200,

'Non

1 Isid. Etym. iii. 22. 7; Cassiod. Praef. in Psalm. c. iv; Augustine on Ps. lvi. (iv. 539 a-b, ed. Bened.), and elsewhere (see the Index); also Vergil, Ciris 177 arguta sonant tenui psalteria chorda.'