{"commentary":{"id":"adam-clarke","name":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","website":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Clarke","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/","licenseNotes":null,"licenseNotice":null,"englishName":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","language":"eng","textDirection":"rtl","sha256":"92e28c9363c876d215e296f2fe04abb3ab7e34a2aacebdf06bd62ae79c6e3dba","availableFormats":["json"],"listOfBooksApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/books.json","listOfProfilesApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/profiles.json","numberOfBooks":57,"totalNumberOfChapters":854,"totalNumberOfVerses":13318,"totalNumberOfProfiles":0,"languageName":"English","languageEnglishName":"English"},"book":{"id":"DAN","commentaryId":"adam-clarke","name":"Daniel","commonName":"Daniel","introduction":"Introduction to the Book of the Prophet Daniel Daniel is said to have descended from the royal family of David; and he appears to have been carried into Babylon when very young, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim king of Judah, A.M. 3398, b.c. 602, or 606 before the vulgar era. He and his three fellow-captives, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, being likely youths, were chosen to be about the king's court, and were appointed to have an education suitable to the employments for which they were destined. As they had been carefully bred up in the Mosaic institutions, they regulated their conduct by them, even in the court of a heathen king, where they were in the capacity of slaves; hence, though ordered to be fed from the royal table, they would not touch that food, because the Chaldeans ate of meat forbidden by the Mosaic law, and probably even that which might be dominated clean became defiled by having been sacrificed to idols before it was prepared for common use. At their earnest request, the officer under whose care they were placed permitted them to use vegetables only; and finding that they grew healthy and strong by this aliment, did not oblige them to use the portion sent from the king's table. Daniel appears to have been instructed in all the wisdom of the Chaldeans, which was at that time greatly superior to the learning of the ancient Egyptians; and he was soon distinguished in the Babylonish court, as well for his wisdom and strong understanding as for his deep and steady piety. His interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the variously compounded metallic image raised his credit so high at the court that he was established governor of the province of Babylon, and made chief of all the Magians, or wise men in that country. The chief facts and incidents of his history are so particularly woven throughout the book bearing his name, and undoubtedly written by himself, that they need not be detailed here. The reputation of Daniel was so great, even in his lifetime, that it became a proverb. \"Thou art wiser than Daniel,\" said Ezekiel ironically to the king of Tyre, Eze 28:3; and by the same prophet God ranks him among the most holy and exemplary of men, when he declares, speaking relative to Jerusalem, which had been condemned to destruction, \"Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own lives by their righteousness,\" Eze 14:14, Eze 14:20. Josephus, Ant. lib. x., c. 12, says that God bestowed many favors on him: that he was advanced to the rank of the most considerable prophets; that he enjoyed the favor of princes, and the affection of the people during his life; and that after his death his memory became immortal. He observes also that, in the complexion of his predictions, he differs widely from all other prophets; they foretold scarcely any thing but disastrous events; on the contrary, he predicts the most joyous events, and fixes the times of accomplishment with more circumstantial precision than they did. And this is so true, that we cannot help thinking that God had given this eminent man a greater degree of light to fix the times when his predictions should issue, than he had given in general to all his predecessors, who simply declared the mind of God in relation to things future, without attempting to indicate the distance of time in which they should be fulfilled. There are but very few exceptions to this either in Isaiah or Jeremiah. And in this respect the prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel exceeds all that have gone before, as the incidents and transactions relative to its fulfillment were so various, and yet so fixed and declared six hundred years before the time, that when the time came in which they were predicted to take place, they were expected, and occurred exactly according to the prediction, and the expectations founded upon it. This prophet therefore, far from occupying a lower place among divinely inspired men, deserves to be placed in the front rank with all those who have been most distinguished among the men who have partaken most largely of the prophetic gift. The rabbins have endeavored to degrade Daniel, and have placed his prophecies among the hagiographa, books which