Daniel 4:7-8
Daniel 4:7-The Occult Priests, Necromancers, Astrologers And Diviners Could Not Interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
Review of Daniel 4:1-6
Daniel 4:1 contains the greeting to Nebuchadnezzar’s proclamation and identifies its recipients. Daniel 4:1 “King Nebuchadnezzar, to each and every person belonging to the nations, ethnicities and language groups, who are living throughout the entire earth: May your prosperity increase!” (Author’s translation) Daniel 4:1 presents to the reader the greeting to the proclamation which Nebuchadnezzar issued which was addressed to each and every person belonging to the nations, ethnicities and language groups in his kingdom who lived throughout the earth. He expresses his desire that these people’s prosperity increase in the sense that they prosper in physical health as well as prosper financially and materially. The recipients of this royal proclamation were located throughout the earth which reveals that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was world-wide. This was given to him by God according to Daniel 2:37-38 and Jeremiah 27. The Holy Spirit through the prophet Jeremiah warned the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon that the Father had given Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty over the entire earth (Jeremiah 27:6-7, 14). Nebuchadnezzar is issuing this proclamation as a regenerate person. As we noted in our study of Daniel 3:28, the fact that the king praises the God of Israel was an expression of his faith in the Lord. The king’s praise is an expression of his faith in the God of Israel. The Aramaic verb berǎḵ which we translated “worthy to be praised” appears only once in the book of Daniel. However, its Hebrew equivalent bā·rǎḵ ( ) ( baw-rak´ ) appears 75 times in the Old Testament. When the word is used of praising God, the individual praising God is always a believer and never an unbeliever. Thus, Daniel 3:28 is recording for us the conversion of Nebuchadnezzar. Even though, the king becomes a believer in Yahweh here in Daniel 3:28, Daniel chapter 4 records him being humbled by God since he continued to think like a pagan. The discipline accomplished its purpose resulting in Nebuchadnezzar changing his attitude and lifestyle. After his conversion, the king did not disavow the other gods he worshipped, he was still a believer. Some believe erroneously that one can not practice idolatry or sin after conversion like Nebuchadnezzar and be a “true” believer. However, the Scripture emphatically refutes this by giving
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1 many examples in which believers practiced idolatry and committed gross sins after their conversion. David committed adultery and murder as a believer. Peter denied the Lord three times as a believer. Solomon practiced idolatry as a believer. The Exodus generation practiced idolatry after their conversion. All were disciplined by God and all were believers. All committed sin and acted like an unbeliever, yet they still were saved. The New Testament prohibits believers from engaging in behavior that they use to engage in prior to conversion since it is possible because of the presence of the indwelling sin nature and the devil to become involved in idolatrous and sinful behavior after conversion. Otherwise, there would be no need to prohibit believers from such behavior if there was no possible way that they could become involved in such things. In Daniel 3:28, the king praises the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Nowhere in Scripture does it record a fallen angel, or an unregenerate human being praising the God of Israel, Jesus Christ or God the Father. Only believers praise the God of Israel. The fact that Nebuchadnezzar published this proclamation throughout his kingdom about his experience with the God of Israel indicates how important he thought it was to make it known to those in his kingdom. Doubtless, he was attempting to lead the subjects of his kingdom to exercise faith in the God of Israel and worship Him and forsake the worship of their gods. Daniel 4:2 “It is pleasing to me to make known the miraculous signs, yes, and wondrous signs at that, which the Most High God performed on my behalf.” (Author’s translation) In this verse, we have Nebuchadnezzar making known to the recipients of this decree his reason for issuing it, namely to tell them about the miraculous, wondrous signs that the Most High God performed on his behalf. He is overjoyed at personally encountering the Most High God and seeks to share his experiences with the Most High God and his joy with those in his kingdom. The king has been humbled by the Most High God through discipline, which was administered to the king because the Most High God loves him (Hebrews: Revelation 3:19). The miraculous, wondrous signs that the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego performed on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar refer to the events recorded in Daniel chapter four and not chapter three. This is indicated by the fact that the king is saying here in verse 2 that he wants to make the people of his kingdom aware of these miraculous wondrous signs by issuing this decree to them and the decree does not recount the events recorded in chapter 3. Nebuchadnezzar had witnessed a manifestation of the power of the God when He delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power. He had witnessed a miracle. The laws of nature demanded that all three be burned to death. However,
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God had overruled these laws, which He established in order to reveal Himself to Nebuchadnezzar and his counselors. Now, in chapter 4, we see Nebuchadnezzar having a personal encounter with the God of Israel in the sense that the God of Israel disciplines him for his arrogance. He encounters miraculous, wondrous signs in the form of a vision of tree, which was given to him by God. Then, Daniel interprets the vision for him, which told the king he would be punished for his arrogance. Nebuchadnezzar experiences the miraculous when Daniel’s interpretation is fulfilled. Then, lastly, the king encounters the miraculous power of the God of Israel when he is restored to power after seven years of living as a wild animal. Notice in Nebuchadnezzar’s statement in Daniel 4:2 that he says that the Most High God performed these miraculous, wondrous signs on his behalf, which expresses the fact that the king has a personal experiential knowledge of the God of Israel like Daniel and his three friends. Like Daniel, and his three friends, Nebuchadnezzar has personally encountered the Most High God through the miraculous events recorded in chapters two, three and four. He was affected by this encounter with the Most High God resulting in the gaining of humility and practical spiritual wisdom. Daniel 4:3 “How great are His miraculous signs! Indeed, how great are His wondrous signs! His kingdom is eternal. In other words, His governmental dominion is from generation to generation.” (Author’s translation) In Daniel 4:3, we have four statements that Nebuchadnezzar issues to his subjects in his world-wide kingdom. They constitute a “doxology.” It is fitting for Nebuchadnezzar to burst into a doxology of praise of the God of Israel since he witnessed a great miracle, in which the God of Israel was revealing Himself personally to the king as omnipotent and sovereign. Remember chapter four is retrospective exposition. In this chapter, we see Nebuchadnezzar having a personal encounter with the God of Israel in the sense that the God of Israel disciplines him for his arrogance. He encounters miraculous, wondrous signs in the form of a vision of tree, which was given to him by God. Then, Daniel interprets the vision for him, which told the king he would be punished for his arrogance. Nebuchadnezzar experiences the miraculous when Daniel’s interpretation is fulfilled. Then, lastly, the king encounters the miraculous power of the God of Israel when he is restored to power after seven years of living as a wild animal. Nebuchadnezzar is worshipping the God of Israel here in Daniel 4:3. As a result of Nebuchadnezzar witnessing the power of God in his life as recorded in Daniel chapter four, the king’s attitude toward the God of Israel is one of deep respect and awe for Him. As a result of personally encountering the power of the God of Israel, the king is esteeming the excellence of the person of the God of Israel as manifested through His attribute of omnipotence. Nebuchadnezzar possesses an
