God’s Word for You

Daniel 1:5 Kickshaws

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Tuesday, August 19, 2025

5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the special royal food, and also of the wine that he drank. They were to be brought up this way for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.

Here we have a passage that may help us with another more difficult verse in another prophet: Jonah. Here the king “assigns” a daily portion of food from his own table. This verb is mannah, “to count.” It is not related to the “manna” of Exodus 16:31, but rather is related to the word mene (in Aramaic, Daniel 5:25-26) when the king sees the handwriting on the wall that Daniel will have to interpret. In this case, it is in a verb stem that extends the meaning to “count and count and count again” in a distributive sense (the piel here shows aim or intention, or multiple occurrences of the same act). This helps us to understand the more obscure use of the piel of mannah in Jonah 1:17, where the Lord “assigns” a fish to swallow Jonah and in so doing rescue his prophet. The verb does not mean “to create,” but “to assign or appoint” in that verse.

The special royal food is a Hebrew loanword from Persian, pathbag (פַּת־בַּג, see also 11:26). It is mentioned in Xenophon’s Cyropaedea, along with the way that such food was assigned. The commoners and soldiers typically ate things like porridge, fruit, flatbreads, the local rice (called berenj), and grilled or boiled meat. The royal household banqueted on whole roasted meats (“dishes of meat and game” ), more exotic fruits, various oils and flavorings, and generally larger portions: “Wine and corn and barley, and oxen and goats and swine” (Book 5, 2:6). “Made dishes” were uncommon in ancient times in ordinary homes, but the royal food included many “kickshaws” (a fancy dish, elegant but fairly useless as a food) such as rice pudding, and there were pastries for dessert made with honey, cheeses, and ordinary fruits like grapes, figs, dates, and with almonds and other nuts. There was also considerable drinking and toasting. Xenophon reports that when young Cyrus first came to the court of his grandfather the king, he said:

“We are hungry and wish to be fed, and bread and meat brings us where we want to be at once, but you Medes, for all your haste, take so many turns and wind about so much it is a wonder if you ever find your way to the goal that we have reached long ago” (Cyropaedea Book I, 3:4).

And the distribution of the royal food is actually described in detail by Xenophon, who shows that it was no matter-of-fact counting out, but done with intention and accompanied by speeches to each person who was given a portion.

“Cyrus took first one dish and then another and gave them to the attendants who stood about his grandfather, and with each gift he made a little speech: ‘That is for you, for so kindly teaching me to ride;’ ‘And that is for you, in return for the javelin you gave me, I have got it still;’ ‘And this is for you, because you wait on my grandfather so prettily;’ ‘And this for you, sir, because you honor my mother.’ And so on until he had got rid of all the meat he had been given.” (Cyropaedea Book I, 3:7).

The word I have translated “brought up [this way]” means to make something bigger. It is often used of raising children. The command from Nebuchadnezzar was that this combination of instruction, tutoring and diet was to be their upbringing for three years, after which, if they were found to be finally suitable, they could “stand before the king.” This was the official phrase for waiting on the king’s pleasure. They would attend his court and be available for whatever task he set for them.

In this verse, we have a portion of a lesson in law and gospel, but only the first part of the lesson is presented. King Nebuchadnezzar, meaning well and carrying out his role as king and father of his nation, assigned special royal food and wine to Daniel and his companions. He did not know that this would be unacceptable as unclean food for these young men. Therefore what Nebuchadnezzar did was a sin of ignorance. It was a sin, but not a malicious turning away or rebellion against God’s commands.

This raises a question about sin: Are some sins less serious than others? The answer is given by Christ himself to Pilate: “The one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin” (John 19:11). Ezekiel also says: “In all your ways you became more depraved than they” (Ezekiel 16:47). And Paul says: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). This doctrine is also shown by different grades of punishments that will be called down upon sinners on Judgment Day. “It will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town” (Matthew 10:15). And there are other statements like that, especially from Jesus (Matthew 11:21-22; Luke 12:47-48).

There are various ways that one sin can be considered less serious than others. Professor Gerhard reduces these to four classes:

1, With respect to the person who sins. “The servant who knows his master’s will and does not do it will be beaten with many blows” (Luke 12:47).

2, With respect to the person who is offended. He who blasphemes God sins more seriously than he who reviles a man. He who harms widows, orphans, or the poor, sins more than he who sins against others. “Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye” (Zechariah 2:8).

3, With respect to the thing that incurs detriment (causes harm or loss). As we see in the Eighth Commandment, it is a more serious sin to counterfeit the Word of God than to counterfeit a piece of money. Whoever injures the life of his neighbor sins more seriously than the thief who steals from him.

4, With respect to the sin itself (both the cause of the sin and the act). He sins more seriously who sins knowingly than he who sins ignorantly. Augustine said, “Sinning because of pleasure is more serious than sinning out of necessity.”

So, while we would correctly say that Nebuchadnezzar’s sin was one of ignorance, and therefore less serious than his later sin of idolatry, putting up the ninety-foot high idol in the plain of Dura (Daniel 3:1), it was nevertheless a sin. And while the eternal punishments for various sins will vary, according to the word of Christ, sins still damn the sinner to hell where this no repentance and no faith in Christ for the forgiveness of the sin. “For without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore when the law of God makes us aware of our sins, we throw ourselves at the mercy of God, confess the sin, grieve over the sin, and know (thanks be to God!) that we are forgiven by the blood of Jesus. “Who is this who even forgives sins?” (Luke 7:49). God alone pardons and forgives (Micah 7:18). “Praise the LORD, O my soul and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2).

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
And drives away all fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the heart’s unrest;
‘Tis manna to the hungry soul
And to the weary, rest.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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