Daniel 1:4
Children in whom was no blemish
Not mere children, but young men of fifteen or twenty years of
age; about which age Daniel is by Aben Ezra supposed to be when
he was carried captive; and less than this be cannot well be
thought to be, since, in a few years after, he was put into posts
of the greatest eminence and importance: such were ordered to be
selected that had no deformity or defect in any parts of their
body, or wanted any, as an eye, or a hand; or, "in whom was not
anything" F8; vicious or immoral, or scandalous
in their character: but well favoured;
of a good complexion, a ruddy countenance, and a healthful look.
So Curtius F9 says, that, in all barbarous or
uncivilized countries, the stateliness and size of the body is
had in great veneration; nor do they think any capable of great
services or actions, to whom nature has not vouchsafed to give a
beautiful form and aspect. And Aristotle F11 says
it was reported, that, in Ethiopia, civil offices of government
or magistracy were distributed according to the bulk or beauty of
men, the largeness and tallness of their bodies, or the
comeliness of them; and not only among them, but this has always
been the custom of the eastern nations, to choose such for their
principal officers, or to wait on princes and great personages,
and continues to this day. Sir Paul Ricaut F12
observes,
``that the youths that are designed for the great offices of the
Turkish empire must be of admirable features and pleasing looks,
well shaped in their bodies, and without any defects of nature;
for it is conceived that a corrupt and sordid soul can scarce
inhabit in a serene and ingenious aspect; and (says he) I have
observed not only in the seraglio, but also in the courts of
great men, their personal attendants have been of comely lusty
youths well habited, deporting themselves with singular modesty
and respect in the presence of their masters: so that when a
pascha, aga, spahee, travels, he is always attended with a comely
equipage, followed by flourishing youths, well clothed, and
mounted in great numbers; that one may guess at the greatness of
this empire by the retinue, pomp, and number of servants, which
accompany persons of quality in their journeys.''
And no doubt Nebuchadnezzar had some of these ends in view, in
ordering such persons to be selected and brought up at his expense;
that they might be both for service and usefulness, and for his
grandeur and glory.
And skilful in all wisdom:
in the wisdom of the Jews, or had a liberal education according to
the custom of their country; or were young men of good capacities,
capable of being instructed, and of improving themselves in all
kind of wisdom:
and cunning in knowledge;
or "knowing knowledge"
F13; having a large share of the
knowledge of their own country, customs, and laws, civil and
religious: and understanding science; the liberal arts and
sciences; or however were persons of a good genius, and of
retentive memories; young men of capacity, diligence, industry, and
application, and of great docility, and so very promising to make
great and useful men:
and such as had ability in them to
stand in the king's palace;
not only strength of body, which was requisite to a long waiting
there, as sometimes they were obliged to do; but strength of mind,
courage, and undauntedness, to stand before the king and his
nobles, without showing a rustic fear, and timidity of mind:
and whom they might teach the learning and tongue of the
Chaldeans;
or, "the book and language of the Chaldeans"
F14; book
for books; such as contained their literature, history, and
philosophy, mathematics, the knowledge of the stars, in which they
excelled, as well as architecture and military skill; and it was
necessary they should learn the Chaldean language, which differed
from the Hebrew chiefly in dialect and pronunciation, that they
might be able to read those books of science, and to speak with a
good accent, and readily, before the king and his nobles; or rather
the sense is, that they might understand the Chaldean language, the
manner of reading, writing, and pronouncing it (
rpo) , translated "learning", may
signify the letters of the language, the Scripture or manner of
writing, as Saadiah and Aben Ezra interpret it; which must be first
learned in any language, in order to attain the knowledge of it; so
it seems to be used in (
Isaiah 19:12 ) . "I am
not learned, or know not a book or letters" see (
John 7:15 ) and
(
Nwvl) , translated
"tongue", may signify the rules, idioms, and properties of the
language; the nature, genius, and dialect of it, and signification
of the words and phrases used in it to be learned, so as to be
thorough masters of it, understand it, speak it, and pronounce it
well. But here a difficulty arises, since the form and character of
the letters of the Chaldee and Hebrew languages now in use are the
same; it may seem unnecessary that Hebrew youths should be put to
school to learn the Chaldean letters and language, though the
dialect and idioms of the two languages might in some things
differ; but let it be observed, that it might be, and it is not
improbable, that the letters of the Chaldean language were not the
same then as they are now; and Hottinger
F15
expressly says, that the ancient Chaldee character is not known;
not to say anything of the difference of the Hebrew letters then
from what they are now, which some have surmised: besides, it is a
clear case that the Chaldee and Syriac languages are the same, as
appears from (
Daniel 2:4 ) , where the
Chaldeans are said to speak to the king in Syriac; and yet, what
follows is no other than Chaldee, their mother tongue, in which it
was most proper and agreeable to speak to the king: and as it is
the opinion of many learned men now that these languages are the
same, so it was the sense of the ancient Jews. Says R. Samuel Bar
Nachman
F16, let not the Syriac language be mean
in thine eyes, or lightly esteemed by thee; for in the law, in the
prophets, and in the Hagiographa, the holy blessed God has imparted
honour to it; in the law, (
Genesis 31:47 ) , in
the prophets, (
Jeremiah
10:11 ) , in the Hagiographa, (
Daniel 2:4-8:1 ) in all which places it is the Chaldee language
that is used; and that which was spoken in Babylon, the head of the
Chaldean empire, is called the Syriac; for Cyrus, when he took that
city, ordered a proclamation to be made, by men skilled,
(
suristi) , in the Syriac
language, that the inhabitants should keep within doors, and that
those that were found without should be slain
F17; which
orders were published in that language, that they might be
universally understood, being the language of the common people. So
Herodotus, speaking of the Assyrians, says
F18, these
by the Greeks are called Syrians, and by the barbarians Assyrians,
among whom were the Chaldeans: and, as Strabo observes
F19, the
same language or dialect was used by those without Euphrates, and
by those within; that is, by the Syrians, strictly so called, and
by the Babylonians or Chaldeans: and elsewhere
F20, the
name of Syrians reached from Babylon to Sinus Issicus; and,
formerly, from thence to the Euxine sea. Now it is certain that the
form and character of the letters in the Syriac language are very
different from the Hebrew, and difficult to be learned, and might
be those which these Hebrew youths were to be taught at school, as
well as the rudiments of it; and it is as evident that the language
of the Jews, and that of the Syrians, Chaldeans, and Babylonians,
were so different, that the common people of the former did not
understand the language of the latter when spoke, as appears from (
2 Kings 18:26
) (
Isaiah
36:11 ) so that there was an apparent necessity for the one to
be taught the language of the other, in order to understand it.