“Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family and the nobility —”
Daniel 1:3 (BSB)
Context Reading
1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god. 3Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family and the nobility — 4young men without blemish, handsome, gifted in all wisdom, knowledgeable, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace — and to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans. 5The king assigned them daily provisions of the royal food and wine. They were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service.