Daniel believes that eating the King’s food will defile him. Why does he think this?
The NRSV has “royal rations,” the NIV simply has “food.” The Hebrew here uses a Persian loan-word פַּתְ־בַּג (pat-bag), a word is used only here and 11:26 in the Old Testament. The Syriac cognate means something like a delicacy or rich food. Whatever it was, the food was the best quality, not only fit for a king, it was literally eaten by a king.
According to 2 Kings 25:29, King Jehoiachin was also ate the King’s food when in exile. There is nothing judgmental in the 2 Kings passage, although some detect an unfavorable comparison to Daniel here. While Jehoiachin ate the king’s food, Daniel refused.
Why does Daniel refuse to eat the King’s food? There are several possibilities. First, some of the food may have been forbidden according to Leviticus 11 or 17:10-14. Pig and horse was commonly eaten in Babylon (Baldwin, Daniel, 83), both would violate Jewish food taboos. Occasionally someone will claim the food is not kosher, but this is an anachronism since the kosher traditions followed today may not have been developed in 600 BC. Daniel also refused the wine of the king, although wine is never forbidden as unclean in the Law. It is possible the wine had been offered to the gods of Babylon, or that Daniel had taken a Nazarite vow.
A second explanation is the refusal is Jewish law forbids the eating of meat that is sacrificed to false gods. This is true later in history and it makes sense for Daniel 1. Eating meat sacrificed to idols is always a problem for Jews living in the diaspora and is a serious controversy in some of Paul’s churches (Romans 14-15, for example). But there is not much evidence it was a problem in the Old Testament.
Third, a better explanation is Daniel understands eating the king’s food represents accepting the king’s friendship and patronage. To share food is to commit oneself to a relationship (Gen 31:54, Exod 24:11, Neh 8:9-12). Remember King Jehoiachin accepted the king’s food implying his loyalty to Babylon. In fact, Daniel 11:26 warns against everyone who eats from the “rich food” of the king who is to come (repeating the word פַּתְ־בַּג, pat-bag).
Daniel does not refuse the training of the king or the use of a new name, but he draws the line at the eating the king’s food because it is a public declaration of dependency on the king. Daniel not rely on Nebuchadnezzar, but only on the Lord.
Daniel therefore resolves himself not to eat this food. This is literally “sets his heart” not to eat the food. Daniel understands the situation, and decides, in his heart, what is right and what is wrong, and choose to do the right thing. Once set, Daniel will not be moved.
His plan is to eat only vegetables and water so he will not defile himself. The word זֵרְעֹנִים (zērĕʿōnîm) refers to seeds and herbs, but it probably refers to food grown from seeds. Whatever the food was, Daniel chose not to eat the king’s food. (This is not a pro-vegetarian passage!) The chief does not think this is a wise idea, since he is certain that without the king’s food they four will be weaker than the rest, then he will get into trouble.
After Daniel determines in his heart not to eat the food, the Lord gives favor to Daniel and his fellow captives so that the guard accepts the alternate plan for a trial period. Just as the Lord was active in the fall of Jerusalem, he is active in the preservation of Daniel and his friends – they might very well have been executed for their refusal of the direct order of the king!
The text says that the boys are “fatter of flesh,” meaning healthier. This recalls Joseph’s vision of the “fat cows,” meaning very healthy, exactly the way you expect a prize cow to be. Here is means that the boys are visibly healthier than the other men in the king’s training.
Love the meme.
2Ki 24:30 should read 2Ki 25:29
Good catch. Not sure how I made that error; I thought maybe the MT or LXX chapters are different, but they are not. Just my error.
