Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 1:5

"And the king appointed for them a daily portion of the king`s dainties, and of the wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years; that at the end thereof they should stand before the king." — Daniel 1:5 (ASV)

A daily portion. — . The meat was solid food, as opposed to the wine and vegetables which formed so important a part of Babylonian diet. The food appears to have been sent from the king’s table.

Three years. — The king appears to have had sufficient insight into the extraordinary character of these youths, to enable him to prescribe not only the subjects of their studies but also the length of their course of instruction. It appears that Nebuchadnezzar was a man of far higher character than many Assyrian and Babylonian kings. We will see, in the course of the book, that his heart was fitted for the reception of Divine truth, and that in the end he was brought to know the true God.