| 1. In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar, and the word was true, and for a long time, and he understood the word and he understood it in the vision. |
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א. |
| and for a long time: and it will come in a long time. |
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| and he understood the word: and to understand the word, the vision was revealed to me. |
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| and he understood it in the vision: Heb. וּבִינָה and to make him understand it in the vision. Now this word is not a noun, like (Job. 38:4): “if you know understanding (בִּינָה) Instead, the ” hey “ is superfluous, and it is like (Ps 5:2)” understand (בִּינָה) my thoughts “ Therefore, the accent is above on the” beth," and its meaning is like הָבֵן, understand. |
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| 2. In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three weeks of days. |
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ב. |
| had been mourning: when he saw that Cyrus had curtailed the construction of the Temple, for he had ordered to commence it, and he reneged because of the missive of the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin: Rehum the adviser and Shimshai the scribe, as is written in the Book of Ezra (4:5). |
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| three weeks of days: twenty-one years. They are eighteen years from the one year of Darius the Mede, when he [Daniel] put to his heart to calculate the seventy years of the exile, as it is written: until the second year of Darius the Persian, the son of Esther, who built the Temple. As for the three extra years, I do not know whether he started to fast before them or whether the duration of the acceptance of the vow of his fasts terminated three years after the building. |
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| 3. I ate no white bread, neither did meat nor wine enter my mouth, and I did not anoint myself until the completion of three weeks of days. |
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ג. |
| white bread: Heb. לֶחֶם חֲמֻדֹת, white (lit. clean) bread, as Onkelos rendered (Gen. 27:15): “Esau’s clean clothes (הַחֲמֻדֹת),” דַּכְיָתָא, clean. |
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| 4. And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, when I was beside the great river, the Tigris. |
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| 5. I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold a man clad in linen, and his loins were girded with a girdle of gold studded with jewels. |
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ה. |
| clad in linen: a linen garment. |
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| with a girdle of gold studded with jewels: Heb. בְּכֶתֶם אוּפָז, with a girdle of a cluster of pearls. Every [instance of] כֶּתֶם is an expression of a cluster of gold and precious stones. |
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| 6. And his body was like tarshish, and his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like firebrands, and his arms and his legs were like the appearance of brandished copper, and the sound of his words was like the voice of a multitude. |
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ו. |
| And his body was like tarshish: Our Sages of blessed memory explained in Tractate Hullin (9lb): “His body was two thousand parasangs large, like the measurement of the sea named Tarshish, and that is the sea of Africa (the Mediterranean).” |
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| brandished: Heb. קָלָל, smelted, refined, and shiny. |
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| like the voice of a multitude: like the voice of a gathering of a large multitude, whose voice is heard from afar. |
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| 7. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, but the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great quaking fell upon them, and they fled into hiding. |
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ז. |
| but the men who were with me: Our Sages of blessed memory said that they were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. |
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| but a great quaking fell upon them: Our Sages of blessed memory said that although a person does not see something of which he is terrified, his guardian angel, who is in heaven, does see it; therefore, he becomes terrified. |
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| 8. But I remained alone, and I saw this great vision, and no strength was left within me, and my complexion was turned in me into corruption, and I could not summon up strength. |
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ח. |
| was turned in me into corruption: Heb. לְמַשְׁחִית, lit. to a destroyer. To corruption, and it is customary for Biblical verses to speak in this manner, like (Jer. 5:8): “They were like armed stallions early in the morning.” מַשְׁכִּים is the equivalent of בְּהַשְׁכָּמַת הַבּקֶר, in the early morning. |
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| I could not summon up strength: i.e., I did not gather. All my strength left my innards. |
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| 9. Then I heard the voice of his words, and when I heard the voice of his words, I fell into a sound sleep on my face, and my face was to the ground. |
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ט. |
| I fell into a sound sleep: out of great fright. |
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| 10. And behold, a hand touched me and moved me on my knees and the palms of my hands. |
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י. |
| and moved me: as one who moves a sleeping person to awaken him. |
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| 11. And he said to me, "Daniel, man of desirable qualities, contemplate the words I speak to you and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you." And when he spoke to me this word, I stood quaking. |
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יא. |
| man of desirable qualities: אִישׁ חֲמֻדוֹת, pure man. |
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| upright: Heb. עַל עָמְדֶ, on the stand of your feet. |
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| I have been sent to you: I have been sent to you from the Omnipresent. |
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| quaking: [as translated,] quaking. |
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| 12. And he said to me "Fear not, Daniel, for since the first day that you set your heart to contemplate and to fast before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words. |
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יב. |
| and I have come because of your words: I have come on this mission because of your words. Our Rabbis, however, explained in Tractate Yoma (77a): “and I came within the curtain because of you, for I was banned from its midst.” |
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| 13. And the prince of the kingdom of Persia has been standing against me for twenty-one days, and behold Michael, one of the first princes, has come to help, and I remained there beside the kings of Persia. |
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יג. |
| has been standing against me: to battle with me in heaven by requesting an extension for the kingdom for Persia to enable them to subjugate you (Israel). Behold twenty-one days that he has been standing against me. |
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| the first princes: those counted first among those who enter. |
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| and I remained there: to silence the princes of Persia in heaven. |
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| 14. And I have come to enable you to understand what will happen to your people at the end of the days, for there is yet a vision for those days." |
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יד. |
| for there is yet a vision: to tell you what has not yet been told, and it will come in many days at an appointed time. |
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| 15. And when he spoke to me according to these words, I set my face to the ground, and I was dumbfounded. |
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טו. |
| 16. And behold [one] like the image of the sons of man was touching my lips, and I opened my mouth and spoke, and I said to the one standing opposite me, "My lord, in the vision my joints turned upon me, and I did not summon up strength. |
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טז. |
| my joints turned upon me: Heb. צִירַי. These are the ends of the bones, all the limbs that are thrust into their sockets and turn within them like a door on its hinge in the socket of the threshold. My joints turned to become dislocated from their place out of much trembling and quaking. |
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| 17. Now how will this servant of my lord be able to speak with this my lord?" And for me, from now on, strength will not stay in me, and a soul is not left in me. |
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יז. |
| this servant of my lord: He refers to himself as a servant, and to the angel as “my lord,” i.e., to say, How will your servant be able to speak with you? |
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| 18. And the one having the appearance like that of a man continued to touch me, and he strengthened me. |
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יח. |
| 19. And he said, "Fear not, man of desirable qualities; peace be to you, be strong and be strong," and when he spoke to me, I gained strength, and I said, "Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me." |
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יט. |
| 20. And he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? And now I shall return to battle with the prince of Persia; then I shall leave, and behold the prince of Greece is coming. |
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כ. |
| And now I shall return to battle with the prince of Persia: and I know that I will be victorious, but when the time of the kingdom of the heathens [Greece Malbim ed., Antiochus Vilna ed.] arrives, I know that I will leave, and he will enter after thirty-four years of the existence of the Temple. Alexander of Macedon will rise, for although Israel was subjugated by the kings of Persia in those days, they exacted a light tribute from them, and they did not burden them heavily because the Holy One, blessed be He, caused them to have mercy on them. But the kings of the heathens [Greece, Antiochus] laid a heavy yoke upon them. |
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| 21. Indeed, I shall tell you what is inscribed in a true script, but no one strengthens himself concerning these matters except Michael, your prince." |
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כא. |
| what is inscribed in a true script: the document of the decree is true, but not one of the heavenly princes is exerting himself to assist me with all these, except etc. |
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