I think the point about food indicating an acceptance of a particular relationship is very telling. Frankly, all of the various institutions that Jews practice now were not put into place until a much later time in history–such as the requirement to only commit oneself to food that is kosher. Even now, although most people do not acknowledge it, the act of eating food implies a great deal about community. For a rather pointed example, suppose I were to start spending time with a lady, and over the course of a few weeks, we grow rather fond of each other. The invitation to go “out to eat” actually carries a lot of weight. It is not simply a recreational activity that we would do for fun–although that is of course partially true–it is rather a symbol that identifies us as officially “dating”. Perhaps that is a bit crude to compare this example to the text about Daniel refusing the King’s food, but I think it clarifies my point. Jesus ate with “sinners” in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), and people found this to be rather offensive. Why? Because eating implies acceptance and relationship. If eating were merely a recreational activity, then the Pharisees would of had nothing to complain about. Daniel obviously understood this to some degree, but I wonder if his reaction to the King’s official was predetermined and intentional or merely intuitive. Either way, he obviously chose to do the right thing. Frankly, according to the context, I believe if he went with his gut, he would have devoured the food–as any teenage boy might do. Thus, before the request even came before him, he knew that he was going to refuse. This is a great lesson for us today. Our theology is not merely head knowledge, but it prepares us for very important moral decisions that we will have to make.
Compare Esther 2:6.
Esther is distinguished in that while all the potential brides are supplied with cosmetics, Hegai “the guardian of women” gives her cosmetics and a ration. It’s a particularly interesting distinction, because her cousin Mordechai is identified as being among the exiles “who were exiled from Jerusalem … with Jehoiachin the king of Judah”.
Maybe Mordechai’s family also received a royal ration, as part of Jehoiachin’s group of exiles and she was entitled to part of it? But if so, it would be hard to reconcile with the statement in 2:10 that she didn’t tell anyone her name or ancestry. So we have the virtuous Daniel, who stood out by declining the king’s rations; and the virtuous Esther, who stood out by receiving them. Consequently, I don’t think that we should understand Daniel’s refusal as being a mark of praiseworthy independence: the most parsimonious explanation is that Esther 2:6 is consistent with Daniel 1:8-16 and that it is refusing to eat the common diet that is a sign of piety.
I think the reason most readers consider Daniel’s refusal is praiseworthy is the Book of Daniel presents it that way. But your comparison to Esther is fair, since in her case she was willing to become part of the harem of the Persian king (and accept all that comes with being part of the harem) rather than refuse these honors and accept death.
A major theme of Daniel is resisting the empire (even to the point of death) but that is not the theme of Esther. The writers of the books are presenting a very different story. Food (or patronage) is not the issue in Esther…but it is disturbing that she hides her heritage. Is that ever condemned or praised in the book?
Maybe it’s implicitly condemned in Esther 4:13-14 when Mordechai says “Do not imagine that in the king’s palace you will escape the fate of all the Jews”. If so, that underscores the contrast with Daniel who was also in the palace but didn’t try to conceal his identity. But Mordechai then goes on to suggest that there’s a reason Esther is there: so that she can be the agent of deliverance for the Jews. So my reading of the contrasting messages is that Daniel refuses to assimilate, as an act of piety, even when his life is threatened. Esther assimilates (at least outwardly) because her life is threatened, but at the critical moment she reveals her identity and intercedes for her brethren.
I can imagine this as a dialogue among the exiled Judaean community: whether to proudly refuse to assimilate; or whether to go along with the dominant culture in public, while privately retaining a Judaean identity. People taking the second course would be able to say that by “fitting in” they could help their fellow exiles. I imagine there must have been a dialogue along those lines, but of course I don’t know whether it’s actually reflected in the texts.
It is clear that Daniel refused to eat the food that the king’s servant offered him and over the years, people have stated various reasons for Daniel’s action. 1, Some argue that horse and pig meat was eaten in Babylon and this is why Daniel and his friend refuses to eat because that type of food was prohibited in the Jewish culture. 2, Others believe that the main reason Daniel and his 3 friends refused the food because the food that was being served to them was the meat of animals that had been sacrificed to Babylon gods, and knowing this, they did not want to be part of their acts. I strongly believe that all of these reasons are somewhat correct. We cannot know for sure what the main reason was, we can only assume.
However, I strongly agree with the 3rd reason which is that Daniel did not accept the kings food because they did not want to build a relationship with the king and depend from the king. The 3rd reason sounds more accurate because in Daniel 1, we also see that Daniel also refused to drink the wine. Daniel and his friends did not want to depend from the king and that is the reason why they chose to eat vegetables only.
