May 4: AN EXCELLENT MIND

…young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. Daniel 1:4

These Hebrew captives were the spoils of war. The Hebrew word translated young men has sometimes been translated children, but these young men were probably around seventeen years old. It is recorded that the Persians, the nation that followed Babylon in preeminence, set the minimum age for entering into training for the king’s court at 17. This practice was also customary among other eastern/oriental nations.

The Babylonians placed a heavy emphasis on beauty—no blemish… good-looking—as a sign of good health and strength. Also, they venerated good looks as a mark of superior mental capabilities, essential traits for service members in the king’s court. While we might view this standard for selection as a mix of shallowness and superstition, it is a sad fact that our western culture has absorbed more of this kind of thinking than we readily admit.

According to the Babylonians, physical beauty and strength signified that nature had gifted the chosen young men with wisdom, knowledge, and a special ability to learn quickly. They were placed in the royal school for courtiers, a three-year program, having been deemed owners of the desired prerequisites for learning the language and literature of the Chaldeans. Aramaic was the colloquial language, but the known scientific writings of this time in history were inscribed upon clay tablets, using cuneiform script in the Babylonian language. Cuneiform script has hundreds of characters and is not easy to learn. A thorough training in the classical language and script of the country meant mastering the Babylonian language in cuneiform writing in addition to their colloquial Aramaic.

Before the death of King Saul, Israel’s first earthly king, the LORD sent Samuel to anoint David as the next king. Samuel, upon seeing Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, thought this was the one to anoint. But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7