Daniel Comes to Babylon

Daniel 1:1-21

1  In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

³ Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, ⁴ young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. ⁵ And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that timethey might serve before the king. ⁶ Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷ To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.

⁸ But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. ⁹ Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. ¹⁰ And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

¹¹ So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” ¹⁴ So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. ¹⁶ Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

¹⁷ As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

¹⁸ Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. ²⁰ And in all matters of wisdom andunderstanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. ²¹ Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.

 

The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Daniel 1:1-21

Personal History of Daniel (chap. 1)

1. Daniel’s deportation (1:1–7)

1:1–2a. The first two verses of the Book of Daniel state when and how the prophet was taken to Babylon. The events in the book began in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah. This seems to conflict with Jeremiah’s statement that the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign (Jer. 25:1). At least two explanations may be given for this apparent discrepancy. The first is the difference between Jewish and Babylonian reckoning. The Jewish calendar began the year in Tishri (September–October) while the Babylonian calendar began in the spring in the month of Nisan (March–April). If Babylonian reckoning were used, the year Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem was the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign. But if the Jewish reckoning were used it was Jehoiakim’s third year. Daniel, a Jew, may well have adopted the familiar Jewish calendar.

A second explanation is based on the Babylonian method of reckoning the dates of a king’s reign. The portion of a king’s reign that preceded the beginning of a new year in the month Nisan, that is, the year of accession, was called the first year even if it was of short duration. If Jeremiah followed that method of reckoning, he counted Jehoiakim’s year of accession (which was only part of a full year) as the first year. And if Daniel used the Jewish method of reckoning (which did not count the first months of a king’s reign before the new year) he then counted only the three full years of Jehoiakim’s reign. The year was 605 b.c.

Daniel referred to Nebuchadnezzar (whose name means “Nabu has protected my inheritance”) as king of Babylon. At that time (605) Nabopolassar was king in Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar had not yet acceded to the throne. However, Nebuchadnezzar, while in battle, heard of the death of his father and hastened to Babylon to be enthroned (see “Historical Background” in the Introduction). Writing at a later date, Daniel referred to Nebuchadnezzar as king in anticipation of his occupation of the throne.

Nebuchadnezzar’s besieging of Jerusalem took place during the reign of Jehoiakim, the 17th king of Judah and eldest son of Josiah (cf. 2 Chron. 36:2 with 2 Chron. 36:5). Jehoiakim’s younger brother Jehoahaz had been placed on Judah’s throne after Pharaoh Neco killed King Josiah in 609 b.c. (See the chart “The Last Five Kings of Judah,” near 2 Kings 23:31–35.) But Neco dethroned Jehoahaz and placed Jehoiakim on the throne (2 Chron. 36:3–4).

Jeremiah had warned Jehoiakim of impending invasion by Babylon. And Jehoiakim had heard of the prophet’s instruction to God’s people to submit to Babylon without resistance. So when Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city, little or no resistance was offered, and Jehoiakim was captured and taken to Babylon. Thus Judah came under Nebuchadnezzar’s authority.

With this incursion by Nebuchadnezzar an important prophetic time period—the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24)—began. The times of the Gentiles is that extended period of time in which the land given in covenant by God to Abraham and his descendants is occupied by Gentile powers and the Davidic throne is empty of any rightful heir in the Davidic line. The times of the Gentiles, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Jerusalem in 605 b.c., will continue till the Messiah returns. Then Christ will subdue nations, deliver the land of Israel from its Gentile occupants, and bring the nation Israel into her covenanted blessings in the millennial kingdom.

God had made a covenant with Israel in Moab (Deut. 28–30) just before she entered the land (Deut. 29:1). In this covenant God set forth the principle by which He would deal with His people. Their obedience to Him would bring blessing (Deut. 28:1–14) but disobedience to Him would bring discipline (Deut. 28:15–68). In this second portion God outlined the disciplines He would use to correct the people when their walk was out of line with His revealed Law. These disciplines would seek to conform them to His demands so they would be eligible for His blessings. The ultimate discipline He would use to correct His people was the invasion of Gentile nations who would subjugate them to their authority and disperse them from their land (Deut. 28:49–68).

Moses then stated when Israel would come under God’s discipline, that discipline would not be lifted until the people forsook their sin, turned in faith to God, and obeyed His requirements (Deut. 30:1–10). The Northern Kingdom of Israel had gone into captivity to Assyria in 722 b.c. This was the outworking of the principles of Deuteronomy 28. From time to time (though not consistently) the Southern Kingdom (Judah), in light of the fall of the Northern Kingdom, had heeded the prophets’ admonitions and turned to God. The Southern Kingdom continued for more than a century longer because of her repentance and obedience under her godly kings.

That condition, however, did not last. Judah also ignored God’s covenant, neglected the Sabbath Day and the sabbatical year (Jer. 34:12–22), and went into idolatry (Jer. 7:30–31). Therefore, because of the covenant in Deuteronomy 28, judgment had to fall on Judah. God chose Nebuchadnezzar as the instrument to inflict discipline on God’s disobedient people (cf. Jer. 27:6; Hab. 1:6).

