Daniel 2:37-38

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2:37 “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has granted you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 2:38 Wherever human beings, ¹  wild animals, ²  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ³  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Daniel 2:2

2:2 The king issued an order ⁴  to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men ⁵  in order to explain his dreams to him. ⁶  So they came and awaited the king’s instructions. ⁷ 

Daniel 12:7

12:7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky ⁸  and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters ⁹  the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.”

Matthew 14:4

14:4 because John had repeatedly told ¹⁰  him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ¹¹ 

¹ tn Aram “the sons of man.”

² tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

³ tn Aram “hand.”

⁴ tn Heb “said.” So also in v. 12.

⁵ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” The term Chaldeans (Hebrew כַּשְׂדִּים, kasdim) is used in the book of Daniel both in an ethnic sense and, as here, to refer to a caste of Babylonian wise men and astrologers.

⁶ tn Heb “to explain to the king his dreams.”

⁷ tn Heb “stood before the king.”

⁸ tn Or “to the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁹ tc The present translation reads יַד־נֹפֵץ (yad-nofets, “hand of one who shatters”) rather than the MT נַפֵּץ־יַד (nappets-yad, “to shatter the hand”).

¹⁰ tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

¹¹ sn This marriage of Herod to his brother Philip’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.