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3 overwhelming feeling of reverence and admiration for the God of Israel as a result of the events recorded in Daniel chapter four. As a result of personally encountering the power of the God of Israel as recorded in Daniel chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar is filled with admiration, amazement and awe for the God of Israel. The miracles reached right into his heart and shook him up. They enriched his life and overwhelmed him with an emotion which was a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence and fear and love for the God of Israel. “How great are His miraculous signs ” describes the signs and wonders God performed on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in chapter four as being tremendous displays of God’s omnipotence. It denotes that these signs and wonders were great in the sense that they dwarf what man can do. They were superior to anything any man could do. It says that they were remarkable in magnitude, degree and effectiveness in that they accomplished God’s will. The miraculous events recorded in Daniel chapter four were intended to get the attention of Nebuchadnezzar and to confirm and demonstrate to him the God of Israel’s authority over the king and that the king was under the God of Israel’s authority. These miracles were “confirmation” of this authority and served as “proof” that the God of Israel was sovereign over the earth and Nebuchadnezzar himself. “Indeed, how great are His wondrous signs ” is an emphatic clause meaning that is advancing upon and intensifying Nebuchadnezzar’s previous statement. Therefore, here in Daniel 4:3, the second statement that the Most High God’s wonders were mighty advances upon and intensifies upon the previous statement that His signs were great. This emphatic statement describes the signs and wonders God performed on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar as being tremendous displays of God’s omnipotence. The miracles recorded in chapter four were designed by God to fill Nebuchadnezzar with “wonder” in the sense of being filled with admiration for God and amazement and awe of Him. They overwhelmed him with an emotion that was a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence, fear and love for Him. “His kingdom is eternal ” refers to God’s kingdom in the sense of God’s authority over the kings of the earth and every creature and all creation. It denotes that God’s kingdom is infinite in duration in contrast to Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom and those which would follow his during the course of human history. “In other words, His governmental dominion is from generation to generation ” is an epexegetical clause meaning it describes from a different perspective the previous statement that the Most High God’s kingdom is eternal. This epexegetical statement refers to the Most High God’s supreme, sovereign authority or power to rule over every nation under heaven as well as every creation and all of creation. It denotes that the Most High God’s governmental dominion is from generation to generation meaning it extends from generation to generation
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4 over the inhabitants of the earth. The implication is that His dominion over human beings is eternal. Daniel 4:4 “I myself, Nebuchadnezzar was content in my house, specifically prosperous in my palace.” (Author’s translation) Daniel 4:4 presents to the reader the circumstances in which Nebuchadnezzar found himself when he received revelation from God in a vision in a dream. This verse says he was content in his home. This contentment was the result of being at peace since he had conquered his enemies and possessed a world-wide empire, which is indicated by the events in chapter three, which record Nebuchadnezzar ordering the representatives of the various nations, ethnicities and languages in his kingdom to the dedication of the statue he erected of himself. The king specifies in verse 4 that he was prosperous in his palace. This prosperous condition indicates that his life was marked by success and economic well-being and enjoying vigorous and healthy growth. Thus, Nebuchadnezzar was living prosperously possessing luxury, riches, good health, a world-wide kingdom as a result of achieving victory over his enemies in war. There has been some debate among scholars as when the events of chapter four took place in Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. Some argue that the events of chapter four took place later in Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. Archer argues that they took place some eight or nine years before the end of the siege of Tyre in 573. However, the contextual evidence in the book of Daniel suggests that the events of chapter four followed soon after the events in chapter three since the latter describes Nebuchadnezzar as already a world-wide ruler who had subjugated nations, ethnicities and languages groups to himself. Furthermore, history records that he had already conquered his most powerful enemy Egypt. In 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt in the Battle of Carchemish which resulted in the defeat of Egypt. Carchemish was destroyed by the Babylonians in approximately June of that year. The Babylonian king pursued the Egyptians and thus expanded his area of authority. He went into Syria and toward Palestine. Upon learning of the death of his father Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar returned from Riblah to Babylon in August 605 B.C. where he was crowned king. After this he returned to Palestine and attacked Jerusalem in September 605 B.C. This conquest of Jerusalem resulted in Daniel and his companions being taken back to Babylon as captives. Nebuchadnezzar returned to Judah again a second time in 597 B.C. where he laid siege to Jerusalem in response to Jehoiachim’s ill advised rebellion. At this point, Jerusalem was now subjugated to Babylon. Ten thousand captives were taken to Babylon, one of whom was the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2 Kings 23:8-20; 2 Chronicles 36:6-10).
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Jehoiakim died that year and was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin who was also known as Jeconiah or Coniah. He surrendered to the Babylonians after only three months in power. He was taken as a prisoner to Babylon along with the royal family, the court, the upper classes and the artisans. The Temple was looted and its articles taken as booty to Babylon. After the attack in 597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar established Zedekiah (Mattaniah) who was the uncle of Jehoiachin, as a puppet ruler in Judah. He was urged to rebel and ally with Egypt against the protestations of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:6ff.; 38:14ff.). Zedekiah did not pay heed to Jeremiah and allied himself with Egypt and revolted against Nebuchadnezzar. The Chaldean armies invaded Judah in 587 B.C. He attacked Jerusalem after destroying the small Syrian states and laying siege to Lachish and Azekah as predicted by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:9). In 588 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar returned a third time where he again laid siege to the city of David, breaching the walls and destroying the city and burned the temple of Solomon in 586 B.C. The majority of Jews who were not killed in this offensive were also taken captive to Babylon (2 Kings 25;1-7; Jeremiah 34:1-7; 39:1-7; 52:2-11). So the description that Nebuchadnezzar gives us in Daniel 4:4 of his circumstances when he received a revelation from God in a vision in a dream corresponds with the events in chapter three. The latter records him issuing a decree to the representative of the nations, ethnicities, and language groups in his world-wide kingdom to come to the dedication of the statue he erected of himself. This dedication not only expressed the king’s pride and arrogance and rebellion against God but was an attempt to unite these various elements of his kingdom by the joining of religion (idolatry) with civil government. Thus, chapter three paints a picture that Nebuchadnezzar had conquered his enemies and was a world-wide ruler. Therefore, to read about him in chapter four as contented and prosperous in his palace corresponds to what we read in chapter three. Thus, the events recorded in chapter four must have followed soon after the events recorded in chapter three. In Daniel 4:4, Nebuchadnezzar is describing for his readers that he was living in pride and was content with himself and full of himself after achieving such great prosperity and success on the battle field as well as politically and economically. He was not only the most powerful man in the world as the events in chapter three tell us but he was also the richest as a result of plundering many nations such as Israel. Daniel 4:5 “I saw a dream, which caused me to be frightened, specifically revelations on my bed. Indeed, visions in my mind caused me to be terrified.” (Author’s translation) In Daniel 4:5, Nebuchadnezzar abruptly begins his story. He goes from telling his reader that he was content in his house, prospering in his palace to telling
