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Daniel describes young Judean captives selected for royal service based on their attractiveness and knowledge, echoing an ancient Near Eastern tradition where the gods create leaders with exceptional beauty, wisdom, and authority.
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The Creation of the King
VAT 17019
Ancient Near East
Ea opened his mouth to speak, saying to Belet-ili: “You are Belet-ili, sister of the great gods; it was you who created man, the human. Fashion now the king, the counsellor man! Gird the whole of his figure so pleasingly, make perfect his countenance and well-formed his body!” And Belet-ili fashioned the king, the counsellor man. The great gods gave the king power in battle. Anu gave him the crown. Enlil gave him the throne. Nergal gave him the weapons. Ninurta gave him glittering brilliance. Belet-ili gave him a beautiful appearance. Nusku gave instructions, gave advice, and was at his service. He who speaks lies and deceit to the king— if it is a ... it will [...]
Date: 600 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Daniel 1:4
Hebrew Bible
3 The king commanded Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his court officials, to choose some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent— 4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated and having keen insight, and who were capable of entering the king’s royal service—and to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians. 5 So the king assigned them a daily ration from his royal delicacies and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.
Date: 2nd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... some gods have made a specialty of everything related to the granting of the title of the king. In the early periods it was mainly the role of Enlil, who was himself king of gods. Later, when Marduk also called Bēl (“Lord”) took his place, he was assisted by his son Nabu who made the kings of Babylon. In Assyria the monarchy was conferred by the national god Aššur and the king was his vicar (iššiakku). Monarchs were indeed enthroned through priests, but received their powers from the world of the gods. As such, they were not individuals like the others, because they were somewhere between the world of men and the divine. Moreover, after the creation of men in order to serve the gods, god Ea suggested modelling the beings destined to lead these new servants. These were of course kings who did not have exactly the same nature as the rest of mankind ..."
Clancier, Philippe
"The Mesopotamian King between Gods and Men in the First Millennium BCE" in Pachoumi, Eleni (ed.) Conceptualising Divine Unions in the Greek and near Eastern Worlds
(pp. 13-44) Brill, 2022
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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