NEBUCHADNEZZAR's DREAM Nebuchadnezzar, in his second year, being disquieted by a dream, demands of the wise men of Babylon that they should repeat and interpret it to him: as they are unable to do this, they are condemned by him to death (Daniel 2:1). Daniel, and his companions, being involved in t... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the second year_ There is not, perhaps, necessarily a contradiction here with the -three years" of Daniel 1:5; Daniel 1:18. By Heb. usage, fractions of time were reckoned as full units: thus Samaria, which was besieged from the fourth to the sixth year of Hezekiah, is said to have been taken -at... [ Continue Reading ]
Nebuchadnezzar, being troubled by a dream, summons the wise men of Babylon before him, and bids them both tell him what his dream had been, and also interpret it to him.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the magicians, and the_ ENCHANTERS] See on Daniel 1:20. As in Egypt (Genesis 41:8), the -magicians" and -wise men" (Daniel 2:12) would be the natural persons for the king to consult on the interpretation of a dream. _and the sorcerers_ This is a word which is well known in the earlier literature: e... [ Continue Reading ]
_in Syriack in_ ARAMAIC, i.e. the language of the Aramaeans, an important branch of the Semitic stock, inhabiting chiefly Mesopotamia, Syria, and part of Arabia. There were numerous -Aramaic" dialects as the Aramaic spoken in Assyria, at Zinjirli (near Aleppo), in Palmyra, in Têma, by the Nabataeans... [ Continue Reading ]
_The thing is gone from me_ THE WORD SPOKEN BY ME lit. (_proceeding) from me_ IS SURE. The king means that the threat which follows is fully resolved upon by him. _Azda_is a Persian word, meaning _sure, certain_(see Schrader, _KAT_[204][205], p. 617); the rendering -gone" is philologically indefensi... [ Continue Reading ]
_shew_(twice)] DECLARE. So Daniel 2:7_; Daniel 2:9; Daniel 2:16; Daniel 2:24; Daniel 2:27; Daniel 4:2; Daniel 5:7; Daniel 5:12; Daniel 5:15_. _rewards_ A rare word, probably of Persian origin (according to Andreas, in the Glossary in [ Continue Reading ]
_again_ THE SECOND TIME (R.V.).... [ Continue Reading ]
The wise men profess their willingness to interpret the king's dream: but protest that his demand that they should tell him what his dream was is an extravagant one. Nebuchadnezzar, however, adheres to his original demand: and as they are unable to comply with it, commands them to be put to death.... [ Continue Reading ]
_of certainty_ We should say now, -of _a_certainty." Murray quotes from North's _Plutarch_(1580), -It is _of certainty_that her proper name was Nicostrata." _would_ GAIN TIME (R.V.)] lit. _are buying the time_. Their repeated request to the king to tell them his dream is proof to him that they have... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT, _if ye_ MAKE NOT _known unto me the dream_, there is but _one_ LAW _for you_ you can expect nothing else but punishment. Lit. _your law_(i.e. the law or sentence against you) _is one_, implying that it is unalterable and inevitable; cf. Esther 4:11. The word for -law" (_dâth_) is Persian, Zen... [ Continue Reading ]
_shew_ DECLARE. _therefore_, &c. FORASMUCH AS (R.V.) _no_ GREAT AND POWERFUL _king_(cf. R.V. _marg._) HATH _asked such_ A THING OF _any magician or_ ENCHANTER _or Chaldean_. As no king has ever thought of making such a demand, it may be fairly concluded to be one which it is impossible to satisfy.... [ Continue Reading ]
_rare_ DIFFICULT: properly _heavy_. The word has the same sense sometimes in Syriac, as Exodus 18:18, in the Peshiṭtâ. _requireth_ ASKETH (as Daniel 2:10), which indeed is all that the translators of 1611 meant by their rendering: for _require_formerly did not express the idea now attaching to the w... [ Continue Reading ]
