Daniel 4:8-9

4:8 Later Daniel entered (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, ¹  and in whom there is a spirit of the holy gods). I recounted the dream for him as well, 4:9 saying, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, in whom I know there to be a spirit of the holy gods and whom no mystery baffles, consider ²  my dream that I saw and set forth its interpretation!

Daniel 4:18

4:18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its ³  interpretation, for none of the wise men in ⁴  my kingdom are able to make known to me the interpretation. But you can do so, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel 5:11-12

5:11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have ⁵  insight, discernment, and wisdom like that ⁶  of the gods. ⁷  King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. ⁸  5:12 Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret ⁹  dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. ¹⁰  Now summon ¹¹  Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”

Daniel 6:3

6:3 Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom.

¹ sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.

² tc The present translation assumes the reading חֲזִי (khazi, “consider”) rather than the MT חֶזְוֵי (khezvey, “visions”). The MT implies that the king required Daniel to disclose both the dream and its interpretation, as in chapter 2. But in the following verses Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream, while Daniel presents only its interpretation.

³ tc The present translation reads פִּשְׁרֵהּ (pishreh, “its interpretation”) with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS; the Kethib is פִּשְׁרָא (pishra’, “the interpretation”); so also v. 16.

⁴ tn Aram “of.”

⁴ tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”

⁵ tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.

⁶ tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”

⁷ tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.

⁵ tc The translation reads מִפְשַׁר (mifshar) rather than the MT מְפַשַּׁר (mÿfashar) and later in the verse reads וּמִשְׁרֵא (mishre’) rather than the MT וּמְשָׁרֵא (mÿshare’). The Masoretes have understood these Aramaic forms to be participles, but they are more likely to be vocalized as infinitives. As such, they have an epexegetical function in the syntax of their clause.

⁶ tn Aram “to loose knots.”

⁷ tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”