1:2b–3. When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon from this invasion of Judah, he brought spoils to signify Judah’s submission to Babylon. First, he brought some valuable articles from the temple in Jerusalem which he placed in the temple of his god in Babylonia (cf. 2 Chron. 36:7). “His god” may have been Bel, also called Marduk, the chief god of the Babylonians (cf. comments on Dan. 4:8). (In Heb. the word rendered Babylonia is Shinar, niv marg., an ancient name for that land; cf. Gen. 10:10; 11:2; 14:1; Isa. 11:11, niv marg.; Zech. 5:11, niv marg.) This would signify the conquest of the God of Judah by the Babylonian deities.

Second, Nebuchadnezzar brought with him some of the Israelites (Jews) from the royal family and the nobility. As stated in the Introduction, these royal princes may have been considered hostages, to help assure Judah’s continued submission to Babylon. Or they may have been taken to Babylon to prepare them to fulfill positions of administrative leadership there if Nebuchadnezzar should have to return to subjugate Judah. Ashpenaz was chief of the court officials. He is mentioned by name only here in the Old Testament but is called “the official” or “the chief official” six times (Dan. 1:7–11, 18). It is not clear whether the word for “official” (sārîs) means a eunuch or simply a courtier or court officer. Kitchen suggests it meant eunuch in Daniel’s time (Kenneth A. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1966, pp. 165–6).

1:4–5. These captives were choice young men both physically and mentally and as such, they could be an asset to the king’s palace. An attempt was made to assimilate them into the culture of the court for they were compelled to learn both the language and the literature of the people among whom they now dwelt. They were to undergo a rigorous three-year course of training after which they were to enter the king’s service. That educational program probably included a study of agriculture, architecture, astrology, astronomy, law, mathematics, and the difficult Akkadian language.

1:6–7. No mention was made of how many captives were taken but four are mentioned here by name because of their later significant role in Babylon. Because all four bore names that honored Yahweh, the God of Israel, their names were changed. El means God and -iah (or -yah) is an abbreviation for Yahweh, thus suggesting that the young men’s parents were God-fearing people who gave them names that included references to God. Daniel, whose name means “God has judged” (or “God is my Judge”), was given the name Belteshazzar (Bēlet-šar-uṣur in Akk.), which means “Lady, protect the king.” Eight of the 10 times “Belteshazzar” occurs in the Old Testament are in the Aramaic section of the Book of Daniel (2:26; 4:8–9, 18–19 [3 times]; 5:12). The other 2 occurrences are in 1:7 and 10:1.

Hananiah (“Yahweh has been gracious”) became Shadrach probably from the Akkadian verb form šādurāku, meaning “I am fearful (of a god).”

Mishael (“Who is what God is?”) was given the name Meshach, which possibly was from the Akkadian verb mēšāku, meaning “I am despised, contemptible, humbled (before my god).”

Azariah (“Yahweh has helped”) was named Abednego, “Servant of Nebo” (Nego being a Heb. variation of the Babylonian name of the god Nebo). Nebo (cf. Isa. 46:1), son of Bel, was the Babylonian god of writing and vegetation. He was also known as Nabu (cf. comments on Dan. 1:1 on Nebuchadnezzar’s name).

Thus the chief court official (Ashpenaz, v. 3) seemed determined to obliterate any testimony to the God of Israel from the Babylonian court. The names he gave the four men signified that they were to be subject to Babylon’s gods.

1. Daniel’s devotion to God (1:8–16)
2. the request (1:8)

1:8. Nebuchadnezzar had made abundant provision for the captives. Theirs was a life of luxury, not deprivation, for they were given a portion of food and wine daily from the king’s own table. However, this food did not conform to the requirements of the Mosaic Law. The fact that it was prepared by Gentiles rendered it unclean. Also no doubt many things forbidden by the Law were served on the king’s table, so to partake of such food would defile the Jewish youths. Further, without doubt this royal food had been sacrificed and offered to pagan gods before it was offered to the king. To partake of such food would be contrary to Exodus 34:15, where the Jews were forbidden to eat flesh sacrificed to pagan gods.

Similar problems would arise in drinking the wine. To abstain from the Old Testament prohibition against “strong drink” (e.g., Prov. 20:1, kjv; Isa. 5:11, “drinks”), Jews customarily diluted wine with water. Some added 3 parts of water to wine, others 6 parts, and some as much as 10 parts of water to 1 part of wine. The Babylonians did not dilute their wine. So both the food and the drink would have defiled these Jewish young men. Daniel knew the requirements of the Law governing what he should and should not eat and drink.

Daniel’s desire was to please God in all he did. So he resolved that even though he was not in his own land but in a culture that did not follow God’s laws, he would consider himself under the Law. He therefore asked the chief court official to be excused from eating and drinking the food and wine generously supplied by the king. Daniel was courageous, determined, and obedient to God.

