Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_200.lzh/6_272.TXT

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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 pro-
nouncing it. \^rpo\^, translated learning, may signify
the letters of the language, the Scripture or man-
ner of writing, as Saadiah and A ben 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 Isa. xxix. 12. I am not learned, or lcnow not
a book or letters; see John vii. 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, under-
stand 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 He-
brew 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
Hotringer° expressly says, that the ancient Chaldee
character is not known; not to say any thing 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 ch. ii. 4. where the Chaideans
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 {p}, 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, Gen. xxxi. 47. in the prophets, Jer. x. 11. in the
I-Iagiographa,. Dan. ii. 4, to ch. viii. in all which places
it is the Chaldee language that is used; and that which
was spoken in Babylon, the head of the Chaldean em-
pire, 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 inhabit-
ants should keep within doors, and that those that
were found without should be slain {q}; 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 Assy-
finns, says {r}, these by the Greeks are called Syrians,
and by the barbarians Assyrians, among whom were
the Chaldeans: and, as Strabo observes {s}, the same
language or dialect was used by those without Eu-
phrates, and by those within; that is, by the Syrians,
strictly so called, and by the ,Babyloninns or Chaldeans:
and elsewhere {t}, the name of Syrians reached from Ba-
.bylon 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
learut, 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 Baby-
lonlass, 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 xviii.
and Isa. xxxvi. 11. so that there was an apparent ne-
cessity for the one to be taught the language of the
other, in Order to understand it.
Ver. 5. And the king appointed them a daily provision
of the king's meat, &c.] Every day a portion was or-
dered 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 look and good complexion, and
fit them for their study of language and literature;
which might be hindered for want 'of the necessaries
of life, or by living on gross and coarse food: and of
the wine which he drank; which, as it was of various
sorts, so of the best and most excellent; and which,
moderately drank, conduces to the health of the body,
and cheerfulness of the mind; and which are both
useful to forward learned studies: so nourishing them
three years; this was the time fixed for their acquiring
the learning and language of the Chaldeans; during
which they were to be provided for from the
king's table, and at his expense, as above; which
term of time was judged sufficient for their learning
every thing necessary to qualify them for the king's
service; and in which time it might be thought they
would forget their own country, customs, religion, and
language, and be inured to the place and persons
where they were, and be satisfied and easy with their
condition and circumstances: that at the end thereof
they might stand befors the king; that is, at the end
of three years they might be presented to the king for
his examination and approbation, and be appointed to
what service he should think fit; and particularly that
they might be in his court, and minister to him in what
post it should be his pleasure to place them. Some in
Aben Ezra, and which he himself inclines to, read and
interpret it, thatsome of them might stand before the king;
such as he should choose out of them, that were most
accomplished and most fit for his service; so Jacchiades.
Ver. 6. Now among these were of the children of Ju-
dab, &e.] 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

{o} Smegma Oriental. 1. 1. c. 3. p. 35.
{p} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 74. fol. 65.4.
{q} Xenophon. Cyropaedia, 1. 7. c. 23.
{r} Polymnia, sive I. 7. c. 63.
{s} Geograph. I. 2. p. 58.
{t} lbid. L 16. p. 507.