The prophecies against God’s people that we have just been reading about in the book of Ezekiel, and earlier in Jeremiah and Isaiah, have become reality. Babylon has defeated Judah, and we get the details of the insidious but ingenious plan of the victors to subjugate the conquered people.
The best and brightest of Israel — young men who were born to privilege in Judah’s noble families — talented, gifted, accomplished, handsome young men (the equivalent of Ivy-leaguers with movie star good-looks) are shipped to Babylon to be trained to serve the government there.
It is clear, however, that this is more than training — it is total social integration. The Jewish youths are given Babylonian names, schooled in the language and culture of Babylon, and fed from the King’s table with Babylonian delicacies. Everything about their day to day lives was devoted to becoming “Babylonian.” In the end, the object was to erase all vestiges of Jewish culture in these men. Daniel and his three friends were part of this “class,” and were probably in their late teens or early twenties when this all began.
While these young men were given a form of special treatment because of their status in the prominent families of Judah or because of their talents, they were still slaves to the King of Babylon. It was customary at that time for Babylon to castrate all the male slaves in the King’s service, making them eunuchs. Therefore, some scholars have suggested Daniel was made a eunuch as well. There is no specific biblical reference either way, which leaves this issue uncertain.
There are certain indicators from Scripture to support the view Daniel was made a eunuch. First, he was never married. Second, as mentioned, he was a slave in a time and place where castration of slaves was common. Third, a prophecy in 2 Kings 20:18 indicates that some of King Hezekiah’s descendants would one day be taken from Israel to serve in the palace of the king of Babylon as eunuchs: “And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Daniel 1:3 indicates Daniel and his friends were under the authority of Ashpenaz, whose title, “chief of [the King’s] court officials” can technically be translated as “chief eunuch” from the original Hebrew.
The Babylonian King castrated his servants to ensure his advisers did not have children or romantic interests that might tempt them towards betrayal. This procedure was intended to make the slaves asexual, disinterested in sex, lacking sexual urges, and unable to produce children.
There is no clear answer, and I don’t have an opinion either way, but this concept is helpful in understanding how narrow Daniel’s world probably was — he was being forced to not just serve a foreign king, but to give up everything he held dear about his God, his culture, his people, and, perhaps, his own manhood. The King of Babylon was trying to obliterate the very identify of all these young men.
But in verse 8, Daniel takes a stand. “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”
Imagine the pressure Daniel and his friends faced as they arrived in Babylon. They had just witnessed the catastrophic defeat of their nation, the destruction of their temple, with their families and friends mercilessly slaughtered, and they found themselves forced to live in a strange, offensive culture in what was the most glittering and powerful city in the known world. They were enlisted in the service of the king of Babylon — and they had to accept it. Their education was to embrace the Babylonian culture — and they had to accept it. Their names were changed to Babylonian — and they had to accept it. Their food was to be the identical Babylonian delicacies that were presented to the King — and Daniel and his friends drew the line there.
Why? As noted above, Daniel really did not have much of a choice. He was a slave. To have objected to serving the King, or to the educational program, or to refuse to accept his new Babylonian name would most likely have been fatal. If part of the preparation for this service were to become a eunuch, he would have already suffered considerably. Why, then, did he draw the line at eating Babylonian food?
Thirty years ago, the concept of following Daniel’s example and eating only vegetables and abstaining from alcohol became trendy in Christian culture in America. There were even books published (available from your local Christian bookstore) about following the “Daniel Fast.” The mindset was focused on diet and health, and, admittedly, the first chapter of Daniel ostensibly proved that eating a pure and natural diet was God’s plan, as opposed to consuming the rich, processed, unhealthy fare like the Babylonians consumed. The modern equivalent of Daniel’s “diet” was farm-fresh produce; while eating nothing but fast food was akin to the food served at the King’s table.
While there is wisdom in eating healthy, I do not think that interpretation gets at what is really happening here.
The identity of the Jewish people was grounded, in part, in the rules they followed about what they would and would not eat and drink. Daniel’s dietary choices were part of what it meant to belong to God. The King’s menu likely featured ceremonially unclean animals slaughtered or prepared in a way that violated the temple’s regulations. Even if the King’s food choices did not directly violate the law of Moses, the food or wine was probably offered to pagan idols prior to being served.
Ultimately, accepting the King’s rations would imply that Daniel was giving his absolute allegiance to the King — something he simply could not do. Daniel was devoted to following the one true God and giving up control of his diet in a way that contradicted God’s law would be a compromise of his conscience and identity in a way that his name change was not.
Daniel was not motivated by his concerns for healthy living, but his devotion to God. He stuck to his convictions and proved it did not hinder the King’s will or goals. He and his friends came out of the training period healthier and better prepared than everyone else. This could be attributed to a healthy, more efficient lifestyle. But I believe Daniel’s dietary choices were grounded in discipline, clear vision, and godly devotion. He wisely found a way to honor God at the same time he honored the King, and this wisdom helped him find favor.
