Discovery BoxDaniel 1:2 
Context1:2 Now the Lord 1 delivered 2 King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, 3 along with some of the vessels 4 of the temple of God. 5 He brought them to the land of Babylonia 6 to the temple of his god 7 and put 8 the vessels in the treasury of his god.
Daniel 4:33
Context4:33 Now in that very moment 9 this pronouncement about 10 Nebuchadnezzar came true. 11 He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails like a bird’s claws. 12
Daniel 6:10
Context6:10 When Daniel realized 13 that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows 14 in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. 15 Three 16 times daily he was 17 kneeling 18 and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.
Daniel 11:17
Context11:17 His intention 19 will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances. 20 He will give the king of the south 21 a daughter 22 in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage.
1 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
2 tn Heb “gave.”
3 tn Heb “hand,” which is often used idiomatically for one’s power and authority. See BDB 390 s.v. יָד 2.
4 tn Or “utensils”; or “articles.”
5 tn Heb “house of God.”
6 sn The land of Babylonia (Heb “the land of Shinar”) is another name for Sumer and Akkad, where Babylon was located (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1, 9; Josh 7:21; Isa 11:11; Zech 5:11).
7 tn Or “gods” (NCV, NRSV, TEV; also later in this verse). The Hebrew term can be used as a numerical plural for many gods or as a plural of majesty for one particular god. Since Nebuchadnezzar was a polytheist, it is not clear if the reference here is to many gods or one particular deity. The plural of majesty, while normally used for Israel’s God, is occasionally used of foreign gods (cf. BDB 43 s.v. אֱלֹהִים 1, 2). See Judg 11:24 (of the Moabite god Chemosh); 1 Sam 5:7 (of the Philistine god Dagon); 1 Kgs 11:33 (of the Canaanite goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom); 2 Kgs 19:37 (of the Assyrian god Nisroch). Since gods normally had their own individual temples, Dan 1:2 probably refers to a particular deity, perhaps Marduk, the supreme god of Babylon, or Marduk’s son Nabu, after whom Nebuchadnezzar was named. The name Nebuchadnezzar means “Nabu has protected the son who will inherit” (HALOT 660 s.v. נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר). For a discussion of how temples functioned in Babylonian religion see H. Ringgren, Religions of the Ancient Near East, 77-81.
8 tn Heb “brought.” Though the Hebrew verb “brought” is repeated in this verse, the translation uses “brought…put” for stylistic variation.
9 tn Aram “hour.”
10 tn Or “on.”
11 tn Aram “was fulfilled.”
12 tn The words “feathers” and “claws” are not present in the Aramaic text, but have been added in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Aram “knew.”
14 sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.
15 map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
16 sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.
17 tc Read with several medieval Hebrew
18 tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).
sn No specific posture for offering prayers is prescribed in the OT. Kneeling, as here, and standing were both practiced.
19 tn Heb “and he will set his face.” Cf. vv. 18, 19.
20 tc The present translation reads מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim, “alliances”) for the MT וִישָׁרִים (viysharim, “uprightness”).
21 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “the daughter of the women.”
sn The daughter refers to Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus, who was given in marriage to Ptolemy V.
