Darius – Daughter-In-Law

Darius

da-ri'-us: The name of three or four kings mentioned in the Old Testament. In the original Persian it is spelled "Darayavaush"; in Babylonian, usually "Dariamush"; in Susian(?), "Tariyamaush"; in Egyptian "Antaryuash"; on Aramaic inscriptions, d-r-y-h-w-sh or d-r-y-w-h-w-sh; in Hebrew, dareyawesh; in Greek, Dareios; in Latin, "Darius." In meaning it is probably connected with the new Persian word Dara, "king." Herodotus says it means in Greek, Erxeies, coercitor, "restrainer," "compeller," "commander."

(1) Darius the Mede (Daniel 6:1; Daniel 11:1) was the son of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) of the seed of the Medes (Daniel 9:1). He received the government of Belshazzar the Chaldean upon the death of that prince (Daniel 5:30,Daniel 5:31; Daniel 6:1), and was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.

From Daniel 6:28 we may infer that Darius was king contemporaneously with Cyrus. Outside of the Book of Daniel there is no mention of Darius the Mede by name, though there are good reasons for identifying him with Gubaru, or Ugbaru, the governor of Gutium, who is said in the Nabunaid-Cyrus Chronicle to have been appointed by Cyrus as his governor of Babylon after its capture from the Chaldeans. Some reasons for this identification are as follows:

(a) Gubaru is possibly a translation of Darius. The same radical letters in Arabic mean "king," "compeller," "restrainer." In Hebrew, derivations of the root mean "lord," "mistress," "queen"; in Aramaic, "mighty," "almighty."

(b) Gutium was the designation of the country North of Babylon and was in all possibility in the time of Cyrus a part of the province of Media.

(c) But even if Gutium were not a part of Media at that time, it was the custom of Persian kings to appoint Medes as well as Persians to satrapies and to the command of armies. Hence, Darius-Gubaru may have been a Mede, even if Gutium were not a part of Media proper.

(d) Since Daniel never calls Darius the Mede king of Media, or king of Persia, it is immaterial what his title or position may have been before he was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. Since the realm of the Chaldeans never included either Media or Persia, there is absolutely no evidence in the Book of Daniel that its author ever meant to imply that Darius the Mede ever ruled over either Media or Persia.

(e) That Gubaru is called governor (pihatu), and Darius the Mede, king, is no objection to this identification; for in ancient as well as modern oriental empires the governors of provinces and cities were often called kings.

Moreover, in the Aramaic language, no more appropriate word than "king" can be found to designate the ruler of a sub-kingdom, or province of the empire.

(f) That Darius is said to have had 120 satraps under him does not conflict with this; for the Persian word "satrap" is indefinite as to the extent of his rule, just like the English word "governor." Besides, Gubaru is said to have appointed pihatus under himself. If the kingdom of the Chaldeans which he received was as large as that of Sargon he may easily have appointed 120 of these sub-rulers; for Sargon names 117 subject cities and countries over which he appointed his prefects and governors.

(g) The peoples, nations and tongues of chapter 6 are no objection to this identification; for Babylonia itself at this time was inhabited by Babylonians, Chaldeans, Arabians, Arameans and Jews, and the kingdom of the Chaldeans embraced also Assyrians, Elamites, Phoenicians and others within its limits.

(h) This identification is supported further by the fact that there is no other person known to history that can well be meant. Some, indeed, have thought that Darius the Mede was a reflection into the past of Darius Hystaspis; but this is rendered impossible inasmuch as the character, deeds and empire of Darius Hystaspis, which are well known to us from his own monuments and from the Greek historians, do not resemble what Daniel says of Darius the Mede.

