2 troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his

173, 175). During Asshurbanapal's war with his 'false' brother, Shamash-shum-ukin, a professional dreamer saw written on the moon, 'Whoso plans evil against Asshurbanapal, an evil death will I prepare against him' (ib. p. 187). When the same king was warring against Ummanaldashi, king of Elam, Ishtar sent his army a dream, in which she said to them, 'I march before Asshurbanapal, the king whom my hands have made' (ib. p. 201); and in another war she appeared to a professional dreamer, standing before the king, armed, and assuring him that, wherever he went, she went likewise (ib. p. 251). Nabu-na'id, the last king of Babylon (B.C. 555-538), was commanded, or encouraged, to restore temples by deities appearing to him in dreams (ib. iii. 2, pp. 85, 97, 99). On another occasion, Nabu-na'id saw in a dream a great star in heaven, the significance of which Nebuchadnezzar (also in the dream) explained to him1. These, however, are mostly cases of the apparitions of deities; for instances of symbolical dreams, such as the one of Nebuchadnezzar, we may compare rather, though they are much briefer, the dreams in Herodotus, i. 107, 108, 209, iii. 30, 124, vii. 19 (cited below, on iv. 10).

and his spirit was troubled] More exactly, was agitated, disturbed; so v. 3. The expression is borrowed from Gen. xli. 8: cf. Ps. lxxvii. 5 'I am agitated and cannot speak.'

brake from him] More lit. was come to pass,-i.e. was completed or done with (something like the Latin actum est; cf. viii. 27),-upon him, 'upon' being used idiomatically to emphasize the person who is the subject of an experience, or (more often) of an emotion, and who, as it were, is sensible of it as acting or operating upon himself. Cf. Ps. xlii. 4 I will pour out my soul upon me,' 5 'why moanest thou upon me?' 6' my soul upon me is cast down,' cxlii. 3 'when my spirit fainteth upon me,' cxliii. 4, Jer. viii. 18 'my heart upon me is sick,' Job xxx. 16 (R.V. marg.), Lam. iii. 20 'my soul is bowed down upon me': within, in all these passages, does not express the idea of the Hebrew. Cf. the writer's Parallel Psalter, Glossary I, s. v. upon (p. 464) ; and see also Dan. v. 9.

2. the magicians, and the enchanters] See on i. 20. As in Egypt (Gen. xli. 8), the 'magicians' and 'wise men' (v. 12) would be the natural persons for the king to consult on the interpretation of a dream.

and the sorcerers] This is a word which is well known in the earlier literature: e.g. Ex. vii. 11, xxii. 18 (in the fem.); Deut. xviii. 10; cf. the subst. sorceries Mic. v. 11, and (in Babylon) Is. xlvii. 9, 12.

Chaldeans] Here, as in i. 4, used in the sense of the priestly or learned class (see p. 12 ff.). So vv. 4, 5, 10.

for to shew] for to tell (R.V.). To'shew' is used often in A.V., and sometimes in R.V., not in the modern sense of pointing out, but in that of telling or declaring; and it stands here for the Heb. word

1 Messerschmidt, Die Inschrift der Stele Nabuna'ids, 1896, p. 30£.

4

dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And 3 the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is s usually rendered tell or declare. So Gen. xlvi. 31 (R.V. tell); Jud. xiii. 10; 1 Sam xi. 9 (R.V. told), xix. 7, xxv. 8 (R.V. told); 2 Ki. vi. 11; Is. xli. 22, 26 (R.V. declare), &c.; cf. the Parallel Psalter, p. 481.

3.

was disturbed] or is disturbed. It is not perfectly clear whether the intention of the writer is to represent the king as having really forgotten the dream and desiring to have it recalled to him; or as still remembering it, and merely making this demand for the purpose of testing the magicians' skill.

