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| DANIEL |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
| 2:4 A Change in Language The astrologers spoke in Aramaic, the most common language of the Middle East during this period. From this point through chapter 7, Daniel was written in Aramaic, instead of Hebrew. Only the book of Ezra is similarly split in two languages. Some theorize that these chapters would have been of general interest throughout the Middle East and so were put in a language everyone could understand. 4:8 The Name of a God Names were extremely important in biblical times, for they conveyed something of a person's identity. Thus God sometimes gave a person a new name to indicate a changed life. However, the name the Babylonians presented to Daniel, Belteshazzar, was no gift from God. It was taken from "Bel," a title for the Babylonian god Marduk. Daniel was surrounded by an alien culture and could not avoid every aspect of it. 5:1 The Throne Room Modern archaeological excavation has found, in the Babylonian palace, a large room (about 150 feet by 50 feet - one quarter the size of a football field) that has become known as the Throne Room. One wall had a design of blue enameled bricks, but the other three were covered in white plaster (see 5:5). 6:10 A Jewish Orientation Daniel had lost much of his Jewish heritage - even his name had been changed to a Babylonian one (1:7). Certainly he could not worship God in the way God's law commanded, through sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. He did, however, point himself toward the promised land three times a day in prayer. Not even the threat of death could make him vary in this practice. By this time Daniel had been in Babylon over 60 years; he was probably in his 80's. |