Footnotes

1. Daniel 4:1 sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:37 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:31 AT, 4:2 ET = 3:32 AT, 4:3 ET = 3:33 AT, 4:4 ET = 4:1 AT, etc., through 4:37 ET = 4:34 AT. Thus Dan 3:31-33 of the Aramaic text appears as Dan 4:1-3 in the English Bible, and the corresponding verses of ch. 4 differ accordingly. In spite of the division of the Aramaic text, a good case can be made that 3:31-33 AT (= 4:1-3 ET) is actually the introduction to ch. 4.
2. Daniel 4:1 tn Aram “May your peace increase!”
3. Daniel 4:3 tn Aram “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”
4. Daniel 4:4 sn This verse marks the beginning of chap. 4 in the Aramaic text of Daniel (see the note on 4:1). The Greek OT (LXX) has the following addition: “In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign he said.” This date would suggest a link to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. In general, the LXX of chapters 4-6 is very different from the MT, so much so that the following notes will call attention only to selected readings. In Daniel 4 the LXX lacks sizable portions of material in the MT (e.g., vv. 3-6, 31-32), includes sizable portions of material not in the MT (e.g., v. 14a, parts of vv. 16, 28), has a different order of some material (e.g., v. 8 after v. 9), and in some instances is vastly different from the MT (e.g., vv. 30, 34). Whether these differences are due to an excessively paraphrastic translation technique adopted for these chapters in the LXX, or are due to differences in the underlying Vorlage of the LXX, is a disputed matter. The latter seems more likely. There is a growing trend in modern scholarship to take the LXX of chapters 4-6 much more seriously than was the case in most earlier text-critical studies that considered this issue.
5. Daniel 4:4 tn Aram “my house.”
6. Daniel 4:4 tn Aram “happy.”
7. Daniel 4:5 tn Aram “and it.”
8. Daniel 4:6 tn Aram “from me there was placed a decree.”
9. Daniel 4:6 tn The Aramaic infinitive here is active.
10. Daniel 4:8 sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology. See the note at 1:7. The king's god was Marduk, who was called Bel (“Lord”).
11. Daniel 4:9 tc The present translation assumes the reading חֲזִי (khazi, “consider”) rather than the MT חֶזְוֵי (khezve, “visions”). The MT implies that the king required Daniel to disclose both the dream and its interpretation, as in chapter 2. But in the following verses Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream, while Daniel presents only its interpretation.
12. Daniel 4:10 tc The LXX lacks the first two words (Aram “the visions of my head”) of the Aramaic text.
13. Daniel 4:10 tn Instead of “in the middle of the land,” some English versions render this phrase “a tree at the center of the earth” (NRSV); NAB, CEV “of the world”; NLT “in the middle of the earth.” The Hebrew phrase can have either meaning.
14. Daniel 4:10 tn Aram “its height was great.”
15. Daniel 4:11 tn Aram “its sight,” as also v. 17.
16. Daniel 4:11 tn Or “to the end of all the earth” (so KJV, ASV); NCV, CEV “from anywhere on earth.”
17. Daniel 4:12 tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”
18. Daniel 4:12 tn Aram “all flesh.”
19. Daniel 4:13 tn Aram “the visions of my head.”
20. Daniel 4:13 tn Aram “a watcher and a holy one.” The expression is a hendiadys, as also in v. 23. This “watcher” is apparently an angel. The Greek OT (LXX) in fact has ἄγγελος (angelos, “angel”) here. Theodotion simply transliterates the Aramaic word (ʿir). The term is sometimes rendered “sentinel” (NAB) or “messenger” (NIV, NLT).
21. Daniel 4:14 tn Aram “in strength.”
22. Daniel 4:14 tn Aram “and thus he was saying.”
23. Daniel 4:15 tn Aram “the stock of its root,” as also in v. 23. The implication here is that although the tree is chopped down, it is not killed. Its life-giving root is spared. The application to Nebuchadnezzar is obvious.
24. Daniel 4:15 sn The function of the band of iron and bronze is not entirely clear, but it may have had to do with preventing the splitting or further deterioration of the portion of the tree that was left after being chopped down. By application it would then refer to the preservation of Nebuchadnezzar’s life during the time of his insanity.
25. Daniel 4:15 tn Aram “its lot be.”
26. Daniel 4:16 tn Aram “its heart.” The metaphor of the tree begins to fade here and the reality behind the symbol (the king) begins to emerge.
27. Daniel 4:16 sn The seven periods of time probably refer to seven years.
28. Daniel 4:16 tn Aram “over” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).
29. Daniel 4:17 tc The present translation follows an underlying reading of עַל־דִּבְרַת (ʿal divrat, “so that”) rather than MT עַד־דִּבְרַת (ʿad divrat, “until”).