4. in Syriack] in Aramaic, i.e. the language of the Aramaeans, an important branch of the Semitic stock, inhabiting chiefly Mesopotamia, Syria, and part of Arabia. There were numerous 'Aramaic' dialectsas the Aramaic spoken in Assyria, at Zinjirli (near Aleppo), in Palmyra, in Têma, by the Nabataeans at 'el'Öla, that of the books of Daniel and Ezra, that of the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, that of the Babylonian, that of the Palestinian Talmud-which, while similar in their general features, differed in details, somewhat in the manner in which the Greek dialects differed from one another: but the language which is now known distinctively as 'Syriac,'-i.e. the language in which the 'Peshiṭtā' version of the Bible (2nd cent. A.D.) was made, and in which an extensive Christian literature exists,-differs markedly from the Aramaic of Daniel and Ezra : and hence the rendering 'Syriack' suggests an entirely false idea of the language here meant. R.V., 'in the Syrian language' (cf. Is. xxxvi. 11) is some improvement; but the term which ought to be employed is 'Aramaic.'

The Aramaic part of the book begins with the words O king; and if' (in) Aramaic' forms an integral part of the sentence, the author, it seems, must mean to indicate that in his opinion Aramaic was used at the court for communications of an official nature. That, however, does not explain why the use of Aramaic continues to the end of ch. vii.; and it is besides quite certain that Aramaic, such as that of the Book of Daniel, was not spoken in Babylon. Very probably Oppert, Lenormant, Nestle, and others are right in regarding' Aramaic as originally a marginal note, indicating that that language begins to be used here; in this case the word will in English be naturally enclosed in brackets, And they spake to the king, [Aramaic] O king, &c.' The second (in) Aramaic in Ezra iv. 7 is probably to be explained similarly ('was written in Aramaic, and interpreted. [Aramaic]').

O king, live for ever] The standing formula, with which, in Dan., the king is addressed (iii. 9, v. 10, vi. 6, 21); elsewhere (in the 3rd person) only on somewhat exceptional occasions, 1 Ki. i. 31; Neh. ii. we will shew] declare.

3.

5. The thing is gone from me] The thing (or word) on my part

5

gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in 6 pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore 7 shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the 8 dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain

(nearly as in iii. 29) is sure. The king means that the threat which follows is fully resolved upon by him. Azda is a Persian word, meaning sure, certain (see Schrader, KAT.2, p. 617); the rendering 'gone' is philologically indefensible.

if ye will not make known] if ye make not known (R.V.). 'Will not,' in this sentence would (in modern English) mean 'are not willing to,' which is not in the Aramaic at all.

cut in pieces] more exactly, dismembered; lit. made into (separate) limbs; so iii. 29 (cf. 2 Macc. i. 16 μéλŋ wonσ avтes). The word for ‘limb' (haddām,-common in Syriac, but in the O.T. found only here and iii. 29) is Persian (Zend hañdāma, Mod. Pers. andām). The violence and peremptoriness of the threatened punishment is in accordance with what might be expected at the hands of an Eastern despot: the Assyrians and Persians, especially, were notorious for the barbarity of their punishments.

be made a dunghill] Cf. iii. 29 and Ezra vi. 11 (where Darius decrees the same punishment for any one altering the terms of his edict).

6. shew (twice)] declare. So vv. 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 24, 27, iv. 2, v. 7,

12, 15.

rewards] A rare word, probably of Persian origin (according to Andreas, in the Glossary in Marti's Gramm. der Bibl.-Aram. Sprache, properly, tribute, present), found otherwise only in v. 17, where it stands in a similar context.

7-12. The wise men profess their willingness to interpret the king's dream but protest that his demand that they should tell him what his dream was is an extravagant one. Nebuchadnezzar, however, adheres to his original demand: and as they are unable to comply with it, commands them to be put to death.

7. again] the second time (R.V.).

8. of certainty] We should say now, of a certainty.' Murray quotes from North's Plutarch (1580), 'It is of certainty that her proper name was Nicostrata.'

would gain time (R.V.)] lit. are buying the time. Their repeated request to the king to tell them his dream is proof to him that they have no power to reveal secrets, and that they could not therefore interpret his dream, even though he were to describe it to them: hence he charges them with buying the time, i.e. with endeavouring to defer

But if 9

the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. The Chaldeans answered be- 10 fore the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can the fatal moment when the truth must appear, and when their inability to interpret his dream must be exposed.

because ye see that the thing on my part is sure, (9) That, if, &c.] Because you see that I am resolved to punish you, if you do not fulfil the conditions I lay down (v. 5).