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6 abruptly telling the reader that while relaxing on his bed, all of a sudden he received revelation from God in a vision in a dream, which terrified him. The verse begins with the declarative statement “ I saw a dream,” which refers to Nebuchadnezzar receiving a prophetic revelation in a dream which was concerning the future. Specifically it concerned itself with God deposing Nebuchadnezzar for seven years until he acknowledged that the Most High God was the ruler over all mankind and bestows it to whomever He so chooses. This declarative statement is modified by the relative pronoun clause “ which caused me to be frightened ,” which tells the reader the effect this dream had on the king. It induced fear in him. Then, this is followed by the epexegetical clause “specifically revelations on my bed ,” which describes what Nebuchadnezzar means when he saw a dream. This clause tells the reader that the king received prophetic revelations while he was relaxing on his bed. Lastly, the verse is completed by the emphatic clause “ indeed, visions in my mind caused me to be terrified ,” which advances upon and intensifies the previous statement. Nebuchadnezzar goes from telling the reader that he saw a dream, which frightened him, which was actually revelations to saying that they were visions, which caused him to be terrified. The advancement and intensification is going from where he received these revelations to describing his state of mind. He goes from saying he received revelations to saying that they were supernatural revelations that entered his mind while in an altered state of consciousness. He goes from saying that these revelations frightened him to saying that they were visions which terrified him. “Dream ” refers to the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. It refers to the revelations Nebuchadnezzar received from God in a dream. This is indicated by the fact that Daniel’s interpretation of this dream as recorded in Daniel 2:19-27 reveals that this dream was just that, a revelation from God concerning Nebuchadnezzar’s future. “Revelations ” describes the king’s dream as a revelation from God concerning the king’s future. “ Visions ” describes these revelations as appearances of something in Nebuchadnezzar’s mind that was a supernatural revelation to communicate a truth to him, not seen as a sensory perception. It speaks of revelation from God the Holy Spirit with regards to the Father’s will for Nebuchadnezzar. It denotes that God gave Nebuchadnezzar revelation with regards to His future plans for the king. This is demonstrated in chapter four. In this vision, Nebuchadnezzar received revelation from God with regards to the king’s future. These visions that Nebuchadnezzar received from God were prophetic in that they tell the king about his future. These visions were also symbolic dream visions as indicated by the fact that the tree and its stump is symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar. These visions were also oracles of assurance since the king is assured that he
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7 would be restored to the throne when acknowledges that God is sovereign over him. Their purpose was to direct Nebuchadnezzar to submit to God’s will over his life and to teach him and the reader that God’s authority is over every ruler including the most powerful ones such as Nebuchadnezzar. “Visions ” describes Nebuchadnezzar as receiving these revelations while he was in a trance or altered state of consciousness in which extrasensory audiovisual experiences, which were revelatory in character, were perceived by the king in the privacy of his own bedroom. In Daniel 4:5, the king is learning that once again that the transcendent, omniscient and omnipotent God who he came into contact as recorded in chapters two and three is immanent meaning that God intervenes in the lives of men. The immanency of God means that He involves Himself in and concerns Himself with and intervenes in the lives of members of the human race, both saved and unsaved. This evident in that God gave Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen king a vision in a dream which was a revelation concerning his future. When Daniel told the king the interpretation of his dream, God was intervening in the life of the king and communicating to him that he Nebuchadnezzar was accountable to Him and was sovereign over the king. God intervened in the king’s life by giving him a dream, which Daniel interpreted for him. He again intervened in the king’s life by manifesting his omnipotence in delivering Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power. Now the God of Israel is intervening in the life of Nebuchadnezzar by once again giving him a dream, which is much more personal in nature than the one he received in chapter two. This dream in chapter four concerns itself exclusively with Nebuchadnezzar. Thus, he is learning about the miraculous nature of God’s kingdom in that He intervenes in the lives and affairs of men. As was the case in chapters two and three, the king is learning once again that God is sovereign over him. The term “sovereignty” connotes a situation in which a person, from his innate dignity, exercises supreme power, with no areas of his province outside his jurisdiction. As applied to God, the term “sovereignty” indicates His complete power over all of creation, so that He exercises His will absolutely, without any necessary conditioning by a finite will or wills. Therefore, God, from His innate dignity, exercises supreme power over the nations of the earth, with no area of planet earth outside His jurisdiction. God’s exercises His will absolutely over the nations of the earth. The reason why Nebuchadnezzar was terrified upon receiving these prophetic revelations-visions was that he felt threatened by he saw. He felt threatened because his conscience was convicting him that he was still living in rebellion with God. On two separate occasions, Nebuchadnezzar was told by God that He was sovereign over him. In chapter two, Daniel interpret his dream and told the king
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8 that God gave him his authority, power and success and was thus sovereign over him. Then, in chapter three, by miraculously delivering Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power, God was telling the king that He was sovereign over him. Now, he receives another supernatural revelation, which bothers his conscience since in this revelation-vision, the king saw a messenger coming down from out of heaven. This tells the king that the message conveyed by the messenger in this vision was from God. Therefore, Nebuchadnezzar knows that God is speaking to him again and his conscience has convicted him that he has not been obedient to the previous revelations given to him in that he has yet to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over his life. So the king knows with this revelation or vision that God is dealing with him and is not happy with him which is reflected in Daniel’s interpretation, which said that the king would be deposed for seven years until he acknowledged that God was sovereign over him. Daniel 4:6 “Therefore, from me a command was issued for the purpose of causing each and every one of the city of Babylon’s wise men to be brought into my presence in order that they could make known to me the dream’s interpretation.” (Author’s translation) Daniel 4:6 is composed of a result clause followed by two purpose clauses. The result clause tells the reader that Nebuchadnezzar issued a command as a result of being terrified by the revelations-visions he received in a dream. The first purpose clause tells us that the king issued this command for the purpose of causing each and every one of the city of Babylon’s wise men to be brought into his presence. The second purpose has Nebuchadnezzar telling the reader that the purpose for bringing the wise men into his presence was so that they could make known to him the interpretation of this dream which terrified him. These wise men are identified in Daniel 4:7 as being composed of “occult priests” ( ḥǎ r·ṭōm), “necromancers” ( ʾǎš·šāp̄ ), “astrologers” ( kǎś·dāy), and “diviners” ( gezǎr). Nebuchadnezzar’s order here in Daniel 4:6 seems rather strange since Daniel chapter two records that the king was extremely upset with the wise men as a result of their inability to tell him the content of his dream. In fact, he ordered them to be executed. Also, it was Daniel who was able to tell the king the content and interpretation of his dream in chapter two. Daniel 4:8 says that Daniel came in last which implies that the king did not send for him until after the wise men failed again. There are two possible reasons why Nebuchadnezzar sent for the wise men and then as a last resort Daniel. The first is that the wise men had been under Daniel’s authority. If you recall, Daniel 2:48 records that Nebuchadnezzar rewarded Daniel for giving him both the content and interpretation of his dream by making him ruler over the entire province of the city of Babylon. In other words, the king made Daniel chief over the senior officials
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9 over each and every one of the city of Babylon’s wise men. Nebuchadnezzar obviously had great respect for Daniel as a result of Daniel giving him the content and interpretation of his dream when the wise men could not. The second reason why Nebuchadnezzar called on his wise men and not Daniel was that he might have felt embarrassed because of his great pride to call on the latter since chapter three records that he executed his three friends. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down and worship the gold statue he erected on the plain of Dura and so the king had them put to death. God of course intervened and saved these three. The second reason appears to be the more feasible since Nebuchadnezzar was desperate to find out what the dream meant as indicated by the fact that he issued an order to bring into his presence the wise men of the city of Babylon. The king would not hesitate to call on Daniel immediately rather than wasting his time with the wise men who were under Daniel’s authority and who had failed him in the past. However, he must have delayed in calling for Daniel immediately because he was embarrassed for executing his three friends. The king’s great pride prevented him from calling for Daniel immediately and instead calling for those who had proven to be frauds in the past, the wise men. Nebuchadnezzar also could have been rationalizing that the wise men had been under Daniel’s authority so why confront Daniel when he didn’t have to and instead call on those under his authority who might have learned from Daniel how to interpret dreams. So the first reason could have been used by the king to rationalize not having to face Daniel again, which undoubtedly would have been embarrassing to him.