they consider to possess a minor degree of inspiration; and it is probable that he meets with this treatment from them because his prophecies are proofs too evident that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah, and that he came at the very time that Daniel said the Prince Messiah should come. But the testimony and sayings of such men are infinitely overpowered by the testimony of Ezekiel, which has been produced above; and the testimony of our Lord, who gives him the title of prophet, Mat 24:15, without the slightest intimation that he was to wear this title with abatement. It is very probable that Daniel did not return at the general restoration from the Babylonish captivity. At that time, if alive, he must have been an old man; and it is most likely that he finished his days in Babylon, though some Asiatic authors hold that he returned to Judea with Ezra, came back afterward to Persia, and died in the city of Susa. Josephus speaks of his skill in architecture, Antiq. lib. x., c. 12, and that he built a famous tower at Ecbatane or Susa, which remained to his time, and was so exquisitely finished that it always appeared as if newly built. In this tower or palace the kings of Persia were interred; and in consideration of its founder, the guard of it was always chosen from the Jews. Daniel is famous among the orientalists. The author of the Tareekh Muntekheb says that Daniel flourished in the time of Lohorasp, king of Persia; and consequently in that of Ceresh, of Cyrus, who gave him the government of Syria; that he taught these two princes the knowledge of the true God; that he preached the true faith through the whole of the Babylonian Irak; and was, on the death of Nebuchadnezzar, sent by Bahman, (Artaxerxes Longimanus), son of Asfendiar, who then reigned in Persia, into Judea; and that, having returned, he died at Shouster, or Susa, the capital of Persia, where he lies interred. Some have supposed that the Zoraster or Zeradusht of the Persians is a confused picture of the Prophet Daniel. The account given by Abul Pharaje, in his fifth dynasty, may be considered favorable to this opinion. He says, \"Zeradusht, author of the Magiouseiah Magism, or sect of the worshippers of fire, flourished in the reign of Cambasous, (Cambyses); that he was a native of the province of Adherbigian, or Media, or, according to others, of Assyria; that he foretold to his disciples the coming of the Messiah, who should be pointed out by a star which should appear in the day time at his birth; that they should have the first information of his advent; that he should be born of a virgin; and that they should present him with gifts; because he is the Word that made the heavens.\" See Pococke's Abul Pharajius, p. 83 of the Arabic, and 54 of the Latin. D'Herbelot, on this account, makes the following remark: \"We may see by these words of the historian, that the prophesy of Balaam was pretty generally known throughout the east, and that the Magi, who came to worship our Lord, were the true Magians of Persia, and not Arab kings.\" The account given by Abul Pharaje makes Daniel and Zeradusht contemporary, and thus far is favorable to the opinion that the history of former may be dismissed under that of the latter. There have been several Zoroasters, of whom many fables are told; and no wonder, when the persons themselves are generally fabulous. The Asiatics make him the inventor of remel, or geomancy; and among them he passes for the author of a work entitled Assoul ol Tabeer, \"The Principles of the Interpretation of Dreams.\" I have in my own library a very ancient work which pretends to be drawn from this, and is entitled Somnia Daniel; it was printed in the infancy of printing, but without date; small 4to. There is an Arabic work in the French king's library, No. 410, entitled Odhmet al Mancoul, an Danial an Nabi, \"The Traditionary Predictions of Daniel the Prophet;\" which is said to contain many falsities, built on the foundation of Daniel's prophecies; but it has never been given to the public, and I have no other notice of it than the above from D'Herbelot. But although all these are curious from their antiquity, yet they are doubtless impostures. Abul Pharaje, in his history of the dynasties, says, that the seventy weeks of Daniel are to be dated from the twentieth year of Ardsheer Dirazdest, the Artaxerxes Longimanus of the Greeks, (called Bahman above), and the same to whom Nehemiah was sakee, or cup-bearer. Other orientalists are of the same opinion. This shall be considered more at large when we come to the prophecy itself. Artaxerxes had the name of Longimanus, or Long-handed, from the great extent of his dominions. Daniel cannot be ranked among the Hebrew poets: his book is all in prose; and it is written partly in Hebrew, and partly in Chaldee. The Chaldee, or Syro-Chaldaic part, begins with מלכא לעלמין חיי malka lealmin chei, \"O king, live for ever!