Daniel 2:25

2:25 So Arioch quickly ushered Daniel into the king’s presence, saying to him, “I ¹  have found a man from the captives of Judah who can make known the interpretation to the king.”

Daniel 6:13

6:13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives ²  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ³ 

Ezra 4:1

Opposition to the Building Efforts

4:1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles ⁴  were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel,

Ezra 6:16

6:16 The people ⁵  of Israel – the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles ⁶  – observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy.

Ezra 6:19-20

6:19 ⁷  The exiles ⁸  observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6:20 The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, ⁹  and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues ¹⁰  the priests, and for themselves.

Ezra 10:7

10:7 A proclamation ¹¹  was circulated ¹²  throughout Judah and Jerusalem ¹³  that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem.

Ezra 10:16

10:16 So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out ¹⁴  by name men who were leaders in their family groups. ¹⁵  They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,

¹ sn Arioch’s claim is self-serving and exaggerated. It is Daniel who came to him, and not the other way around. By claiming to have found one capable of solving the king’s dilemma, Arioch probably hoped to ingratiate himself to the king.

² tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”

³ tn Aram “prays his prayer.”

⁴ tn Heb “the sons of the exile.”

⁵ tn Aram “sons of.”

⁶ tn Aram “sons of the exile.”

⁷ sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (4:8–6:18) back to Hebrew. Aramaic will again be used in Ezra 7:12-26.

⁸ tn Heb “the sons of the exile.” So also in v. 20.

⁹ tn Heb “as one.” The expression is best understood as referring to the unity shown by the religious leaders in preparing themselves for the observance of Passover. On the meaning of the Hebrew phrase see DCH 1:182 s.v. אֶחָד 3b. See also HALOT 30 s.v. אֶחָד 5.

¹⁰ tn Heb “brothers.”

¹¹ tn Heb “voice.”

¹² tn Heb “they sent.”

¹³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁴ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּבְדֵּל לוֹ (vayyavdel lo, “separated for himself”) rather than the Niphal plural וַיִּבָּדְלוּ (vayyibbadÿlu, “were separated”) of the MT.

¹⁵ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”