John Calvin Commentary Daniel 2:13-15

"So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain. Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king`s guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king`s captain, Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel." — Daniel 2:13-15 (ASV)

It appears from these words that some of the wise men had been slain, for Daniel at first was not called for slaughter. But when the Magi and Chaldeans were indiscriminately dragged out for punishment, Daniel and his companions were in the same danger. And this is clearly expressed thus—when the edict had gone forth, that is, was published, according to the Latin phrase, and the wise men were slain, then Daniel was also sought. This was because the king would never allow his decree to be despised after it had once been published. For if he had publicly commanded this to be done, and no execution had followed, would this not have been ridiculous?

Hence, it is very probable that the slaughter of the Magi and Chaldeans was extensive. Although the king had no lawful reason for this conduct, yet they deserved their punishment. For, as we said yesterday, they deserved to be exterminated from the world, and this pest had to be removed if it could possibly be accomplished.

If Nebuchadnezzar had been like David, or Hezekiah, or Josiah, he might most justly have destroyed them all and have purged the land from such defilements. But as he was only carried away by the fervor of his wrath, he himself was at fault. Meanwhile, God justly punished the Chaldeans, and this admonition ought to have benefited all the people.

They were hardened in their error and were undoubtedly rendered more inexcusable by being blinded to such a judgment of God. Because Daniel was condemned to death, even though he had not been summoned by the king, the injustice of the edicts issued by kings who do not investigate the cases they are judging becomes more manifest.

Nebuchadnezzar had often heard of Daniel and had been compelled to admire the brilliance of his intellect and the unique gift of his wisdom. How, then, does it happen that he overlooked him when he needed his unique skill? Although the king anxiously inquires about the dream, yet we observe he does not act seriously, since it would undoubtedly have occurred to him, “Behold, you had formerly seen in the captives of Judah the incredible gift of heavenly wisdom—then, first of all, send for them!” Here the king’s sloth is revealed because he did not send for Daniel among the others.

We have stated that this was governed by the secret providence of God, who was unwilling for His servant to mix with those ministers of Satan, whose whole knowledge consisted in deception and errors. We now see how the king had neglected the gift of God and had stifled the light offered to him; but Daniel is next dragged to death.

Therefore, I have said that tyrants are, for this reason, very unjust and inflict cruel violence because they are unwilling to undertake the labor and trouble of inquiry.

Meanwhile, we see that God wonderfully snatches His own people from the jaws of death, as happened in Daniel’s case. For we may be surprised that Arioch spared his life when he slew the others who were natives.

How can we explain Daniel being treated with more humanity than the Chaldeans, even though he was a foreigner and a captive? It was because his life was in God’s hand and keeping, who restrained the prefect’s mind and hand from being immediately savage toward him.

But it is said—Daniel inquired about the counsel and the edict. Some translate this as prudently and cunningly. And עטא, gneta, signifies “prudence,” just as טעם, tegem, is metaphorically understood as “intelligence” when it signifies taste.

But we will later find this latter word used for an edict, and because this meaning seems to fit better, I therefore adopt it, as Daniel had inquired of the prefect about the meaning of the edict and the king’s design.

Arioch is also called the Prince of Satellites. Some translate this title as 'chief of the executioners,' and others as 'chief of the cooks,' for טבח, tebech, signifies “to slay,” but the noun derived from this means a cook. Thus Potiphar is called, to whom Joseph was sold (Genesis 39:1). It seems to me a kind of absurdity to call him the 'prince of jailers'; and if we call him the 'prefect of cooks,' this is equally unsuitable for his duty of being sent to slay the Chaldeans. I therefore prefer to interpret it more mildly, supposing him to be the prefect of the guards. For, as I have said, Potiphar is called רב טבחים, reb tebechi, and here only the pronunciation is changed. It follows:

Daniel also had said, Why does the edict hasten so from the king? It seems from these words that Daniel indirectly blames the king’s anger and ingratitude, because he did not inquire with sufficient diligence before he rushed into that cruel punishment. Then Daniel seems to point out the king’s ingratitude, since he was now undeservedly doomed to death without being summoned, even though the king might have known what was in him.

Since Daniel refers to haste, I do not doubt that he was expostulating with the king, because he was neither summoned nor listened to, and yet was to be slain with the rest, as if he were guilty of the same fault as the Chaldeans. The conclusion is—there was no reason for such haste, since the king would probably find what he desired if he inquired more diligently.

It is afterwards added, Arioch explained the matter to Daniel. From this it appears that Daniel was previously ignorant of the whole matter, and hence we may conjecture the amount of terror that seized the devout man. For he had known nothing about it and was led to punishment suddenly and unexpectedly, as if he had been guilty.

Therefore, it was necessary for him to be divinely strengthened, so that he might with composure seek the proper time from both the prefect and the king for relating the dream and adding its interpretation. Daniel’s ability to act so composedly arose from God’s unique gift, since terror would otherwise have seized his mind.

For we are aware that in sudden events, we often become flustered and lose our presence of mind. Since nothing of this kind was perceived in Daniel, it becomes clear that his mind was governed by God’s Spirit. It is afterwards added—

We observe with what purpose and with what confidence Daniel demanded an extension of time. His purpose was to implore God’s grace. Confidence was also present, since he perceived that a double punishment awaited him if he were to disappoint the king; if he had returned the next day without an answer, the king would not have been satisfied with an easy death, but would have raged cruelly against Daniel because of his deception.

Without the slightest doubt, Daniel expected what he obtained—namely, that the king’s dream would be revealed to him. He therefore urged his companions to implore God's mercy together. Daniel had already obtained the singular gift of being an interpreter of dreams, and as we have seen, he alone was a Prophet of God.

God was accustomed to manifest his intentions to his prophets by dreams or visions (Numbers 12:6), and Daniel had obtained both. Since Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah were united with him in prayer, we gather that they were not induced by ambition to desire anything for themselves; for if they had been rivals of Daniel, they could not have prayed in concord with him.

They did not pray about their own private concerns, but only for the interpretation of the dream to be made known to Daniel. We also observe how sincerely they agreed in their prayers, how all pride and ambition were laid aside, and how they had no desire for their own advantage.

Besides, it is noteworthy why they are said to have desired mercy from God. Although they did not even come into God’s presence as criminals, they still hoped their request would be graciously granted, and so the word “mercy” is used.

Whenever we fly to God for assistance in our necessities, our eyes and all our senses ought always to be turned towards his mercy, for his mere goodwill reconciles him to us.

When it is said, at the close of the verse, — they should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon, some explain this as if they were anxious about the lives of the Magi and wished to snatch them also from death. But although they wished all persons to be safe, it is clear enough that they here separated themselves from the Magi and Chaldeans; their conduct was far different.