Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 1:2

"And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god: and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god." — Daniel 1:2 (ASV)

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand - Jehoiakim was taken captive, and it seems that there was an intention to convey him to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:6). However, for some reason, he was not removed there but died at Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:5–6), though he was not honorably buried there (Jeremiah 22:19; Jeremiah 36:30).

In the second book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 36:6), it is said that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and bound Jehoiakim in fetters, to take him to Babylon. Jahn supposes that an error has crept into the text in the book of Chronicles, as there is no evidence that Jehoiakim was taken to Babylon.

However, it appears from 2 Kings 24:1–2 that Jehoiakim was continued in authority at Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar for three years and then rebelled against him. Nebuchadnezzar then sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it.

There is no need to suppose an error in the text of the account in the book of Chronicles. It is probable that Jehoiakim was taken and that the intention was to take him to Babylon, according to the account in Chronicles. However, for some unmentioned reason, the Chaldean monarch's purpose was changed. Jehoiakim was placed again over Judah under Nebuchadnezzar, according to the account in the book of Kings, and he remained in this condition for three years until he rebelled. Then the bands of Chaldeans and others were sent against him.

It is probable that at this time, perhaps while the siege was ongoing, he died. The Chaldeans then dragged his dead body out of the gates of the city and left it unburied, as Jeremiah had predicted (Jeremiah 22:19; Jeremiah 36:30).

With part of the vessels of the house of God - (2 Chronicles 36:7). Another portion of the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem was taken away by Nebuchadnezzar in the time of Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim's successor (2 Chronicles 36:10).

On the third invasion of Palestine, the same thing was repeated on a more extensive scale (2 Kings 24:13). At the fourth and final invasion, under Zedekiah, when the temple was destroyed, all its treasures were carried away (2 Kings 25:6–20).

A part of these treasures was brought back under Cyrus (Ezra 1:7), and the rest under Darius (Ezra 6:5).

Why they were not all taken away at first does not appear. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar did not then intend to overthrow the Hebrew nation completely but meant to keep them as a tributary people to him. The temple was not destroyed at that time; he probably still allowed the worship of Jehovah to be celebrated there and would naturally leave such vessels as were absolutely necessary to maintain the services of public worship.

Which he carried into the land of Shinar - This refers to the region around Babylon. The exact limits of this country are unknown, but it probably embraced the region known as Mesopotamia—the country between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The derivation of the name "Shinar" is unknown. It occurs only in Genesis 10:10; Genesis 11:2; Genesis 14:1, 9; Joshua 7:21; Isaiah 11:11; Daniel 1:2; and Zechariah 5:11.

To the house of his god - This refers to the temple of Bel at Babylon. This was a temple of great magnificence, and the worship of Bel was celebrated there with great splendor. For a description of this temple and of the god who was worshipped there, see the notes at Isaiah 46:1. These vessels were later brought out at Belshazzar's command during his celebrated feast and used in the conviviality and revelry of that occasion .

And he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god - It seems from this that the vessels had been taken to the temple of Bel, or Belus, in Babylon, not to be used in the worship of the idol, but to be stored among the valuable treasures there.

As the temples of the gods were sacred and regarded as inviolable, it would be natural to make them the repository of valuable spoils and treasures. Many of the spoils of the Romans were suspended around the walls of the temples of their gods, particularly in the temple of Victory. (Compare Eschenberg, “Manual of Class.” Literally, pt. iii. Sections 149, 150.)