Discovery BoxDaniel 2:26-49
Context2:26 The king then asked Daniel (whose name was also Belteshazzar), “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I saw, as well as its interpretation?” 2:27 Daniel replied to the king, “The mystery that the king is asking about is such that no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king. 2:28 However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, 1 and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the times to come. 2 The dream and the visions you had while lying on your bed 3 are as follows.
2:29 “As for you, O king, while you were in your bed your thoughts turned to future things. 4 The revealer of mysteries has made known to you what will take place. 2:30 As for me, this mystery was revealed to me not because I possess more wisdom 5 than any other living person, but so that the king may understand 6 the interpretation and comprehend the thoughts of your mind. 7
2:31 “You, O king, were watching as a great statue – one 8 of impressive size and extraordinary brightness – was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm. 2:32 As for that statue, its head was of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs were of bronze. 2:33 Its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. 9 2:34 You were watching as 10 a stone was cut out, 11 but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces. 2:35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction 12 and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth. 2:36 This was the dream. Now we 13 will set forth before the king its interpretation.
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, 14 wild animals, 15 and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. 16 He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold. 2:39 Now after you another kingdom 17 will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth. 2:40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom, one strong like iron. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces 18 all of these metals, 19 so it will break in pieces and crush the others. 20 2:41 In that you were seeing feet and toes 21 partly of wet clay 22 and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. Some of the strength of iron will be in it, for you saw iron mixed with wet clay. 23 2:42 In that the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, the latter stages of this kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile. 2:43 And 24 in that you saw iron mixed with wet clay, so people will be mixed 25 with one another 26 without adhering to one another, just as 27 iron does not mix with clay. 2:44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever. 2:45 You saw that a stone was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands; it smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what will occur in the future. 28 The dream is certain, and its interpretation is reliable.”
2:46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed down with his face to the ground 29 and paid homage to Daniel. He gave orders to offer sacrifice and incense to him. 2:47 The king replied to Daniel, “Certainly your God is a God of gods and Lord of kings and revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery!” 2:48 Then the king elevated Daniel to high position and bestowed on him many marvelous gifts. He granted him authority over the entire province of Babylon and made him the main prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 2:49 And at Daniel’s request, the king 30 appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the administration of the province of Babylon. Daniel himself served in the king’s court. 31
[2:28] 1 tn Aram “a revealer of mysteries.” The phrase serves as a quasi-title for God in Daniel.
[2:28] 2 tn Aram “in the latter days.”
[2:28] 3 tn Aram “your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed.”
[2:29] 4 tn Aram “your thoughts upon your bed went up to what will be after this.”
[2:30] 5 tn Aram “not for any wisdom which is in me more than [in] any living man.”
[2:30] 6 tn Aram “they might cause the king to know.” The impersonal plural is used here to refer to the role of God’s spirit in revealing the dream and its interpretation to the king. As J. A. Montgomery says, “it appropriately here veils the mysterious agency” (Daniel [ICC], 164-65).
[2:33] 9 sn Clay refers to baked clay, which – though hard – was also fragile. Cf. the reference in v. 41 to “wet clay.”
[2:34] 11 tc The LXX, Theodotion, and the Vulgate have “from a mountain,” though this is probably a harmonization with v. 45.
[2:35] 12 tn Aram “as one.” For the meaning “without distinction” see the following: F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 36, §64, and p. 93; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 60.
[2:36] 13 tn Various suggestions have been made concerning the plural “we.” It is probably the editorial plural and could be translated here as “I.”
[2:38] 14 tn Aram “the sons of man.”
[2:38] 15 tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”
[2:39] 17 sn The identity of the first kingdom is clearly Babylon. The identification of the following three kingdoms is disputed. The common view is that they represent Media, Persia, and Greece. Most conservative scholars identify them as Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
[2:40] 18 tc Theodotion and the Vulgate lack the phrase “and as iron breaks in pieces.”
[2:40] 19 tn The Aramaic text does not have this word, but it has been added in the translation for clarity.
[2:40] 20 tn The words “the others” are supplied from the context.
[2:41] 21 tc The LXX lacks “and toes.”
[2:41] 22 tn Aram “potter’s clay.”
[2:41] 23 tn Aram “clay of clay” (also in v. 43).
[2:43] 24 tc The present translation reads the conjunction, with most medieval Hebrew
[2:43] 25 sn The reference to people being mixed is usually understood to refer to intermarriage.
[2:43] 26 tn Aram “with the seed of men.”
[2:43] 27 tc The present translation reads הֵיךְ דִּי (hekh diy) rather than the MT הֵא־כְדִי (he’-khÿdi). It is a case of wrong word division.
[2:45] 28 tn Aram “after this.”
[2:46] 29 tn Aram “fell on his face.”
[2:49] 30 tn Aram “and Daniel sought from the king and he appointed.”
