Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2:1 In the second year of his ¹  reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. ²  His mind ³  was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. ⁴ 

Daniel 3:4

3:4 Then the herald ⁵  made a loud ⁶  proclamation: “To you, O peoples, nations, and language groups, the following command is given: ⁷ 

Daniel 7:18

7:18 The holy ones ⁸  of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will take possession of the kingdom forever and ever.’

Daniel 11:6

11:6 After some years have passed, they ⁹  will form an alliance. Then the daughter ¹⁰  of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power, ¹¹  nor will he continue ¹²  in his strength. ¹³  She, together with the one who brought her, her child, ¹⁴  and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time. ¹⁵ 

Daniel 11:29

11:29 At an appointed time he will again invade the south, but this latter visit will not turn out the way the former one did.

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “dreamed dreams.” The plural is used here and in v. 2, but the singular in v. 3. The plural “dreams” has been variously explained. Some interpreters take the plural as denoting an indefinite singular (so GKC 400 §124.o). But it may be that it is describing a stream of related dreams, or a dream state. In the latter case, one might translate: “Nebuchadnezzar was in a trance.” See further, J. A. Montgomery, Daniel (ICC), 142.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “his sleep left (?) him.” The use of the verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) here is unusual. The context suggests a meaning such as “to be finished” or “gone.” Cf. Dan 8:27. Some scholars emend the verb to read נָדְדָה (nadÿdah, “fled”); cf. Dan 6:19. See further, DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3; HALOT 244 s.v. היה nif; BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2.

[3:4]  ⁵ tn According to BDB 1097 s.v. כָּרוֹז the Aramaic word used here is a Greek loanword, but other scholars have argued instead for a Persian derivation (HALOT 1902 s.v. *כָּרוֹז).

[3:4]  ⁶ tn Aram “in strength.”

[3:4]  ⁷ tn Aram “they are saying.”

[7:18]  ⁹ sn The expression holy ones is either a reference to angels or to human beings devoted to God.

[11:6]  ¹³ sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 B.C.) and Antiochus II Theos (ca. 262-246 B.C.).

[11:6]  ¹⁴ sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.

[11:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”

[11:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.

[11:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.

[11:6]  ¹⁸ tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yolÿdah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.

[11:6]  ¹⁹ sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 B.C.), as the Seleucid king.