DANIEL 2

Mention of the court magicians and enchanters in verses 1 and 49 acts as an inclusio to bracket the section. This organization highlights the similarities and differences between the magicians and Daniel. Both of them admit that only a supernatural being can reveal the king's dream and interpretation, and both stall for time. However, Daniel uses that time to pray to God whereas the magicians apparently don't bother praying to their gods even though they have said that they could reveal the secret (Did they, and do we, truly believe?) .

Daniel 2:1-11

Verse 1 “Spirit was troubled” also appears in Genesis 41:8 when pharaoh has a dream.

Verses 5,8 Why did he demand that they first tell him the dream? It is related to the reasons fortune-tellers often start out by telling some verifiable fact to a person before telling their future. This is a sign that the king did not really trust the “experts” in his court (v. 9). Compare translations for 5 and 8; the Hebrew phrase literally says, “the thing is gone from me.” KJV took this to mean that the king had forgotten his dream. More recent linguists feel that the root word means “firm” instead.

Daniel 2:12-16

Verse 12 Perhaps this is an early sign of his later irrationality (Chapter 4). NRSV points out that Daniel could never be entirely safe in the hands of such a man. If you have ever worked for an irrational boss, you understand this.

Verse 14 Like the guard in 1:10, Arioch is willing to defer to Daniel rather than carrying out the king's command. (A sign of God's favor?) Look at other translations for prudence and discretion. What does it mean?

Verse 16 We don't need to answer people right away (a lesson I learned when I was teaching Sunday school). If you don't know an answer, it is better to hold off until investigating it further rather than just winging it.

Daniel 2:17-23

Verse 18 “God of Heaven” is a common phrase from the Persian and Hellenistic periods: it has a universal connotation (in verses 37 and 44 also).

Verse 19 The assumption is that both the dream and interpretation were revealed to Daniel at this time.

Verse 22 Rabbis felt that this showed that Light was one of the names of the Messiah. Look at John's statement that Jesus was the light of the world.

20-23 “Wisdom and power” is repeated as an inclusio for this prayer. Wisdom has been explained as the revelation of deep things while power is exemplified by the “changing of times” and ruling over the destiny of kings (God set Nebuchadnezzar up to conquer Judah and but will humble him later). Tremper Longman: “Wisdom is not a lesson to be learned but a relationship to be enjoyed.” Comments?

Can and does God speak to Christians today directly with special revelations?

Daniel 2:24-30

Verse 24 Calvin wrestled with this verse. One could argue that these false prophets should have been destroyed. It is interesting that Daniel, in effect, takes mercy on the very wise men who will try to destroy him later. It shows love for one's enemies.

Verse 27 Daniel agrees with the wise men that no “god” can do what the king demanded.

Verse 28 Daniel could have taken the glory, but he honors God instead. In the Bible, the word “mystery” is always used to refer to something that God eventually reveals, not just conceals. (See Hidden But Now Revealed by G.K. Beale and Benjamin L. Gladd for a whole book discussing this biblical theme.) The rest of the verse is important to understanding the dream that will follow. Events do not just cover the king's time frame, but the distant future as well (the same is true of visions in the last half of the book).

Daniel 2:31-45

Verse 31 We cannot ignore the dream itself, but the main point of the story is in the fact that only Daniel through God's revelation is able to describe and interpret it.

Verses 32-33 One expects the metals to be listed in decreasing order of value, but the unexpected element is that clay is used to hold up the whole statue. This is where we get the expression “feet of clay” from.

Verses 34-35 The stone is not cut by human hands. Why this detail? It is similar to the command to use only undressed stones in stone altars (Exodus and Deuteronomy). God's might is greater than all the man-made kingdoms of the earth.

Jumping ahead to verse 45 we see what the stone was cut out of. But in 35b it becomes a great mountain. Meaning?? If Jesus is the stone, then he was associated with God and returns to God. Jesus is later called the rock that will break those who oppose him (Luke 20:18, etc.).

Verse 37 Daniel flatters Nebuchadnezzar as the king of kings (i.e., the greatest king) but reminds him that God has placed him there.

Verses 37-45 Interpreters differ on the exact identification of the four kingdoms. One possibility proposed is Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece. That fits the detail in verse 43: Intermarriage between Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties did not prevent conflict between them. However, the other scheme is Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman. This fits best with verse 44 if it stands for the coming of Christ during the Roman reign. Contrary to the idea of mankind's progress is the vision of disintegration of human governments.

Verse 42 Dispensationalists look for a contemporary or future fulfillment. They often took this verse to predict that the Roman Empire will be revived in the last days as a commonwealth of 10 European nations (i.e. European Common Market). But note that (a) the number of toes is never alluded to at all and (b) by now there are more than 10 countries.

Daniel 2:46-49

Verse 46 This is perhaps the only thing Daniel is recorded as doing wrong. He allows the king to worship him and give him an offering. Compare the apostles in Acts 14:8-20 who are horrified that anyone would try to worship them. Discuss. There is a temptation when one has been given gifts by God but is praised by others for exercising them. Or perhaps Daniel accepts the honor because he knows it is really directed toward his God.

Verse 47 This is a short term conversion for the king (see subsequent events). Compare his titles for God with Daniel's title for king in verse 37.

Verse 48 This reminds us of Joseph and his promotion by Pharaoh. “Daniel's real reward is the fact that the king now honors his God.”

Verse 49 Daniel doesn't forget his friends. Back in verse 17 they were called by their Hebrew names, but here and in the next chapter they are called by their Babylonian names. They are reintroduced here because they will become the prominent actors in the next chapter, rather than Daniel.