Daniel 1:3

3 Le roi donna l'ordre à Aschpenaz, chef de ses eunuques, d'amener quelques-uns des enfants d'Israël de race royale ou de famille noble,

Daniel 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 1:3

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs,
&c.] That is, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon spake to this officer of his, whose name was Ashpenaz; which, according to Saadiah, signifies a man of an angry countenance; but Hillerus ^F5 derives it from the Arabic word <arabic> "schaphan", as designing one that excels in wit and understanding; for which reason he might have the command of the eunuchs, many of which the eastern princes had about them, particularly to wait upon their women, or to educate youth, as the Turks have now; though, as R. Jeshuah in Aben Ezra observes, the word signifies ministers, and may intend the king's nobles and courtiers, his ministers of state; and so this Ashpenaz may be considered as his prime minister, to whom he gave orders, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel;
whom he had taken and brought captive to Babylon, and were disposed of in some part or another of the city and country; and out of these it was his will that some should be selected and brought to his court: and of the king's seed, and of the princes:
or, "even ^F6 of the king's seed, and of the princes"; not any of the children of Israel, but such as were of the blood royal, or of the king of Judah's family, or some way related to it; or, however, that were of princely birth, the children of persons of the first rank, as the word ^F7 may signify; or of nobles and dukes, as Jarchi interprets it.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F5 Onomast. Sacr. p. 752, 753.
F6 (hkwlmh erzmw) , so (w) is sometimes rendered; see Noldius. p. 276.
F7 (Mymtrp) "ex Graeca voce" (prwtov) , Grotius, Junius.

Daniel 1:3 In-Context

1 La troisième année du règne de Jojakim, roi de Juda, Nebucadnetsar, roi de Babylone, marcha contre Jérusalem, et l'assiégea.

2 Le Seigneur livra entre ses mains Jojakim, roi de Juda, et une partie des ustensiles de la maison de Dieu. Nebucadnetsar emporta les ustensiles au pays de Schinear, dans la maison de son dieu, il les mit dans la maison du trésor de son dieu.

3 Le roi donna l'ordre à Aschpenaz, chef de ses eunuques, d'amener quelques-uns des enfants d'Israël de race royale ou de famille noble,

4 de jeunes garçons sans défaut corporel, beaux de figure, doués de sagesse, d'intelligence et d'instruction, capables de servir dans le palais du roi, et à qui l'on enseignerait les lettres et la langue des Chaldéens.

5 Le roi leur assigna pour chaque jour une portion des mets de sa table et du vin dont il buvait, voulant les élever pendant trois années, au bout desquelles ils seraient au service du roi.