Bible Question: An African Christian friend noted that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were from the Isrealites royal family and were considered nobility despite under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He added that because of the presence of the king's herem (-sp?), that all those in a king's service and a part of his court were made into eunics (-sp?) so that there would not be a problem. I have never heard of this nor can find any confirmation in Scripture. |
Bible Answer: Eunuchs? Yes. Physically castrated? Probably not. In 2Kings 20:17-18 Isaiah tells king Hezekiah (who lived approximately 100 years before the Babylonian captivity) that “of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they (i.e., the Babylonians) take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” This prophecy found its fulfillment in the year 605 BC when Nebuchadnezzar took as hostages the children of the royal family and of the nobility, carrying them back to Babylon. Among those carried away at that time were Daniel and his three friends (Dan. 1:3-6), and these Jewish captives were all put into the care of “…Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs…” (Dan. 1:3). From the above, I would say that the evidence is pretty strong that Daniel and his friends were eunuchs. However, it is important that we not give this word more meaning than it necessarily was intended to carry. Although some have suggested that Daniel and his friends were made eunuchs (that is, in a physical sense by mutilation) at this time, I don’t think there is any evidence for this. The Hebrew word that is translated “eunuch” in Dan. 1 is “caryic” which can refer either to one who is physically a eunuch by castration, or merely to one who is an official or court officer. For example, in Gen. 39:1 Potiphar is described as an “officer (caryic) of Pharaoh.” This is the same Potiphar who was married, and whose wife attempted to seduce Joseph. He was obviously not a “eunuch” in the sense that we commonly think of today. This, coupled with the fact that the law of Moses excluded those who were eunuchs (physically, by castration) from the congregation (Deut. 23:1), leads me to believe that these young Jewish boys were not made eunuchs in the physical sense. |