_wise_men] of those versed in occult arts, as Genesis 41:8; Jeremiah 50:35 (of Babylon), and several times in the sequel (cf. p. 15). Similarly _wisdom_, Isaiah 47:10 (of Babylon), and ch. Daniel 1:17; Daniel 1:20.... [ Continue Reading ]
Daniel and his three companions, being regarded now (cf. Daniel 1:17-20) as belonging to the class of -wise men," and being consequently involved in the condemnation, are in danger of their lives; but Daniel, through Arioch's intervention, obtains an audience of the king, and promising to tell him h... [ Continue Reading ]
_the decree went forth_ Cf. Luke 2:2, where the Greek is exactly the same as that of Theodotion's rendering here (τὸ δόγμα ἐξῆλθε). _that the wise_men, &c. AND _the wise men_ WERE TO BE SLAIN (R.V.). See Kautzsch, _Gramm_. § 76. 3. _fellows_ COMPANIONS (R.V.), as Daniel 2:17. So Daniel 2:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
_answered with counsel and_ DISCRETION] lit. _returned counsel and_ DISCRETION (or TACT): lit. _taste_, and so figuratively of the faculty which discriminates and selects what is suitable for a given occasion. Cf. 1 Samuel 25:33, -And blessed be thy _discretion_" (R.V. _marg._), of the tact displaye... [ Continue Reading ]
so _hasty_ HARSH (Bevan). R.V. _urgent_, as A.V. itself has in Daniel 3:22. This is not, however, strong enough: in Syriac and the Targums the word and its cognates express the idea of _bold, shameless, insolent_. Cf. Theod. here, ἀναιδής (LXX. πικρῶς).... [ Continue Reading ]
_give him time_ or (R.V.) _appoint him a time_. _and that he would shew_ THAT HE MIGHT (R.V. _marg._) DECLARE. Daniel only asked for time; and such a request would be the more readily granted, as Nebuchadnezzar had already (Daniel 1:20) been favourably impressed by his superior skill.... [ Continue Reading ]
In answer to the supplication of Daniel and his three friends, the secret of Nebuchadnezzar's dream is revealed to him in a dream.... [ Continue Reading ]
_that_they _would_ - _that they_ MIGHT " would be clearer, as it would include more easily a reference to Daniel (see Daniel 2:23 -me"). _mercies_ COMPASSION, as the corresponding Heb. word is rendered in Lamentations 3:22; Zechariah 7:9 in A.V., and in Daniel 1:9 in R.V. _the God of heaven_ So Dan... [ Continue Reading ]
_in a_ VISION OF THE NIGHT] For the expression, comp. Isaiah 29:7 (-like a dream, a _vision of the night_"), Job 4:13; Job 7:14; Job 20:8; Job 33:15; Genesis 46:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
_answered_ In the sense of commencing to speak: so Daniel 3:9; Daniel 3:14; Daniel 3:19; Daniel 3:24, _al._; and ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπε in the N.T., Matthew 11:25; Matthew 17:4; Matthew 28:5, _al._: cf. Dalman, _Die Worte Jesu_(1898), p. 19. _Blessed_, &c. Cf. Psalms 113:2; also... [ Continue Reading ]
Daniel's thanksgiving for the great mercy vouchsafed to him.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the times and the seasons_ more exactly SEASONS AND TIMES; cf. Daniel 7:12; Act 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:1. The meaning is, History does not move with the regularity of a clock: the order of things established at a given time is not necessarily permanent; it frequently happens that kings are overthro... [ Continue Reading ]
_He revealeth_, &c. Cf. Job 12:22, -Who revealeth deep things out of darkness." _light_ physical light (cf. 1 Timothy 6:16), but suggesting and implying fulness of intellectual light; cf. 1 John 1:7 (of spiritual light).... [ Continue Reading ]
THEE, O GOD _of my fathers_, DO I THANK _and_ PRAISE] -God of my fathers," i.e., the same as of old, unchanged among the changes of human generations, and still able to help and defend His servants. Cf. -God of thy (Israel's) fathers," Deuteronomy 1:21; Deuteronomy 6:3; Deuteronomy 12:1, _al._ wis... [ Continue Reading ]
Daniel, brought by Arioch into Nebuchadnezzar's presence, professes his readiness to declare and interpret to him his dream.... [ Continue Reading ]
