12 And he saith unto me: Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst give thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words have been heard, and I have come because of thy words.
And Cornelius said, `Four days ago till this hour, I was fasting, and `at' the ninth hour praying in my house, and, lo, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and he said, Cornelius, thy prayer was heard, and thy kind acts were remembered before God;
and he saith: Do not fear, O man greatly desired, peace to thee, be strong, yea, be strong; and when he speaketh with me, I have strengthened myself, and I say, Let my lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me.
And while I am speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and causing my supplication to fall before Jehovah my God, for the holy mount of my God, yea, while I am speaking in prayer, then that one Gabriel, whom I had seen in vision at the commencement, being caused to fly swiftly, is coming unto me at the time of the evening present. And he giveth understanding, and speaketh with me, and saith, `O Daniel, now I have come forth to cause thee to consider understanding wisely; at the commencement of thy supplications hath the word come forth, and I have come to declare `it', for thou `art' greatly desired, and understand thou concerning the matter, and consider concerning the appearance.
`And he saith unto me: Daniel, man greatly desired, attend to the words that I am speaking unto thee, and stand on thy station, for now I have been sent unto thee. `And when he speaketh with me this word, I have stood trembling.
`In those days, I, Daniel, have been mourning three weeks of days; desirable bread I have not eaten, and flesh and wine hath not come in unto my mouth, and I have not anointed myself at all, till the completion of three weeks of days.
Be not afraid, for with thee I `am', Look not around, for I `am' thy God, I have strengthened thee, Yea, I have helped thee, yea, I upheld thee, With the right hand of My righteousness.
`And it hath been to you for a statute age-during, in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month, ye humble yourselves, and do no work -- the native, and the sojourner who is sojourning in your midst;
And when I saw him, I did fall at his feet as dead, and he placed his right hand upon me, saying to me, `Be not afraid; I am the First and the Last,
saying, Be not afraid Paul; before Caesar it behoveth thee to stand; and, lo, God hath granted to thee all those sailing with thee;
he saw in a vision manifestly, as it were the ninth hour of the day, a messenger of God coming in unto him, and saying to him, `Cornelius;' and he having looked earnestly on him, and becoming afraid, said, `What is it, Lord?' And he said to him, `Thy prayers and thy kind acts came up for a memorial before God, and now send men to Joppa, and send for a certain one Simon, who is surnamed Peter,
it `is' to you a sabbath of rest, and ye have humbled yourselves -- a statute age-during.
And the messenger said to her, `Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God;
and the messenger said unto him, `Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John,
Then saith Jesus to them, `Fear ye not, go away, tell to my brethren that they may go away to Galilee, and there they shall see me.'
And the messenger answering said to the women, `Fear not ye, for I have known that Jesus, who hath been crucified, ye seek;
and I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek `by' prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. And I pray to Jehovah my God, and confess, and say: `I beseech Thee, O Lord God, the great and the fearful, keeping the covenant and the kindness to those loving Him, and to those keeping His commands;
And it hath come to pass, They do not yet call, and I answer, They are yet speaking, and I hear.
Then thou callest, and Jehovah answereth, Thou criest, and He saith, `Behold Me.' If thou turn aside from thy midst the yoke, The sending forth of the finger, And the speaking of vanity,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Daniel 10
Commentary on Daniel 10 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 10
Da 10:1-21. Daniel Comforted by an Angelic Vision.
The tenth through twelfth chapters more fully describe the vision in the eighth chapter by a second vision on the same subject, just as the vision in the seventh chapter explains more fully that in the second. The tenth chapter is the prologue; the eleventh, the prophecy itself; and the twelfth, the epilogue. The tenth chapter unfolds the spiritual worlds as the background of the historical world (Job 1:7; 2:1, &c.; Zec 3:1, 2; Re 12:7), and angels as the ministers of God's government of men. As in the world of nature (Joh 5:4; Re 7:1-3), so in that of history here; Michael, the champion of Israel, and with him another angel, whose aim is to realize God's will in the heathen world, resist the God-opposed spirit of the world. These struggles are not merely symbolical, but real (1Sa 16:13-15; 1Ki 22:22; Eph 6:12).