Occult Priests, Necromancers, Astrologers and Diviners Enter the King’s Presence
Daniel 4:7 “Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.” (NASB95) “Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in ” is composed of the preposition bĕ ( ְ ) (beh), which is not translated and is followed by the temporal adverb ʾěḏǎ· yin ( ) ( ed-ah´-yin ), “ then ” and this is followed by the masculine plural pe al (Hebrew: qal) active participle form of the verb ʿǎlǎl ( ) ( al-al´ ), “ came in ” and then we have the masculine plural form of the noun ḥǎ r·ṭōm ( ְ ) (khar-tome), “ the magicians ” which is followed by the masculine plural form of the noun ʾǎš·šāp̄ ( ) (ash-shawf), “ the conjurers ” and then we have the masculine plural form of the noun kǎś·dāy ( ְ ) (kas-day), “ the Chaldeans ” which is followed by the conjunction wa ( ְ ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine plural pe al (Hebrew: qal) active participle form of the ”. verb gezǎr ( ְ ) ( ghez-ar´ ), “ the diviners
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bē ʾḏǎ ·yin
The preposition b- is prefixed to the temporal adverb ʾěḏǎ· yin and together they function as a marker of result. This means that they introduce a statement which presents to the reader the result of Nebuchadnezzar’s command recorded in Daniel 4:6. They introduce a statement which presents to the reader the result of the king issuing a command for each and every one of the city of Babylon’s wise men to be brought into his presence in order that they could make known to him the interpretation of his dream, which terrified him. These two words are introducing a statement which records the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners entering the king’s presence in order that they might interpret the dream for him. Therefore, the expression bē ʾḏǎ·yin indicates that the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners entered Nebuchadnezzar’s presence “as a result of” obeying his command to do so. Therefore, we will translate the expression bē ʾḏǎ·yin , “ consequently .”
ḥǎ r·ṭōm
The noun ḥǎ r·ṭōm refers to “occultist priests” who were a class of intelligent and clever priests involved with the occult, which is driven by demons. These occult priests occupied themselves with the arts and sciences of the Babylonians, which involves astrology, the interpretation of dreams, the foretelling of events, as well as magic and channeling. They were regarded as the possessors of secret arts. These individuals led the Babylonians in the worship of their gods like Marduk.
ʾǎš·šāp̄
The noun ʾǎš·šāp̄ refers to a necromancer who was an individual who attempted to contact the dead for the purpose of magically revealing the future or influencing the course of events. Of course, they could not communicate with the dead but only demons. It does not refer to astrologers since if this were the case Daniel would have used the noun ka śdîm as he does in Daniel 2:2, 4. The Aramaic ka śdā’în that refers to necromancers appears 2:5, 10 [twice]; 3:8; 5:7, 11). kǎś·dāy
The noun kǎś·dāy, “Chaldeans ” is the Aramaic cognate of the proper noun kǎś·dîm , which we saw in Daniel 2:2 were astrologers. As was the case in Daniel 2:10, the noun kǎś·dāy in Daniel 4:7 refers to the same group as well. If you recall,
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11 this group represented the occult priests, necromancers, and sorcerers before Nebuchadnezzar. In other words, the astrologers are the spokesmen for the occult priests, necromancers, sorcerers. Together, these four groups help to constitute the king’s “wise men” along with those who were dignitaries who did not belong to these four groups. The astrologers studied the magnitudes, movements and constitutions of the heavenly bodies. They are interested in the effect of these celestial phenomena on human life. They supposedly can foretell events by the positions of the planets and stars. The Babylonians developed sophisticated methods of reading the stars to determine proper times for action. The Bible does not seek to describe the skills, tactics, or methods of these individuals engaged in various practices to determine the opportune time. Rather the Bible mocks such practices and shows that God’s word to the prophets and the wise of Israel far surpasses any of their skills. wa
This time the conjunction wa is used in a adjunctive sense meaning that it is introducing a different group of individuals who are “in addition to” the occult priests, necromancers and astrologers. gezǎr
The verb gezǎr literally means “one who cuts” and is a reference to those individuals who would cut open animals and examine their livers for omens. This practice is called “extispicy” (eks-TIHS-pih-see). In the ancient word, ceremonies were performed so that the gods would answer questions posed by the diviners through their inspection of an animal’s internal organs, especially, the liver. It was believed that the gods would leave hints to be uncovered. Diviners were required to notice subtle changes in the color, texture and shape of each section of the organ in question. The NRSV, NET, NIV and NASB translate this word in Daniel 2:27 as “diviners” whereas the ESV and GNB renders the word “astrologers.” The ESV and GNB employ this translation since this verb could refer to someone who practices divination by examining the movement of the stars. Thus, Daniel is using this word to describe those who practice divination through astrology. There were various forms of divination, namely, rhabdomancy, hepatoscopy, teraphim, necromancy, hydromancy, lots, dreams or astrology. Now, in Daniel 2:27, we saw that Daniel has already mentioned those who practice a form of divination called necromancy. Astrology was the most popular form of divination in Babylon in the sixth century B.C. Now, Daniel does not use kǎś·dîm to refer to
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12 astrologers, which is the case when the word appears in Daniel chapter 2. Rather, he uses the participle form of the verb gezǎr. The reason for this is that he wanted to use this verb to describe astrology as a form of divination. Now, in Daniel 4:7 the participle form of the verb gezǎr does not refer to “divination astrologers” as it did in Daniel 2:27 but rather it refers simply to those who practice instrumental divination since the astrologers are already referred to by the noun kǎś·dîm . So the participle form of this verb in Daniel 4:7 means “diviners” i.e. those who practice rhabdomancy, hepatoscopy, teraphim, necromancy, hydromancy, lots, and dreams. So the diviners practiced rhabdomancy, hepatoscopy, teraphim, necromancy, hydromancy, lots, and dreams. Rhabdomancy was divination by use of a rod or staff (cf. Exodus 4:4, 17; 17:9). Hepatoscopy was divination by the examination of an animal’s liver (Ezekiel 21:19-21). Another form of divination was through the use of teraphim, i.e. divination by consulting with images. Hydromancy was divination by the observation of water. Divination was practiced by drawing lots and interpreting dreams. The pe al (Hebrew: qal) stem of the verb gezǎr is stative indicating a person who “exists in the state of” practicing the various types of divination. The participle form of the verb is used here as a substantive.
ʿǎlǎl
The verb ʿǎlǎl means “to go in, to enter” and refers to the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners entering Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. Thus, the word speaks of the wise men being given access to the presence of Nebuchadnezzar. The pe al (Hebrew: qal stem) stem is fientive expressing an action. Here it is expressing an action taken by the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners entering the king’s presence. The participle form of the verb denotes simultaneous action with the verb ʾǎmǎr. This indicates that “when” the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners entered Nebuchadnezzar’s presence the king communicated to them the content of his dream. The NET Bible reflects this use of the participle here in their translation by translating the verb ʿǎlǎl “when…entered .”
