Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 6:13
Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which [is] of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
13. children of the exile of Judah ] Dan 2:25, Dan 5:13.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then answered they … That Daniel which is of the children of the captivity of Judah – Who is one of the captive Jews. There was art in thus referring to Daniel, instead of mentioning him as sustaining an exalted office. It would serve to aggravate his guilt to remind the king that one who was in fact a foreigner, and a captive, had thus disregarded his solemn commandment. If he had been mentioned as the prime minister, there was at least a possibility that the king would be less disposed to deal with him according to the letter of the statute than if he were mentioned as a captive Jew.
Regardeth not thee … – Shows open disregard and contempt for the royal authority by making a petition to his God three times a day.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Here they call him
that Daniel, as, Dan 6:5,
this Daniel; both by way of contempt, when they had laid him low in their thoughts and words, intending the king should have the same thoughts of him too; hereby they should have the fairer blow at him.
Of the children of the captivity of Judah; a prisoner at mercy, and yet rebelliously slights the king and his laws. What! because he chose to obey God rather than men, and an ungodly law, as this was in the height? Well, that is his great crime, that he prays to his God three times a day.
Regardeth not thee, O king; which we account dishonourable to thy greatness, and unsufferable from such a mushroom as he is. What, do all the native subjects of the king keep his laws, and must this Daniel presume to break them and be indemnified? Wilt thou tolerate this, O king?
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. That Danielcontemptuously.
of . . . captivity ofJudahrecently a captive among thy servants, theBabyloniansone whom humble obedience most becomes. Thus theyaggravate his guilt, omitting mention of his being prime minister,which might only remind Darius of Daniel’s state services.
regardeth not theebecausehe regarded God (Act 4:19;Act 5:29).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then answered they, and spake before the king,…. Having obtained what they desired, a ratification of the decree, they open the whole affair to him they came about:
that Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king: they call him “that Daniel”; by way of contempt; and, to make him the more despicable, represent him not only as a foreigner, but a captive, and therefore ought to have been humble and obedient, as Jacchiades observes; and a Jewish captive too, of all people the most odious; and, though he had been raised from a low estate to great honour and dignity, yet such was his ingratitude, that he made no account of the king, nor of his orders, but despised him:
nor the decree that thou hast signed; the decree concerning making any petition to God or man for a month, which was signed with the king’s own hand, and was firm and stable; and of which Daniel could not be ignorant, and therefore wilfully, and in a contemptuous manner, acted contrary to it:
but maketh his petition three times a day; to whom they say not whether to God or man; but in this general way accuse him which they thought best and safest; they feared, had they mentioned his God, something might have been said in his favour to excuse him; and to aggravate the matter, they observe the frequency of his doing it, three times; so that it was not a single fact he is charged with, but what he had repeated again and again.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Now, when Daniel’s calumniators see that King Darius had no wish to defend his cause, they open up more freely what they had previously conceded; for, as we have said, if they had openly accused Daniel, their accusation could have been instantly and completely refuted; but after this sentiment had been expressed to the king, their statement is final, since by the laws of the Medes and Persians a king’s decree ought to be self-acting; hence, after this is accomplished, they then come to the person. Daniel, say they, one of the captives of Judah, has not obeyed thy will, O king, nor the decree which thou hast signed. By saying, “Daniel, one of the Jewish captives,” they doubtless intended to magnify his crime and to render him odious. For if any Chaldean had dared to despise the king’s edict, his rashness would not have been excused. But now when Daniel, who was lately a slave and a Chaldean captive, dares to despise the king’s command, who reigned over Chaldea by the right of conquest, this seemed less tolerable still. The effect is the same as if they had said, “He was lately a captive among thy slaves; thou art supreme lord, and his masters to whom he was subject are under thy yoke, because thou art their conqueror; he is but a captive and a stranger, a mere slave, and yet he rebels against thee!” We see then how they desired to poison the king’s mind against him by this allusion, He is one of the captives! The words are very harmless in themselves, but they endeavor to sting their monarch in every way, and to stir up his wrath against Daniel. He does not direct his mind to thee, O king; that is, he does not reflect upon who you are, and thus he despises thy majesty and the edict which thou hast signed This is another enlargement: Daniel, therefore, did not direct his mind either to thee or to thy edict; and wilt thou bear this? Next, they recite the deed itself — he prays three times a-day This would have been the simple narrative, Daniel has not obeyed thy command in praying to his own God; but, as I have said, they exaggerate his crime by accusing him of pride, contempt, and insolence. We see, therefore, by what artifices Daniel was oppressed by these malicious men. It now follows:
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Which is of the children.By adding this to the charge of disobedience to the kings commandment, they hoped to incense him still further against the prophet. Here was a foreigner, who had received the highest favours from the Court, setting himself up in antagonism to the laws of the kingdom.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘Then they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, does not regard you, O king, nor the interdict that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” Then the king, when he heard these words, was extremely displeased, and set his heart on delivering Daniel, and he worked hard at rescuing him until the going down of the sun.’
