Daniel 1:3

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  –

Daniel 1:14

1:14 So the warden ⁶  agreed to their proposal ⁷  and tested them for ten ⁸  days.

Daniel 1:18-19

1:18 When the time appointed by the king arrived, ⁹  the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. 1:19 When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group ¹⁰  anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. ¹¹ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”

[1:3]  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.

[1:3]  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.

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “bring.”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the warden mentioned in v. 11) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “listened to them with regard to this matter.”

[1:14]  ⁸ sn The number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number of completeness. Cf. v. 20; Zech 8:23; Rev 2:10.

[1:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “at the end of the days which the king said to bring them.”

[1:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from all of them.”

[1:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stood before the king.”