And in the four and twentieth day of the first month I was by the great river which is the Tigris.

And in the twenty and fourth day of the first month, I have been by the side of the great river, that is Hiddekel:

And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was by the side of the great river;

Die vicessima quarta mensis primi, ego fui super ripam fluvii magni, nempe Hidekel. [128]

Daniel now narrates the acceptance of his prayers, because all angel appeared and instructed him in the future condition of the Church. Without the slightest doubt, the fasting already described was a preparation for prayer, as we have stated before, and as we may gather from many passages of Scripture, especially from the assertion of Christ, where he says, the demon could not be cast out except by prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21.) Daniel, therefore, did not abstain from all food, and wine, and luxuries, with the view of rendering any obedience to God, but of testifying his own grief: then he was anxious to rouse himself to prayer, and by that mark of humility, to prepare far better for repentance. He says now -- on the twenty-fourth day of the first month -- meaning March, the first month of the Jewish year -- he stood on the bank of the great river, namely, the Tigris. The word yd, yid, is metaphorically used for the bank, and interpreters are agreed in identifying Hiddekel with the Tigris. Geographers state the name of this river to be in some places, and especially near its fountain, Digliton, which answers to the common Hebrew name Hidekel. Without doubt, this river is called Phison by Moses, since the Tigris has three names among profane nations. Its usual name is Tigris, and in one part of its course it becomes the Hidekel, and has also the names of Pasitigris and Phasis, which is equivalent to Phison. The Prophet relates, his standing on the bank of this great river It is uncertain whether he was then in that part of the world, or whether God set before him the prospect of the river, as we have seen elsewhere. I rather incline to the opinion of his being rapt in the prophetic spirit, and obtaining vision of the river, and not to his being really there. Possibly, that province might have been placed under his government in the course of the great changes which took place in those times. While Belshazzar lived, he could not have been at Susan, and so we were compelled to explain his former language by the prophetic rapture. And as to the present passage, I shall not quarrel with the opinion of any one who supposes Daniel to have dwelt in that district, but, as I have stated before, I think it most probable, that this spectacle was offered to the holy Prophet when far distant from the river's bank, and only able to behold it in commenced his abstinence from flesh, and food, and all pleasant viands, and then relaxed his fast for three weeks, as he here marks the date on the twenty-fourth day. But I leave this doubtful, through the impossibility of ascertaining the point with certainty. Let us now proceed, --

And in the four and twentieth day of the first month - At the close of his season of fasting. Though he had not set apart this season of fasting with any view or expectation that it would be followed by such a result, yet there was a propriety that an occasion like this should be selected as that on which the communication which follows should be made to his mind, for
(a) his mind was in a prepared state by this extraordinary season of devotion for such a communication; and
(b) his attention during that period had been turned toward the condition of his people, and it was a fit opportunity to impart to him these extraordinary views of what would occur to them in future days.
It may be added, that we shall be more likely to receive Divine communications to our souls at the close of seasons of sincere and prolonged devotion than at other times, and that, though we may set apart such seasons for different purposes, the Spirit of God may take occasion from them to impart to us clear and elevated views of Divine truth, and of the Divine government. A man is in a better state to obtain such views, and is more likely to obtain them, in such circumstances than he is in others, and he who desires to understand God and his ways should wait upon him with intense and prolonged devotion. The "time" here specified is the "first month" - the month Nisan, answering to a part of our month April. This was the month in which the Passover was celebrated, and was a time, therefore, which a Jew would be likely to select as a season of extraordinary devotion. It was, for some reason, very common for the prophets to record "the very day" on which the visions which they saw appeared to them, or on which Divine communications were made to them. This was often of importance, because it served to determine the time when a prophecy was fulfilled.
I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel - That is, the Tigris. The Syriac renders it the Euphrates. The name in the Scriptures, however, denotes the Tigris. Why Daniel was there he does not say. He was often away from Babylon (compare the notes at Daniel 8:2), and he may have been now among some of his people who resided near the Tigris. Possibly he may at that time have ceased to reside at the court in Babylon, and have taken up his residence in some place on the Tigris. See the notes at Daniel 10:1.

