Commentary on the First Chapter of the Book of Daniel

Aftermath of Carchemish

The critics allege that the opening statement of the Book of Daniel—that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in Jehoiakim's third year—is pure fiction. The date is much too early, they say. The precise span of Jehoiakim's third year is uncertain, but the end of it could not have fallen later than October 605 (1). The critics insist that although Nebuchadnezzar may have exacted tribute from Judah as early as 604, the first actual Babylonian siege of Jerusalem did not occur until 597.

Yet the account in Daniel 1 is consistent with other ancient sources. The most important of these is the Babylonian Chronicle, a contemporary listing of important events during the reigns of the Babylonian kings. The Chronicle reports that in the early summer of 605, the Babylonians and Egyptians fought a major battle at Carchemish, a city in northern Syria. The Babylonians, under the leadership of their crown prince, Nebuchadnezzar, crushed the Egyptians and pursued fleeing enemy soldiers all the way to Hamath, far to the southwest. Not one Egyptian survived to return home (2). The Book of Jeremiah (Jer. 46:2) and other sources indicate that Pharaoh Necho was himself present at the battle (3). If he was, he was undoubtedly among the casualties. The Chronicle continues with the claim that Nebuchadnezzar then "conquered all of Ha[ma]th" (4). That is, he moved immediately to assert control over all the kingdoms nearby that had previously been friendly with Egypt. It is inconceivable that he would not have pressed his advantage after he routed Egyptian forces and deprived Egypt of a leader. Josephus reports that at this time, Nebuchadnezzar "occupied all Syria, with the exception of Judaea, as far as Pelusium [on the Egyptian border]" (5). Immediately afterward, his father died, and he hurried back to Babylon to take control of the kingdom.

The Book of Daniel agrees that Nebuchadnezzar did not occupy Judah in 605. It says only that he approached Jerusalem and threatened war. The expression "besieged" (Dan. 1:1) can refer merely to action preliminary to a siege (6). Jehoiakim was able to appease the aggressor by giving him hostages and treasure. That Nebuchadnezzar took Jewish captives before he returned to Babylon for his coronation is confirmed by Berosus, a Babylonian priest who died in about 250 BC. In his history of Babylon, quoted by Josephus, Berosus says,

Being informed ere long of his father's death, Nebuchadnezzar settled the affairs of Egypt and the other countries. The prisoners—Jews, Phoenicians, Syrians, and those of Egyptian nationality—were consigned to some of his friends, with orders to conduct them to Babylonia, along with the heavy troops and the rest of the spoils; while he himself, with a small escort, pushed across the desert to Babylon (7).

Spoils and Captives

The following chart gives an overview of the events connected with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The Babylonians came against Judah not just in 605, but repeatedly, and took captives at four different times: in 597, 586, and 581 (or 580) as well as in 605. Altogether, about 15,000 men, women, and children made the arduous thousand-mile trek from Judah to Babylon.

DATE	JEWISH RULER	EVENTS	SOURCES
605   May-   June?	Jehoiakim	The Babylonians defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish.	Bab.    Chron.
605   June-   Aug.		Nebuchadnezzar threatened Jerusalem, then retreated after receiving spoil and hostages. The hostages included Daniel and his three friends.	Dan. 1:   1-7
605   Aug.   15		Nabopolassar died. Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon to establish his position as successor.	Bab.   Chron.
605   Sept.   7		Nebuchadnezzar took the throne of Babylon.	Bab.   Chron.
604-   602		Jehoiakim paid yearly tribute to Nebuchadnezzar.	2 Kings   24:1
601		Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.	2 Kings   24:1
601   Nov.-   Dec.		Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt. After the two armies had collided in fierce combat, both withdrew with heavy losses. Judah renewed its alliance with Egypt.	Bab.   Chron.
600-   598		While Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt his military machine, the Babylonians and their allies sent raiding parties to harass Judah.	Bab.   Chron. 2 Kings   24:2
597   Jan.		Nebuchadnezzar undertook a new campaign in the west.	Bab.   Chron.
597   March   16		Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, evidently without a battle.	Bab.   Chron.    (8) Jos. Ant.   10.6.3
597   soon   after   March   16	Jehoiachin	Nebuchadnezzar bound Jehoiakim in chains to take him to Babylon, but, perhaps in reaction to some word of defiance, slew him instead and cast his body outside the city walls to lie there unburied (9). After appointing Jehoiachin to rule over Judah, Nebuchadnezzar carried spoil back to Babylon, arriving in time for the New Year's celebration on April 13.	2 Chron.   36:6-7 Jer. 36:30 2 Kings   24:6 Bab.   Chron.
597   April		After the coming of the new year, Nebuchadnezzar, for reasons unknown, sent forces to take Jehoiachin and bring him to Babylon.	2 Chron.   36:10
597   May-   June		Jehoiachin resisted, provoking the Babylonians to besiege Jerusalem.	2 Kings   24:10
597   soon   after   June   22	Zedekiah	Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and Jehoiachin surrendered. Nebuchadnezzar then led into exile the king, the king's family, and all the most able citizens of the realm. The men numbered 3023. All the captives, families included, numbered about 10,000. Among them was Ezekiel. Nebuchadnezzar removed more treasure from the Temple and placed Zedekiah on the throne.	2 Kings   24:11-17 2 Chron.   36:9 Jer. 52:28 Ezek. 1:2
593   May-   Aug.		Zedekiah received ambassadors from neighboring lands to plot rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar.	Jer. 27-28
587   Jan.   5		Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and encircled it with his army.	Jer. 39:1
586   July   18		The Babylonians ended eighteen months of siege by breaking through the wall. Zedekiah and his soldiers fled by night and were captured in the plains of Jericho. After his sons were killed before his eyes, Zedekiah was blinded and taken to Babylon.	Jer. 39:   2, 4-7
586   Aug.   17	Gedaliah	The Babylonians began the work of demolishing the city. When they had stripped everything of value from the Temple, they burned every important building and tore down the city walls. The chief men of the city were killed. Deserters and some of the poor, 832 men together with their families, were taken to Babylon. Allowed to do as he pleased, Jeremiah chose to join the poor who would remain in the land. The Babylonians appointed Gedaliah as governor over the remnant.	Jer. 52:   12-29 Jer. 39:   9-14 2 Kings   25:22
586   Oct.-   Nov.	none	Gedaliah was assassinated by an agent of the king of Ammon. Johanan and the other leaders of residual Judean forces persuaded the remnant that they should ignore Jeremiah's counsel and flee to Egypt. Jeremiah was forced to accompany them.	Jer. 40:   1-10 Jer. 41:   16 to   43:7
581   (580)		The Babylonian general Nebuzar-adan took another 745 men and their families into captivity, thus emptying the land of its Jewish inhabitants.	Jer. 52:30

