Discovery BoxDaniel 1:8-10 
Context1:8 But Daniel made up his mind 1 that he would not defile 2 himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. 3 He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself. 1:9 Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel. 4 1:10 But he 5 responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided 6 your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? 7 If that happened, 8 you would endanger my life 9 with the king!”
1 tn Heb “placed on his heart.”
2 tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”
sn Various reasons have been suggested as to why such food would defile Daniel. Perhaps it had to do with violations of Mosaic law with regard to unclean foods, or perhaps it had to do with such food having been offered to idols. Daniel’s practice in this regard is strikingly different from that of Esther, who was able successfully to conceal her Jewish identity.
3 tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”
4 tn Heb “Then God granted Daniel loyal love and compassion before the overseer of the court officials.” The expression “loyal love and compassion” is a hendiadys; the two words combine to express one idea.
5 tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
6 tn Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.
7 tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.
8 tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.