There are a lot of possibilities of why Daniel chose not to eat the king’s food: First, as you mentioned, he did not want to break kosher. The food of the pagan king could have been sacrificed to idols, and that would break kosher if Daniel ate it. His rejection of the king’s food could have also been a slight rebellion against the king, and the state that Daniel was put in. As you stated, “Daniel does not refuse the training of the king or the use of a new name, but he draws the line at the eating the king’s food because it is a public declaration of dependency on the king.” Daniel did not want to be seen as placing his trust in anyone other than the Lord. I would argue that it went even deeper than dependence on people, and Daniel did not want to be dependent on anything other than the Lord—including food. By giving up the food that was said to place him in “…worse condition than the youths…” (1:10) that were his age, he exercised his faith and dependence on the Lord as his Sustainer.
Something that I have seen a lot of churches do—and have even participated, myself—is the Daniel fast. Fasting is a great spiritual practice that we should exercise regularly—to make sure we are not becoming too dependent on the external, earthly things. This can be applied to other areas than food—especially in our society. We, like Daniel, could all take a break from the things of the world that are considered “normal” and “expected,” and take time to refocus our hearts.
I like that you listed out all of the different possibilities of the reasoning behind why daniel and the others did not eat the food that was given to them by the king. Whether it be the idea of it not being kosher, or the food was sacrificed for idols. But I think that you covered it when you said that you thought that it was how they were honoring God and trusting Him that he will provide enough for them to be satisfied. Daniel did not want to be dependent on any other god besides the true King Himself. I also shared some of the same content in my post but honestly, I think that you did a better job than I did with getting the message out of this passage. Daniel Fast has to be done with the right intentions. If you do the fast with the intentions that you want to lose weight then you are doing it completely wrong. The Daniel Fast is meant for you to learn how to trust that God will provide you with everything that you need and He will not leave you in the dust. If you look at Matthew 6:26-34 you will see that if God will provide for the birds and they do not go hungry then he will provide for you and ect.
Overall, good incite by this blog post. Your post went into depth on what the Daniel Fast was really about and I admire the work that you put into it.
I will start by saying that all of these possibilities are very strong and that it could even be a combination of them that resulted in Daniel, Shad not eating the king’s food. While it is true that they would not have touched the pork or beef as stated in the article or the possibility that it was because the food was offered to idols, I still prefer the idea that they did it in order to show that they still depended on God for their everyday necessities. It reminds me of Psalm 145:15-16 which says, “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” These boys knew and trusted that enough to go against the king and risk the possibility of punishment or even death. Another thing that stood out to me as an example that they trusted God to provide was the fact that they gave up drinking the wine. It seems really small and when I first read that they refused the wine, it confused me as the wine was typically a way to kill bacteria in their water. However, I think this is another example of how much Daniel and his friends trusted God to provide. Even though they may have been putting themselves at a higher risk to get sick from the water they trusted God to keep them healthy and they obviously were as the end of the chapter shows that they were “fatter in flesh” than the others.
This passage in the book of Daniel is something that I have grown fond of. I believe that this passage can apply to us in today’s society and we can take what Daniel has done and apply it to ourselves. Sometimes we fall into the trap of fast food because it is easy to access and affordable. But we need to be strong because we know that it is unhealthy for us to eat even though it is instant gratification. We need to trust that God has provided a meal for us that is healthier for us and provided form Him. It states in the Bible, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”(2 Peter 1:3) This analogy is not only about food but in other areas too. One thing that I can not comprehend from the text, it says that the boys were “fatter in flesh”. How can teenage boys become fatter just from eating vegetables? Then I realized that there was more meaning behind them just eating their veggies. It shows that God will provide no matter what if you show that you are discipline to his work and trusted in what God had in store for them. Another way that the boys had to show that they had to trust God was the fear of death when they did not eat what the kind had provided for them. In some way that could have been shown as disrespect to the king. Yes, they did not eat the food from the king because they knew that God would provide for them but also, during this time period it could have been not kosher for them to eat pork or beef. Not only did they not eat the food that was provided for them from the king, but they also did not drink the wine. Overall I think that this passage was portraying that you do not need to be dependable on man but in God. When you depend on God alone then you will be provided for and also satisfied
What Was Wrong with the King’s Food?
While I do think that the food itself had nothing wrong with it—it was probably very fancy and very delicious, it was what eating it meant and symbolized for Daniel and the others. By eating the King’s food, it showed that they were now fully depending on him and using his means to sustain themselves. Daniel did not want to give full authority to Nebuchadnezzar and his Kingdom. Daniel knew that his God would sustain him for everything he needed.