30. Daniel 4:17 tn Aram “the kingdom of man”; NASB “the realm of mankind”; NCV “every kingdom on earth.”
31. Daniel 4:18 tc The present translation, as also in the next verse, reads פִּשְׁרֵהּ (pishreh, “its interpretation”) with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss; the Kethib is פִּשְׁרָא (pishraʾ, “the interpretation”).
32. Daniel 4:18 tn Aram “of.”
33. Daniel 4:19 tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.
34. Daniel 4:19 tn Aram “my lord.”
35. Daniel 4:20 tn Aram “its sight.”
36. Daniel 4:21 tn Aram “the beasts of the field” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).
37. Daniel 4:22 sn Much of modern scholarship views this chapter as a distortion of traditions that were originally associated with Nabonidus rather than with Nebuchadnezzar. A Qumran text, the Prayer of Nabonidus, is often cited for parallels to these events.
38. Daniel 4:25 tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive, as also in vv. 28, 29, and 32.
39. Daniel 4:25 tn Aram “from mankind,” as also in v. 32.
40. Daniel 4:25 tn Aram “your dwelling will be,” as also in v. 32.
41. Daniel 4:25 tn Or perhaps: “be made to eat.”
42. Daniel 4:25 sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.
43. Daniel 4:25 tn Aram “until.”
44. Daniel 4:26 sn The reference to heaven here is a circumlocution for God. There was a tendency in Jewish contexts to avoid direct reference to God. Compare the expression “kingdom of heaven” in the NT and such statements as: “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight” (Luke 15:21).
45. Daniel 4:27 tn Aram “if there may be a lengthening to your prosperity.”
46. Daniel 4:28 tn Aram “reached.”
47. Daniel 4:29 tn The word “battlements” is not in the text but is supplied from context. Many English versions supply “roof” here (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NLT “on the flat roof.”
48. Daniel 4:30 tn Aram “house.”
49. Daniel 4:30 tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”
50. Daniel 4:31 tn Aram “in the mouth of the king.”
51. Daniel 4:31 tn Aram “to you they say.”
52. Daniel 4:32 tn Aram “until.”
53. Daniel 4:33 tn Aram “hour.”
54. Daniel 4:33 tn Or “on.”
55. Daniel 4:33 tn Aram “was fulfilled.”
56. Daniel 4:33 tn The words “feathers” and “claws” are not present in the Aramaic text, but have been added in the translation for clarity.
57. Daniel 4:34 tn Aram “days.”
58. Daniel 4:34 tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”
59. Daniel 4:35 tc The present translation reads כְּלָא (k^elaʾ), with many medieval Hebrew mss, rather than כְּלָה (k^elah) of BHS.
60. Daniel 4:35 tn Aram “strikes against.”
61. Daniel 4:36 tc The translation reads הַדְרֵת (hadret, “I returned”) rather than the MT הַדְרִי (hadri, “my honor”); cf. Theodotion.
62. Daniel 4:36 tc The translation reads הָתְקְנֵת (hotq^enet, “I was established”) rather than the MT הָתְקְנַת (hotq^enat, “it was established”). The MT could read: “And regarding my kingdom, it was established.”
63. Daniel 4:37 tn Aram “walk.”
64. Daniel 5:1 sn As is clear from the extra-biblical records, it was actually Nabonidus (ca. 556-539 b.c.) who was king of Babylon at this time. However, Nabonidus spent long periods of time at Teima, and during those times Belshazzar his son was de facto king of Babylon. This arrangement may help to explain why later in this chapter Belshazzar promises that the successful interpreter of the handwriting on the wall will be made third ruler in the kingdom. If Belshazzar was in effect second ruler in the kingdom, this would be the highest honor he could grant.
65. Daniel 5:1 sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets.
66. Daniel 5:1 sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.
67. Daniel 5:1 tn Aram “the thousand.”
68. Daniel 5:2 tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).
69. Daniel 5:2 tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships. Concerning the difficulty in tracing the lineage of Belshazzar, whose actual father was Nabonidus, back to Nebuchadnezzar, J. Goldingay, Daniel (WBC), 108, argues that, “The two chief points in neo-Babylonian history are the empire’s rise under Nebuchadnezzar and its fall under Nabonidus/Belshazzar, so that ‘Nebuchadnezzar the father of Belshazzar’ summarizes and reflects the general historical facts of the period.”
70. Daniel 5:2 tn Or “taken.”
71. Daniel 5:2 sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.
72. Daniel 5:3 tc The present translation reads וְכַסְפָּא (v^ekhaspaʾ, “and the silver”) with Theodotion and the Vulgate; cf. v. 2. The form was probably accidentally dropped from the Aramaic text by homoioteleuton.