Note their methods. They drew attention to the fact that he was a foreigner, that he was deliberately and provocatively taking no notice of the king, and that he was presumptuously breaking the decree, and doing it regularly.
But the king was not deceived. He now realised what these men had been doing, and that they were succeeding through his own folly. He was angry with himself and angry with them. He had not really been bothered about being the only mediator. As far as he was concerned it had just been a formality, a gesture. So he set about seeing what he could do to remedy the situation.
He probably consulted with lawyers to examine the wording carefully to discover if there was any way by which he could remedy the situation. They no doubt studied the decree diligently. But it had been worded to meet up with such an eventuality. After struggling for the remainder of the day they could find no way round it. It may well be that it was meanwhile the lawyers who were able to tell him something of Daniel’s past history and suggest that perhaps his God could look after him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Dan 6:13. That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity This is added to aggravate his fault: “One who was a foreigner, and brought thither as a captive, dared to offer a public affront, to the laws of a king whose favour and protection he enjoyed.” We cannot have a more striking instance than this relation affords us, of the power of inveterate malice, and of bitterest envy.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Dan 6:13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which [is] of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
Ver. 13. That Daniel. ] He was principal president, and deserved a better attribution than that Daniel. But ill-will never speaketh well of any.
Which is of the captivity.
“ Fortunam reverenter habe quicunque repente
Dives ab exili progrediere loco. ” – Auson.
Regardeth not thee, O king. ] Chald., Putteth no respect on thee. This is common, falsely to accuse God’s most faithful servants as antimagistratical, because they refuse to obey unlawful and impious decrees.
But maketh his petition three times a day.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
children = sons. maketh his petition = prayeth a prayer. Same as in Dan 6:7.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Dan 6:13
Dan 6:13 ThenH116 answeredH6032 they and saidH560 beforeH6925 the king,H4430 ThatH1768 Daniel,H1841 whichH1768 is ofH4481 the childrenH1123 of the captivityH1547 ofH1768 Judah,H3061 regardethH7761 H2942 H5922 notH3809 thee, O king,H4430 nor the decreeH633 thatH1768 thou hast signed,H7560 but makethH1156 his petitionH1159 threeH8532 timesH2166 a day.H3118
Dan 6:13
Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
As soon as they got Darius’ affirmation of the new law, they exposed Daniel to him. They specifically mentioned that Daniel does this three times a day. They were making sure that Darius realized Daniel was standing solidly in transgression of the law. Not only does he pray to God in direct disregard of Darius foolish decree, but he does it three times a day. This event calls to mind scripture about things which God hates:
Pro 6:16-19
“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
That Daniel: Dan 1:6, Dan 2:25, Dan 5:13
regardeth: Dan 3:12, Est 3:8, Act 5:29, Act 17:7
Reciprocal: Exo 1:17 – feared God Est 3:4 – that they told Psa 55:17 – Evening Pro 30:10 – Accuse not Eze 3:11 – get Dan 3:8 – and accused Dan 6:10 – three Act 7:37 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 6:13. Every statement these men made in this verse was true, but was uttered with a vicious motive and without regard for the context. It was true that Daniel ignored the decree of the king, but it was not because he did not respect temporal and royal government as they wished to imply. Instead, it was because the decree would hinder his religious service to God, and it has always been taught in the scripture that if a human law conflicts with the law of God. the servants of righteousness should “obey God rather than man” (Act 5:29).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Dan 6:13. Then answered they, That Daniel Thus they expressed themselves by way of contempt; which is of the children of the captivity of Judah This was added to aggravate his fault; that one who was a foreigner, and brought thither a captive, should offer a public affront to the laws of the king, whose favour and protection he enjoyed. One cannot easily find a more striking instance than this relation affords of the power of inveterate malice and bitter envy. He regardeth not thee, O king, say they, nor the decree that thou hast signed Thus it often happens, that what is done faithfully, and out of conscience toward God, is misrepresented as done obstinately, and in contempt of the civil powers. In other words, the best saints are frequently reproached as the worst men. Daniel regarded God, and therefore prayed, and doubtless prayed for the king and government; and yet this is construed as not regarding the king. And the excellent spirit with which Daniel was endued, and that established reputation which he had gained, could not protect him from these poisonous darts. They do not say, He makes his petition to his God, lest Darius should interpret that to his praise, but only, He makes his petition; which was the thing forbidden by the law.