1. third year of Cyrus—two years after Cyrus' decree for the restoration of the Jews had gone forth, in accordance with Daniel's prayer in Da 9:3-19. This vision gives not merely general outlines, or symbols, but minute details of the future, in short, anticipative history. It is the expansion of the vision in Da 8:1-14. That which then "none understood," he says here, "he understood"; the messenger being sent to him for this (Da 10:11, 14), to make him understand it. Probably Daniel was no longer in office at court; for in Da 1:21, it is said, "Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus"; not that he died then. See on Da 1:21.
but the time appointed was long—rather, "it (that is, the prophecy) referred to great calamity" [Maurer]; or, "long and calamitous warfare" [Gesenius]. Literally, "host going to war"; hence, warfare, calamity.
2. mourning—that is, afflicting myself by fasting from "pleasant bread, flesh and wine" (Da 10:3), as a sign of sorrow, not for its own sake. Compare Mt 9:14, "fast," answering to "mourn" (Da 10:15). Compare 1Co 8:8; 1Ti 4:3, which prove that "fasting" is not an indispensable Christian obligation; but merely an outward expression of sorrow, and separation from ordinary worldly enjoyments, in order to give one's self to prayer (Ac 13:2). Daniel's mourning was probably for his countrymen, who met with many obstructions to their building of the temple, from their adversaries in the Persian court.
3. no pleasant bread—"unleavened bread, even the bread of affliction" (De 16:3).
anoint—The Persians largely used unguents.
4. first month—Nisan, the month most suited for considering Israel's calamity, being that in which the feast of unleavened bread reminded them of their Egyptian bondage. Daniel mourned not merely for the seven days appointed (Ex 12:18), from the evening of the fourteenth to the twenty-first of Nisan, but thrice seven days, to mark extraordinary sorrow. His mourning ended on the twenty-first day, the closing day of the passover feast; but the vision is not till the twenty-fourth, because of the opposition of "the prince of Persia" (Da 10:13).
I was by … the … river—in waking reality, not a trance (Da 10:7); when younger, he saw the future in images, but now when old, he receives revelations from angels in common language, that is, in the apocalyptic mode. In the patriarchal period God often appeared visibly, that is, theophany. In the prophets, next in the succession, the inward character of revelation is prominent. The consummation is when the seer looks up from earth into the unseen world, and has the future shown to him by angels, that is, apocalypse. So in the New Testament there is a parallel progression: God in the flesh, the spiritual activity of the apostles and the apocalypse [Auberlen].
Hiddekel—the Tigris.
5. lifted up mine eyes—from the ground on which they had been fixed in his mourning.
certain man—literally, "one man." An angel of the highest order; for in Da 8:16 he commands Gabriel to make Daniel to understand the vision, and in Da 12:6 one of the two angels inquires of him how long it would be till the end predicted.
linen—the raiment of priests, being the symbol of sanctity, as more pure than wool (Ex 28:42); also of prophets (Jer 13:1); and of angels (Re 15:6).
girded with … gold—that is, with a girdle interwoven with gold (Re 1:13).
6. beryl—literally, "Tarshish," in Spain. The beryl, identical with the chrysolite or topaz, was imported into the East from Tarshish, and therefore is called "the Tarshish stone."
7. they fled—terrified by the presence of the presence of the angel.
8. comeliness—literally, "vigor," that is, lively expression and color.
into corruption—"deadliness," that is, death-like paleness (Da 5:6; 7:28).
9. voice of his words—the sound of his words.
was I in a deep sleep—"I sank into a deep sleep" [Lengkerke].
10. an hand—namely, of Gabriel, who interpreted other revelations to Daniel (Da 8:16) [Theodoret].
set me upon my knees—Gesenius translates, "cause me to reel on my knees," &c.
11. man … beloved—(See on Da 9:23).
understand—"attend to." See Da 8:17, 18.
