Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 1:14
So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
14. consented ] hearkened (R.V.), the expression exactly as 1Sa 30:24.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
So he consented to them in this matter – Hebrew, he heard them in this thing. The experiment was such, since it was to be for so short a time, that he ran little risk in the matter, as at the end of the ten days he supposed that it would be easy to change their mode of diet if the trial was unsuccessful.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
So he consented to them in all this matter,…. Or, “hearkened to them” e; being convinced that it was a very reasonable request, and the matter was fairly put; and especially as he saw, if it succeeded to their wish, it would be to his profit; since the meat and drink of these four persons would be his perquisite, and fetch him money; pulse and water being to be obtained at an easy rate:
and proved them ten days; tried the experiment, by giving them pulse and water only during this time, in order to see how it would agree with them; and whether any visible alteration could be discerned in their countenances, so as to bring him or his master into suspicion and danger.
e “auscultans eis”, Junius Tremellius, Broughtonus “auscultavit eis”, Pisator, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
‘So he took notice of what they said and put them to the test for ten days. And at the end of ten days their faces appeared fresher, and they were fatter in the flesh, than all the youths who ate of the king’s food.’
So he did what they asked. The result of the test was that they gave a better overall impression facially than those who ate the king’s food. They looked fresher and more full-faced than the others. By observing God’s law given in the Torah they had demonstrated its truth. Given the effects of overindulgence we can quite appreciate how this might be, but it is possible that we are intended to see this whole affair as being the result of a revelation from God to Daniel by means of a dream or vision (Dan 1:17).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Dan 1:14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
Ver. 14. So he consented to them in this matter. ] This had been well done, if done for God’s sake; but it was nothing less. He had a hawk’s eye herein to his own profit; he favoured them because he meant to finger something from them. These four made a mess.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Dan 1:14-16
14So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. 15At 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. 16So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.
Dan 1:14-16 This is a summary of the results of the test.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Dan 1:14. The steward agreed to the test proposed by Daniel.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
D. The success of the test 1:14-16
God gave the young men better (fatter, i.e., healthier) appearances by natural or by supernatural means. The result of the test encouraged their supervisor to continue feeding them a diet of things grown in the ground. This is the meaning of the rare Hebrew word translated "vegetables" or "pulse" (AV). [Note: Young, p. 46; Montgomery, p. 132.] God blessed these three young men because they followed His will, not because they ate vegetables instead of meat. We should not use this passage to argue for the intrinsic superiority of vegetarian diets (cf. Gen 9:3; 1Ti 4:3-5).
"Even a small act of self-discipline, taken out of loyalty to principle, sets God’s servants in the line of His approval and blessing. In this way actions attest faith, and character is strengthened to face more difficult situations in the future." [Note: Baldwin, p. 84.]