Daniel 1.15-The Overseer Observes That Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael And Azariah Are Healthier Than Those Adhering to the King's Prescribed Diet
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday January 4, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 1:15-The Overseer Observes That Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah Are Healthier Than Those Adhering To The King’s Prescribed Diet
Lesson # 18
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 1:1.
Daniel 1:15 presents the results of the ten day trial period proposed by Daniel to the overseer.
Daniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service. 6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego. 8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials. 10 and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.” 11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. (NASB95)
“At the end of ten days” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), which is not translated and this is followed by the preposition min (מִן) (min), “at” and its object is the feminine singular form of the noun qeṣāṯ (קְצָת) (kets-awth), “the end of” and then we have the masculine plural form of the noun yôm (יוֹם) (yome), “days” which is modified by the feminine singular form of the number ʿǎśā∙rā(h) (עֲשָׂרָה) (as-aw-raw), “ten.”
The conjunction wa means “then” and is introducing a statement that presents the next event that took place at the completion of the ten day period of testing.
The noun qeṣāṯ means “end” or “completion” and indicates “the end” of the ten day trial period proposed by Daniel to the overseer in which Daniel and his three friends would eat only vegetables and drink only water.
It is the object of the preposition min, which means “at” since it marks the end of this ten day trial period proposed by Daniel and accepted by the overseer under Ashpenaz.
The noun yôm is in the plural and means “days” referring to a twenty-four hour period and is modified by the cardinal number ʿǎśā∙rā(h), which means “ten” and identifies how many days Daniel and his three companions ate only vegetables and drank only water.
“Their appearance seemed better” is composed of the third person masculine singular niphal passive perfect form of the verb rā∙ʾā(h) (רָאָה) (raw-aw), “seemed” and this is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun mǎr∙ʾě(h) (מַרְאֶה) (mar-eh), “appearance” which is modified by the third person masculine plural pronomial suffix -hē∙mā(h) (־הֵמָה) (hay-maw), “them” and then we have the masculine singular form of the adjective ṭôḇ (טֹוב) (tobe), “better.”
The verb rā∙ʾā(h) is used of the perception of the overseer’s sight to view Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and make judgments based upon this perception.
Thus, the verb means “to observe,” i.e. look carefully or inspect the appearance of these four young Israelite men for the purpose of comparing their appearance with those young Israelite men who ate Nebuchadnezzar’s food and drink.
Here in verse 15, it refers to the appearance of Daniel and his three companions being observed by the overseer at the completion of the ten day trial period.
The noun mǎr∙ʾě(h) refers to the physical appearance of Daniel and his three companions as indicated by the third person masculine plural pronomial suffix -hē∙mā(h) which means “their” referring to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and is functioning as a possessive pronoun.
The adjective ṭôḇ describes the physical appearance of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah as pleasing to the eye.
It is used in a comparative sense here in Daniel 1:15 and means “better” since the verse compares the appearance of Daniel and his three friends after the ten days in comparison with those young Israelite men who ate the king’s food.
“And they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” and this is followed by the masculine plural construct form of the adjective bā∙rî(ʾ) (בָּרִיא) (baw-ree), which means “fatter” and is modifying the masculine singular form of the noun bā∙śār (בָּשָׂר) (baw-sawr), which means “flesh” and then we have the preposition min (מִן) (min), “than” and this is followed by the collective masculine singular construct form of the adjective kōl (כֹּל) (kole), “all,” which is modifying the articular masculine plural form of the noun yě∙lěḏ (יֶלֶד) (yeh-led), “the youths” and then we have the articular masculine plural qal active participle form of the verb ʾā∙ḵǎl (אָכַל) (aw-kal), “who are eating” and this is followed by the object marker ʾēṯ (אֵת) (ayth), which is not translated but is marking the masculine singular construct form of the noun pǎṯ-∙bǎḡ (פַּת־בַּג) (pathpag), “choice food” as the direct object of the verb ʾā∙ḵǎl and then we have the articular masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh-lek), “the king’s.”
The conjunction wa is explicative meaning that the word is introducing a clause that clarifies the previous description of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah at the completion of the ten days.
The noun bā∙śār means “body” referring to the human bodies of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and is modified by the adjective bā∙rî(ʾ), which means “healthier” describing the bodies of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah as being physically healthier than those young Israelite men who ate the king’s food.
The preposition min is used in an obvious comparative sense meaning “than” and is marking a comparison between the healthier appearances of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah at the end of the ten days and those young Israelite men who ate Nebuchadnezzar’s food.
The noun yě∙lěḏ refers to those young Israelite men who ate the king’s food and did not attempt like Daniel and his three friends to observe the dietary regulations of the Law and were thus ceremonially unclean because they ate the king’s food.
This adjective means “all” and is used with reference to those young Israelite men who unlike Daniel and his three companions, did not attempt to keep themselves ceremonially pure and thus ate the king’s food.
The noun pǎṯ-∙bǎḡ refers to a “portion” of Nebuchadnezzar’s fine food.
Verse 15 teaches that at the completion of the ten days, which Daniel proposed, the overseer observed that the appearance of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah was better than those young Israelite men who ate the king’s fine food.
Specifically this verse teaches that by appearance, the writer means their bodies looked healthier in comparison to those who ate from the king’s table.
Some have argued that vegetables and water would have been healthier than eating Nebuchadnezzar’s food and drinking his wine.
However, this is not necessarily the case since water in the ancient world was not very good, thus many including kings drank wine in order to avoid becoming ill because the water was terrible.
Nebuchadnezzar’s diet would have been much better health wise than vegetables and water since it was some of the best prepared food in the ancient world.
The Babylonians enjoyed a rich and varied diet.
They ate grain and dates which were their staple food in this period.
Among the grains, barley was the main cereal because it tolerated a slightly saline soil but they also grew wheat, emmer and millet.
Fruits and vegetables included dates, pomegranates, grapes, figs, lentils, chickpeas, beans, turnips, leeks, cucumbers, watercress, lettuce, onions and garlic.
Cattle, sheep and goats provided meat, milk, cheese, hides and fabrics.
The rivers, canals and the sea also provided fish in abundance.
The poor rarely ate meat or fish but rather lived on a diet of bread and vegetables.
Therefore, a diet of vegetables and water in comparison to the properly prepared food and fine wine of Nebuchadnezzar would be inferior health wise.
The water by itself could cause one to become extremely ill and even die.
The simple fact is that the king’s fine wine would be greatly superior and better for your health than drinking the water in the ancient world.
Thus, the Lord has intervened on behalf of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and overruled any harmful effects in them drinking water and eating only vegetables.
Daniel 1:15 also reveals that the Lord rewarded the faith of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, which he tested (James 1:2-3, 12).
The Lord rewarded Daniel and his friends for their perseverance, which is steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, and a state and suggests activity maintained in spite of intense pressure, difficulties, steadfast and long continued application.
Daniel’s perseverance is demonstrated by the fact that he remained faithful to God by being obedient to the dietary regulations of the Mosaic Law despite the obstacles he faced in Babylon.