\" and continues to the end of the seventh chapter. In the interpretation of his prophecies I have endeavored to follow the best critics and chronologists; and, without an extended comment, to give in as short a space as possible the meaning of every place. On the metallic images and seventy weeks I have been obliged to be more prolix, as these are of too much importance to be slightly handled. It is not my province to enter into the controversy about the date when the seventy weeks commence; even they who disagree so much from each other on this point come so near to the general issue that the difference is immaterial. The chronology of the several events mentioned in this book Calmet endeavors to fix as follows: - A.M. Event 3398 Daniel led captive to Babylon, Dan 1:1-7. 3399 Death of Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar. 3401 Jehoiakim revolts against Nebuchadnezzar, Kg2 24:1. 3402 Dream of the compound statue, Dan 2:1, etc. Daniel and his companions promoted to honor at court. Birth of Cyrus, son of Cambyses and Mandane. 3405 Jehoiakim is taken and put to death by the Chaldeans. Jeconiah is raised to his throne, but reigns only three months and ten days. Zedekiah, last king of Judah, succeeds; and reigns eleven years. 3416 Taking of Jerusalem, and destruction of the temple, 2 Chronicles 36. 3434 Return of Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon after his great conquests in Phoenicia, Judea, Egypt, etc. His dream of the great tree, Ch2 4:7, etc. 3435 He becomes insane, which lasts for seven years, 4:32, 33. 3442 He becomes sane, and re-ascends the throne. The golden image set up. The three Hebrews cast into the fiery furnace, 2: Death of Nebuchadnezzar after a reign of forty-three years, according to Berosus. Evil-Merodach succeeds him, and reigns two years. - Berosus. He sets Jeconiah at liberty, Jer 52:31. 3444 Belshazzar his son succeeds, Dan 7:1. Daniel's vision of the four beasts, representing the four great empires, chap. 7. 3447 Vision of the ram and he-goat, 8: The death of Belshazzar, chap. 5. 3449 Darius the Mede, called Cyaxares by Xenophon, and Astyages in the Apocrypha, son of Astyages, king of the Medes, and maternal great uncle to Belshazzar, succeeds him in the government of Chaldea, Dan 5:30, Dan 5:31. See Isa 13:1, etc. The visions of Daniel related, chap. 9, 10, 11, Dan 12:1-13 : Cyrus attacks the Medes in the first or second year of Darius the Mede, Dan 10:1. 3455 Daniel is cast into the den of lions, chap. 6. 3456 Death of Darius. Cyrus succeeds him. 3457 End of the Babylonish captivity declared by Cyrus, in the first year of his reign, Ch2 36:22, and Ezr 1:1; but afterward interrupted. See below. 3485 Termination of Jeremiah's seventy years under Darius Hystaspes, who gives orders to continue the rebuilding of the temple. 3550 Commencement of the seventy weeks, Dan 9:24. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, Neh 2:1-6. In this chronology Calmet differs from Usher. As a writer, this prophet is simple, yet pure and correct: and he is so conscientious that he relates the very words of those persons whom he introduces as speaking. He writes Hebrew where what he delivers is a bare narrative; but he relates in Chaldee the conversations which he had with the wise men and the kings; and in the same language he relates Nebuchadnezzar's edict, which he made after Daniel had interpreted his dream concerning the great metalline image. This is a proof of his great and conscientious accuracy; and exhibits this prophet in a most advantageous point of view. Daniel writes both Hebrew and Chaldee with great purity. This book divides itself into two parts. Part 1 is historical, and is contained in the six former chapters. Part 2: is prophetical, and occupies the other six.","order":27,"numberOfChapters":12,"sha256":"4ec182393b2c8eaf345eae26a8364bf793fe2663040a144753896bc83b3833af","firstChapterNumber":1,"firstChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/DAN/1.json","firstChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"DAN","chapter":1},"lastChapterNumber":12,"lastChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/DAN/12.json","lastChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"DAN","chapter":12},"totalNumberOfVerses":258},"chapter":{"number":3,"content":[{"type":"verse","number":1,"content":["Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold - It is supposed that the history given here did not occur till the close, or near the end, of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. For it was after his insanity, as we see Dan 4:33-36, and this happened near the close of his reign. The authorized version, which is followed in the margin, fixes the date of this event seventeen years earlier, and ten years before the king's insanity. A few observations on this image may be necessary: - \n1. It is not likely that this image was in human form - the dimensions show the improbability of this; for what proportion is there between sixty cubits (ninety feet) in length, and six cubits (nine feet) in breadth?