Daniel 1:12

12 "Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water.

Daniel 1:12 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 1:12

Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days,
&e.] Here Daniel manifestly includes his companions, and makes his request for himself and them; desiring that they might be tried ten days with different sort of food and drink, and see whether any alteration would be made in them for the worse; which was a proper time for such a trial; for in that time it might be reasonably supposed that their food, if it had any bad effect on them, would appear. Saadiah makes these ten days to be the days between the first day of the year and the day of atonement; but without any foundation: and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink;
instead of the king's meat, pulse, beans, pease, vetches, lentiles, rice, millet, and the like. The word ^F4 used signifies anything sown, all kinds of roots, herbs, and fruits; and, instead of wine, water; meat and drink, it may be thought, that persons of such birth and education had not been used to; and yet they preferred these to the king's dainties, by eating and drinking of which their consciences would be in danger of being defiled.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (Myerzh Nm) (apo twn spermatwn) , Sept.; "de seminibus", Montanus; "de sativis", Cocceius.

Daniel 1:12 In-Context

10 but he warned him, "I'm afraid of what my master the king will do. He is the one who assigned this diet and if he sees that you are not as healthy as the rest, he'll have my head!"

11 But Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned by the head of the palace staff to be in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

12 "Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water.

13 Then compare us with the young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what you see."

14 The steward agreed to do it and fed them vegetables and water for ten days.