Daniel 1:12

“Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, &e.] Here Daniel manifestly includes his companions, and makes his request for himself and them; desiring that they might be tried ten days with different sort of food and drink, and see whether any alteration would be made in them for the worse; which was a proper time for such a trial; for in that time it might be reasonably supposed that their food, if it had any bad effect on them, would appear. Saadiah makes these ten days to be the days between the first day of the year and the day of atonement; but without any foundation: and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink; instead of the king’s meat, pulse, beans, pease, vetches,…”

“pulse--The Hebrew expresses any vegetable grown from seeds, that is, vegetable food in general [GESENIUS].”

“Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days - A period which would indicate the probable result of the entire experiment. If during that period there were no indications of diminished health, beauty, or vigour, it would not be unfair to presume that the experiment in behalf of temperance would be successful, and it would not be improper then to ask that it might be continued longer. And let them give us pulse to eat - Margin, “of pulse that we may eat.” Hebrew, “Let them give us of pulse, and we will eat.” The word “pulse” with us means leguminous plants with thin seeds; that is, plants with a pericarp, or seed-vessel, of two valves, having the seeds fixed to one suture only. In popular…”

“1:12 vegetables and water: Such a diet would steer clear of offensive foods (1:8) and, as a kind of fast, would demonstrate mourning over their exile in a foreign land.”

“pulse to eat: Heb. of pulse that we may eat, etc. Pulse, zeroim denotes all leguminous plants, which are not reaped but pulled or plucked; which, however wholesome, was not naturally calculated to render them fatter in flesh than the others. Dan 1:16; Gen 1:29, Gen 1:30; Deu 8:3; Rom 14:2 Daniel 1:15”