12. Fear not—Be not affrighted at my presence.
didst set thine heart to understand—what shall come to pass to thy people at the last times (compare Da 10:14).
chasten thyself—(Da 10:2, 3).
thy words were heard—(Ac 10:4). Prayer is heard at once in heaven, though the sensible answer may seem to be delayed. God's messenger was detained on the way (Da 10:13) by the opposition of the powers of darkness. If in our prayers amidst long protracted sorrows we believed God's angel is on his way to us, what consolation it would give us!
for thy words—because of thy prayers.
13. prince of … Persia—the angel of darkness that represented the Persian world power, to which Israel was then subject. This verse gives the reason why, though Daniel's "words were heard from the first day" (Da 10:12), the good angel did not come to him until more than three weeks had elapsed (Da 10:4).
one and twenty days—answering to the three weeks of Daniel's mourning (Da 10:2).
Michael—that is, "Who is like God?" Though an archangel, "one of the chief princes," Michael was not to be compared to God.
help me—Michael, as patron of Israel before God (Da 10:21; 12:1), "helped" to influence the Persian king to permit the Jews' return to Jerusalem.
I remained—I was detained there with the kings of Persia, that is, with the angel of the Persian rulers, with whom I had to contend, and from whom I should not have got free, but for the help of Michael. Gesenius translates, "I obtained the ascendency," that is, I gained my point against the adverse angel of Persia, so as to influence the Persian authorities to favor Israel's restoration.
14. what shall befall thy people in the latter days—an intimation that the prophecy, besides describing the doings of Antiochus, reaches to the concluding calamities of Israel's history, prior to the nation's full restoration at Christ's coming—calamities of which Antiochus' persecutions were the type.
vision is for many days—that is, extends far into the future.
15. face toward the ground—in humble reverence (Ge 19:1).
dumb—with overwhelming awe.
16. touched my lips—the same significant action wherewith the Son of man accompanied His healing of the dumb (Mr 7:33). He alone can give spiritual utterance (Isa 6:6, 7; Eph 6:19), enabling one to "open the mouth boldly." The same one who makes dumb (Da 10:15) opens the mouth.
sorrows—literally, "writhings" as of a woman in travail.
17. this … this my lord—to avoid the tautology in English Version, join rather "this," with "servant," "How can this servant of my lord (that is, how can I who am so feeble) talk with this my lord (who is so majestic)?" Thus Daniel gives the reason why he is so overwhelmed with awe [Maurer].
18. again … touched me—It was gradually that Daniel recovered his strength. Hence there was need of the second touch, that he might hear the angel with composure.
19. peace be unto thee—God is favorable to thee and to thy people Israel. See Jud 13:21, 22, as to the fear of some evil resulting from a vision of angels.
20. Knowest thou wherefore—The angel asks, after Daniel had recovered from his fright, whether he has understood what was revealed (Da 10:13). On Daniel, by his silence, intimating that he did understand, the angel declares he will return to renew the fight with the evil angel, the prince of Persia. This points to new difficulties to the Jews' restoration which would arise in the Persian court, but which would be counteracted by God, through the ministry of angels.
prince of Grecia shall come—Alexander the Great, who conquered Persia, and favored the Jews [Calvin]. Rather, as the prince of Persia is an angel, representing the hostile world power, so the prince of Grecia is a fresh angelic adversary, representing Greece. When I am gone forth from conquering the Persian foe, a fresh one starts up, namely, the world power that succeeds Persia, Greece; Antiochus Epiphanes, and his antitype Antichrist, but him, too, with the help of Michael, Israel's champion, I shall overcome [Gejer].
21. noted in the scripture of truth—in the secret book of God's decrees (Ps 139:16; Re 5:1), which are truth, that is, the things which shall most surely come to pass, being determined by God (compare Joh 17:17).
none … but Michael—To him alone of the angels the office of protecting Israel, in concert with the angelic speaker, was delegated; all the world powers were against Israel.