Nebuchadnezzar Communicates the Dream to Wise Men
Daniel 4:7 “Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.” (NASB95)
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( ְ ) And I related the dream to them ” is composed of the conjunction wa“ (waw), “and ,” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun ḥē·lěm ( ) ( khay´-lem ), “ the dream ” and then we have the masculine singular pe al (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) active participle form of the verb ʾǎmǎr ( ) (am-ar´ ), “ related ” which is followed by the first person singular personal pronoun ʾǎnā(h) ( ) ( an-aw´ ), “ I” and then we have the preposition qǒḏām ( ) (kod-awm´ ), “ to ” and its object is the third person masculine plural pronominal suffix him ·mô ( ) ( him-mo´ ), “ them .” wa
The conjunction wa is a marker of a sequence of closely related events meaning that it is introducing a statement that marks the next event that took place after the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners entered Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. This word introduces a statement which records Nebuchadnezzar communicated the dream to these four groups. Therefore, we will translate wa , “ then .”
ʾǎnā(h)
The independent personal pronoun ʾǎnā(h) functions as the subject of the participle form of the verb ʾǎmǎr, “ related . It serves to clarify that Nebuchadnezzar himself and no one else communicated the dream to the wise men. This is to emphasize with the reader how important it was to Nebuchadnezzar that he received an interpretation of the dream, which had terrified him. We will translate the word “ I myself .”
ʾǎmǎr
The verb ʾǎmǎr means “to say” in the sense of communicating something to someone. Here it denotes Nebuchadnezzar “communicating” the revelations- visions he received in a dream to the occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners. The content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is recorded in Daniel 4:10-17. The pe al stem (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) is fientive expressing Nebuchadnezzar performing the action of communicating to the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners the content of his dream. The participle form of the verb denotes simultaneous action with the verb ʿǎlǎl. This indicates that “when” the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners entered Nebuchadnezzar’s presence the king communicated to them the content of his dream.
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ḥē·lěm
The noun ḥē·lěm is in the singular and refers to the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which terrified. The content of this dream is recorded for us in Daniel 4:10-17. qǒḏā·mê hôn
The third person masculine plural pronominal suffix him ·mô means “them” referring to the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners. This word is the object of the preposition qǒḏām, which means “in front of” since it is a marker of a spatial relationship indicating that Nebuchadnezzar communicated the content of the dream while standing “in front of” the city of Babylon’s wise men who were assembled before the king. We will translate the prepositional phrase “ before them .”
Wise Men Fail to Interpret King’s Dream
Daniel 4:7 “Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.” (NASB95) “But they could not make its interpretation known to me ” is composed of the conjunction wa ( ְ ) (waw), “ but ,” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun pešǎr ( ְ ) ( pesh-ar´ ), “ interpretation ” which is modified by the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû( ʾ) ( ) (who), “ its ” and then we have the negative particle lā(ʾ) ( ) (law), “ not ” which is negating the meaning of the masculine plural haf el (Hebrew: hiphil) active participle form of the verb yeḏǎʿ ( ְ ) ( yed-ah´ ), “ make known ” which is followed by the preposition lĕ ( ְ ) (leh), “to ” and its object is the first person singular pronominal suffix –î ( ), “ me .” wa
The conjunction wa is used in an adversative sense meaning that the word is introducing a statement which stands in contrast to the previous statement that Nebuchadnezzar communicated the content of his dream while standing before the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners who had assembled before the king per his order. The conjunction wa is introducing a statement which says that these four groups were unable to tell the king the
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 15 interpretation of this dream. Therefore, the contrast is between Nebuchadnezzar communicated the content of his dream to his wise men and his wise men’s inability to interpret this dream for him. yeḏǎʿ
The verb yeḏǎʿ means “to inform, make known” and is used with the wise men as its subject and the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is its object. The word’s meaning is negated by the negative particle lā(ʾ), which means “not” since it is marker of negation. Together, these two words denote the wise men could “not” tell the king of Babylon the interpretation of his dream which terrified him. The haf el (Hebrew: hiphil) stem of the verb is factitive meaning that the subject of this verb causes its direct object to enter the state described by the same verb in the qal. Here the subject is the wise men of Babylon and the direct object is the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Thus, this stem denotes these wise men’s inability to cause the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to enter the state of being known to the king. We will translate these two words “ they could not make known . pešǎr
The noun pešǎr means “ interpretation ” referring to the wise men interpreting or explaining Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him. The word is modified by the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû( ʾ), which means “its ” referring to the king’s dream.
–î
The first person singular pronominal suffix –î ( ) means “to me” and refers of course to Nebuchadnezzar. It is the object of the preposition lĕ, which is marking the word as the indirect object of the verb yeḏǎʿ whose meaning is negated by the negative particle lā(ʾ) meaning that the word receives the direct object of this verb, which is pešǎr, “interpretation .”
Translation of Daniel 4:7
Daniel 4:7 “Consequently, when the occult priests, necromancers, astrologers as well as diviners entered, I communicated the content of the dream before them but they could not make its interpretation known to me.”
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Exposition of Daniel 4:7
Daniel 4:7 is a result clause which is composed of a temporal clause followed by an adversative clause. The result clause tells the reader that in obedience to Nebuchadnezzar’s order to assemble before him, the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners entered his presence at which time the king communicated the content of his dream to them. The adversative clause tells us that they were unable to tell the king the interpretation of the dream. These occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners undoubtedly were terrified since it was not long ago that the king ordered their execution for the failure to tell him both the content and interpretation of the dream of the statue of a man which is recorded in chapter two. Daniel saved their lives by requesting that the king not kill them since they had no capacity whatsoever to fulfill the king’s request nor any man. God had given Daniel both the content and interpretation of the dream which he communicated to Nebuchadnezzar who in turn praised Daniel’s God and rewarded both him and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel 2:24 records Daniel making a request of Arioch, the king’s executioner to not kill the wise men. He could have requested that Arioch only spare his life and the lives of his three friends and not include the occult priests, necromancers, witches and astrologers. Daniel would have been justified since the practices of these four groups were condemned by God in the Mosaic Law. Yet, Daniel pleads for their lives which was a great demonstration of the love of God in Daniel’s life. It was a great reflection of God’s love towards His enemies. These four groups were the enemies of God and led by Satan and the kingdom of darkness. However, through Daniel, God shows mercy and is magnanimous towards these individuals. So the wise men are being exposed to the love of God by Daniel. By sparing their lives when he could have had them executed was an act of forgiveness. Through Daniel, God was forgiving the wise men and giving them an opportunity to repent and obey and worship Him rather than the gods of Babylon. This act of God’s love on the part of Daniel demonstrates that he was in fellowship with God. The failure of the wise men to meet Nebuchadnezzar’s demands meant that all their previous predictions, all their astrological forecasts, all their fortune telling, was nothing but figments of their own imaginations. They were admitting that their mythology which claimed that their gods came among members of the human race was false and without any evidence. So the wise men were exposed, which leads to Nebuchadnezzar becoming furious with them and issuing the decree to execute all of them. The king’s decree to execute the city of Babylon’s wise men was unfair since it included executing Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah who did not belong to
