Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Daniel 10:3
3. no pleasant bread—"unleavened bread, even the bread of affliction" ( :-). anoint—The Persians largely used unguents. read more
3. no pleasant bread—"unleavened bread, even the bread of affliction" ( :-). anoint—The Persians largely used unguents. read more
4. first month—Nisan, the month most suited for considering Israel's calamity, being that in which the feast of unleavened bread reminded them of their Egyptian bondage. Daniel mourned not merely for the seven days appointed (Exodus 12:18), from the evening of the fourteenth to the twenty-first of Nisan, but thrice seven days, to mark extraordinary sorrow. His mourning ended on the twenty-first day, the closing day of the passover feast; but the vision is not till the twenty-fourth, because of... read more
5. lifted up mine eyes—from the ground on which they had been fixed in his mourning. certain man—literally, "one man." An angel of the highest order; for in :- he commands Gabriel to make Daniel to understand the vision, and in Daniel 12:6 one of the two angels inquires of him how long it would be till the end predicted. linen—the raiment of priests, being the symbol of sanctity, as more pure than wool (Daniel 12:6- :); also of prophets (Daniel 12:6- :); and of angels (Daniel 12:6- :). girded... read more
6. beryl—literally, "Tarshish," in Spain. The beryl, identical with the chrysolite or topaz, was imported into the East from Tarshish, and therefore is called "the Tarshish stone." read more
7. they fled—terrified by the presence of the angel. read more
8. comeliness—literally, "vigor," that is, lively expression and color. into corruption—"deadliness," that is, death-like paleness (Daniel 5:6; Daniel 7:28). read more
9. voice of his words—the sound of his words. was I in a deep sleep—"I sank into a deep sleep" [LENGKERKE]. read more
10. an hand—namely, of Gabriel, who interpreted other revelations to Daniel ( :-) [THEODORET]. set me upon my knees—GESENIUS translates, "cause me to reel on my knees," &c. read more
11. man . . . beloved—(See on Daniel 9:23). understand—"attend to." See Daniel 8:17; Daniel 8:18. read more
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Daniel 10:2
2. mourning—that is, afflicting myself by fasting from "pleasant bread, flesh and wine" (Daniel 10:3), as a sign of sorrow, not for its own sake. Compare Daniel 10:3- :, "fast," answering to "mourn" (Daniel 10:3- :). Compare 1 Corinthians 8:8; 1 Timothy 4:3, which prove that "fasting" is not an indispensable Christian obligation; but merely an outward expression of sorrow, and separation from ordinary worldly enjoyments, in order to give one's self to prayer (1 Timothy 4:3- :). Daniel's... read more