73. Daniel 5:3 tn Aram “the temple of the house of God.” The phrase seems rather awkward. The Vulgate lacks “of the house of God,” while Theodotion and the Syriac lack “of the house.”
74. Daniel 5:5 tn Aram “came forth.”
75. Daniel 5:5 sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.
76. Daniel 5:5 tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.
77. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”
78. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”
79. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “his loins went slack.”
80. Daniel 5:7 tn Aram “in strength.”
81. Daniel 5:7 tn Aram “cause to enter.”
82. Daniel 5:7 tn Aram “answered and said.”
83. Daniel 5:7 sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.
84. Daniel 5:7 tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).
85. Daniel 5:8 tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh, “and its interpretation”) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishraʾ, “and the interpretation”) of the Kethib.
86. Daniel 5:9 tn Aram “his visage altered upon him,” as also in v. 10.
87. Daniel 5:10 tn Aram “words of the king.”
88. Daniel 5:10 tn Aram “the queen” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). In the following discourse this woman is able to recall things about Daniel that go back to the days of Nebuchadnezzar, things that Belshazzar does not seem to recollect. It is likely that she was the wife not of Belshazzar but of Nabonidus or perhaps even Nebuchadnezzar. In that case, “queen” here means “queen mother” (cf. NCV “the king’s mother”).
89. Daniel 5:10 tn Aram “The queen.” The translation has used the pronoun “she” instead because repetition of the noun here would be redundant in terms of English style.
90. Daniel 5:11 tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”
91. Daniel 5:11 tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.
92. Daniel 5:11 tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”
93. Daniel 5:11 tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.
94. Daniel 5:12 tc The translation reads מִפְשַׁר (mifshar) rather than the MT מְפַשַּׁר (m^efashar) and later in the verse reads וּמִשְׁרֵא (umishreʾ) rather than the MT וּמְשָׁרֵא (um^eshareʾ). The Masoretes have understood these Aramaic forms to be participles, but they are more likely to be vocalized as infinitives. As such, they have an epexegetical function in the syntax of their clause.
95. Daniel 5:12 tn Aram “to loose knots.”
96. Daniel 5:12 tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”
97. Daniel 5:14 tn Aram “there has been found in you.”
98. Daniel 5:15 tn The Aramaic text does not have “and.” The term “astrologers” is either an appositive for “wise men” (cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV), or the construction is to be understood as asyndetic (so the translation above).
99. Daniel 5:16 tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”
100. Daniel 5:16 tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir; so also in v. 29.
101. Daniel 5:17 tn Or “the.”
102. Daniel 5:18 tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.
103. Daniel 5:19 tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”
104. Daniel 5:19 tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה (khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (m^ekhaʾ, “to smite”).
105. Daniel 5:20 tn Aram “heart.”
106. Daniel 5:20 sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.
107. Daniel 5:21 tn Aram “heart.”
108. Daniel 5:21 tn Aram “his dwelling.”
109. Daniel 5:22 tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”
110. Daniel 5:22 tn Aram “your heart.”
111. Daniel 5:23 tn Aram “which.”
112. Daniel 5:23 tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”
113. Daniel 5:25 tc The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the repetition of מְנֵא (m^eneʾ, cf. NAB).
114. Daniel 5:25 tc The Aramaic word is plural. Theodotion has the singular (cf. NAB “PERES”).
115. Daniel 5:26 tn Or “word”; or “event.” See HALOT 1915 s.v. מִלָּה.
116. Daniel 5:26 tn The Aramaic term מְנֵא (m^eneʾ) is a noun referring to a measure of weight. The linkage here to the verb “to number” (Aram. מְנָה, m^enah) is a case of paronomasia rather than strict etymology. So also with תְּקֵל (t^eqel) and פַרְסִין (farsin). In the latter case there is an obvious wordplay with the name “Persian.”
117. Daniel 5:28 sn Peres (פְּרֵס) is the singular form of פַרְסִין (farsin) in v. 25.
118. Daniel 5:29 tn Aram “Belshazzar spoke.”
119. Daniel 5:30 tn Aram “king of the Chaldeans.”
120. Daniel 5:30 sn The year was 539 b.c. At this time Daniel would have been approximately eighty-one years old. The relevant extra-biblical records describing the fall of Babylon include portions of Herodotus, Xenophon, Berossus (cited in Josephus), the Cyrus Cylinder, and the Babylonian Chronicle.
121. Daniel 5:31 sn Beginning with 5:31, the verse numbers through 6:28 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 5:31 ET = 6:1 AT, 6:1 ET = 6:2 AT, 6:2 ET = 6:3 AT, 6:3 ET = 6:4 AT, etc., through 6:28 ET = 6:29 AT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Aramaic text are again the same.