Daniel made a proposal to eat only vegetables and drink only water. The people in the kingdom probably thought he was crazy for not eating the King’s food, and were certain that by the end of this they would surley be weaker than the rest and get in trouble. But Daniel was willing to risk it since knew how powerful and faithful his God was. At the end of the training period, the boys were “fatter of flesh” and much heathier than those that ate the King’s food. It just goes to show that in life we can put our full faith and life in God’s hands. He WILL sustain us through any trial we may go through. God can do far more than we could ever imagine.
Now I do not think that anything was wrong with the King’s food, but I think Daniel wanted to make it a point that His God is mighty and powerful, and can sustain even the craziest of ideas.
Considering pork and horse was a no no for the G-D’s chosen people,there was a problem seeing it was worshiped to stone idols.Daniel knew his G-D better than us.And when G-d says don’t eat this or do that, he means for us to obey him, just as Joshua did when G-D told him to kill all the men, women, children and animals, he did as he was told, he obeyed.he didn’t question his G-D, we shouldn’t either. Have a blessed day.
What reasons might have motivated Daniel to make this choice?
Interestingly I saw a parallel with Genesis 1:17 ‘but of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’,
Thank you for this post. I was giving thought to this passage today and found your article. After reading it and others comments, here are some of my thoughts after studying the original language. I like to use the interlinear for this.
The key focus seems to be the king’s “delicacies” (bə·p̄aṯ·baḡ). KJV translates it as “meat” so maybe along the lines of meat delicacies? I think Daniel might be basically saying, “let’s eat the humble common peasant food”. A couple other verses similar in spirit: “Don’t incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity. Don’t let me eat of their delicacies.” Psalms 141:4, and “Have no desire for his delicate food, for it is the bread of deceit.” Proverbs 23:3
Perhaps the meat delicacies included exotic foods that only the King would have access to and common people wouldn’t?
Other foods the King might have also enjoyed, such as sweet foods like breads and pastries, don’t offer much nutritional value. Sugary foods contribute to ill health and is a big problem in today’s high sugar diets, which are contributors we know to cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Not sure if this was a big problem in ancient Babylon, but they were known to have pastries.
The common “peasant” food would have had higher nutritional value and also could be quite tasty, like various vegetable stews, which were also common during ancient Babylon apparently. Combined with some simple herbs, spices and olive oil it would be a very satisfying nutritious meal. These would be staples in the diet. The middle east is known today for its many delicious vegetable dishes combined with coriander, mint, chives, onions and garlic, stews and sauces which are simple and tasty. Maybe some simple pomegranate and figs for desert?
The King’s delicacies might have been exotic and strange meats and foods that were not allowed under Jewish diet such as certain shellfish or other meats, maybe also sacrificed to their gods, and who knows what would have been in the stew served to them. Better to just stick with what you knew were the ingredients or make your own stew. Also, the wine might have been associated with the “kinkiness” of Babylonian customs as they were known to have “steamy” dinner parties associated with temple prostitution and idolatry that most likely involved inebriation.
The book of Revelations admonishes us to “come out of Babylon my people so that you don’t partake in her sins and in her plagues”. Maybe this is a good lesson to get back to humble foods? Modern processed and “fast food” is killing people. I like the book Nourishing Traditions, for example. It has many excellent traditional recipes. It has helped my own health and I’ve become a much better cook!
At that time a diet of vegetables and water would have been viewed as nutritional suicide which explains why the chief official is worried for his life because he thinks a diet of vegetables and water would be detrimental to their health.
Could Daniel’s refusal to eat food from the kings table and opt for a diet of vegetables instead be a simple way of drawing a line in the sand that said if he is healthy after the 10 day trial then it could only be explained by Yahweh.
The text says they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food – they are clearly surprised by this as nobody would have expected it or been able to explain it.
If Daniel’s refusal to eat the royal food was based on it having been offered to idols / Babylonian gods, then wouldn’t the vegetables requested by Daniel also have been offered to those same idols. Just a thought.
DANIEL’S DETERMINATION TO SERVE THE ONE AND ONLY LIVING GOD WAS SO STRONG THAT HE MADE A VERY STRINGENT RESOLUTION NOT TO MIX MATTERS IN ANY WAY.
LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITIES PRESENTED, IT IS CLEAR THAT HE DID NOT WANT TO DEFILE HIMSELF OR CREATE ANY OTHER RELATIONSHIP THAT COULD AFFECT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS GOD.
WE WERE NEVER TOLD THAT THE ISRAELITES WERE VEGETARIANS; I BELIEVE THAT HE CHOOSE VEGETABLES AND WATER BECAUSE THEY ARE CREATED BY GOD, WITH NO ADDITIONAL HUMAN INFLUENCE.
FOOD IS THE KEY THING THAT SATAN USED TO SEPARATE ADAM AND EVE FROM THEIR PERFECT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. DANIEL MUST HAVE HAD SUCH AN IDEA IN HIM. EVEN JESUS CHRIST WAS TEMPTED WITH FOOD.
TODAY, A LOT HAVE GONE OUT OF THE BODY OF CHRIST BECAUSE OF FOOD. CHRISTIANS ARE ENGAGED IN DEFILING THEMSELVES BY FEEDING ON ALL SORT OF FOODS THAT DESTROY THEIR SPIRITUAL AS WELL AS PHYSICAL LIVES.
FOODS CAN RANGE FROM LIQUID AND SOLID TO SINFUL LIFESTYLES SUCH AS FORNICATION, ADULTERY, LYING, STEALING, IDOLATRY, THE WORKS OF THE HUMAN NATURE.
THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO FOCUS ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND REMAIN UNDER HIS CONTROL.
Actually it’s simple. The Kings food (choice fare) was blessed by false gods and slaughtered at false god alters. And the fact that they were cooked tied with the entrails of humans made this so unclean and evil that it could not be consumed by God’s people or they would be unclean in his eyes. The veggies were the cleanest, purest thing they could eat.
Chapter 10 refers to a different occasion when Daniel fasted from meat and wine for a season, and explicitly relates it to mourning. It’s not conclusive evidence that the reason in chapter 1 was also mourning (possibly for the fall of Jerusalem), but surely it’s worth a mention?
Sure, that is also a possibility. Chapter one says Daniel thought the food would defile him, implying something was wrong with the food. Does eating while mourning cause defilement?
Thanks for a perceptive comment!
This was good! Thank you
The explanation and replies are surely great and cool, but I would say that there is need for us to understand divine prompting in our hearts and make decisions by it, to me this is what Daniel did, he understood what God had in mind at that moment and he made his decision in alignment to God.
Note that the scriptures didn’t record that the other three friends purposed in their heart they only followed Daniel’s decision.
Also seeing Esther (Esther 2) there was need at that time for Esther to agree and confer to what Hegai said. So we must be sure to have a decisive heart to what God is saying per time, apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:12, 10:23 showed us that it’s not only to think of good or bad, but to do the bidding of God at the moment.
To us as believer now we need a decisive heart based on divine leading and prompting to say no where needed and yes as at the appointed time.
May God help us all.
Sure @Paul, very insightful replies you all.
Thanks
Daniel refused to eat the King’s “prescribed” food but ate his own menu, but he ate the food from the Kings Palace bcoz the vegetables and water was from the Kings Palace. The vagetables belonged to the Kings Palace so Daniel ate the Kings food but refused to eat the food the king had prescribed them to eat. So Daniel was dependent on the King bcoz the vegetables and water was from the Kings Palace but was not dependant on the Kings prescribed food which other guys ate. Why vegetable and water?
Praise Yahuah Elohaynu bshem Yahusha Ha’Mashyach, HalleluYah Amein. I humbly submit the assessment for meat sacrificed to idols and the selection of Torahless meats too.
It is written for our admonition too in Proverbs 23.
WHEN you sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you: And put a knife to your throat, if you be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. MISHLEI (PROVERBS) 23:1-3 את CEPHER
True… my observation as well Praised be Yah!
It’s also significant to me that since Daniel prophesies of Christ’s coming kingdom in chapters 2 and 7,
and since Romans 14:17 says “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, joy
and peace in the Holy Spirit,” that perhaps Daniel is signaling what will be important in the “kingdom
that will never be destroyed.”