\n2. It is not likely that this image was all of gold; for this would have required more of this precious metal than the whole province of Babylon could produce; for as I suppose the sixty cubits apply to the perpendicular altitude, so I take it for granted that the six cubits intend the diameter. Now a column of gold of this height in diameter, upon the supposition that the pillar was circular, contains five thousand seven hundred and twenty-five and a half cubic feet; and as there are nineteen thousand avoirdupois ounces in a cubic foot, the weight of the whole pillar would be eight million two hundred and sixty-two thousand eight hundred and six pounds, ten ounces of gold.\n3. It might have been a pillar on which an image of the god Bel was erected. The image itself might be of gold, or more probably gilt, that is, covered with thin plates of gold, and on this account it might be called the golden image; and most probably the height of the image may be confounded with the height of the pillar. Or perhaps it was no more than a pillar, on the sides of which their gods and sacred emblems were engraven, surmounted with Bel on the top.\nThe plain of Dura - The situation of this place is not exactly known; there was a town or city called Dura, or Doura, in Mesopotamia, near the Tigris. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":2,"content":["Sent to gather together the princes - It is not easy to show what these different offices were, as it is difficult to ascertain the meaning of the Chaldee words. Parkhurst analyzes them thus: - \nThe Princes - אחשדרפניא achashdarpenaiya, from אחש Achash, great or eminent, and דר dar, \"to go about freely,\" and פנים panim, \"the presence.\" Satraps or privy counsellors who had free access to the presence of the king.\nThe Governors - סגניא signaiya, lieutenants or viceroys, for סגן sagan, among the Hebrews, was the name of the high priest's deputy.\nThe Captains - פחותא pachavatha, from פח pach, to extend, because set over those provinces that had been annexed to the kingdom by conquest. Pashas - This word and office are still in use in Asiatic countries. By corruption we pronounce bashaw.\nThe Judges - אדרגזריא adargazeraiya, from אדר adar, noble or magnificent, and גזר gazar, to decree. The nobles, the assistants to the king in making laws, statutes, etc. The same probably in Babylon, as the House of Lords in England.\nThe Treasurers - גדבריא gedaberaiya, from גנז ganaz, (the ז zain being changed into ד daleth, according to the custom of the Chaldee), to treasure up, and בר bar, pure. Those who kept the current coin, or were over the mint; the treasurers of the exchequer in Babylon.\nThe Counsellors - דתבריא dethaberaiya, from דת dath, a statute, and בר bar, \"to declare the meaning of the law;\" for in all ages and countries there has been what is termed the glorious uncertainty of the law; and therefore there must be a class of men whose business it is to explain it. What a pity that law cannot be tendered to the people as other sciences are, in plain, unsophisticated, and intelligible terms, and by persons whose business it is to show what is just and right, and not pervert truth, righteousness, and judgment.\nThe Sheriffs - תפתיא tiphtaye, from תפת taphath, in Hebrew, שפת shaphath, \"to set in order.\" Probably civil magistrates.\nAnd all the rulers of the provinces - All other state or civil officers, not only to grace the solemnity, but to maintain order. My old Bible renders them: Satrapis, or wise men. Magistratis. Jugis. Duykis, Tyrauntis, or stronge men. Prefectis, and alle the Princes of Cuntreese. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":4,"content":["Then a herald cried aloud - כרוזא קרא בחיל caroza kara bechayil, \"a crier called with might.\" A bedel cried mightili. - Old MS. Bible. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":5,"content":["The sound of the Cornet - There is not less difficulty in ascertaining the precise meaning of these musical instruments than there is in the offices in Dan 3:2. קרנא karna, here translated cornet, is the common blowing horn, which makes a deep and hollow sound, as well as one shrill and piercing.\nFlute - משרוקיתא mashrokitha, from שרק sharak, to whistle, shriek. A wind instrument which made a strong and shrill noise, such as the hautbois or clarionet.\nHarp - קיתרס kithros, cytharus; κιθαρα. Some kind of stringed instrument. It seems to be formed from the Greek word.\nSackbut - סבכא sabbecha. The Greek has it σαμβυκη, from which our word sackbut, from סבך sabach, to interweave; probably on account of the number of chords, for it seems to have been a species of harp.\nPsaltery - פסנתרין pesanterin; Greek, ψαλτηριον. A stringed instrument, struck with a plectrum; that called santeer in Egypt is probably the same. Dr. Russel says: \"It is a large triangle, and has two bottoms two inches from each other, with about twenty catguts of different sizes.\" It was the ancient psalterium, and most probably the same as David's harp.\nDulcimer - סומפניה sumponeyah; Greek, συμφωνεια. Probably a kind of tamboor, tambourine, or tomtom drum. It does not mean the same as the Greek symphonia, which signifies a concert or harmony of many instruments, for here one kind of instrument only is intended.\nAll kinds of music - כל זני זמרא col zeney zemara, the whole stock, or band, of music; the preceding being the chief, the most common, and the most sonorous. My old MS. Bible has, Trumpe, and Pipe, and Harpe: Sambuke, Santrie, and Synfonye, and al kynde of musykes. