“On the twenty-fourth day
Of the ninth month,
In the second year
Of King Darius,
The word of Yahweh
Came by the prophet Haggai.”
There was another oracle of Yahweh to Haggai, 3 months after the last oracle on the 24th of the month in the 2nd year of King Darius of Persia, in 520 BCE.
“In the second year
Of King Darius,
In the sixth month,
On the first day
Of the month,
The word of Yahweh
Came by the prophet Haggai,
To Zerubbabel,
The son of Shealtiel,
Governor of Judah.
It also came
To Joshua,
The son of Jehozadak,
The high priest.”
There is a precise date to this prophetic happening, August, 520 BCE, the second year of the great King Darius of Persia (522-486 BCE). During his reign, he ruled over nearly ½ of the known world, over 50,000,000 people. The word of Yahweh came through the prophet Haggai, although there is no mention of his family. Perhaps he was one of those returning from the exile in Babylon. In the Book of Ezra, chapter 5, Haggai and Zechariah were explicitly mentioned as prophets. There was also a eunuch servant Haggai in the Book of Esther, but there seems to be no connection to this Haggai. This Haggai was to prophesize to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, who was the grandson of one of the last kings of Judah, King Jehoiachin (598 BCE). Thus, he could be in the Davidic line. He probably died sometime around 520 BCE, sometime around the events described here. King Cyrus had appointed Zerubbabel to be the Governor of Judah in 538 BCE, when he was among the first exiles sent back to Jerusalem. Joshua, the son of Jehozadak was the high priest in Jerusalem from 515-490 BCE.
“Now the Babylonians
Had an idol
Called Bel.
Every day,
They provided for it
Twelve bushels
Of choice flour,
Forty sheep,
Six measures
Of wine.
The king revered it.
He went every day
To worship it.
But Daniel worshiped
His own God.”
This god Bel was Bel Marduk, the great god of the Babylonians, mentioned by Jeremiah and Isaiah. Every day, the people provided this idol 12 bushels of choice flour, 40 sheep, and 6 measures or about 50 gallons of wine. The king Cyrus revered Bel, as he worshipped this god on a daily basis. Bel may have been popular in Persia also. However, Daniel worshipped his own God, but there is no indication where he did this.
“Then he said.
‘Do you know
Why I have come to you?
Now I must return
To fight
Against the prince of Persia.
When I am
Through with him,
The prince of Greece
Will come.
But I will tell you
What is inscribed
In the book of truth.
There is no one
Who contends
Against these,
Except Michael,
Your prince.’”
Then this angel told Daniel why he was there. He had come to fight against the prince of Persia. However, he had to go to fight against the prince of Greece, after he had finished with the prince of Persia. Nevertheless, this angel was going to tell Daniel what was written in the book of truth. No one could contend with these great empires in Persia and Greece except for him and the prince Michael, the archangel Michael. Thus, this chapter ends with no real solution to the situation.
“Gabriel said.
‘Listen!
I will tell you
What will take place later
In the period
Of wrath!
It refers
To the appointed time
Of the end.
As for the ram
That you saw
With the two horns,
These are the kings
Of Media and Persia.
The male goat is
The king of Greece.
The great horn
Between its eyes
Is the first king.
As for the horn
That was broken,
In place of which
Four others arose,
Four kingdoms
Shall arise
From his nation,
But not with his power.’”
Gabriel told Daniel to listen to what he was going to tell him. This all would take place at a later appointed end time, when the wrath of God would be displayed. Then he went into details about the vision. The ram with the two horns represented Media and Persia. The male goat was the king of Greece. His broken horn represented the 4 people who took over after the death of Alexander the Great, Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy, the successors of Alexander. However, these 4 kingdoms would not be as strong as the first kingdom of Greece under Alexander.
“After this,
As I watched,
Another beast appeared,
Like a leopard.
This beast had
Four wings
Of a bird
On its back.
It had four heads.
Dominion
Was given to it.”
As Daniel watched, using the first-person singular, the third beast came up out of the water. This beast looked like a leopard with 4 bird wings on its back. However, it also had 4 heads, without an explanation of what kind of heads. This leopard-like beast had dominion and power given to it, probably a reference to Persia.
“Thus,
Daniel prospered
During the reign of Darius,
As well as the reign of Cyrus
Of Persia.”
Cyrus (559-530 BCE) clearly was a historical figure from Persia, who took over Babylon in 539 BCE. Darius I (522-486 BCE) actually came later. However, Daniel prospered under them both, just as he had under the Babylonian kings, much like Joseph under the Egyptian Pharaohs.
“Then the conspirators
Came to the king.
They said to him.
‘Know!
O king!
That it is a law
Of the Medes,
Of the Persians,
That no interdict
Or ordinance
That the king establishes
Can be changed.’”
The Babylonian conspirators went to the king. They insisted that according to the law of Medes and Persia, no interdict or ordinance could be changed, once it was established. This is somewhat reminiscent of Esther, chapters 3-4, about the law against the Jews unable to be changed.
“All the presidents
Of the kingdom,
The prefects,
The satraps,
The counselors,
The governors,
All agreed.
The king
Should establish
An ordinance.
He should enforce
An interdict.
‘Whoever prays
To anyone,
Divine,
Or human,
For thirty days,
Except to you,
O king!
Shall be cast
Into a den of lions.
Now,
O king!
Establish the interdict!
Sign the document!
Thus,
It cannot be changed,
According to the law
Of the Medes,
Of the Persians.
It cannot be revoked.’
Therefore,
King Darius signed
The document.
He signed
The interdict.”
Thus, the two other presidents of the kingdom, with the prefects, the satraps, the counselors, and the governors all agreed that the king should establish an ordinance to be enforced as an interdict. This ordinance would say that anyone who prayed to any divine or human for the next 30 days, except to the king himself, should be cast into a den of lions. Then the king established this interdict and signed the document that could not be changed, according to the laws of Medes and Persia. This is somewhat reminiscent of the story of the king in Book of Esther, chapters 3-4 and 8-9, against the Jews.
“There were
Three presidents
Over these satraps.
Daniel was one of them.
The satraps
Gave account
To these presidents.
Thus,
The king
Might suffer no loss.
Soon
Daniel distinguished himself
Above all the other presidents,
Above all the other satraps.
Because an excellent spirit
Was in him.
The king planned
To appoint him
Over the whole kingdom.”
Daniel seemed to have a unique role. He already had an important role under King Belshazzar (550-539 BCE) of Babylon, as indicated at the end of the last chapter. Here, he took on a bigger role as president of the whole country. However, Daniel would be an old man at this time. First, he was 1 of the 3 presidents. Then the king decided to put in charge of everything because of his excellent spirit. Thus, this Judean exile Daniel was in charge in Persia and Babylon, just under the king.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 