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 2:26-28

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?” 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, ³  and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the times to come. ⁴  The dream and the visions you had while lying on your bed ⁵  are as follows.

Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2:1 In the second year of his ⁶  reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. ⁷  His mind ⁸  was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. ⁹ 

Daniel 1:2-3

1:2 Now the Lord ¹⁰  delivered ¹¹  King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, ¹²  along with some of the vessels ¹³  of the temple of God. ¹⁴  He brought them to the land of Babylonia ¹⁵  to the temple of his god ¹⁶  and put ¹⁷  the vessels in the treasury of his god.

1:3 The king commanded ¹⁸  Ashpenaz, ¹⁹  who was in charge of his court officials, ²⁰  to choose ²¹  some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent ²²  –

Amos 3:7

3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

[4:8]  ¹ sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.

[4:9]  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.

[2:28]  ³ tn Aram “a revealer of mysteries.” The phrase serves as a quasi-title for God in Daniel.

[2:28]  ⁴ tn Aram “in the latter days.”

[2:28]  ⁵ tn Aram “your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed.”

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[2:1]  ⁹ 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.

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “gave.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn Heb “hand,” which is often used idiomatically for one’s power and authority. See BDB 390 s.v. יָד 2.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Or “utensils”; or “articles.”

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “house of God.”

[1:2]  ¹⁵ sn The land of Babylonia (Heb “the land of Shinar”) is another name for Sumer and Akkad, where Babylon was located (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1, 9; Josh 7:21; Isa 11:11; Zech 5:11).

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “gods” (NCV, NRSV, TEV; also later in this verse). The Hebrew term can be used as a numerical plural for many gods or as a plural of majesty for one particular god. Since Nebuchadnezzar was a polytheist, it is not clear if the reference here is to many gods or one particular deity. The plural of majesty, while normally used for Israel’s God, is occasionally used of foreign gods (cf. BDB 43 s.v. אֱלֹהִים 1, 2). See Judg 11:24 (of the Moabite god Chemosh); 1 Sam 5:7 (of the Philistine god Dagon); 1 Kgs 11:33 (of the Canaanite goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom); 2 Kgs 19:37 (of the Assyrian god Nisroch). Since gods normally had their own individual temples, Dan 1:2 probably refers to a particular deity, perhaps Marduk, the supreme god of Babylon, or Marduk’s son Nabu, after whom Nebuchadnezzar was named. The name Nebuchadnezzar means “Nabu has protected the son who will inherit” (HALOT 660 s.v. נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר). For a discussion of how temples functioned in Babylonian religion see H. Ringgren, Religions of the Ancient Near East, 77-81.

[1:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “brought.” Though the Hebrew verb “brought” is repeated in this verse, the translation uses “brought…put” for stylistic variation.

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ sn It is possible that the word Ashpenaz is not a proper name at all, but a general term for “innkeeper.” See J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia), 127, n. 9. However, the ancient versions understand the term to be a name, and the present translation (along with most English versions) understands the word in this way.

[1:3]  ²⁰ sn The word court official (Hebrew saris) need not mean “eunuch” in a technical sense (see Gen 37:36, where the term refers to Potiphar, who had a wife), although in the case of the book of Daniel there was in Jewish literature a common tradition to that effect. On the OT usage of this word see HALOT 769-70 s.v. סָרֹיס.

[1:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “bring.”

[1:3]  ²² tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”