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":6,"content":["Shall the same hour - This is the first place in the Old Testament where we find the division of time into hours. The Greeks say that Anaximander was the inventor. He had it probably from the Chaldeans, among whom this division was in use long before Anaximander was born.\nBe cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace - This was an ancient mode of punishment among the Chaldeans, if we may credit the tradition that Abram was cast into such a fire by this idolatrous people because he would not worship their idols. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":8,"content":["Accused the Jews - That is, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. The other Jews were left unnoticed; and probably at this time Daniel was too high to be touched; but we may rest assured that he was not found among these idolaters, see Dan 3:12. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":16,"content":["We are not careful - We have no need to put thee to any farther trouble; we have made up our minds on this subject, and have our answer ready: Be it known unto thee, We Will Not Serve Thy Gods. This was as honest as it was decisive. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":17,"content":["If it be so - Thou mayest cast us into the furnace; the terror of it has no effect on our minds to induce us to alter the resolution we have taken, nor shall the fire change our purpose. We serve a God who is able to deliver us. Should he not, we are equally determined; but we are satisfied that in some way or other he will deliver us out of thy hand. Thy power cannot affect us in the kingdom of our God to which we shall ascend from thy furnace, should he permit the fire to kindle upon us. \"Render to Caesar the things which are Caesar's,\" is a maxim of Jesus Christ; but when Caesar arrogates to himself the things that are the Lord's, then, and in such cases, his authority is to be resisted. God does not desire Caesar's things; Caesar's must not have the things of God. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":19,"content":["Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury - How strange is this, after having had so many proofs of the supremacy of Jehovah! He had seen how God poured contempt upon his authority in the case of the three Hebrews, and yet he will try his strength once more! How infatuated is man!\nSeven times more - As hot as it could be made. Seven expresses the great intensity of the heat. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":20,"content":["The most mighty men - The generals, or chief officers of his army; not strong men, there was no need of such. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":21,"content":["Their hats - This word, hat, is found only in this place in the Old Testament. The word סרבל sarbal properly means an outer garment. Herodotus, who lived about one hundred years after Daniel, says, \"the dress of the Babylonians consisted of a tunic of linen reaching down to the feet; over this a tunic of woollen; and over all a white short cloak or mantle, χλανιδιον; and on their heads they wore turbans, μιτρησι.\" Following this, Mr. Parkhurst translates the verse thus: \"Then these three men were bound [בסרבליהון besarbaleyhon] in their Cloaks, [פמישיהון patesheyhon] their Turbans, [וכרבלתהון vecharbelathehon] and in their Upper (woollen) Tunics, [ולבושיהון ulebushehon] and their Under (linen) Tunics.\" And as, according to this interpretation, their סרבלי sarbaley were their outermost garments, we see the propriety with which it is observed at Dan 3:27 that these were not changed by the fire. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":23,"content":["And these three men - fell down bound - There is a most evident want of connection between this and the following verse; and it is between these verses that the apocryphal Song of the Three Children, as it is called, has been inserted by St. Jerome and others; but with this note: Quae sequuntur in Hebraeis voluminibus non reperi; \"What follows I have not found in the Hebrew books.\" And then begins, \"They walked in the midst of the flame, praising God, and blessing the Lord.\" The Septuagint and Arabic read the twenty-fourth verse thus: \"Then Nebuchadnezzar heard them singing praise, and was astonished.\" To connect the two verses Houbigant adds two verses found in the Vulgate, which are the forty-ninth and the twenty-third: \"But an angel of the Lord went down with Azariah and his companions into the furnace, and drove out the flame of fire from the furnace; and they walked in the midst of the furnace.\" This verse (the forty-ninth) has been added to show the reason of Nebuchadnezzar's astonishment, and also to account for the appearance of a fourth person in the furnace, as in verse 25. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":25,"content":["Is like the Son of God - A most improper translation. What notion could this idolatrous king have of the Lord Jesus Christ? for so the place is understood by thousands. בר אלהין bar elahin signifies a son of the gods, that is, a Divine person or angel; and so the king calls him in Dan 3:28 : \"God hath sent his Angel, and delivered his servants.