9. That, if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law for you] you can expect nothing else but punishment. Lit. your law (i.e. the law or sentence against you) is one, implying that it is unalterable and inevitable; cf. Est. iv. II. The word for 'law' (dath) is Persian, Zend dāta, Mod. Pers. dad (see the Introduction, p. lvi).

and (also) lying and corrupt words ye have agreed to speak before me] pretending falsely that you will be able to explain the dream, if it is only told you.

prepared] So the Kt.; but the Qrê, 'ye have prepared yourselves, or agreed together '(cf. Am. iii. 3 Targ.), is more in accordance with usage (see Levy, Chald. W. B., s.v.).

before me] to speak 'before,' rather than 'to,' a king, is the language of respect so vv. 10, 11, 27, 36, v. 17, vi. 12; Est. i. 16, vii. 9, viii. 3. Cp. on vi. 10.

till the time be changed] till circumstances take a favourable turn, and the king, for instance, has his attention diverted to something else. therefore tell me, &c.] if they are able to tell him the dream, it will be a guarantee to him that their explanation will be trustworthy. 10. shew] declare.

therefore, &c.] forasmuch as (R.V.) no great and powerful king (cf. R.V. marg.) hath asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. As no king has ever thought of making such a demand, it may be fairly concluded to be one which it is impossible to satisfy.

11. rare] difficult: properly heavy. The word has the same sense sometimes in Syriac, as Ex. xviii. 18, in the Peshiṭtā.

requireth] asketh (as v. 10), which indeed is all that the translators of 1611 meant by their rendering: for require formerly did not express the idea now attaching to the word of demanding as a right. So elsewhere in A.V., as 2 Sam. xii. 20; Prov. xxx. 7 (R.V. asked); Ezr. viii. 22 (R. V. ask); and in P.B. V. of the Psalms, as Ps. xxvii. 4, xxxviii. 16, xl. 9, li. 6, cxxxvii. 3.

ΙΙ

shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is 12 not with flesh. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men 13 of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.

14

Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay

shew] declare.

whose dwelling is not with flesh] i.e. who are superhuman, supramundane beings.

12. wise men] of those versed in occult arts, as Gen. xli. 8; Jer. 1. 35 (of Babylon), and several times in the sequel (cf. p. 15). Similarly wisdom, Is. xlvii. 10 (of Babylon), and ch. i. 17, 20.

13-16. Daniel and his three companions, being regarded now (cf. i. 17—20) as belonging to the class of 'wise men,' and being consequently involved in the condemnation, are in danger of their lives; but Daniel, through Arioch's intervention, obtains an audience of the king, and promising to tell him his dream, gets execution of the sentence deferred.

13. the decree went forth] Cf. Luke ii. 2, where the Greek is exactly the same as that of Theodotion's rendering here (τò dóyμa ¿¿ñλ0€). that the wise men, &c.] and the wise men were to be slain (R.V.). See Kautzsch, Gramm. § 76. 3.

fellows] companions (R.V.), as v. 17.

So v. 18.

14. answered with counsel and discretion] lit. returned counsel and discretion (or tact): lit. taste, and so figuratively of the faculty which discriminates and selects what is suitable for a given occasion. Cf. I Sam. xxv. 33, And blessed be thy discretion' (R.V. marg.), of the tact displayed by Abigail in averting David's vengeance from Nabal; Job xii. 20, and taketh away the discretion of the elders;' Prov. xxvi. 16 (the same phrase as here), 'than seven men answering with discretion' (lit. returning discretion).

Arioch] The name, in Gen. xiv. I, of an ancient king of Ellasar (Larsa, in S. Babylonia); and, no doubt, borrowed thence, both here and in Judith i. 6 (where it is the name of a 'king of the Elymaeans '). "The name was Sumerian and not used at that period [Nebuchadnezzar's] of Babylonian history" (Sayce, in Hastings' Dict. of the Bible, s.v.).

6

captain of the king's guard] 'Captain of the guard' is the same expression which occurs in 2 Ki. xxv. 8 ff., Jer. xxxix. 9 ff., of an officer of Nebuchadnezzar, and (with sar for rab) in Gen. (xxxvii. 36, xxxix. 1, al.) of an officer of Pharaoh. It is lit. captain (or superintendent, chief) of the slaughterers' (viz. of animals [not executioners]): the royal butchers came in some way to form the royal body-guard (cf. W. R. Smith, OTJC.2, p. 262 f.). The use of the same term in reference to two such different countries as Egypt and Babylon, shews that, though