By the side of - Hiddekel - The same as the Tigris. the great river of Assyria; as the Euphrates of Syria, and the Nile of Egypt.

And in the four and twentieth day of the (c) first month, as I (d) was by the side of the great river, which [is] Hiddekel;
(c) Called Abib, which contains part of March, and part of April.
(d) Being carried by the Spirit of prophecy so that he could see the river Tigris.

And in the four and twentieth day of the first month,.... Of the third year of Cyrus, as Jacchiades; or rather of the Jewish year, the month Ab or Nisan, which answers to part of March and April; so that Daniel's fast began on the third day of the month, and lasted to the twenty fourth, in which time was the Jewish passover; and by this it seems it was not now kept; and perhaps in those times was not used to be observed by the Jews in a foreign land:
as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; the same with the Tigris, called by both names from the swiftness and rapidity of its motion, "hiddekel" signifying both sharp and swift; and tigris, in the Persian language, a dart; see Genesis 2:14. This is the same river the Targum of Jonathan on Genesis 2:14 calls Diglath; and is by Pliny (e) called Diglito, who observes that it has the name of Tigris from its swiftness; so he says the Medes call an arrow; likewise Curtius (f) takes notice of the same, and says that it is named Tigris from the celerity with which it flows; for in the Persian language they call a dart "tigris": so signifies in the Hebrew language "sharp" or "polished", as an arrow is; and "swift", as an arrow flies, and both make Hiddekel: now this river was near Shushan, where Daniel resided; nay, Benjamin of Tudela (g) says, that the river Hiddekel divides the city of Shushan, over which is a bridge, on one side of which Jews dwelt, at the time he was there; unless he means that it cuts and divides the province of Elam in Persia, he had before been speaking of; and so Diodorus Siculus (h) says, that both Euphrates and Tigris pass through Media into Mesopotamia; wherefore it is no wonder to hear of Daniel by the side of the river Hiddekel or Tigris: here Daniel was, not in vision, but in person, having others with him, as appears from a following verse; by it he was walking, contemplating, praying, or conversing.
(e) Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. (f) Hist. l. 4. c. 9. (g) Itinerarium, p. 86. (h) Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 99.

first month--Nisan, the month most suited for considering Israel's calamity, being that in which the feast of unleavened bread reminded them of their Egyptian bondage. Daniel mourned not merely for the seven days appointed (Exodus 12:18), from the evening of the fourteenth to the twenty-first of Nisan, but thrice seven days, to mark extraordinary sorrow. His mourning ended on the twenty-first day, the closing day of the passover feast; but the vision is not till the twenty-fourth, because of the opposition of "the prince of Persia" (Daniel 10:13).
I was by . . . the . . . river--in waking reality, not a trance (Daniel 10:7); when younger, he saw the future in images, but now when old, he receives revelations from angels in common language, that is, in the apocalyptic mode. In the patriarchal period God often appeared visibly, that is, theophany. In the prophets, next in the succession, the inward character of revelation is prominent. The consummation is when the seer looks up from earth into the unseen world, and has the future shown to him by angels, that is, apocalypse. So in the New Testament there is a parallel progression: God in the flesh, the spiritual activity of the apostles and the apocalypse [AUBERLEN].
Hiddekel--the Tigris.

The Theophany. - On the day named Daniel found himself on the side (banks) of the river Hiddekel, i.e., the Tigris (see under Genesis 2:14), along with some who accompanied him (Daniel 10:7); thus he was there in reality, and not merely in vision as at the Ulai, Daniel 8:2. For what purpose he was there is not said. Here he saw a celestial being, whose form is described, Daniel 10:5, Daniel 10:6. It was a man (אחד, one, not several) clothed in בּדּים, i.e., in a talar of shining white linen (regarding בּדּים, see under Ezekiel 9:2), and his loins girt about with gold of Uphaz. אוּפז occurs nowhere else, except in Jeremiah 10:9 : gold of Uphaz and silver of Tarshish, from which we must conclude that Uphaz is the name of a region, a country, probably only a dialectically different form for אופיר; the combination with the Sanscr. vipa - Hyphasis is, on the other hand, very far-fetched.

The first month - Nisan, which is March. Hiddekel - Or Tigris.