1:3 The king commanded 1 Ashpenaz, 2 who was in charge of his court officials, 3 to choose 4 some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent 5 – 1:4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, 6 well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated 7 and having keen insight, 8 and who were capable 9 of entering the king’s royal service 10 – and to teach them the literature and language 11 of the Babylonians. 12 1:5 So the king assigned them a daily ration 13 from his royal delicacies 14 and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained 15 for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service. 16
1 tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”
2 sn It is possible that the word Ashpenaz is not a proper name at all, but a general term for “innkeeper.” See J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia), 127, n. 9. However, the ancient versions understand the term to be a name, and the present translation (along with most English versions) understands the word in this way.
3 sn The word court official (Hebrew saris) need not mean “eunuch” in a technical sense (see Gen 37:36, where the term refers to Potiphar, who had a wife), although in the case of the book of Daniel there was in Jewish literature a common tradition to that effect. On the OT usage of this word see HALOT 769-70 s.v. סָרֹיס.
4 tn Heb “bring.”
5 tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”
6 tn Heb “good of appearance.”
7 tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”
8 tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”
9 tn Heb “who had strength.”
10 tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19.
11 sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.
12 tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.
13 tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”
14 tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”
15 tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.
16 tn Heb “stand before the king.”