232 REV. W. ST. CLAIR TISDALL, D.D., OX THE BOOK OF DANIEL I 



as doubtless words were adopted from Elamitic and other 

 tongues then spoken, but of which we possess only a very few 

 words (Dan. iii, 21). The term evidently means some kind of 

 garment. Possibly the LXX conjectured its derivation from 

 the Gk. ireraao^. Dakhaicdn (Dan. vi, 19) is not translated by 

 the LXX, but Theodotion renders iheajxara, possibly by con- 

 jecture, as the same verse says that Darius was fasting. Possibly 

 it is from an unknown Persian word, as in Armenian we find 

 a word in the pi., dahamounk'h, meaning meat offerings, obla- 

 tions. The sing, would be daham, which corresponds ydth. the 

 Aram, word in the text, if we take the W for the m, as in 

 Sumerian the two sounds were not distinguished from one 

 another. If this conjecture be correct, the word must have been 

 taken into Sumerian from Armenian and thence into Assyrio- 

 Babylonian before being adopted into Aramaic. Or both 

 Aramaic and Armenian may have taken it independently from 

 Sumerian. But it may be genuine Armenian from the root 

 which in Av. is dag, and from which in Av. comes dakhma, 

 a burning-ground for dead bodies. The root means to bum, 

 in Av., and in Skt. (dah), and hence may have meant to cook, 

 in Armenian. Against this, however, it must be said that no 

 root of the word has been detected in Armenian, so it is probably 

 a word introduced into that tongue, possibly from the Persian. 

 Jerome follows Theodotion's conjecture, rendering the term by 

 cihi. The name Ashpenaz (Dan. i, 3) is apparently from some 

 language now unknown. Nor is it strange that such should be 

 the case. In the Aram, papyri there are many such names, most 

 of them probably Egyptian, but it should be observed as negative 

 evidence in favour of the authenticity of Daniel that no Egyptian 

 name occurs in it. As Ashpenaz is called " chief of the eunuchs," 

 the probability of his having a foreign name, unless (as in other 

 cases) he had been given a Babylonian one, is not remote. 



Turning now to the Egypto-Aramaic papyri, we find in them 

 a considerable number of Egyptian, Persian, and Babylonian 

 proper names, and a number of Babylonian words. Omitting 

 the Egyptian element, we may mention the following as a few 

 among those of Persian origin : — 



Amudath, Bagafrana, Arshama, Napayan, Mithradath, Art- 

 aban, Bagabakhsha, and Ashyadath. Of Babylonian names 

 are the following : — Nusku-idri, Ataidri, Mannu-ki, Nabu- 

 kuduri-, Bel-bani-, Ishum-kuduri-. It will be noticed that several 



