The Most High God - Daniel 1:3-7

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Daniel 1:3-7 (KJV)
³ And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;
⁴ Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
⁵ And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
⁶ Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
⁷ Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.


From last time we learned that Nebuchadnezzar, the "king" of Babylon besieged Jerusalem and took away some of the vessels of the Temple at Jerusalem and brought them back to Babylon. According to verse 3 what else did he bring back to Babylon? He brought certain children of Israel as well as children of royalty. Who did the king speak to? Ashpenaz was the master of eunuchs and apparently the one in charge of these children. What further characteristics were necessary in the children that were taken (verse 4)? The brightest and the most beautiful were taken. What would they be taught in Babylon? The Babylonians wished to instruct them in the advanced learning of Babylon as well as in the language of the Chaldeans. Chaldean is sometimes used interchangeably with Babylonian. But it also refers to the upper crust of Babylonian society as well as a group well-versed in occult learning. What did the king provide for these children and for how long (verse 5)? These children were taught for three years and enjoyed eating food and drink from the king's table. It was the best food in the land. What would happen at the end of the three years? They would stand before the king. Verse 6 lists four of the children taken from Jerusalem. Their Hebrew names were Daniel, Hanahiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Based on the qualifications of the children taken what does this say about these four? They had to have been exceptional children. They were probably between fifteen and twenty years of age [C.F. Keil, Bibical Commentary On The Book Of Daniel (Grand Rapids:Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1959), p.591]. Because they were under the care of the master of the eunuchs, were these children made eunuchs? Based simply on the reading of this section it would appear likely. Why would they do this? Perhaps the Babylonians wanted to make sure that these important and royal children would not have any descendants that could revolt. According to verse 7 what names were given to the four children of Israel? Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego. Why would their names be changed? This was also probably an attempt at assimilating these youth into Babylonian culture. How do you think these children would feel about all of this? What dangers could that result in?

Next: Daniel 1:8-16