Texts in Conversation
The opening of Daniel depicts King Nebuchadnezzar applying the language of Leviticus when choosing Israelites without physical defect for his court service, also following ancient Near Eastern tradition by selecting based on their attractiveness.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Leviticus 21:17
Hebrew Bible
16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17 “Tell Aaron, ‘No man from your descendants throughout their generations who has a physical flaw is to approach to present the food of his God. 18 Certainly no man who has a physical flaw is to approach: a blind man, or one who is lame, or one with a slit nose, or who has a limb too long, 19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm, 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or one with a spot in his eye, or a festering eruption, or a feverish rash, or a crushed testicle.
Daniel 1:4
Hebrew Bible
1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem and laid it under siege. 2 Now the Lord delivered King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, along with some of the vessels of the temple of God. He brought them to the land of Shinar10 to the temple of his god and put the vessels in the treasury of his god. 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.
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Notes and References
"... In the introduction to the book, Daniel is implicitly included in the group of people described as “of royal descent and of the nobility” (מזרע המלוכה והפרתמים; Daniel 1:3) and as being without “blemish” (D3). While these terms are put into the mouth of King Nebuchadnezzar, it is clear that the author is appealing to his Judean audience who presumably would not have been aware of the Persian origin of the term פרתמים but who would have connected the term תם with the priesthood (see, e.g., the limitations for temple service in Leviticus 21:16–18). The fact that the youths are taught the language of the Chaldeans also helps to establish the image of Daniel as an elevated, wise and mysterious individual: the royal prince, priest and wise man trained in the Chaldean arts ..."
Stökl, Jonathan
"Daniel and the “Prophetization” of Dream Divination" in Hamori, Esther J., and Jonathan Stökl (eds.) Perchance to Dream: Dream Divination in the Bible and the Ancient Near East
(pp. 133-155) SBL Press, 2018
* 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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