_ordained_ i.e. APPOINTED (R.V.; cf. Daniel 2:49; Daniel 3:12), though (in the general application which the word has here) the meaning is now obsolete: see 1 Chronicles 17:9 (R.V. _appoint_); Isaiah 30:33; Psalms 132:17. _shew_ DECLARE.... [ Continue Reading ]
_captives_ lit. _children of the captivity_(or, better [209], _of the_ EXILE), as A.V. itself renders in Daniel 5:13; Daniel 6:13; Ezra 6:16: cf. Ezra 4:1; Ezra 6:19-20; Ezra 8:35; Ezra 10:7; Ezra 10:16. [209] See on Amos 1:5-6, in the... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the presence of_ BEFORE (R.V.), as Daniel 2:9. _demanded_ simply ASKED, which is all that -demand" formerly expressed. -Like Fr. _demander_, to ask, simply; not as now in the stronger sense of "to ask with authority, or as a right," " (W. A. Wright, _Bible Word-book, s.v._). So Exodus 5:14; 2 S... [ Continue Reading ]
But, though human skill is unable to satisfy the king, there is a God in heaven, the revealer of secrets, who has in reality by means of this dream disclosed to him the future. Cf. Genesis 41:28. _and maketh known_ AND HE HATH _made known_. _in the latter days_ lit. _in the end_(_closing-part_[210]... [ Continue Reading ]
_came_into thy mind] lit. _came_ UP, the corresponding Heb. word followed by -upon the heart," being a Heb. idiom for _occur to, be thought of by:_cf. Esther 3:1; and see Isaiah 65:17; Jeremiah 3:16; Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 19:5; Jeremiah 32:35; Jeremiah 44:21; Jeremiah 51:50; [ Continue Reading ]
Like Joseph (Genesis 40:8; Genesis 41:16), Daniel disclaims the power of interpreting dreams by his own wisdom. _but for_their _sakes that shall make known_, &c. _but_ TO THE INTENT THAT _the interpretation_ MAY BE MADE _known to the king, and that thou_ MAYEST _know_, &c. (R.V.).... [ Continue Reading ]
_sawest_ more exactly, _wast seeing_. So Daniel 2:34. _This image_, WHICH WAS MIGHTY, AND _whose brightness was_ SURPASSING] -Excellent" in Old English (from _excello_, to rise up out of, to surpass) had the distinctive meaning, which it has now lost, of _surpassing, preeminent_; and it is regularl... [ Continue Reading ]
Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar his dream.... [ Continue Reading ]
_This image's head_was, &c. more forcibly, and also in better agreement with the original, AS FOR THAT _image_, ITS _head was_, &c. _brass_ i.e. COPPER (or BRONZE): see Wright's _Bible Word-book_.... [ Continue Reading ]
The head of the image was of gold; but its substance deteriorated more and more until the feet were reached, which were of mingled iron and clay.... [ Continue Reading ]
_was cut out_ viz. from a neighbouring mountain (see Daniel 2:45). _without hands_ without human cooperation; it seemed to fall away of itself. But of course the implicit thought is that its secret mover was God: cf. the similar expressions in Daniel 8:25 _end_(-shall be broken without hand," of th... [ Continue Reading ]
The absolute dissipation of the image. The feet being broken, the entire image fell to pieces; and the fragments were dispersed by the wind. A fall would not naturally break masses of metal into fragments small enough to be scattered by the wind; but in a dream physical impossibilities or improbabil... [ Continue Reading ]
The interpretation of the dream. The four parts of the image signify four kingdoms, the first being represented by its present and greatest ruler, Nebuchadnezzar.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a king of kings_ KING OF KINGS, a title applied to Nebuchadnezzar in Ezekiel 26:7, though (Prince) not the customary Babylonian form of address. It is, however, one that was borne constantly by the Persian kings: cf. Ezra 7:12; and see the series of inscriptions of Persian kings, published in _Reco... [ Continue Reading ]
