Daniel 6:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 6:10
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
to know (properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
writing
כְּתָבָא֙ke.ta.Va'
H3792
something written · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
signed
רְשִׁ֤יםre.Shim
H7560
to record · verb, perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
went
עַ֣ל'al
H5954
to enter · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
house
לְבַיְתֵ֔הּle.vay.Teh
H1005
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
windows
וְכַוִּ֨יןve.kha.Vin
H3551
a window (as a perforation) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural absolute
open
פְּתִיחָ֥ןpe.ti.Chan
H6606
to open · verb, active participle, feminine plural absolute
chamber
בְּעִלִּיתֵ֔הּbe.'i.li.Teh
H5952
a second-story room · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
toward
נֶ֖גֶדNe.ged
H5049
opposite · noun, common both genders singular construct
Jerusalem
יְרוּשְׁלֶ֑םye.ru.she.Lem
H3390
Jerusalem · proper noun, a place name
kneeled
בָּרֵ֣ךְba.Rekh
H1289
to kneel · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
upon
עַל'al-
H5922
above · preposition
knees
בִּרְכ֗וֹהִיbir.Kho.hi
H1291
a knee · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
three
תְּלָתָ֨הte.la.Tah
H8532
three or third · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
times
וְזִמְנִין֩ve.zim.Nin
H2166
an appointed occasion · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural absolute
day
בְיוֹמָ֜אve.yo.Ma'
H3118
a day · preposition + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
to praise · conjunction + verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
before
קֳדָ֣םko.Dam
H6925
before · noun, common both genders singular construct
God
אֱלָהֵ֔הּ'e.la.Heh
H426
God · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
as
קֳבֵל֙ko.Vel
H6903
(adverbially) in front of · noun, common both genders singular absolute
did
הֲוָ֣אha.Va'
H1934
to exist · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
aforetime
מִןmin-
H4481
properly · preposition
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Psalms 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Psalms 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Psalms 5:7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Psalms 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 6:6-10
Daniel's adversaries could have no advantage against him from any law now in being; they therefore contrive a new law, by which they hope to ensnare him, and in a matter in which they knew they should be sure of him; and such was his fidelity to his God that they gained their point. Here is,
I. Darius's impious law. I call it Darius's, because he gave the royal assent to it, and otherwise it would not have been of force; but it was not properly his: he contrived it not, and was perfectly wheedled to consent to it. The presidents and princes framed the edict, brought in the bill, and by their management it was agreed to by the convention of the states, who perhaps were met at this time upon s…
when Daniel knew . . . writing . . . signed--and that, therefore, the power of advising the king against it was taken from him.
went into his house--withdrawing from the God-dishonoring court.
windows . . . open--not in vainglory, but that there might be no obstruction to his view of the direction in which Jerusalem, the earthly seat of Jehovah under the Old Testament, lay; and that the sight of heaven might draw his mind off from earthly thoughts. To Christ in the heavenly temple let us turn our eyes in prayer, from this land of our captivity (Kg1 8:44, Kg1 8:48; Ch2 6:29, Ch2 6:34, Ch2 6:38; Psa 5:7).
chamber--the upper room, where prayer was generally offered by the Jews (Act 1:13).…
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed - He saw what was designed, and he knew whom he served.
His windows being open - He would not shut them to conceal himself, but "kneeled down with his face turned toward Jerusalem, and prayed thrice each day, giving thanks to God as usual." When the Jews were in distant countries, in prayer they turned their faces towards Jerusalem; and when in Jerusalem, they turned their faces towards the temple. Solomon, in his prayer at the dedication of the temple, Kg1 8:48, had entreated God to hear the prayers of those who might be in strange lands, or in captivity, when they should turn their faces towards their own land, which God gave unto their fath…
The Church Fathers
When blessed Daniel in Babylon prayed, he opened the windows facing Jerusalem, not under the impression that God was confined there but from his knowledge that the divine manifestation occurred there.
The psalmist instructs us to allot three periods a day to God when he says, "At evening, at morning and at midday I shall speak what I have to say, and you will hearken to my voice." For those three periods while Daniel diligently beseeched God, not only did they obtain foreknowledge of the future, but he also merited the freedom of his people held captive for so long.
