his prayer till late afternoon. Of course, no actual sacrifice could have been offered there in Babylon, or indeed even in Palestine, prior to the erection of a new altar on the site of the destroyed temple. But devout Jews in the Persian Empire would have observed both sunrise and sunset as appropriate times of the day for offering adoration and praise and also supplication—even though there was now no Yahweh altar. Gabriel began his teaching (v.22) by encouraging Daniel (v.23): “As soon as you