Daniel 6:1

1 Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province.

Daniel 6:1 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 6:1

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and
twenty princes
This is the same Darius mentioned in the latter part of the preceding chapter; who, as soon as he took the kingdom of Babylon, divided it into a hundred and twenty provinces, as Jacchiades observes; as was the manner of the Medes and Persians. So Darius the son of Hystaspes divided the kingdom of Persia into twenty provinces, and set governors over each, according to Herodotus ^F18; to these hundred and twenty provinces seven more were afterwards added, through the victories of Cyrus and Cambyses, and Darius Itystaspes, ( Esther 1:1 ) . Josephus ^F19, through forgetfulness, makes these princes and provinces three hundred and sixty: which should be over the whole kingdom;
or, "in the whole kingdom" ^F20; in the several parts of it, and take care of all things relative to the civil government of it, both for the honour and advantage of the king, and the good of the subjects.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Thalia, sive l. 3. c. 89.
F19 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 4.
F20 (atwklm lkb) "in toto regno", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Cocceius; "toti regno", Junius & Tremellius.

Daniel 6:1 In-Context

1 Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province.

2 The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests.

3 Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.

4 Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.

5 So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”

Footnotes

• [a]. Verses 6:1-28 are numbered 6:2-29 in Aramaic text.