Note how much this verse implied in a few words in mentioning the piety and courage of blessed Daniel. First, when Daniel learned that the decision has been reached, "he went into his house"—that is, when he got news of the passing of the law, he had great scorn for it and continued openly doing the opposite. It next mentions a further detail that reveals his courage: the windows were open, it says—in other words, he said his prayers not in secret but openly, with everyone watching, not for vainglory but in scorn for the impiety of the law.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Chamber — “on the wall,” which the Shunammite prepared for the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:10), was an upper chamber over the porch through the hall toward the street. This was the “guest chamber” where…
Daniel — God is my judge, or judge of God. (1.) David’s second son, “born unto him in Hebron, of Abigail the Carmelitess” (1 Chr. 3:1). He is called also Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3). (2.) One of the four great…
Darius — The holder or supporter, the name of several Persian kings. (1.) Darius the Mede (Dan. 11:1), “the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes” (9:1). On the death of Belshazzar the Chaldean he…
Face — Means simply presence, as when it is recorded that Adam and Eve hid themselves from the “face [R.V., ‘presence’] of the Lord God” (Gen. 3:8; comp. Ex. 33:14, 15, where the same Hebrew word is…
Medes, Media — (middle land). Media lay northwest of Persia proper, south and southwest of the Caspian Sea, east of Armenia and Assyria, west and northwest of the great salt desert of Iran. Its greatest length was…
Media — Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Signet — A seal used to attest documents (Dan. 6:8-10, 12). In 6:17, this word properly denotes a ring. The impression of a signet ring on fine clay has recently been discovered among the ruins at Nineveh. It…
Synagogue — (Gr. sunagoge, i.e., “an assembly”), found only once in the Authorized Version of Ps. 74:8, where the margin of Revised Version has “places of assembly,” which is probably correct; for while the…
Temptation — (1.) Trial; a being put to the test. Thus God “tempted [Gen. 22: 1; R.V., ‘did prove’] Abraham;” and afflictions are said to tempt, i.e., to try, men (James 1:2, 12; comp. Deut. 8:2), putting their…
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed,.... This he knew, either by the relation of others, or by the public proclamation of it through the city; however, he did not know of it till it was signed, or otherwise he might have prevented it by applying to the king, in whom he had great interest; but, now the thing was done, he did not solicit the abrogation of it, knowing it was in vain; nor did he go to the king with complaints against his enemies, showing the design they had in it; but let things take their own course, he being determined to be found in his duty, be it as it would:
he went into his house: he left the court at the proper time of prayer, and went to his own house to p…
Daniel 6:10
10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and, his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
10. Daniel autem ubi cognovit quod obsignata esset scriptura, venit, vel, ingressus est, in domum suam (fenestrae autem apertae erant ei in coenaculo suo versus Jerusalem) et temporibus tribus in die, [289] inclinabat se super genua sua, [290] et precabatur, et confitebatur coram Deo suo, quemadmodum fecerat a pristino illo tempore. [291]
Daniel now relates how he was clothed in the boldness of the Spirit of God [36]to offer his lif…
Transference of the kingdom to Darius the Mede; appointment of the regency; envy of the satraps against Daniel, and their attempt to destroy him.
The narrative of this chapter is connected by the copula ו with the occurrence recorded in the preceding; yet Dan 6:1 does not, as in the old versions and with many interpreters, belong to the fifth chapter, but to the sixth, and forms not merely the bond of connection between the events narrated in the fifth and sixth chapters, but furnishes at the same time the historical basis for the following narrative, vv. 2-29 (vv. 1-28). The statement of the verse, that Darius the Mede received the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old, connects its…
as usual: Daniel’s regular prayer time established him in the daily worship of God. • Jerusalem was God’s chosen city (1 Kgs 11:36). Though the Temple was gone, it was unthinkable to forget Jerusalem (Ps 137:5-6). Someday, the Temple would be rebuilt (Isa 2:2-4; 44:28).
Rashi on Daniel 6:9
you shall issue a decree lit. you shall put up this decree.
that will not be amended that will not be amended, like the law of Media and Persia.
which will not be repealed which will not pass.
Thanksgiving · Should be offered: In private worship — Should be offered: In private worship
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
