translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: DAN

label: NET translator note

text: For location see Map5-B1 ; Map6-F3 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-F2 ; Map10-B3 ; JP1-F4 ; JP2-F4 ; JP3-F4 ; JP4-F4 .


text: The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’ adonay ).


text: Heb “gave.”


text: Heb “hand,” which is often used idiomatically for one’s power and authority. See BDB 390 s.v. יָד 2.


text: Or “utensils”; or “articles.”


text: Heb “house of God.”


text: 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.


text: Heb “brought.” Though the Hebrew verb “brought” is repeated in this verse, the translation uses “brought…put” for stylistic variation.


text: Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”


text: Heb “bring.”


text: Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”


text: Heb “good of appearance.”


text: Heb “knowers of knowledge.”


text: Heb “understanders of knowledge.”


text: Heb “who had strength.”


text: Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19 .


text: Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.


text: Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”


text: Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”


text: Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל .


text: Heb “stand before the king.”


text: Heb “and it happened that.”


text: Heb “among them”; the referent (the young men taken captive from Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “the sons of Judah.”


label: NET textual note

text: The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.


text: Heb “placed on his heart.”


text: 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.


text: Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”


text: 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.


text: Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.


text: Heb “assigned.” See v. 5 .


text: 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 .


text: The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.


text: Heb “let our appearance be seen before you.”


text: Heb “the appearance of.”


text: Heb “delicacies of the king.” So also in v. 15 .


text: Heb “your servants.”


text: Heb “he”; the referent (the warden mentioned in v. 11 ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “listened to them with regard to this matter.”


text: Heb “fat of flesh”; KJV, ASV “fatter in flesh”; NASB, NRSV “fatter” (although this is no longer a sign of health in Western culture).


text: Heb “the wine of their drinking.”


text: The words “from their diet” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “at the end of the days which the king said to bring them.”


text: Heb “from all of them.”


text: Heb “stood before the king.”


text: The MT lacks the conjunction, reading the first word in the phrase as a construct (“wisdom of insight”). While this reading is not impossible, it seems better to follow Theodotion, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and the Sahidic Coptic, all of which have the conjunction.


text: Heb “hands.”