122. Daniel 6:1 tn Aram “It was pleasing before Darius.”
123. Daniel 6:1 tn This is a technical term for an official placed in charge of a region of the empire (cf. KJV, NLT “prince[s]”; NCV, TEV “governors”). These satraps were answerable to a supervisor, who in turn answered to Darius.
124. Daniel 6:2 tn Aram “giving an account.”
125. Daniel 6:4 tn Aram “looking to find.”
126. Daniel 6:4 tn Aram “from the side of the kingdom.”
127. Daniel 6:4 tn Aram “pretext and corruption.”
128. Daniel 6:4 tn Aram “no negligence or corruption was found in him.” The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the phrase “and no negligence or corruption was found in him.”
129. Daniel 6:5 tn Aram “were saying.”
130. Daniel 6:5 tn Aram “unless we find [it] against him.”
131. Daniel 6:6 tn The Aramaic verb רְגַשׁ (r^egash) occurs three times in this chapter (vv. 7, 12, 16). Its meaning is widely disputed by commentators, and the versions vary considerably in how they render the word. The suggestion that it means “to come thronging” (BDB 1112 s.v.; cf. NAB) seems inappropriate, since it is unlikely that subordinates would enter a royal court in such a reckless fashion. The ancient versions struggled with the word and are not in agreement in their understanding of its meaning. In this chapter the word apparently means to act in agreement with other parties in the pursuit of a duplicitous goal, namely the entrapment of Daniel; cf. NIV, NCV “went as a group”; NRSV “conspired and came to the king.”
132. Daniel 6:6 tn Aram “thus they were saying.”
133. Daniel 6:7 tn Aram “prays a prayer.”
134. Daniel 6:8 tn Aram “establish a written interdict and inscribe a written decree.”
135. Daniel 6:8 tn Or “removed.”
136. Daniel 6:10 tn Aram “knew.”
137. Daniel 6:10 sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows (see b. Berakhot 34b).
138. Daniel 6:10 sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.
139. Daniel 6:10 tc Read with several medieval Hebrew mss and printed editions הֲוָה (havah, “he was”) rather than the MT הוּא (huʾ, “he”).
140. Daniel 6:10 tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).sn No specific posture for offering prayers is prescribed in the OT. Kneeling, as here, and standing were both practiced.
141. Daniel 6:11 tn Aram “those men”; the referent (the administrative officials who had earlier approached the king about the edict) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
142. Daniel 6:12 tc The MT also has “about the edict of the king,” but this phrase is absent in the LXX and the Syriac. The present translation deletes the expression.tn Aram “before the king.”
143. Daniel 6:12 tn Aram “the word is true.”
144. Daniel 6:13 tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”
145. Daniel 6:13 tn Aram “prays his prayer.”
146. Daniel 6:14 tn Aram “the word.”
147. Daniel 6:14 tn Aram “placed his mind on.”
148. Daniel 6:14 tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”
149. Daniel 6:15 tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”
150. Daniel 6:15 tn Aram “the king.”
151. Daniel 6:15 tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”
152. Daniel 6:16 tn Aram “said,” as also in vv. 24, 25.
153. Daniel 6:16 sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level that could be safely observed from above.
154. Daniel 6:16 tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”
155. Daniel 6:17 tn Aram “mouth.”
156. Daniel 6:17 sn The purpose of the den being sealed was to prevent unauthorized tampering with the opening of the den. Any disturbance of the seal would immediately alert the officials to improper activity of this sort.
157. Daniel 6:17 tn Aram “the signet rings.”
158. Daniel 6:18 tn The meaning of Aramaic דַּחֲוָה (dakhavah) is a crux interpretum. Suggestions include “music,” “dancing girls,” “concubines,” “table,” “food”—all of which are uncertain. The translation employed here, suggested by earlier scholars, is deliberately vague. A number of recent English versions follow a similar approach with “entertainment” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On this word see further, HALOT 1849-50 s.v.; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 37.
159. Daniel 6:18 tn Aram “his sleep fled from him.”
160. Daniel 6:20 tn Aram “The king answered and said to Daniel.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is redundant in English.
161. Daniel 6:21 tn Aram “with.”
162. Daniel 6:24 tn Aram “said.”
163. Daniel 6:24 tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.
164. Daniel 6:24 tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.
165. Daniel 6:24 tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.
166. Daniel 6:25 tn Aram “May your peace be increased!”
167. Daniel 6:26 tn Aram “until the end.”
168. Daniel 6:27 tn Aram “hand.”
169. Daniel 6:28 tn Or perhaps “in the reign of Darius, even in the reign of Cyrus.” The identity of this Darius is disputed. Some take the name as referring to Cyrus, understanding the following ו (vav “and”) in an epexegetical sense (“even”). Others identify Darius with a governor of Babylon known from extra-biblical records as Gubaru, or with Cambyses, son of Cyrus. Many scholars maintain that the reference is historically inaccurate.