Daniel 10:15

Dan 10:15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.

Ver. 15. I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.] Coharrui totus, et vex faucibus haesit. See how deeply God’s darlings are again affected at the hearing of his holy Word. {Hab 3:16}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Dan 10:15-17. I set my face toward the ground — The fear with which Daniel had been struck at the sight of the angel Michael still continued in some degree, so that he was afraid to look up at this angel, or to speak to him. And behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men — Daniel, gathering courage to look up, perceived that the angel Gabriel had not that angelic form, or brightness, which Michael appeared in, Dan 10:5, but that he was in a human form. Gabriel, then advancing, and touching Daniel’s lips, gave him the power of utterance, as he had before (Dan 10:11) of standing on his feet. Then I opened my mouth, and said unto him that stood before me — This angel stood upon the earth near Daniel, not above the waters of the river, as the person did whose appearance was so glorious, Dan 10:5. By the vision my sorrows are turned upon me — By beholding thee, although in a human form, I am greatly affected, or terrified. For how can the servant of this my lord talk, &c. — How can thy servant, a poor mortal man, maintain a discourse with a person of such rank and dignity? see Noldius, p. 353. The words may be translated thus: How can the servant of this my lord talk with that my lord? that is, with the other person that first appeared to me with so majestic a presence, at whose sight I was perfectly confounded, Dan 10:5-9. Straightway there remained no strength in me — As soon as ever I saw him, all my strength went from me, and I could not support myself. Neither is there — Or rather, was there, breath left in me — I fell breathless in a swoon.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

face toward the ground--in humble reverence (Gen 19:1).

dumb--with overwhelming awe.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. I set my face toward the ground] He was standing upright, Da 10:11, and he now bent his body in reverence, and looked down upon the ground.

And became dumb.] Found himself unable to speak.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Daniel again signifies by these words that he was so inspired by reverence for the angel as to be unable to stand. This tends to recommend the prophecy to our notice, — to shew us how the holy Prophet was not only instructed by the angel, but to confirm what he will afterwards record in the 11th chapter, and free it from all doubt. Lastly, he enables us to confide in the angel’s words, which were not uttered in an ordinary way, but were so obviously divine as to cast Daniel headlong upon the earth. In my judgment those expounders of the phrase, he became dumb, are in error when they refer it to his repenting of his prophetic office, through supposing his prayers to have been disregarded. This is much too forced, because the Prophet expresses nothing more than his seizure by fear, causing both his feet and his tongue to refuse their usual duties. Thus he was apparently carried beyond himself. By becoming prostrate on the ground, he manifested his reverence, and by becoming dumb displayed his astonishment. I have already briefly explained the object of all these assertions — to prove to us how the angel was adorned with his own attributes, and what full authority should be assigned to his words. It follows: —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(15) I set my face.—The conduct of Daniel described in this verse is not to be ascribed to his fear, for that had been already driven away (Dan_10:12), but to his reverence for the majestic person who was before him, and to the gratitude that he felt for the answer to his prayer. (Comp. Dan_9:3-4.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. In spite of the command not to fear (Dan_10:12), and the encouraging nature of the words which followed (especially Dan_10:12), Daniel does not recover his composure; and is only gradually reassured in the sequel (Dan_10:16-19).

I set …, and was dumb] As yet, he stood with his eyes fixed on the ground, dreading to look up and speechless.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when he had spoken such words unto me,.... As before related, concerning the contest between him and the prince of Persia; and especially concerning what would befall the people of the Jews in the latter day:

I set my face toward the ground; not being able to look up; his eyes were fixed upon the earth like one confounded and thunderstruck, filled with amazement and wonder:

and I became dumb; not able to speak a word, as is the case of persons sometimes in surprise, or through excess of any of the passions: this arose either from the majesty of the angel; or rather from the nature and importance of the things he said; or from a consciousness of his own impurity, and so of his unworthiness to converse with so exalted a creature, and to be favoured with such secrets. The Arabic version is, "and I supplicated"; very wrongly.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And when he had spoken such words ... - Daniel was naturally overcome by the communication which had been made to him. The manner in which the prayer was answered seems to have been entirely different from what he had expected. The presence of a heavenly being; the majesty of his appearance; the assurance that he gave that he had come to answer his prayer; and the fact that he had important revelations to make respecting the future, overcame him, and he laid his face upon the ground in silence. Is there any one of us who would not be awed into profound silence if a heavenly messenger should stand before us to disclose what was to occur to us, to our families, to our friends, to our country, in far-distant years?

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He was not yet quite free of all his fear, of which we heard, Dan 10:9; haply this pressed him down the more, when he considered the majesty of the angel, the greatness of the vision, and his own frailty; this transported him with astonishment; and above all, that he saw so much of God in it, in his favour to him and his poor church.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Daniel drops his eyes — which had previously been uplifted in hope (Dan_10:11-12) — and becomes speechless with grief because of the delay of this complete deliverance, which (from the study of Jeremiah’s writings) he had been led to believe would immediately follow the end of the Babylonish captivity.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. The versions agree with the above. I set my face toward the ground does not mean that Daniel again fell prostrate, but that his eyes naturally sought the ground. And I became dumb. Not to be regarded as equivalent to "I remained silent," though there is nothing in the narrative to indicate that Daniel had been speaking; he may have had the sensation of paralyzed vocal cords. Certainly the verb alam means "to be dumb," although, as with ourselves, this phrase dots not mean always physiological dumbness, but simply a silence which, from shyness or fear, one is unable to break. This is the meaning the versions attach to it. The opinion we indicate finds support in the dumbness of Zacharias, the father of John Baptist, after Gabriel appeared to him, and, still more, in what is related in the following verse.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I set my face - I prostrated myself upon the earth. And I became dumb - Thro' astonishment.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

In these verses it is further related how Daniel was gradually raised up and made capable of receiving the revelation of God. The communication of the angel hitherto had not fully gained this object. Daniel "stood trembling," but he could not yet speak. With his face bent towards the earth he was as yet speechless. Then one having the likeness of a man touched his lips, whereby he received the power of speech, and could address him who stood before him, and utter the complaint: "By the vision anguish, i.e., violent terror, has fallen upon me: woes are turned upon me." For this style of speech cf. Sa1 4:19, and for the matter itself, cf. Isa 21:3; Isa 13:8. For the following כּח עצרתּי ולא (and I have no strength, Dan 10:16), cf. Dan 10:8.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)