Daniel 1:1-7

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Daniel 1:1-7

We have in these verses an account, I. Of the first descent which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, made upon Judah and Jerusalem, in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, and his success in that expedition (Dan. 1:1, 2): He besieged Jerusalem, soon made himself master of it, seized the king, took whom he pleased and what he pleased away with him, and then left Jehoiakim to reign as tributary to him, which he did about eight years longer, but then rebelled,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 1:1

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah ,.... At the close of it, and at the beginning of the fourth, which was the first of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 25:1 . Jerusalem seems to have been taken twice in his time, and two captivities in it: the first was in the third or fourth year of his reign; when humbling himself, he was restored to his kingdom, though he became a tributary to the king of Babylon; Daniel and his companions, who were carried captive with him, were... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 1:2

The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand ,.... And the city of Jerusalem too, or he could not have took the king, and so the Syriac version renders it, and the Lord delivered it into his hands, and Jehoiakim , &c.;: this was from the Lord, because of his sins, and the sins of his ancestors, and of his people; or otherwise the king of Babylon could not have taken the city, nor him, because of the great power of the Jews, as Jacchiades observes: with part of the vessels... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 1:3

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs ,.... 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 Onomast. Sacr. p. 752,753. derives it from the Arabic word "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,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 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, &c.; or, "in whom was not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 1:5

And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat ,.... Every day a portion was ordered them, from the king's table, of the richest dainties he himself ate of; which was done not only as an act of royal munificence and generosity, and in respect of their birth and breeding; but also as a bait and snare to allure and entice them, to make them in love with the country and condition in which they were, and to forget their own; as well also in order to preserve their well favoured... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 1:6

Now among these were of the children of Judea , Among those youths that were selected from the rest, and brought up in the above manner, and for the above purposes, who were of the tribe of Judah, and very likely of the house of David, and of royal descent, were the four following persons: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah ; who are particularly mentioned, because they were the most famous and renowned of them, and are concerned in the subsequent history and account of facts: their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 1:7

Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names ,.... Other names, Chaldee names, according to the names of the gods of that country, for honour and glory, as Saadiah observes; which was done either to make them more acceptable to the court and courtiers of the king of Babylon; and to show that they were his servants, and naturalized subjects; and chiefly to cause them to forget the names their fathers gave them, and out of hatred to them, having all of them in them the names of the true God,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Daniel 1:1

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim - This king was raised to the throne of Judea in the place of his brother Jehoahaz, by Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt, 2 Kings 23:34-36 , and continued tributary to him during the first three years of his reign; but in the fourth, which was the first of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 25:1 , Nebuchadnezzar completely defeated the Egyptian army near the Euphrates, Jeremiah 46:2 ; and this victory put the neighboring countries of Syria, among which... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Daniel 1:2

Part of the vessels of the house of God - He took the richest and finest of them for the service of his god Bel, and left what were necessary for carrying on the public worship of Jehovah, (for he did not attempt to alter the civil or religious constitution of Judea); for leaving Jehoiakim on the throne, he only laid the land under tribute. The Chaldeans carried these sacred vessels away at three different times. In the war spoken of in this place. In the taking of Jerusalem and... read more

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