Daniel 2:4

Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. THEN SPAKE THE CHALDEANS. Here begins the Chaldee portion of Daniel, which continues to the end of Daniel 7:1. In it the course, character, and crisis of the Gentile power are treated of; whereas in the other parts, which are in Hebrew, the things treated of apply more particularly to the Jews and Jerusalem. IN SYRIAC - the Aramean-Chaldee, the vernacular tongue of the king and his court; the prophet, by mentioning it here, hints at the reason of his own adoption of it from this point. O KING, LIVE FOREVER - a formula in addressing kings, like our 'Long live the king!' Compare , "Bathsheb...

1-13 The greatest men are most open to cares and troubles of mind, which disturb their repose in the night, while the sleep of the labouring man is sweet and sound. We know not the uneasiness of many who live in great pomp, and, as others vainly think, in pleasure also. The king said that his learned men must tell him the dream itself, or they should all be put to death as deceivers. Men are more eager to ask as to future events, than to learn the way of salvation or the path of duty; yet foreknowledge of future events increases anxiety and trouble. Those who deceived, by pretending to do what they could not do, were sentenced to death, for not being able to do what they did not pretend to....

Verse Daniel 2:4. _THEN SPAKE THE CHALDEANS TO THE KING IN SYRIAC_] ארמית _aramith_, the language of _Aram_ or _Syria_. What has been generally called the Chaldee. _O KING, LIVE FOR EVER_] מלכא לעלמין חיי _Malca leolmin cheyi_. With these words the _Chaldee_ part of Daniel commences; and continues to the end of the _seventh_ chapter. These kinds of compliments are still in use in the East Indies. A superior gives a blessing to an inferior by saying to him, when the latter is in the act of doing him reverence, "_Long life to thee_." A poor man, going into the presence of a king to solicit a favour, uses the same kind of address: O father, thou art the support of the destitute; _mayest thou live to old age_! - WARD'S _Customs_....

THEN SPAKE THE CHALDEANS TO THE KING - The meaning is, either that the Chaldeans spoke in the name of the entire company of the soothsayers and magicians (see the notes, Daniel 1:20; Daniel 2:2), because they were the most prominent among them, or the name is used to denote the collective body of soothsayers, meaning that this request was made by the entire company. IN SYRIAC - In the original - ארמית _'ărâmı̂yt_ - in “Aramean.” Greek, Συριστὶ _Suristi_ - “in Syriac.” So the Vulgate. The Syriac retains the original word. The word means Aramean, and the reference is to that language which is known as East Aramean - a general term embracing the Chald

EXPOSITION DANIEL 2:1 DANIEL FIRST BECOMES DISTINGUISHED. DANIEL 2:1 AND IN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE REIGN OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR NEBUCHADNEZZAR DREAMED DREAMS, WHEREWITH HIS SPIRIT WAS TROUBLED, AND HIS SLEEP BRAKE FROM HIM. The versions only differ verbally from the Massoretic text as represented by the above. The Septuagint renders "And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he chanced to fall into dreams and visions, and to be troubled with his vision, and his sleep went from him." The differences here that may evidence a difference of text are slight. Theodotion and the Peshitta are very close to the Massoretic. The Vulgate renders, "In the second year of

THEN SPAKE THE CHALDEANS TO THE KING IN, SYRIAC,.... These spake, either because the interpretation of dreams particularly belonged to them; or else as being the chief of the wise men, and of greatest authority; or as chosen by the rest, and spake in their name; and indeed this appellation may include them all, being all of the same country, though they might differ in their profession: they spake in the Syriac or Babylonish language, the same with the Chaldee, being their mother tongue, and that of the king too; and therefore could more easily speak it themselves, and be more easily understood by him, than if they had spoke in another; Daniel 1:4 and from hence, to the end of the "seventh" chapter, Daniel writes in Chaldee; the things he treats of chiefly relating to the Chaldeans: O KING, LIVE FOR EVER; which is a wish of long life, health, and prosperity; and does not intend

SYRIACK [SYRIAC] From (Daniel 2:4); (Daniel 7:28) the Book of Daniel is written in Aramaic, the ancient language of Syria, and substantially identical with Chaldaic, the language of ancient Babylonia. Upon this fact, together with the occurrence of fifteen Persian, and three Greek words has been based an argument against the historicity of Daniel, and in favour of a date after the conquest of Palestine by Alexander (B.C. 332). It has, however, seemed, with some modern exceptions, to the Hebrew and Christian scholarship of the ages an unanswerable proof rather of the Danielic authorship of the book that, living from boyhood in a land the language of which was Chaldaic, a great part of his writing should be in that tongue. It has often been pointed out that the Chaldaic of Daniel is

CHAPTER 2 NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM AND ITS INTERPRETATION _ 1. The forgotten dream (Daniel 2:1)_ 2. The prayer meeting in Babylon and the answer (Daniel 2:14) 3. Daniel before the king (Daniel 2:24) 4. The revelation and interpretation of the dream (Daniel 2:29) 5. The promotion of Daniel and his companions (Daniel 2:46) Daniel 2:1. The king had a dream which was occasioned by thinking concerning the future ...

THE FORGOTTEN DREAM. Nebuchadnezzar, troubled by a dream which had escaped him, calls his magicians and orders them to recover it and explain its meaning. When they declare their inability, he issues orders that they are to be put to death. DANIEL 2:1. IN THE SECOND YEAR: this statement seems to be in conflict with Daniel 1:5; Daniel 1:18, which imply that Daniel spent three years in training. Driver suggests that the discrepancy can be explained thus: We know that Babylonian kings did not count the year of their accession as the first year of their reign, but regarded the second year as the first. In that case, the second year mentioned here would be the third, and it is quite possible that the dream may have occurred at t

IN SYRIACK. Hebrew. _'aramith =_ Aramaic. The insertion of this word here is to call our attention to the fact that what follows is written not in Hebrew, but in Aramaic, as far as the end of Daniel 7. See note on the Structure, p. 1178; and note the other Aramaic portions (Ezra 4:8 Ezra 6:18 with Ezra 7:12. also Jeremiah 10:11. The Syriac and Chaldee are properly Western and Eastern Aramaic. O KING. This is the first Aramaic word so written. Compare Daniel 3:9;...