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 17 the occult priests, necromancers, witches or astrologers but were diplomats or dignitaries working in various areas of the king of Babylon’s government. Thus, this decree was unfair to the other diplomats or dignitaries working in the government who did not belong to the occult priests, necromancers, witches or astrologers. However, the king’s decree is fair in relation to the occult priests, necromancers, witches or astrologers for two reasons. First of all, they were deceiving the king that they were in contact with the gods and were lying to him as we have already pointed out in detail. Also, the activities of these four groups were an abomination in the judgment of the Lord and worthy of the death penalty in Israel (cf. Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Leviticus 20:27). Daniel 2:48 records the king making Daniel ruler over the entire province of the city of Babylon or in other words chief over the senior officials over each and every one of the city of Babylon’s wise men. Undoubtedly Daniel evangelized the wise men and taught them the ways of his God, Yahweh. The king might have thought that Daniel had taught the wise men how to interpret dreams. However, Daniel made clear to the king that He had no capacity to tell the king the content of his dream or its interpretation but only his God could. Daniel 2:26 records the king asking Daniel if he could make known to him the content of his dream as well as its interpretation. In Daniel 2:27, Daniel responds to this question by telling the king that absolutely no wise men, necromancers, occult priests or divination astrologers are able to make known to him the mystery which he is asking him about. Daniel 2:28 records Daniel making clear to Nebuchadnezzar that there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and has made known to him in his dream what will take place in the latter days. So in Daniel 4:6, we have the king again asking his wise men to interpret his dream, which he knows and they know they can’t do and have been proven to have no ability to meet this request of the king to interpret his dream. As we noted in our study of this verse, Nebuchadnezzar’s seeking out his wise men to interpret his dream seems rather strange since Daniel chapter two records that the king was extremely upset with them as a result of their inability to tell him the content of his dream. In fact, he ordered them to be executed. Also, it was Daniel who was able to tell the king the content and interpretation of his dream in chapter two. Daniel 4:8 says that Daniel came in last which implies that the king did not send for him until after the wise men failed again. There are three possible reasons why Nebuchadnezzar sent for the wise men and then as a last resort Daniel. The first is that the wise men had been under Daniel’s authority. If you recall, Daniel 2:48 records that Nebuchadnezzar rewarded Daniel for giving him both the content and interpretation of his dream by making him ruler over the entire province of the city of Babylon. In other words, the king made Daniel chief over the senior officials over each and every one of the city of Babylon’s wise men. Nebuchadnezzar
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 18 obviously had great respect for Daniel as a result of Daniel giving him the content and interpretation of his dream when the wise men could not. The second reason why Nebuchadnezzar called on his wise men and not Daniel was that he might have felt embarrassed because of his great pride to call on the latter since chapter three records that he executed his three friends. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down and worship the gold statue he erected on the plain of Dura and so the king had them put to death. God of course intervened and saved these three. The second reason appears to be the more feasible since Nebuchadnezzar was desperate to find out what the dream meant as indicated by the fact that he issued an order to bring into his presence the wise men of the city of Babylon. The king would not hesitate to call on Daniel immediately rather than wasting his time with the wise men who were under Daniel’s authority and who had failed him in the past. However, he must have delayed in calling for Daniel immediately because he was embarrassed for executing his three friends. The king’s great pride prevented him from calling for Daniel immediately and instead calling for those who had proven to be frauds in the past, the wise men. Nebuchadnezzar also could have been rationalizing that the wise men had been under Daniel’s authority so why confront Daniel when he didn’t have to and instead call on those under his authority who might have learned from Daniel how to interpret dreams. So the first reason could have been used by the king to rationalize not having to face Daniel again, which undoubtedly would have been embarrassing to him. There is also a third possible reason why Nebuchadnezzar did not ask immediately for Daniel, which is that the king knew that the dream involved a king who would be deposed until he acknowledged the God of Israel was sovereign over him. The reason why Nebuchadnezzar was terrified upon receiving these prophetic revelations-visions was that he felt threatened by he saw. He felt threatened because his conscience was convicting him that he was still living in rebellion with God. On two separate occasions, Nebuchadnezzar was told by God that He was sovereign over him. In chapter two, Daniel interpret his dream and told the king that God gave him his authority, power and success and was thus sovereign over him. Then, in chapter three, by miraculously delivering Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power, God was telling the king that He was sovereign over him. Now, he receives another supernatural revelation, which bothers his conscience since in this revelation-vision, the king saw a messenger coming down from out of heaven. This tells the king that the message conveyed by the messenger in this vision was from God. Therefore, Nebuchadnezzar knows that God is speaking to him again and his conscience has convicted him that he has not been obedient to the previous revelations given to him in that he has yet to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over his life. So the king knows with this
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 19 revelation or vision that God is dealing with him and is not happy with him which is reflected in Daniel’s interpretation, which said that the king would be deposed for seven years until he acknowledged that God was sovereign over him.
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Daniel 4:8-Nebuchadnezzar Communicates The Content Of The Dream To Daniel
Daniel Finally Enters Nebuchadnezzar’s Presence
Daniel 4:8 “But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him.” (NASB95) ( ְ ) But finally Daniel came in before me ” is composed of the conjunction wa“ (waw), “ but ,” which is followed by the preposition ʿǎḏ ( ) (ad) and its object is the masculine singular noun ʾā·ḥ ǒrān ( ) ( okh-or-awn´ ), which together are translated “ finally ” and then we have the third person masculine singular pe al (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb ʿǎlǎl ( ) ( al-al´ ), “ came ” which is followed by the preposition qǒḏām ( ) ( kod-awm´ ), “ in before ” and its object is the first person singular pronominal suffix –î ( ), “ me ” which is followed by the masculine singular proper noun dā·niy ·yē(ʾ)l ( ) (daw-nee-yale), “ Daniel .” wa
The conjunction wa means “then” since it is a marker of a sequence of closely related events meaning that it is introducing a statement that marks the next event that took place after the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners could not interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which had terrified him. The conjunction is introducing a statement which says that Daniel then entered the king’s presence and the king communicated the content of the dream to Daniel. The NASB95 translates the word as having an adversative sense which would mean that the word is introducing a statement which stands in contrast to the previous statement. Therefore, the contrast would be between the city of Babylon’s wise men who were unable to interpret the king’s dream and Daniel. However, though Daniel was able to interpret the king’s dream in contrast to the wise men, the fact that Daniel was able to interpret the dream is not related to the reader until Daniel 4:19-27. In fact, the people who read this decree would not know Daniel’s track record. We must interpret the conjunction from the perspective of those who read this decree rather than from those who know the book of Daniel and are familiar with its content. Therefore, we will translate the conjunction “ however .”
ʿǎḏ ʾā·ḥǒrên
The preposition ʿǎḏ and its object, which is the masculine singular noun ʾā·ḥ ǒrān and together they are used adverbially meaning “finally, at last, last of all”
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 21 in the sense of last in a series. This indicates that though Daniel was ruler over the wise men who were composed of occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners, he did not enter into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence with them. This is clear here in Daniel 4:8 since the verse clearly says that Daniel entered the king’s presence after the wise men could not interpret the king’s dream. dā·niy ·yē(ʾ)l
The proper noun dā·niy ·yē(ʾ)l refers of course to the author of this book that bears his name and which book testifies to the fact that he was a Jewish captive, of noble descent, who was carried off to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar’s first conquest of Jerusalem in 605 B.C., which was the third year of Jehoiakim’s rule, after the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians. Daniel 1:7 records that Ashpenaz gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar.