\" And though even from this some still contend that it was the Angel of the covenant, yet the Babylonish king knew just as much of the one as he did of the other. No other ministration was necessary; a single angel from heaven was quite sufficient to answer this purpose, as that which stopped the mouths of the lions when Daniel was cast into their den. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":27,"content":["Upon whose bodies the fire had no power - The heathens boasted that their priests could walk on burning coals unhurt; and Virgil mentions this of the priests of Apollo of Soracte: - \nSumme Deum, sancti custos Soractis Apollo!\nQuem primi colimus, cui pineus ardor acervo\nPascitur; et medium, freti pietate, per ignem\nCultores multa premimus vestigia pruna.\nVirg. Aen. 11:785.\nO Phoebus, guardian of Soracte's woods\nAnd shady hills; a god above the gods;\nTo whom our natives pay the rites divine,\nAnd burn whole crackling groves of hallowed pine;\nWalk through the fire in honor of thy name,\nUnhurt, unsinged, and sacred from the flame.\nPitts.\nBut Varro tells us that they anointed the soles of their feet with a species of unguent that preserved them from being burnt. Very lately a female showed many feats of this kind, putting red hot iron upon her arms, breasts, etc., and passing it over her hair without the slightest inconvenience; but in the case of the three Hebrews all was supernatural, and the king and his officers well knew it. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":28,"content":["Blessed be the God of Shadrach, etc. - Here is a noble testimony from a heathen. And what produced it? The intrepidly pious conduct of these three noble Jews. Had they been time-servers, the name of the true God had not been known in Babylon. What honor does the Lord put on them that are steadfast in the faith! \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":29,"content":["Speak any thing amiss - Though by the decree the king does not oblige the people to worship the true God, yet he obliges them to treat him with reverence. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":30,"content":["Then the king promoted, etc. - He restored them to the offices which they held before the charge of disobedience and treason was brought against them.\nAt the end of this verse the Septuagint add, \"And he advanced them to be governors over all the Jews that were in his kingdom.\" This may be the meaning of the latter verse. They were more likely to be set over the Jews than over the Chaldeans.\n\n"]}],"introduction":"Nebuchadnezzar, having erected an image, whose height (including probably a very high pedestal) was sixty cubits, and the breadth six, ordered a numerous assembly, which he had convened, to fall down and worship it; threatening, at the same time, that whosoever refused should be cast into a fiery furnace, Dan 3:1-7; a punishment not uncommon in that country, (see Jer 29:22.) Daniel's three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who were present, being observed to refrain from this idolatrous worship, were accused before the king; who, in great wrath, commanded them to comply with his orders on pain of death, Dan 3:8-15. But these holy men, with the greatest composure and serenity, expressed their firm resolution not to worship his gods or his images, whatever might be the consequence, Dan 3:16-18. Upon which the king, unaccustomed to have his will opposed, in the height of his wrath, ordered the furnace to be made seven times hotter than usual, and these men to be cast into it, bound by the most mighty of his army, who were killed by the flame in the execution of this service, Dan 3:19-23. On this occasion God literally performed his promise by Isaiah, (Isa 43:2 ): \"When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee;\" for an angel of God, appearing in the furnace, protected these young men, and counteracted the natural violence of the fire; which, only consuming the cords with which they were bound, left them to walk at liberty, and in perfect safety, in the midst of the furnace. The king, astonished at this prodigy, called to them to come out of the furnace, and blessed God for sending an angel to deliver his servants; and commanded all his subjects, upon pain of death, not to speak irreverently of the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who were promoted to great power and honor, Dan 3:24-30. A striking example of the interposition of Providence in favor of true and inflexible piety. \n"},"thisChapterLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/DAN/3.json","thisChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"DAN","chapter":3},"nextChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/DAN/4.json","nextChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"DAN","chapter":4},"previousChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/DAN/2.json","previousChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"DAN","chapter":2},"numberOfVerses":17}