Daniel 9:1
in Daniel 9In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
KJV
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
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This verse in Daniel 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseVerse 1. "In the first year of the Darius who was the son of Ahasuerus of the race of the Medes and who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign..." This is the Darius who in cooperation with Cyrus conquered the Chaldeans and Babylonians. We are not to think of that other Darius in the second year of whose reign the Temple was built (as Porphyry supposes in making out a late date for Daniel); nor are we to think of the Darius who was vanquished by Alexander, the king of the Macedonians.
This site's exposition
made king over the realm of the Chaldeans
on Daniel 9:1-2
Darius the Mede, son of Ahasuerus, is made king over the Chaldean kingdom, a figure the commentators cannot pin to a single monument, and the positions run from a separate ruler under Cyrus, commonly proposed as Gubaru or Cyaxares, to a title for Cyrus himself, named here with their holders rather than settled. In the first year of this reign Daniel understands by books the number of years the word of the Lord gave to Jeremiah, that the desolations of Jerusalem would run seventy years, the thread the Jeremiah brief already verifies at 25:11-12 and 29:10. Daniel reads Jeremiah's own scroll as Scripture even in his own generation, and the reading drives him straight to prayer rather than to calculation alone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We must distinguish between the reign of Darius son of Ahasuerus and that of Darius the Persian. In this way, the things that are now being read will harmonize with the things that were spoken earlier. He did not simply introduce Darius as Darius the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And one powerful inducement, perhaps, it was to him then to keep so close to the duty of prayer, though it cost him his life, that he had so lately experienced the benefit and comfort of it. What occasioned his address to God by prayer (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
In the first year of Darius - That is, immediately after the overthrow of the kingdom of Babylon, which was the year of the Jews deliverance from captivity. Of the Medes - This Darius was not Darius the Persian, under whom the temple was built, as some have asserted, to invalidate the credibility of this book; but Darius the Mede, who lived in the time of Daniel.
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In the first year of Darius - See the notes at Dan 5:31, and Introuction to Dan. 6 Section II. The king here referred to under this name was Cyaxares II, who lived between Astyages and Cyrus, and in whom was the title of king. He was the immediate successor of Belshazzar, and was the predecessor of Cyrus, and was the first of the foreign princes that reigned over Babylon. On the reasons why he is called in Daniel Darius, and not Cyaxares, see the Introduction to Dan. 6, Section II.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ahasuerus was a name common to many of the kings of Medo-Persia. made king--The phrase implies that Darius owed the kingdom not to his own prowess, but to that of another, namely, Cyrus.
In the first year on Darius - This is the same Darius the Mede, spoken of before, who succeeded Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans. See Dan 5:31.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּשְׁנַ֣ת | bishnat | in year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| אַחַ֗ת | ʾachat | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| לְדָרְיָ֛וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | of Darius | H1867 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲחַשְׁוֵר֖וֹשׁ | ʾachashveroosh | Ahasuerus | H325 → | |
| מִזֶּ֣רַע | mizera' | one of [the] descendant[s] of | H2233 → | |
| מָדָ֑י | madai | Media | H4074 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָמְלַ֔ךְ | hamelakh | he had been made king | H4427 → | |
| עַ֖ל | ʾal | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מַלְכ֥וּת | malkhut | [the] kingdom of | H4438 → | 91 times |
| כַּשְׂדִּֽים׃ | kasdim | [the] Chaldeans | H3778 → | 80 times |
בִּשְׁנַ֣תin year
bishnatH8141 →877 times
אַחַ֗תone
ʾachatH259 →971 times
לְדָרְיָ֛וֶשׁof Darius
ledareyaveshH1867 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אֲחַשְׁוֵר֖וֹשׁAhasuerus
ʾachashverooshH325 →
מִזֶּ֣רַעone of [the] descendant[s] of
mizera'H2233 →
מָדָ֑יMedia
madaiH4074 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָמְלַ֔ךְhe had been made king
hamelakhH4427 →
עַ֖לover
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
מַלְכ֥וּת[the] kingdom of
malkhutH4438 →91 times
כַּשְׂדִּֽים׃[the] Chaldeans
kasdimH3778 →80 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 1:21And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
it leads to
- Daniel 10:1
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict. And the understanding of the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 6:28
So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
- Daniel 10:1
Through
Daniel 6:28So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
it leads to
- Daniel 1:21
And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout…
- Isaiah 44:28
who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
- Daniel 1:21
Through
Daniel 5:31and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.
it leads to
- Daniel 6:1
Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,
- Daniel 6:1
Through
Daniel 11:1“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.
it leads to
- Daniel 5:31
and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.
- Acts 14:22
strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
- Daniel 5:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
About Daniel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER NINE; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 9:1-2.