(2) Darius, the fourth king of Persia, called Hystaspes because he was the son of a Persian king named Hystaspis, is mentioned in Ezr (4:5, et al.), Hag (1:1) and Zec (1:1). Upon the death of Cambyses, son and successor to Cyrus, Smerdis the Magian usurped the kingdom and was dethroned by seven Persian nobles from among whom Darius was selected to be king. After many rebellions and wars he succeeded in establishing himself firmly upon the throne (Ant., XI, i). He reorganized and enlarged the Persian empire. He is best known to general history from his conflict with Greece culminating at Marathon, and for his re-digging of the Suez Canal. In sacred history he stands forth as the king who enabled the Jews under Jeshua and Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem.

(3) Darius, called by the Greeks Nothus, was called Ochus before he became king. He reigned from 424 to 404 BC. In the Scriptures he is mentioned only in Nehemiah 12:22, where he is called Darius the Persian, probably to distinguish him from Darius the Mede.

It is not necessary to suppose that Darius Codomannus who reigned from 336 to 330 BC, is meant by the author of Nehemiah 12:1–47, because he mentions Jaddua; for (a) Johanan, the father of this Jaddua, was high priest about 408 BC, as is clear from the Aramaic papyrus from Elephantine lately published by Professor Sachau of Berlin, and Jaddua may well have succeeded him in those troubled times before the death of Darius Nothus in 404 BC. And (b) that a high priest named Jaddua met Alexander in 332 BC, is attested only by Josephus (Ant., XI, viii, 5). It is not fair to take the testimony of Josephus as to Jaddua without taking his testimony as to the meeting with Alexander and as to the appeal of Jaddua to the predictions of the Book of Daniel. But even if Josephus be right, there may have been two Jadduas, one high priest in 404 BC, and the other in 332 BC; or the one who was alive and exercising his functions in 404 BC may still have been high priest in 332 BC. He need not have exceeded 90 years of age.

According to the Eshki Harran inscription, which purports to have been written by himself, the priest of the temple in that city had served for 104 years. In our own time how many men have been vigorous in mind and body at the age of 90, or thereabouts; Bismarck and Gladstone, for example?

R. Dick Wilson

Dark Sayings

(Proverbs 1:6; Psalms 78:2; singular, Psalms 49:4,Psalms 49:5; chidhoth, singular chidhah, elsewhere rendered "riddle," "proverb"): In the heading to the canonical Book of Proverbs, the general term "proverbs" is made to include "a proverb mashal, and a figure (or, an interpretation, melitsah), the words (singular dabhar) of the wise, and their dark sayings (or, riddles)."

The "proverb" is either a saying current among the people (compare 1 Samuel 10:12; "the proverb of the ancients" 24:13 (14)), or a sentence of ethical wisdom composed by the order of wise men (chakhamim). Of the latter kind are the sententious maxims of the Wisdom literature (chiefly Proverbs, but also Job, Ecclesiastes, and among the uncanonical writings, Ecclesiasticus). They are characterized by a secular touch; wisdom, moreover, flourished among the neighbors of Israel as well; so in Edom and elsewhere.

Whatever the date of the collection known as the "Proverbs of Solomon," the wise men existed in Israel at a very early period; the prophets allude to them. But the Hebrew mashal is sometimes of a more elaborate character corresponding to our "parables"; frequently a vein of taunt runs through them, and they played an important part in compositions directed against other nations (compare Numbers 21:27). The prophets are fond of employing this genre of literary production; in their hands the mashal becomes a figurative or allegorical discourse (compare Ezekiel 21:5 ff (8 ff)). The mashal in the sense of a didactic poem occurs also in the Psalms (Pss 49 and 78). Hence, it is that "proverb" and "figure," or "proverb" and "dark saying" are interchangeable terms. The "dark saying" is the popular "riddle" (compare Judges 14:1–20) raised to the dignity of elaborate production.

