2:14-15 When Daniel learned of his sentence, he responded with customary discretion and discernment (cf. 1:8, 12), not with objections (cf. vv. 10-11) or anger (cf. v. 12). Perhaps the king's decision in itself did not surprise Daniel since he surely realized that many of the wise men were charlatans. However the harshness of the verdict puzzled him. Clearly the court officials, including the king himself, had come to respect Daniel highly since they listened to him and granted his requests.
2:16 There is no other record of God having given anyone knowledge of a dream that another person had without the dreamer telling him about it. Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh and his servants when they told him what they were. However, Daniel believed that God could do anything, even reveal the dream itself to him as well as its interpretation.
"The stage was now set to show the reality, wisdom, and power of the one true God--Yahweh--as over against the inarticulate and impotent imaginary gods the magicians worshiped. It is the same general theme that dominates the remainder of the book and serves to remind the Hebrew nation that despite their own failure, collapse, and banishment into exile, the God of Israel remains as omnipotent as he ever was in the days of Moses and that his covenantal love remains as steadfast toward the seed of Abraham as it ever had been."60