After their successful assault upon Jerusalem in 605, the Babylonians removed some of the vessels in the house of God (verse 2). They took also a group of young men meeting five requirements (verses 3-4).

1. The young men were related to the royal family.
2. They were "children," meaning that they were in their early teens or younger.
3. They had "no blemish" and were "well favoured." In other words, they were good looking. This requirement was not unusual. In every ancient Middle Eastern court, it was customary to let only good-looking people serve as the king's attendants.
4. The young men were "skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science." Not only were they well educated, but also they were intelligent enough to use and apply what they had learned.
5. They were able "to stand in the king's palace." That is, they were a gracious addition to the court. Having tact, self-confidence, and the other traits of a winning personality, they were highly presentable even to a king.

Disposal of the Spoils

The plundered sacred vessels were taken to the treasure house of Nebuchadnezzar's god (v. 2). The many inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar that archaeologists have unearthed make it plain that he was indeed a sincere believer in the gods of Babylon. His motive in giving his god a gift from the spoils of the Jewish Temple was twofold: to express gratitude for help in victory, and to assert the superiority of his god over the god of Israel. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar felt that just as the nation of Judah would henceforth pay tribute to him, so Judah's god should henceforth pay tribute to his god.

No doubt Nebuchadnezzar credited not only his god, but also his own prowess for his victory over Judah, but he was mistaken. "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand" (v. 2). Judah's humiliation was the Lord's doing.

Fate of the Captives

The young captives from Judah entered a new life with several abhorrent, or at least disagreeable, aspects.

• The captives were put under the authority of Ashpenaz, master of the eunuchs (v. 3). Ancient oriental kingdoms customarily surrounded the king with eunuchs, in the belief that such men were less inclined to conspire against him. Whether Daniel and his friends were made eunuchs has long been debated, however. Many scholars today take the position that saris, the singular form of the Hebrew word translated "eunuchs" in verse 3, may refer to a court official who was not a eunuch. They note that Potiphar is called a saris ("officer" in Gen. 37:36; 39:1) although he had a wife. As many other words have done, however, saris underwent a shift in meaning. Originally, the word referred to a court official, but because many court officials were eunuchs, the meaning narrowed until, by the first millennium BC, the word referred specifically to a castrated man (10). It is probable, therefore, that Daniel and the other captives were admitted to the king’s service only because they too were made eunuchs. There is no record that any of them married or had offspring.
      Here is another problem for the critics. A second-century author inventing a hero for fellow freedom fighters would never have portrayed him as a eunuch. Yet the author of the Book of Daniel strongly implies that this was Daniel’s lot.
      In Israel, the law excluded eunuchs from public worship (Deut. 23:1). One likely purpose in denying them a basic right of all Israelites was to discourage the nation from inflicting an incapacity for fatherhood and normal family life upon any of its sons. Yet the law did not altogether achieve its aim, for there were eunuchs in both the Northern Kingdom (2 Kings 9:32) and the Southern Kingdom (Jer. 29:2; 34:19; 38:7), although they may not have been native Israelites. The one eunuch prominent in Jeremiah’s narrative was an Ethiopian.
• The captives were taught the learning and language of the Chaldeans, their captors (verse 4). They would sit under instruction for three years (v. 5).
• During the period of training, they were given a special diet consisting of food and wine from the king's table, the purpose being to make them pink and plump in appearance (v. 5).
• They were given Babylonian names (v. 7).

Further Reading

If you have found this lesson helpful, you might want to obtain Ed Rickard's commentary on the whole Book of Daniel. For a survey of its content and for information on how to obtain it, click here.