It is in short an allegorical sentence requiring interpretation. Both prophets and psalmists avail themselves thereof. The word of God comes to the prophet in the form of a vision (compare the visions of Amos or Jeremiah), i.e. the truth presents itself to them in the form of a simile. To the perfect prophet of the type of Moses the revelation comes direct in the shape of the naked truth without the mediation of figures of speech or obscure utterances requiring elucidation (compare Numbers 12:1–16). In the same way Paul (1 Corinthians 13:1–13) distinguishes between the childish manner of speaking of things spiritual and the manner of a man: "For now we see in a mirror, darkly (Greek "in a riddle"); but then face to face." The rabbis say that, whereas all the other prophets saw God and things Divine in a dim mirror, Moses saw them in a polished, clear mirror. Both Paul and the rabbis feel the difference between mediate and immediate vision, the revelation which requires dark figurative language as a vehicle and the clear perception which is the direct truth.

Max L. Margolis

Dark; Darkness

dark, dark'-nes (choshekh; skotos):

1. Darkness and Light in Palestine:

The day and night, light and darkness, are notable antitheses in Palestine. There the day does not slowly fade away into the night after a period of twilight, but before sunset there is the brightness of day, and when the sun has disappeared everything has changed and night is at hand. From sunset until the darkness of night is less than an hour.

2. Symbolic Uses:

In the Bible the main use of darkness is in contrast to light. Light is the symbol of God's purity, wisdom and glory. Darkness is the opposite. Miraculous occurrence of darkness in the land of Egypt for three days is recorded in Exodus 10:21,Exodus 10:22, and at the death of Christ (Matthew 27:45). See PLAGUE; ECLIPSE.

The figurative uses of darkness are many and various. It is used as a symbol

(a) of moral depravity and its punishment. The wicked walk and work in darkness (Psalms 82:5; Proverbs 2:13; John 3:19; Romans 13:12), and their reward is to "sit in darkness" (Psalms 107:10) or to be "cast forth into the outer darkness" (Matthew 8:12);

(b) of things mysterious or inexplicable (1 Kings 8:12; Psalms 97:2);

(c) of trouble and affliction (2 Samuel 22:29; Job 5:14; Proverbs 20:20; Isaiah 9:2; compare Genesis 15:12);

(d) of punishment (Lamentations 3:2; Ezekiel 32:8; Zechariah 1:15); (e) of death (1 Samuel 2:9; Job 10:21 Ecclesiastes 11:8); (f) of nothingness (Job 3:4–6); (g) of human ignorance (Job 19:8; 1 John 2:11).

"A dark (the Revised Version, margin "squalid") place" (2 Peter 1:19) refers especially to the state of things described in 2Pe 2.

Alfred H. Joy

Darkly

dark'-li: The word occurs in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see in a mirror, darkly," in translation of the words en ainigmati, the Revised Version, margin "in a riddle." The contrast is with the "face to face" vision of Divine things in eternity. Earth's best knowledge is partial, obscure, enigmatic, a broken reflection of the complete truth ("broken lights of Thee").

Darkon

dar'-kon (darqon, "carrier"): Ancestor of a subdivision of "Solomon's servants," so called, in post-exilic times (Ezra 2:56; Ne 7:58; Lozon, 1 Esdras 5:33).

Darling

dar'-ling (yachidh, "only," the King James Version margin, "only one"; the American Revised Version, margin, "dear life"): Used poetically for the life or soul (Psalms 22:20; Psalms 35:17).

Dart

dart (chets; belos): A pointed missile weapon, as an arrow or light spear (2 Samuel 18:14; Job 41:26). See ARMOR; ARMS, III, 4; ARROW. Figurative:

(1) Of the penalty of sin (Proverbs 7:23 the King James Version);

(2) of strong suggestions and fierce temptations to evil (Ephesians 6:16; compare 1 Macc 5:51).

Dart-Snake

dart'-snake (Isaiah 34:15). See ARROWSNAKE.

Dash

The idea of "to throw violently" or "to strike" with purpose of causing destruction is usually connected with the word "to dash." There is perhaps but one exception to this: Psalms 91:12 and the quotations of this passage in the New Testament (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:11, proskopto), have the meaning "to strike against accidentally" and not intentionally. Nahum 2:1, "he that dasheth in pieces" is doubtful. "He that scatters" would be in better harmony with the Hebrew mephits, and the following description of destruction. In all other cases "to dash" is connected with the idea of destruction, especially the infliction of punishment which is usually expressed by raTash, "to dash to the ground" (2 Kings 8:12; Isaiah 13:16 ff, et al., "to dash in pieces," the King James Version simply "to dash"), but also by naphats, "to break to pieces" (Psalms 2:9; Psalms 137:9, et al.). See also PUNISHMENTS.