ʿǎlǎl
The verb ʿǎlǎl means “to go in, to enter” and refers to Daniel “entering” Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. Thus, the word speaks of Daniel being given access to the presence of the king of Babylon and an audience with him. The pe al (Hebrew: qal stem) stem is fientive expressing an action. Here it is expressing an action taken by Daniel in entering the king’s presence. The perfect tense of the verb is constative describes in summary fashion this action taken by Daniel. We will translate this word “ entered .” qā·ḏā·m ǎ y
The first person singular pronominal suffix –î ( ) means “my” referring to Nebuchadnezzar and functions as a possessive pronoun. It is the object of the preposition qǒḏām, which means “in the presence of.” Thus, this prepositional phrase denotes Daniel entered Nebuchadnezzar’s presence.
Daniel’s Babylonian Name
Daniel 4:8 “But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him.” (NASB95) “Whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god ” is composed of the relative particle dî ( ) ( dee ), “ who ” and this is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun šǔm ( ) ( shoom ), “name ” and then
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( ְ ְ ) we have the masculine singular form of the proper noun bēl·ṭ ešǎ(ʾ)ṣ·ṣǎr ( ְ ) -bale-tesh-ats-tsar), “ Belteshazzar ” which is followed by the preposition k) (kee), “ according to ” and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun šǔm ( ) ( shoom ), “name ” and then we have the masculine plural noun ʾělāh ( ) ( el-aw´ ), “ gods ” which is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix –î ( ) (ee), “ my .” dî
This word dî functions as a relative pronoun means “whose” referring to Daniel. This word functions as the subject of the verb hǎwā(h) , which is omitted due to Daniel’s use of the figure of ellipsis but is implied.
šǔm
The noun šǔm means “name” referring to the proper designation of a person. Here it refers to the Babylonian “name” of Daniel, which was Belteshazzar. This new name gave Daniel Babylonian citizenship, which was required of officials in the Babylonian government. His Hebrew name honored the God of the Hebrews, Yahweh. However, his Babylonian name honored the gods of the Babylonians. hû( ʾ)
The third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû means “is” since it is functioning as a copula joining the relative pronoun dî , “whose” and the proper noun bēl·ṭ ešǎ(ʾ)ṣ·ṣǎr , “Belteshazzar.” bēl·ṭ ešǎ(ʾ)ṣ·ṣǎr
The proper noun bēl·ṭ ešǎ(ʾ)ṣ·ṣǎr is derived from the Akkadian Bala ṭ-su-uṣur , might be shortened Nabu-bala ṭsu-uṣur , which means “Nebo, protect his life!” or it simply could be bala ṭsu-uṣur , which means “may he protect the life of the king,” which could be formed from Bel, the epithet meaning “lord” referring to the chief god of the Babylonians, Marduk. Most scholars associate bēl·ṭ ešǎ(ʾ)ṣ·ṣǎr with the latter which would be appropriate for a servant of a king. k š ǔm î ʾělā(h)
The noun ʾělāh means “god” and refers to the Babylonian god Bel who is also known as Marduk. Though, the king is already a believer in Yahweh at this point
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 23 in the narrative of Daniel, the king is speaking retrospectively here in Daniel 4:8 to his subjects. Therefore, he is referring to Marduk or Bel from his pre-conversion part of his life. The noun ʾělāh, “god” is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix –î ( ) which means “my” since it functions as a possessive personal pronoun referring to Nebuchadnezzar of course. The word is also the object of the preposition k-, which means “according to” since it is a marker to show correspondence between the name Belteshazzar and the god Marduk which Nebuchadnezzar worshipped before his conversion.
The Spirit of the Holy Gods Resides in Daniel
Daniel 4:8 “But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him.” (NASB95) “And in whom is a spirit of the holy gods ” is composed of the conjunction wa ” waw), “ and ” which is followed by the relative particle dî ( ) ( dee ), “ whom) ( ְ ) and then we have the feminine singular construct form of the noun rû aḥ ( ) ( roo´- akh ), “ a spirit of ” which is followed by the masculine plural noun ʾělāh ( ) ( el- aw´ ), “ gods ” which is modified by the masculine plural adjective qǎd·dîš ( ) kad-deesh´ ), “ holy ” and then we have the preposition bĕ ( ְ ) (beh) “ in ” and its) object is the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû( ʾ) ( ) (who), which is not translated. wa
This time the conjunction wa is adjunctive meaning that the word is introducing a statement which is an “additional” description of Daniel. dî
This particle dî functions as a relative pronoun means “one who possesses” referring to Daniel. It also is functioning as a marker to show the genitive relationship between Daniel and the spirit of the holy gods. Thus, it denotes that Daniel possesses the spirit of the holy gods.
rû aḥ qǎd·dî·šîn ʾělā·hîn
John Walvoord has the following comment regarding this expression “the spirit of the holy gods” in Daniel 4:8, he writes “Of Daniel it is said ‘in whom is the
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 24 spirit of the holy gods.’ It is debatable whether gods is singular or plural, as it could be translated either way. Young, with a wealth of evidence from Montgomery, considers it a singular noun and thus a recognition by the king ‘that the God of Dan. was different from his own gods.’ This distinction is borne out by the adjective ‘holy’ (4:8, 18; 5:11). The philological evidence supports the singular, although Leupold agrees with Driver that the noun and its adjective are plural and a reflection of the king’s polytheism. Driver notes, ‘The same expression occurs in the Phoenician inscription of Eshmunazar, king of Sidon (3— 4 cent. B.C.), lines 9 and 22.’ The word holy, according to Young, refers to gods who are divine, rather than specifically having moral purity. The ultimate judgment of the expression depends on how well Nebuchadnezzar comprehended the nature of Daniel’s God. He obviously had high respect for the God of Daniel and may have had a true faith in the God of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar, having justified his singling out Daniel of all the wise men, now records in his decree his conversation with Daniel which includes a restatement of his dream.” (Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation; pages 100-101; Moody Press; Chicago; 1971) The noun rû aḥ refers to the Holy Spirit and is used of Daniel indicating that Nebuchadnezzar is describing Daniel to his subjects as one who possesses God’s Holy Spirit. This is indicated by several factors. First of all, Nebuchadnezzar was converted when the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego delivered them from his power. He praises their God for doing this. No fallen angel or unbeliever is recorded in the Bible as praising God as Nebuchadnezzar did. When Nebuchadnezzar wrote this decree he was writing retrospectively about what he experienced with the God of Israel as a believer. During this time, he was undoubtedly taught about the God of Israel from Daniel who he promoted as ruler over his wise men. Thus, this would give Daniel close contact with the king. However, this knowledge did not benefit the king since he refused to change his pagan attitude and sinful lifestyle and submit to God’s authority over his life, which caused God to discipline by deposing him from power for seven years. Also, the noun ʾělāh is modified by the adjective qǎd·dîš , which means “holy” and describes God’s Spirit as set apart and morally pure in the sense that the God of Israel is to be distinguished from the heathen gods in that He is the true God and they are not. This echoes Nebuchadnezzar’s description of the God of Israel recorded in Daniel 2:47. In this verse, the king describes the God of Israel “ the God ruling over the gods as well as the Lord ruling over kings ” (Author’s translation). Further indicating that Daniel is being described as possessing God’s Holy Spirit is that in context, Nebuchadnezzar’s use of the name Daniel was to honor the God of Israel. Now, since Nebuchadnezzar is writing retrospectively from the perspective of his post-conversion experience i.e. as a believer, he would not be honoring the pagan gods but rather the God of Israel. He wants his subjects