_the beasts of the field_ i.e. wild animals (cf. in Heb. e.g. Exodus 23:11; Exodus 23:29). These and the birds are mentioned in order to represent Nebuchadnezzar's rule as being as absolute as possible; the former are borrowed, no doubt, from Jeremiah 27:6; Jeremiah 28:14. art _this art_ THE. The p... [ Continue Reading ]
The second and third kingdoms are, in all probability, the Median and the Persian. The home of the Medes was in the mountainous country N. and N.E. of Babylon, and S.W. of the Caspian Sea; they are often mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions from the 8th cent. b.c.; but they were first consolidated... [ Continue Reading ]
The fourth kingdom, the formidable crushing power of which is compared to iron. The allusion is to the Macedonian empire, founded by Alexander the Great. _subdueth_ or BEATETH DOWN: in Syr. the word used means to _forge_a metal. _breaketh all these … and bruise_ CRUSHETH _all these_… _and_ CRUSH ... [ Continue Reading ]
The kingdom which began by being of iron, ended in being partly of iron and partly of clay, symbolizing its division, one part being stronger than the other. IT _shall be_ A DIVIDED KINGDOM] alluding to the manner in which Alexander's empire, immediately after his death (b.c. 332) was partitioned b... [ Continue Reading ]
so _the kingdom_, &c. so PART OF _the kingdom shall be strong, and_ PART OF IT _shall be broken_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall_ BE MINGLING _themselves_ BY _the seed of men_ i.e. will contract matrimonial alliances. By -seed of men" are meant probably children of the monarchs ruling at the time. _is not mixed with clay_ DOTH NOT MINGLE _with clay_. The allusion in this verse is to matrimonial alliances contracted be... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the days of these kings_ i.e. of the Seleucidae and Ptolemies, as is implied by the part of the image on which the stone falls (Daniel 2:34). The period in the history of these monarchies which is more particularly referred to is the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (b.c. 175 164), whose fall, accor... [ Continue Reading ]
The kingdom of God, to succeed these kingdoms.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Forasmuch as_thou hast seen in thy dream this colossal image preternaturally destroyed (Daniel 2:34-35), a _great God hath_let thee see behind the veil of the future, and _made known to thee what will come to pass hereafter_(cf. Genesis 41:28). A _great God_ the original is indefinite, not definit... [ Continue Reading ]
_fell upon his face_ a mark of respect whether to God, as Genesis 17:3, or to men, 2 Samuel 9:6; 2 Samuel 14:4. _and worshipped Daniel_ BOWED DOWN TO Daniel, the word used in Daniel 3:5-7 &c. of adoration paid to a deity. In the Targums, however, the same word is used (for the Heb. _to prostrate one... [ Continue Reading ]
Nebuchadnezzar is profoundly impressed by Daniel's skill, and bestows upon him high honour and rewards (cf. the promise of Daniel 2:6).... [ Continue Reading ]
_a God … a Lord_ THE _God_… THE _Lord_. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the supremacy of Daniel's God over all other gods, and His sovereignty over all kings. -Lord of lords" (bêl bêlê), and -Lord of gods" (bêl ilâni), are titles often given by the Babylonian kings (including Nebuchadnezzar) to Marduk,... [ Continue Reading ]
_made Daniel a great man made Daniel_ GREAT, i.e. advanced, promoted him. _made him_ TO RULE, &c. i.e., probably, made him administrator of the principal province of the empire, in which the capital was; opp. to the local -provinces," Daniel 3:2. _and_(appointed him) _chief of the_ PRAEFECTS _over_... [ Continue Reading ]
At Daniel's request, his three companions are transferred from the ranks of those who -stood before the king" (Daniel 1:19) to positions of authority over the -business of the province of Babylon," i.e., probably, to act as deputies or assistants to Daniel himself. Daniel's motive in making this req... [ Continue Reading ]