A. L. Breslich

Dates

dats (debhash): Arabic, dibbs (2 Chronicles 31:5, King James Version margin); English Versions of the Bible HONEY (which see). See also PALM TREE.

Dathan

da'-than (dathan, meaning and derivation unknown, though the name is found in Assyrian, in the records of Shalmaneser II): The son of Eliab the son of Pallu the son of Reuben (Numbers 26:5 Deuteronomy 11:6; Psalms 106:17). He and his brother Abiram, with others, followed Korah the Levite in disputing the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Numbers 16:1–17:13; Numbers 26:1–65; Deuteronomy 11:6; Psalms 106:17). Other followers of Korah perished by fire before the tent of meeting, but Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the earth, with their families and their goods, at their tents. See KORAH.

Willis J. Beecher

Dathema

dath'-e-ma (Dathema): A stronghold (1 Macc 5:29) in Gilead to which the Jews fled for refuge from the heathen (1 Macc 5:9). They were delivered by Judas and Jonathan his brother. It was within a night's march from Bosora. It may possibly be identical with `Athaman which lies East of el-Muzeribe in disputing the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Numbers 16:1–17:13; Numbers 26:1–65; Deuteronomy 11:6; Psalms 106:17). Other followers of Korah perished by fire before the tent of meeting, but Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the earth, with their families and their goods, at their tents.

Daub

dob: "To daub" always has the meaning "to cover," "to smear with" in the Scriptures. Ezekiel compares the flatteries of the false prophets to a slight wall covered with whitewash (literally, "spittle"). See Ezekiel 13:10, Ezekiel 22:28. In Exodus 2:3 "daubed it with slime and with pitch" (Hebrew wattachmerah, denominative of chemar, "bitumen" or "asphalt"), "to daub" has the same meaning as in the Ezekiel passage.

Daughter

do'-ter (bath; thugater): Used in Scriptures in several more or less distinct senses:

(a) for daughter in the ordinary, literal sense (Genesis 46:25; Exodus 1:16);

(b) daughter-in-law (Ruth 2:2);

(c) grand-daughter or other female descendant (Exodus 21:1–36; Luke 1:5; Luke 13:16);

(d) the women of a country, or of a place, taken collectively (Luke 23:28), of a particular religion (Malachi 2:11);

(e) all the population of a place, taken collectively, especially in Prophets and poetic books (Psalms 9:14; Isaiah 23:10; Jeremiah 46:24; Matthew 21:5);

(f) used in familiar address, "Daughter, be of good comfort" (Matthew 9:22 the King James Version; Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48);

(g) women in general (Proverbs 31:29);

(h) the personification of towns or cities, as of the female sex (Isaiah 47:1; Ezekiel 16:44,Ezekiel 16:46; compare Nahum 3:4,Nahum 3:7), especially of dependent towns and villages (Psalms 48:11; Numbers 21:25 margin; Judges 1:27 margin);

(i) in Hebrew idiom for person or thing belonging to or having the characteristics of that with which it is joined, as "daughter of ninety years," of Sarah, ninety years old (Genesis 17:17); "daughters of music," singing birds, or singing women (Ecclesiastes 12:4); daughters of a tree, i. e. branches; daughter of the eye, i. e. the pupil.

Daughters were not so highly prized as sons, not being usually mentioned by name. A father might sometimes sell his daughter as bondwoman (Exodus 21:7); though not to a foreigner (Exodus 21:8); daughters might sometimes inherit as did sons, but could not take the inheritance outside of the tribe (Numbers 36:1–12).

Edward Bagby Pollard

Daughter-In-Law

See RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY.