Daniel 1:1-7

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

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3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. 6 Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Daniel 1:1-7

1. Personal History of Daniel (chap. 1)
2. Daniel’s deportation (1:1-7)

1:1-2a. The first two verses of the Book of Daniel state when and how the prophet was taken to Babylon. The events in the book began in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah. This seems to conflict with Jeremiah’s statement that the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign (Jer. 25:1). At least two explanations may be given for this apparent discrepancy. The first is the difference between Jewish and Babylonian reckoning. The Jewish calendar began the year in Tishri (September-October) while the Babylonian calendar began in the spring in the month of Nisan (March-April). If Babylonian reckoning were used, the year Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem was the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign. But if the Jewish reckoning were used it was Jehoiakim’s third year. Daniel, a Jew, may well have adopted the familiar Jewish calendar.

A second explanation is based on the Babylonian method of reckoning the dates of a king’s reign. The portion of a king’s reign that preceded the beginning of a new year in the month Nisan, that is, the year of accession, was called the first year even if it was of short duration. If Jeremiah followed that method of reckoning, he counted Jehoiakim’s year of accession (which was only part of a full year) as the first year. And if Daniel used the Jewish method of reckoning (which did not count the first months of a king’s reign before the new year) he then counted only the three full years of Jehoiakim’s reign. The year was 605 b.c.

Daniel referred to Nebuchadnezzar (whose name means “Nabu has protected my inheritance”) as king of Babylon. At that time (605) Nabopolassar was king in Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar had not yet acceded to the throne. However, Nebuchadnezzar, while in battle, heard of the death of his father and hastened to Babylon to be enthroned (see “Historical Background” in the Introduction). Writing at a later date, Daniel referred to Nebuchadnezzar as king in anticipation of his occupation of the throne.

Nebuchadnezzar’s besieging of Jerusalem took place during the reign of Jehoiakim, the 17th king of Judah and eldest son of Josiah (cf. 2 Chron. 36:2 with 2 Chron. 36:5). Jehoiakim’s younger brother Jehoahaz had been placed on Judah’s throne after Pharaoh Neco killed King Josiah in 609 b.c. (See the chart “The Last Five Kings of Judah,” near 2 Kings 23:31-35.) But Neco dethroned Jehoahaz and placed Jehoiakim on the throne (2 Chron. 36:3-4).

Jeremiah had warned Jehoiakim of impending invasion by Babylon. And Jehoiakim had heard of the prophet’s instruction to God’s people to submit to Babylon without resistance. So, when Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city, little or no resistance was offered, and Jehoiakim was captured and taken to Babylon. Thus, Judah came under Nebuchadnezzar’s authority.

With this incursion by Nebuchadnezzar an important prophetic time period—the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24)—began. The times of the Gentiles is that extended period of time in which the land given in covenant by God to Abraham and his descendants is occupied by Gentile powers and the Davidic throne is empty of any rightful heir in the Davidic line. The times of the Gentiles, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Jerusalem in 605 b.c., will continue till the Messiah returns. Then Christ will subdue nations, deliver the land of Israel from its Gentile occupants, and bring the nation Israel into her covenanted blessings in the millennial kingdom.

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God had made a covenant with Israel in Moab (Deut. 28-30) just before she entered the land (Deut. 29:1). In this covenant God set forth the principle by which He would deal with His people. Their obedience to Him would bring blessing (Deut. 28:1-14) but disobedience to Him would bring discipline (Deut. 28:15-68). In this second portion God outlined the disciplines He would use to correct the people when their walk was out of line with His revealed Law. These disciplines would seek to conform them to His demands so they would be eligible for His blessings. The ultimate discipline He would use to correct His people was the invasion of Gentile nations who would subjugate them to their authority and disperse them from their land (Deut. 28:49-68).

Moses then stated when Israel would come under God’s discipline, that discipline would not be lifted until the people forsook their sin, turned in faith to God, and obeyed His requirements (Deut. 30:1-10). The Northern Kingdom of Israel had gone into captivity to Assyria in 722 b.c. This was the outworking of the principles of Deuteronomy 28. From time to time (though not consistently) the Southern Kingdom (Judah), in light of the fall of the Northern Kingdom, had heeded the prophets’ admonitions and turned to God. The Southern Kingdom continued for more than a century longer because of her repentance and obedience under her godly kings.

That condition, however, did not last. Judah also ignored God’s covenant, neglected the Sabbath Day and the sabbatical year (Jer. 34:12-22), and went into idolatry (Jer. 7:30-31). Therefore, because of the covenant in Deuteronomy 28, judgment had to fall on Judah. God chose Nebuchadnezzar as the instrument to inflict discipline on God’s disobedient people (cf. Jer. 27:6; Hab. 1:6).

