Daniel 6:15 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 6:15
Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
a person · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
assembled
הַרְגִּ֖שׁוּhar.Gi.shu
H7284
to gather tumultuously · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine plural
unto
עַל'al-
H5922
above · preposition
king
מַלְכָּ֑אmal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
said
וְאָמְרִ֣יןve.'a.me.Rin
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
king
לְמַלְכָּ֗אle.mal.Ka'
H4430
a king · preposition + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
Know
דַּ֤עda'
H3046
to know (properly · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
king
מַלְכָּא֙mal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
law
דָת֙dat
H1882
a royal edict or statute · noun, common both genders singular absolute
Medes
לְמָדַ֣יle.ma.Dai
H4076
Madai · preposition + proper noun, a place name
Persians
וּפָרַ֔סu.fa.Ras
H6540
Paras (i.e. Persia) · conjunction + proper noun, a place name
no
כָלkhol-
H3606
properly · noun, common both genders singular construct
decree
אֱסָ֥ר'e.Sar
H633
an interdict · noun, common both genders singular absolute
statute
וּקְיָ֛םu.ke.Yam
H7010
an edict (as arising in law) · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular absolute
king
מַלְכָּ֥אmal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
establisheth
יְהָקֵ֖יםye.ha.Keim
H6966
to rise (in various applications · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
changed
לְהַשְׁנָיָֽהle.hash.na.Yah
H8133
to alter · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct
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
Daniel 6:12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a…
Esther 8:8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the…
Psalms 94:20-21 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
Daniel 6:8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alter…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 6:11-17
Here is 1. Proof made of Daniel's praying to his God, notwithstanding the late edict to the contrary (Dan 6:11): These men assembled; the came tumultuously together, so the word is, the same that was used Dan 6:6, borrowed from Psa 2:1, Why do the heathen rage? They came together to visit Daniel, perhaps under pretence of business, at that time which they knew to be his usual hour of devotion; and, if they had not found him so engaged, they would have upbraided him with his faint-heartedness and distrust of his God, but (which they rather wished to do) they found him on his knees praying and making supplication before his God. For his love they are his adversaries; but, like his father David…
displeased with himself--for having suffered himself to be entrapped into such a hasty decree (Pro 29:20). On the one hand he was pressed by the immutability of the law, fear that the princes might conspire against him, and desire to consult for his own reputation, not to seem fickle; on the other, by regard for Daniel, and a desire to save him from the effects of his own rash decree.
till . . . going down of . . . sun--The king took this time to deliberate, thinking that after sunset Daniel would be spared till morning, and that meanwhile some way of escape would turn up. But (Dan 6:15) the conspirators "assembled tumultuously" (literally) to prevent this delay in the execution, lest the…
Then these men assembled - Having got favorable answers, as we may presume, from many individuals, he called a parliament; but they now collectively joined to urge the execution of the law, not its repeal.
John Gill on Daniel 6:15
Then these men assembled to the king,.... Who had left him for a while to consider of the case; or they departed to consult among themselves about the king's proposals to them; or went home to their own houses to dinner, and returned in a body; they came in a tumultuous way, as the word signifies; see Daniel 6:6, they cluttered about him, and were very rude and noisy, and addressed him in an authoritative and threatening manner:
and said unto the king, know O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed; they perceived that he was desirous of altering or nullifying the decree he had made, which to have done would have…
The Church Fathers
You do not have the authority to overturn what you have prescribed, the laws of Medes and Persians ordering that the laws passed by the previous king be fulfilled. Under pressure both from the compelling logic of the words and from the number of the accusers, the king surrendered blessed Daniel to the lions.
Verse 15. "But those men, understanding the king's intent, said to him: 'Be it known to thee, O king, that no law of the Medes and Persians, nor any decree which the king has enacted, is capable of alteration.'" Just as the king understood that the princes were making their accusation out of motives of envy, so also they for their part understood what the king's purpose was, namely that he wished to rescue Daniel from imminent death. And so they allege that according to the law of the Medes and Persians, the commands of a king cannot be nullified.
But it was so that he may not be rescued by man, and his deliverance not be considered to be by the favor of the king, but rather that the work of God may be shown to be accomplished in him. And so it was already evening and the king was conversing on his behalf with the satraps when they spoke saying, "Know, O king, that for the Medes and Persians, the decree of every edict and statute which the king has set, may not be changed," [Daniel 6:15] in this word they wanted to shame the king, lest the decree which had been marked out by him, may not be certain and the rest of the things which were set out by him may be considered to be invalid.
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
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…
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.…
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…
Civil Service · CORRUPTION IN — CORRUPTION IN
Conspiracy · .Daniel — .Daniel
Constitution · AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE RULER AND PEOPLE — AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE RULER AND PEOPLE
Daniel · .Courage and fi — .Courage and fi
Decrees · Of the Me — Of the Me
Hatred · Exemplified: Enemies of Daniel — Exemplified: Enemies of Daniel
Daniel 6:14-15
14. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
14. Tunc rex, postquam sermonem audivit, valde tristatus est, [297] in se: et ad Danielem apposuit cor, [298] ad ipsum servandum: et usque ad occasum solis fuit solicitus ad ipsum eruendum. [299]
15. Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
15. Tunc conglobati sunt viri illi [300] ad regem, et dixerunt, Scias, rex, quod lex Medis et Persis e…
Daniel's offence against the law; his accusation, condemnation, and miraculous deliverance from the den of lions; and the punishment of his accusers.
The satraps did not wait long for Daniel's expected disregard of the king's prohibition. It was Daniel's custom, on bended knees, three times a day to offer prayer to his God in the upper chamber of his house, the window thereof being open towards Jerusalem. He continued this custom even after the issuing of the edict; for a discontinuance of it on account of that law would have been a denying of the faith and a sinning against God. On this his enemies had reckoned. They secretly watched him, and immediately reported his disregard of the king's…
The king had not thought through all the consequences of signing the law. • deeply troubled: Or very angry for being tricked. He did not want to execute his best servant.
Rashi on Daniel 6:15
when...heard the thing [as translated,] when he heard the thing.
he became very displeased It was very bad in his eyes because he loved Daniel, and his death would be painful to him.
and he gave Daniel a reprieve to save him He gave Daniel a reprieve to push off the matter to save him, and he said to them, “I don’t believe you.”
a reprieve Aram. בָּל. I do not know of any word like it, but its context shows its meaning.
and until sunset and until sunset he tried to save him, but when the time of his prayer arrived, he prayed his prayer, and the king had no longer had a pretext to save him.
Persecution · Suffering of — Exemplified: Daniel — Suffering of — Exemplified: Daniel
Politics · .Of Darius — .Of Darius
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).
