Daniel 4:19

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

4:19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; ¹  his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, ²  if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!

Daniel 1:7

1:7 But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave ³  Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego. ⁴ 

Daniel 2:26

2:26 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?”

Daniel 4:8-9

4:8 Later Daniel entered (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, ⁵  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 ⁶  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 ⁷  interpretation, for none of the wise men in ⁸  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 5:12

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 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ¹² In the third ¹³  year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. ¹⁴  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

[4:19]  ¹ tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.

[4:19]  ² tn Aram “my lord.”

[1:7]  ³ tc The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.

[1:7]  ⁴ sn The meanings of the Babylonian names are more conjectural than is the case with the Hebrew names. The probable etymologies are as follows: Belteshazzar means “protect his life,” although the MT vocalization may suggest “Belti, protect the king” (cf. Dan 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is of uncertain meaning; Abednego means “servant of Nego.” Assigning Babylonian names to the Hebrew youths may have been an attempt to erase from their memory their Israelite heritage.

[4:8]  ⁵ sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.

[4:9]  ⁷ 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.

[4:18]  ⁹ 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.

[4:18]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “of.”

[5:12]  ¹¹ 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.

[5:12]  ¹² tn Aram “to loose knots.”

[5:12]  ¹³ tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”

[10:1]  ¹³ sn This chapter begins the final unit in the book of Daniel, consisting of chapters 10-12. The traditional chapter divisions to some extent obscure the relationship of these chapters.

[10:1]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX has “first.”

[10:1]  ¹⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsava’) is uncertain in this context. The word most often refers to an army or warfare. It may also mean “hard service,” and many commentators take that to be the sense here (i.e., “the service was great”). The present translation assumes the reference to be to the spiritual conflicts described, for example, in 10:16–11:1.