2. the request granted (1:9–14)

1:9–10. The chief official’s reticence to grant Daniel’s request is understandable. He was responsible to oversee the young captives’ physical and mental development so they would become prepared for the roles the king had in mind for them. Evidently these youths held a strategic place in the king’s plans, so he wanted them well trained. If the men had been of little consequence to the king, their physical conditions would not have mattered and Ashpenaz would not have risked the loss of his life.

Daniel had trusted his situation to God who intervened on Daniel’s behalf to move the official’s heart to show favor (ḥeseḏ, “loyal love”) and sympathy (raḥămîm, “compassion”) to Daniel.

1:11–14. When Daniel’s request seemed to have been denied by the chief official … Daniel approached the guard whom Ashpenaz placed over the four youths and requested a 10-day trial period in which Daniel and his companions would be given only vegetables … and water. (The Heb. word for vegetables, meaning “sown things,” may also include grains.) Since the Mosaic Law designated no vegetables as unclean, Daniel could eat any vegetables put before him without defiling himself. In so short a time (10 days) there could have been no marked deterioration that would jeopardize the life of anyone in authority. In fact Daniel hinted that their appearance would be better than that of the others who were on the king’s diet.

Since the guard was under the chief official’s authority he must have acted not on his own but with permission from Ashpenaz. This indicates that God intervenes on behalf of those who trust Him, and protects and preserves those who obey Him, even under pagan rule.

3. the result (1:15–16)

1:15–16. At the conclusion of the 10 days, the four who had lived on vegetables appeared healthier than those who had dined on the king’s food. Since the four looked better—and not worse than the others, as Ashpenaz had feared (v. 10)—he did not object to the diet Daniel had requested for himself and his friends. So they were allowed to continue on a diet of vegetables.

Though God did not prohibit eating meat altogether (cf. Gen. 9:3; Rom. 14:14; 1 Cor. 10:25–26), the vegetable diet was superior to the king’s food. Also this shows that God blesses those who obey His commands and prospers those who trust Him. This incident would have been a lesson for the nation Israel. God had demanded obedience to the Law. Punishment came because of disobedience but even during a time of discipline, God protects and sustains those who obey Him and trust Him for their sustenance.

1. Daniel’s appointment (1:17–21)

1:17. These four … men being prepared by Nebuchadnezzar for positions of responsibility in the royal court were actually being prepared by God. For God gavethem knowledge and understanding in many realms. “Knowledge” has to do with reasoning skills and thought processes. They were able to think clearly and logically. “Understanding” has to do with insight. This points up their ability to discern the nature of things clearly and to interpret them in their true light. The literature and learningin which God gave them ability was broad (cf. comments on v. 4). By divine enablement and through his years of instruction under able teachers, Daniel gained a wide knowledge of arts and sciences.

Though the knowledge of others in Babylon in those subjects may have equaled that of Daniel, he was superior to them all in one area: he had the God-given ability to understand visions and dreams. People have always been curious about the future and have sought to predict coming events. For example, after Israel entered the land of Canaan, they encountered many who attempted to prognosticate the future by various means. But Israel was forbidden to follow any of these practices (Deut. 18:9–13), which were also prevalent in Babylon.

1:18–21. At the end of the time set by the king (i.e., at the end of the three years’ training; cf. v. 5), the king examined Daniel and his three companions and found that none equaled them. In fact they were 10 times better than all who practiced the arts of divination. (On magicians and enchanters, see comments on v. 17.) “Ten times” is an idiom meaning “many times” (cf. Gen. 31:7, 41; Num. 14:22; Job 19:3).

 

God in all His holiness is only your creator until you accept Him. After you accept Him, He becomes your God, your Father, your creator. He will cleanse you of your sins and accept you into the kingdom of His heaven and hear your prayers.

Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. Also, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

God is testing us every day and has given us the right to make our own choices. Do you know which ones are the right choices in God’s mind?

Fear God, love God, honor God, and trust God with all your heart, mind and soul and you will receive and experience the joy of the promises of God’s blessings in His time. And always remember to ask the Father for His help and guidance in all things.

 

Prayer:   Father, blessed is your Holy name. We are grateful for Your Son our risen Christ and Your Spirit. We praise You for the opportunity to glorify Your Son and live with Him forever. We also praise you for the opportunity to be able to choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior and to be elect children of Yours. We praise you for the laws You have set down to teach us, to keep our lives in harmony, to learn how to treat others and how to live within your boundaries. Please bless those who have read this article for they too are seeking Your righteous truth, love, wisdom and understanding.

Father, I pray these brothers and sisters have or will come to realize that Your existence is a treasure of grace and love that You have for all Your elect children.

May God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Christianity be our guiding lights for eternity. Let it be Your will Lord not mine. Please come Lord Jesus.

I pray in Jesus sweet name and to His glory through the power of The Holy Spirit,

Amen.