READING TIME: 1 MINUTE OR LESS
March 10, 2020
Daniel’s diet in Daniel 1:12 of only “vegetables” seems so restrictive. Were they only eating vegetables?
Dr. J. Paul Tanner’s comments on this verse are very helpful. Dr. Tanner’s commentary (which was just published 6 days ago) has become my favorite commentary on Daniel.
“The idea of eating only vegetables and water may not have been as restrictive as one might think. The word translated “vegetables” is from the Hebrew word zērōa,ʿ which has the basic idea of that which grows from “seed” (zeraʿ). This would include not only vegetables but fruits, grains, and bread made from grains (so Goldingay, 6). This would have been quite a healthy diet. The test, then, was simple: if after ten days the Hebrew youths looked fine, they could be allowed to continue the alternative diet.”
Source Used
Tanner, J. Paul. Daniel. Ed. H. Wayne House and William D. Barrick. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020. Evangelical Exegetical Commentary.
