In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.  And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s descendants, and of the princes; Young men in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and gifted in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the language of the Chaldeans. Daniel 1:1-6

Who was Daniel?  These first verses in the Book of Daniel actually give us a lot of information about that.

First of all, he was recruited by Ashpenaz.  Some translations say that Ashpenaz was the chief of Nebuchadnezzar’s court officials.  But New/King James says that Ashpenaz was “the master of Nebuchadnezzar’s eunuchs.”  Plus, the Hebrew is pretty clear on the subject, according to Bible Hub:

Saris – {saw-reece’}; from an unused root meaning to castrate; a eunuch; by implication, valet (especially of the female apartments); Syriac – all with verb denominative = emasculate); Arabic – verb = be impotent; Assyrian – he who is the chief, eunuch being specialized meaning, in any case Arabic is Aramaic loan-word.

Why bring it up?  There is a Judaic tradition that Daniel and the others were “made eunuchs” as a part of this re-enculturation process.  That would define who Daniel was, in a major way.  The commentaries were in two separate camps, summed up by the following:

“There are certain indicators from Scripture to support the view Daniel was made a eunuch. First, he was never married. Second, as mentioned, he was a slave in a time and place where castration of slaves was common. Third, 2 Kings 20:18 indicates that some of Hezekiah’s descendants would one day be taken from Israel to serve in the palace of the king of Babylon as eunuchs…Daniel 1:3 indicates Daniel and his friends were under the authority of the “chief eunuch” (ESV), a man named Ashpenaz. This same verse indicates that these young men were specifically taken in order to serve the king in his palace…Castration was often performed to ensure a king’s advisers did not have children or romantic interests that might tempt them towards betrayal…Of course, it is possible Daniel was not castrated and made a eunuch. First, the reference in 2 Kings 20:18 does not mention Daniel and may not have applied to him. Second, there is no verse that specifically states Daniel was castrated. Third, just because Daniel was single did not necessitate him being made a eunuch…God calls some people to remain single for the purpose of serving Him more fully.”¹ 

My theory…if we read on in Daniel 1, it says that the candidates had no blemish (pimples/ acne, birthmarks, physical imperfections in general?).  So why would you expend considerable effort in locating someone who was as physically perfect as possible, and then proceed to majorly maim them?

OBTW – Why did they try to re-enculturate Daniel?  It may have just been a Babylonian strategy to brainwash key people from the conquered nations.  So, they would select and cultivate “celebrity types” that would attract a major following.  If these celebrities were converted/won over to Babylon’s POV, they could convert all the exiles that Babylon had captured. Or perhaps the Babylonians were advocating Tom Burbage’s Best Athlete strategy², and had those who excelled in an area of specialization manage things regardless of their affiliation.  Maybe they were looking for synergy.  Heck, maybe they wanted to steal all the technology.

The NIV translation says, “gifted in understanding science.”  But science actually wasn’t an ancient Hebrew word.  The closest translation would be “head knowledge.”  Science wasn’t “invented” until the Greek era, although it is well advertised that the Persians who conquered Babylon invented Mathematics and made great strides in Astronomy.  But the Jewish people were into medicine and astronomy centuries before.  The cleanliness laws in Leviticus represent preventative medicine at its finest.  Constellation names are mentioned in the book of Job (purportedly the oldest book in the Bible).  And, in the time of Jesus, we know there were probably many amateur astronomers in Israel, as it was common practice to bed down on the roof on those hot Jerusalem nights.  Furthermore, Daniel was practicing the science of medicine right from the get-go when he advocated that vegetables were healthier than rich foods.

He was also “well favored,” meaning favorable to the eyes—so he was handsome.  Daniel was used to rubbing shoulders with royalty, if not a blueblood himself.  He was also highly intelligent and knew how to use his brain (skillful in wisdom and gifted in knowledge).  But what the Babylonians did not know was that Daniel got a lot of that knowledge and wisdom from On High, because in addition to all his other attributes, Daniel was a prophet.

Believe it or not, this position is not universally held, especially in Judaic circles.  The Book of Daniel is not considered prophecy in the Hebrew Bible.  It is lumped in with Kethuvim—the “Writings” Section that includes the Psalms and Song of Solomon—versus being included among the Major Prophet Books in the Old Testament.  Mainly because of the amazing accuracy of Daniel’s prophecies, many Jews believe that the Book was written after-the-fact, chronicling the events as they had occurred.  (More on that in a future lesson.)  So, here’s one Jewish take on who Daniel was—

Jewish Publication Society Jewish Study Bible (JSB):  The figure of Daniel, known from the Aqhat Epic found at Ugarit and mentioned in Ezekiel 14:14, 28:3 as a wise and righteous hero of the past, becomes here a new model of Jewish faithfulness to God.³ 

I jumped right on the Aqhat Epic reference and was actually able to find an English translation .pdf on the web.  And man, was that thing weird!  It is definitely a clay tablet chiseled by a Godless heathen(s).  Wiki sums it up:  The Tale of Aqhat or Epic of Aqhat is a Canaanite myth from Ugarit, an ancient city in what is now Syria.⁴ The lead character is a ruler named Danel, and note especially that there is no “i” in Danel throughout.  In addition to some other highly strange behavior, Danel is very much caught up in the Baal-worship religious system.  He petitions Baal for a son, then asks for revenge when a false goddess purportedly kills that son years later.  Danel definitely does not reach out to Yahweh in any way, shape, or form!  It’s an excellent depiction of who Daniel was definitely NOT, so I’m not sure why JSB gave it any credence.  

On the other hand, JSB’s scriptural references are useful.  Ez 14:14 does say that Daniel was a righteous man, and his righteousness was able to deliver him.  Ez 28:3 says that Daniel was a wise man, and that God shared secrets with him.  However, another impressive thing about Daniel was that he wasn’t afraid to ask.  He had an inquiring mind, but he also believed that God wasn’t angry at him and would, therefore, communicate freely with Daniel.

Bottom line, Daniel was way ahead of his time faith-wise.  He understood James 1:5, almost appearing to enjoy a New Testament relationship with God.  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  (Thread to be continued in next post…)

In the meantime, how about us?  Are we enjoying a New Testament Relationship with God in 2020?  Or are we still making Old Testament New Year’s Resolutions?

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¹Fast Company Website:  /44742/high-stakes-big-bets

²Got Questions website:  /Daniel-eunuch.html

³Ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Z. Brettler, Jewish Study Bible, (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2004), 1640.

⁴Wiki website:  /Tale_of_Aqhat#:~:text=The%20Tale%20of%20Aqhat%20or,dates%20to%20approximately%201350%20BCE.