Daniel 1:3

Alkitab Terjemahan Baru

Parallel Translations

Alkitab Terjemahan Lama
Maka titah baginda kepada Aspenaz, penghulu penjawat istana, disuruhnya bawa serta akan beberapa orang dari bani Israel, yang asal dari raja dan dari orang besar-besar,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Foretold, 2 Kings 20:17, 2 Kings 20:18, Isaiah 39:7, Jeremiah 41:1

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 8:15 - officers 2 Chronicles 18:8 - officers Esther 1:10 - chamberlains Isaiah 56:3 - neither Jeremiah 29:2 - eunuchs Daniel 1:7 - the prince Daniel 11:8 - their precious vessels

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs,.... That is, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon spake to this officer of his, whose name was Ashpenaz; which, according to Saadiah, signifies a man of an angry countenance; but Hillerus e derives it from the Arabic word "schaphan", as designing one that excels in wit and understanding; for which reason he might have the command of the eunuchs, many of which the eastern princes had about them, particularly to wait upon their women, or to educate youth, as the Turks have now; though, as R. Jeshuah in Aben Ezra observes, the word signifies ministers, and may intend the king's nobles and courtiers, his ministers of state; and so this Ashpenaz may be considered as his prime minister, to whom he gave orders,

that he should bring certain of the children of Israel; whom he had taken and brought captive to Babylon, and were disposed of in some part or another of the city and country; and out of these it was his will that some should be selected and brought to his court:

and of the king's seed, and of the princes: or, "even f of the king's seed, and of the princes"; not any of the children of Israel, but such as were of the blood royal, or of the king of Judah's family, or some way related to it; or, however, that were of princely birth, the children of persons of the first rank, as the word g may signify; or of nobles and dukes, as Jarchi interprets it.

e Onomast. Sacr. p. 752, 753. f ומזרע המלוכה, so ו is sometimes rendered; see Noldius. p. 276. g פרתמים "ex Graeca voce" πρωτος, Grotius, Junius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs - On the general reasons which may have influenced the king to make the selection of the youths here mentioned, see the analysis of the chapter. Of Ashpenaz, nothing more is known than is stated here. Eunuchs were then, as they are now, in constant employ in the harems of the East, and they often rose to great influence and power. A large portion of the slaves employed at the courts in the East, and in the houses of the wealthy, are eunuchs. Compare Burckhardt’s “Travels in Nubia,” pp. 294, 295. They are regarded as the guardians of the female virtue of the harem, but their situation gives them great influence, and they often rise high in the favor of their employers, and often become the principal officers of the court. “The chief of the black eunuchs is yet, at the court of the Sultan, which is arranged much in accordance with the ancient court of Persia, an officer of the highest dignity. He is called Kislar-Aga, the overseer of the women, and is the chief of the black eunuchs, who guard the harem, or the apartments of the females. The Kislar-Aga enjoys, through his situation, a vast influence, especially in regard to the offices of the court, the principal Agas deriving their situations through him.” See Jos. von Hammers “des Osmanischen Reichs Staatsverwalt,” Thes i. s. 71, as quoted in Rosenmuller’s “Alte und neue Morgenland,” ii. 357, 358.

That it is common in the East to desire that those employed in public service should have vigorous bodies, and beauty of form, and to train them for this, will be apparent from the following extract: “Curtius says, that in all barbarous or uncivilized countries, the stateliness of the body is held in great veneration; nor do they think him capable of great services or action to whom nature has not vouchsafed to give a beautiful form and aspect. It has always been the custom of eastern nations to choose such for their principal officers, or to wait on princes and great personages. Sir Paul Ricaut observes, ‘That the youths that are designed for the great offices of the Turkish empire must be of admirable features and looks, well shaped in their bodies, and without any defect of nature; for it is conceived that a corrupt and sordid soul can scarcely inhabit in a serene and ingenuous aspect; and I have observed, not only in the seraglio, but also in the courts of great men, their personal attendants have been of comely lusty youths, well habited, deporting themselves with singular modesty and respect in the presence of their masters; so that when a Pascha Aga Spahi travels, he is always attended with a comely equipage, followed by flourishing youths, well clothed, and mounted, in great numbers. ‘“ - Burder. This may serve to explain the reason of the arrangement made in respect to these Hebrew youths.

That he should bring certain of the children of Israel - Hebrew, “of the sons of Israel.” Nothing can with certainty be determined respecting their “age” by the use of this expression, for the phrase means merely the descendants of Jacob, or Israel, that is, “Jews,” and it would be applied to them at any time of life. It would seem, however, from subsequent statements, that those who were selected were young men. It is evident that young men would be better qualified for the object contemplated - to be “trained” in the language and the sciences of the Chaldeans Daniel 1:4 - than those who were at a more advanced period of life.

And of the king’s seed, and of the princes - That the most illustrious, and the most promising of them were to be selected; those who would be most adapted to accomplish the object which he had in view. Compare the analysis of the chapter. It is probable that the king presumed that among the royal youths who had been made captive there would be found those of most talent, and of course those best qualified to impart dignity and honor to his government, as well as those who would be most likely to be qualified to make known future events by the interpretation of dreams, and by the prophetic intimations of the Divine will.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Daniel 1:3. Master of his eunuchs — This word eunuchs signifies officers about or in the palace, whether literally eunuchs or not.