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 25 in his kingdom to forsake their pagan gods like he did and worship and serve the God of Israel. Under no circumstances would Nebuchadnezzar honor the pagan gods when writing to his subjects. Another important to consider is that in Daniel 4:9, the king uses this expression to describe the basis for the fact that absolutely no mystery is too difficult for Daniel. Now, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that Daniel’s God is a revealer of mysteries in Daniel 2:47. Thus, the fact that the king associated the revealing of mysteries to Daniel’s God indicates that when Nebuchadnezzare uses the expression rû aḥ qǎd·dî·šîn ʾělā·hîn in Daniel 4:8-9, he is describing Daniel as possessing God’s Holy Spirit rather being indwelt with a spirit of the holy gods. The noun rû aḥ is in the construct state meaning that it is governing the proper noun ʾělāh, which means “God” referring to the Holy Spirit. This indicates a genitive relationship and specifically a genitive of possession or a genitive of relationship. This would indicate that God the Father “possesses” the Holy Spirit or that they possess a relationship with each other because they are both deity. b ēh
The third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû( ʾ) means “him” referring to Daniel and is functioning as a pronoun. It is the object of the preposition bĕ which means “ in ” since it is functioning as a marker of location meaning that God’s Holy Spirit resides in Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar Communicates the Content of His Dream to Daniel
Daniel 4:8 “But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him.” (NASB95) ( ְ ) And I related the dream to him ” is composed of the conjunction wa“ (waw), “and ,” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun ḥē·lěm ( ) ( khay´-lem ), “ the dream ” and then we have the preposition qǒḏām ( ) ( kod-awm´ ), “ to ” and its object is the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû( ʾ) ( ) (who), “ him ” which is followed by the first person singular pe al (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) active perfect form of the verb ʾǎmǎr ( ) ( am-ar´ ), “ related .” wa
This time the conjunction wa is a marker of a sequence of closely related events meaning that it is introducing a statement that marks the next event that took place
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 26 after Daniel entered Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. This word introduces a statement which records Nebuchadnezzar communicated the dream to Daniel.
ʾǎmǎr
The verb ʾǎmǎr means “to say” in the sense of communicating something to someone. Here it denotes Nebuchadnezzar “communicating” the revelations- visions he received in a dream to Daniel. The content of the dream is recorded in Daniel 4:10-17. The pe al stem (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) is fientive expressing Nebuchadnezzar performing the action of communicating to Daniel the content of his dream. The perfect tense of the verb is constative describes in summary fashion this action taken by Nebuchadnezzar. We will translate this word “ I communicated .”
ḥē·lěm
The noun ḥē·lěm is in the singular and refers to the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which terrified. The content of this dream is recorded for us in Daniel 4:10-17. qā·ḏām ōw·hî
The third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû( ʾ) means “him” referring of course to Daniel. It is the object of the preposition qǒḏām, which means “in front of” since it is a marker of a spatial relationship indicating that Nebuchadnezzar communicated the content of the dream while standing “in front of” Daniel. We will translate the prepositional phrase “ before him .”
Translation of Daniel 4:8
Daniel 4:8 “Then Daniel entered my presence whose name was Belteshazzar according to my god’s name and in addition one who possesses God’s Holy Spirit in him. Next, I communicated the content of the dream before him.”
Exposition of Daniel 4:8
Daniel 4:8 presents to the reader the next event that took place after the city of Babylon’s occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners could not interpret
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Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which had terrified him. This verse tells us that even though Daniel was ruler over the wise men, he did not enter into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence with them. But rather he entered the king’s presence after the wise men could not interpret the king’s dream. Why the king did not have Daniel with the wise men since he was the authority over them is not told to us the reader. However, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the king told Daniel he need not bother come along with the wise men. As we have pointed in our studies of Daniel 4:6-7, we have the king again asking his wise men to interpret his dream, which he knows and they know they can’t do and have been proven to have no ability to meet this request of the king to interpret his dream. Nebuchadnezzar’s seeking out his wise men to interpret his dream seems and not Daniel is rather strange since Daniel chapter two records that the king was extremely upset with them as a result of their inability to tell him the content of his dream. In fact, he ordered them to be executed. Also, it was Daniel who was able to tell the king the content and interpretation of his dream in chapter two. Here Daniel 4:8 says that he entered the king’s presence after the wise men could not interpret the king’s dream. So the king did not send for him until after the wise men failed again. There are three possible reasons why Nebuchadnezzar sent for the wise men and then as a last resort Daniel. The first is that the wise men were placed under Daniel’s authority according to Daniel 2:48, thus the king might have thought that the wise men had learned how to interpret dreams from Daniel. The second reason was that Nebuchadnezzar might have felt embarrassed because of his great pride to call on the latter since chapter three records that he executed his three friends. The first reason could have been used by the king to rationalize not having to face Daniel again, which undoubtedly would have been embarrassing to him. The third reason is that the king knew the dream concerned him and was about a king who would be deposed until he acknowledged the God of Israel was sovereign over him. He felt threatened because his conscience was convicting him that he was still living in rebellion with God. On two separate occasions, Nebuchadnezzar was told by God that He was sovereign over him. In chapter two, Daniel interpret his dream and told the king that God gave him his authority, power and success and was thus sovereign over him. Then, in chapter three, by miraculously delivering Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power, God was telling the king that He was sovereign over him. Now, he receives another supernatural revelation, which bothers his conscience since in this revelation- vision, the king saw a messenger coming down from out of heaven. This tells the king that the message conveyed by the messenger in this vision was from God. Therefore, Nebuchadnezzar knows that God is speaking to him again and his conscience has convicted him that he has not been obedient to the previous
2012 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 28 revelations given to him in that he has yet to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over his life. So the king knows with this revelation or vision that God is dealing with him and is not happy with him which is reflected in Daniel’s interpretation, which said that the king would be deposed for seven years until he acknowledged that God was sovereign over him. Notice in Daniel 4:8 that Nebuchadnezzar uses the name “Daniel,” which is significant. It indicates that the king is demonstrating great respect for the God of Israel since the name “Daniel” honors the God of Israel whereas “Belteshazzar” honors the pagan Babylonian gods. Nebuchadnezzar presents a second description of Daniel, namely that he possesses God’s Holy Spirit. “ Holy ” describes God’s Spirit as set apart and morally pure in the sense that the God of Israel is to be distinguished from the heathen gods in that He is the true God and they are not. This echoes Nebuchadnezzar’s description of the God of Israel recorded in Daniel 2:47. In this verse, the king describes the God of Israel “ the God ruling over the gods as well as the Lord ruling over kings ” (Author’s translation). Nebuchadnezzar is writing retrospectively from the perspective of his post-conversion experience i.e. as a believer, he would not be honoring the pagan gods, which the translation “a spirit of the holy gods” would indicate. However, it makes more sense that the king is honoring the God of Israel since he is writing from the perspective of a being a believer in Yahweh . He wants his subjects in his kingdom to forsake their pagan gods like he did and worship and serve the God of Israel. Under no circumstances would Nebuchadnezzar honor the pagan gods when writing to his subjects.
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