Taking the piece as independent of the original Daniel, the
second century B.C. might perhaps be named as far from improbable. But a
closer date than this it is hardly safe to fix.
PLACE.
If we assume an _Aramaic original_, Babylonia most probably will be the
place for its production; Palestine somewhat less probably. But
indications of place in the piece itself are very faint. It is true,
however, that the order "nights and days" is "in conformity with the
Shemitic custom of fixing the beginning of the day at the preceding
evening" (McSwiney, _Psalms and Canticles_, 1901, p. 644).
Everyone must have noticed the frequency with which things watery and
things cold are mentioned in the Song. The number of times they occur
seems quite out of proportion with the scale on which it is conceived.
Water, showers, dew, cold, frost, snow,[12] sea, rivers, fountains, all
that move in the waters, are apostrophised in succession. The
preponderance of these objects is very noticeable, even to a cursory
reader. Now both Babylon and Alexandria are alike situated in hot
countries; but of the two, a resident in the former would be more likely
to have had these things brought before his eyes than a resident in the
latter.
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