But this laughter of v. 7 only appears in ??'s
version. As in Susanna, he stands as the willing exposer of fraud,
intellectually acute as well as morally upright.
v. 29 ?? has been objected to by Ball and by Z?¶ckler as an unlikely mode
of address by the conquered Babylonians to Cyrus their conqueror.
Probably some tumultous rising took place, which the king, a true
oriental monarch, pacified at the expense of Daniel. On such outbreaks
courtly politeness often vanishes, and the tyrant is subject to tyranny.
Such an occurrence agrees with Habakkuk's description of the Chaldees as
"bitter and hasty" (i. 6), and 'senseless' and 'absurd' are scarcely the
terms to apply to it.
The slaughter of the priests (vv. 22, 28) is quite in accordance with
the practice as shewn in the canonical chapters ii. and vi.[74]; also
the destruction of false accusers (v. 42) with vi. 25; so also the
keeping of lions by the king; and so, too, the method of double sealing
(v. 11 ?????, 14 ??; vi. 17). That ???±?????¬?????± should be under the command of
Daniel (v.
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