1:2b-3. When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon from this invasion of Judah, he brought spoils to signify Judah’s submission to Babylon. First, he brought some valuable articles from the temple in Jerusalem which he placed in the temple of his god in Babylonia (cf. 2 Chron. 36:7). “His god” may have been Bel, also called Marduk, the chief god of the Babylonians (cf. comments on Dan. 4:8). (In Heb. the word rendered Babylonia is Shinar, niv marg., an ancient name for that land; cf. Gen. 10:10; 11:2; 14:1; Isa. 11:11, niv marg.; Zech. 5:11, niv marg.) This would signify the conquest of the God of Judah by the Babylonian deities.

Second, Nebuchadnezzar brought with him some of the Israelites (Jews) from the royal family and the nobility. As stated in the Introduction, these royal princes may have been considered hostages, to help assure Judah’s continued submission to Babylon. Or they may have been taken to Babylon to prepare them to fulfill positions of administrative leadership there if Nebuchadnezzar should have to return to subjugate Judah. Ashpenaz was chief of the court officials. He is mentioned by name only here in the Old Testament but is called “the official” or “the chief official” six times (Dan. 1:7-11, 18). It is not clear whether the word for “official” (sārîs) means a eunuch or simply a courtier or court officer. Kitchen suggests it meant eunuch in Daniel’s time (Kenneth A. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1966, pp. 165-6).

1:4-5. These captives were choice young men both physically and mentally and as such, they could be an asset to the king’s palace. An attempt was made to assimilate them into the culture of the court for they were compelled to learn both the language and the literature of the people among whom they now dwelt. They were to undergo a rigorous three-year course of training after which they were to enter the king’s service. That educational program probably included a study of agriculture, architecture, astrology, astronomy, law, mathematics, and the difficult Akkadian language.

1:6-7. No mention was made of how many captives were taken but four are mentioned here by name because of their later significant role in Babylon. Because all four bore names that honored Yahweh, the God of Israel, their names were changed. El means God and -iah (or -yah) is an abbreviation for Yahweh, thus suggesting that the young men’s parents were God-fearing people who gave them names that included references to God. Daniel, whose name means “God has judged” (or “God is my Judge”), was given the name Belteshazzar (Bēlet-šar-uṣur in Akk.), which means “Lady, protect the king.” Eight of the 10 times “Belteshazzar” occurs in the Old Testament are in the Aramaic section of the Book of Daniel (2:26; 4:8-9, 18-19 [3 times]; 5:12). The other 2 occurrences are in 1:7 and 10:1.

Hananiah (“Yahweh has been gracious”) became Shadrach probably from the Akkadian verb form šādurāku, meaning “I am fearful (of a god).”

Mishael (“Who is what God is?”) was given the name Meshach, which possibly was from the Akkadian verb mēšāku, meaning “I am despised, contemptible, humbled (before my god).”

Azariah (“Yahweh has helped”) was named Abednego, “Servant of Nebo” (Nego being a Heb. variation of the Babylonian name of the god Nebo). Nebo (cf. Isa. 46:1), son of Bel, was the Babylonian god of writing and vegetation. He was also known as Nabu (cf. comments on Dan. 1:1 on Nebuchadnezzar’s name).

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Thus the chief court official (Ashpenaz, v. 3) seemed determined to obliterate any testimony to the God of Israel from the Babylonian court. The names he gave the four men signified that they were to be subject to Babylon’s gods.

God in all His holiness is only your creator until you accept Him. After you accept Him, He becomes your God, your Father, your creator. He will cleanse you of your sins and accept you into the kingdom of His heaven and hear your prayers.

Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. Also, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

God is testing us every day and has given us the right to make our own choices. Do you know which ones are the right choices in God’s mind?

Fear God, love God, honor God, and trust God with all your heart, mind and soul and you will receive and experience the joy of the promises of God’s blessings in His time. And, always remember to ask the Father for His help and guidance in all things.

Prayer: Father, we are grateful for Your Son our risen Christ and Your Spirit. We praise You for the opportunity to glorify Your Son and live with Him forever. We also praise you for the opportunity to be able to choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior and to be elect children of Yours. We praise you for the laws You have set down to teach us, to keep our lives in harmony, to learn how to treat others and how to live within your boundaries. Please bless those who have read this article for they too are seeking Your righteous truth, love, wisdom and understanding.

Father, I pray these brothers and sisters have or will come to realize that Your existence is a treasure of grace and love that You have for all Your elect children.

May God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Christianity be our guiding lights for eternity. Let it be Your will Lord not mine. Please come Lord Jesus.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

I pray in Jesus sweet name and to His glory through the power of The Holy Spirit,

Amen.

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