Dan. 2 In this chapter are four principal parts: I. The king’s, dream, Dan. 2:1. II. The wise men’s ignorance and danger, Dan. 2:2–13. III. The revelation and interpretation of the dream by Daniel, Dan. 2:14–45. IV. The advancement of Daniel to great honour by that means, Dan. 2:46–49.

In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Heb. in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, for this was properly in the fifth year of that king’s reign and of Daniel’s captivity, and the ninth year of Jehoiakim; but in the second year after Daniel had by his three years’ preparation been brought…

The magicians and the astrologers: these words signify astrologers, or those that cast nativities, that pretended great skill in natural and supernatural things; and the sorcerers, or necromancers, were those who used diabolical arts. See Poole “Ex. 7:11”; See Poole “Ex. 22:18”, See Poole “Deut.

He remembered the fact in general, but could not repeat it perfectly, much less know the meaning of it; yet it had left such an impression on him, as put him into great perplexity. The Lord hath ways to affright the greatest men in the world, in the midst of their security and jollity.

In Syriac; that is, in the Chaldee tongue, for Syria or Aram is taken in a large sense sometimes, containing Assyria, Babylon, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Palestine, 2 Kings 18:26, and from hence to the 8th chapter all is written in the Chaldee language, and not Hebrew, because it most concerned that…

The thing is gone from me: this was of God, that these impostors should be made infamous, by detecting their ignorance and their arrogance, and that this should be a step to Daniel’s honour, for knowing the king’s dream and interpreting it, neither of which the Chaldeans could do.

As I threatened you with death for not doing, I promise you rewards and honour if ye perform it. This is in the power of princes, as they think, but all this would not do; therefore they are still where they were, they answered the king again.

But this the king could not do; they could not tell the dream, and the king could not, yet both require impossibilities.

This ye do in policy, to escape punishment; when taken up with other affairs, I may forget to make further inquiry after this thing, but it shall not serve your turn.

There is but one decree for you; that is, I will not retract my sentence, ye shall surely die: you are upon tricks, ye have prepared corrupt and lying words, for he that can interpret a dream can tell the dream, both come from a Divine inspiration, which ye pretend to; but I say ye have it not.

The Chaldeans bring three arguments to convince the king. 1. There is not a man upon earth can show the king’s matter. 2. There is no king requires such a thing of any magician. 3. None but the gods can do this.

Tyrants are inexorable, and they rule according to their will, and being crossed they are furious, and that brings forth death; the wrath of such is the roaring of a lion.

This was unjust, that Daniel and his fellows should have their share in the punishment, and yet be excluded from the other part which was the reward; the reason why they were not called was because of their youth, which the Chaldeans despised, wherein we have these three things observable. 1.

So hasty; so precipitate, to slay the innocent who were never called, who knew nothing of it-this appears plainly from these words, Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel, Dan.

There are four things here very strange and wonderful. 1. That Arioch, instead of executing the king’s decree speedily, should make this stop. 2. That he should dare to see the king’s face when he was so wroth, instead of doing what his commission tied him to. 3.

According to the good hand of his God upon him, who had shown him favour thus far, and obtained the king’s leave, he went to his house near the palace, that he might seek God in secret for this great thing. For, 1. Their lives were at stake. 2.

Observe here Daniel’s humility, he sought not to engross this business, and the honour of it, wholly to himself, but would have his fellows share in it with him. Again, they would desire mercy, Heb. the bowels of tender mercy: the choicest saints desire to be saved by mercy, Ps. 51:1.

It is not improbably conjectured that Daniel spent the night in watching and prayer, for night vision is distinguished from dreams, Num. 12:6; whether sleeping or waking, Daniel had the same thing revealed unto him which king Nebuchadnezzar had, with this difference, the king remembered not his…

He blesseth God for two things. 1. Wisdom; he means chiefly the wisdom God gave him in revealing this great secret to him, which the wise men could not attain to, because they knew not the true God, nor did seek to him for it, this is clear in Dan. 2:21–23. 2.

God made time; God made the sun, moon, and stars, the measure of time; he made the day and the night, and seasons of the year, yea, the revolutions and change of times; he can make bad times better, and turn night into day.

The deep and secret things; both of nature, wherein are infinite depths and secrets: and of men’s hearts and counsels, which are very close, deep, and secret, saying in themselves, Who can see us? and the deep and secret things of grace, and the mysteries of Christ’s kingdom: all this is…

Here he gives his God another distinguishing title from all the gods of the heathen, he calls him the God of his fathers, meaning the covenant made with Abraham, &c., to whom and their seed God revealed his saving knowledge, which he did not to the heathen.

Being now prepared, he goes to Arioch to go in with him to the king; and bid him stay his hand, and not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Arioch might plead the king’s command, Daniel tells him that was because they could not tell the king’s dream: come, saith he, I will show that; by that I take…

How comes Arioch to boast of what he had found; as if he got him by great search, or by great chance, and as if Daniel had been some obscure, unknown person, when Daniel had asked time of the king just before? It is the manner of courtiers to be very officious, and to commend their own little…

By this name of Belteshazzar he had given Daniel, he took courage as if he might expect some great thing from him; for the word signifies the keeper of secret treasure, i.e. to lay up and bring forth.

He reckons up here all sorts of divination, to show that divine things, and the secrets of God, cannot be comprehended by man without special revelation; and that those who presume to do it arrogate too much to themselves, and that it is too tyrannical to require it of any, and that upon pain of…

Here the prophet gives God entirely all the glory, proving all the powers on earth to come short in it, it being one of God’s peculiar prerogatives to reveal secrets. Yea, in great humility he denies himself to have any share in it, as also Dan. 2:29.

For their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king: some will have this relate to the Jews and the church of God, by whose prayers this was obtained; but the more plain sense is this, But that the interpretation may be manifest to the king, and that thou mayst know the thoughts of…

A great image; not a painted, superficial image, but a massy one, a statue in man’s shape, great, splendid, majestical: thus they were wont of old to represent great emperors and empires, and worshipped them as gods: called here an image, and in a dream, all which is in show and shadow rather than…

By this we see the world is much worse and far declined, every age degenerating from what it was of old; as the poets, which borrowed their fancy from this image, have described the ages of the world from metals; the first was golden, and so, coming on coarser, it ended at last, as this image in…

i.e. All of it to pieces, all vanished, and the stone became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth: this is the dream, and the interpretation of all follows.

By this word we appears Daniel’s piety and modesty, for he declares by it that he and his companions had begged this skill from God, and therefore he did not and could not arrogate it to himself, excluding them, without injury and dishonour to God that heard prayer. Now begins the interpretation.

A king of kings; he means Nebuchadnezzar in person, together with his successors, Evil-merodach and Belshazzar. The prophet would not mind the king of any thing past, nor of any other governments but those with whom his church were then and to be concerned for the future, till the coming of the…

Hath made thee ruler over them all, i.e. hath given thee absolute dominion of all creatures, men and beasts, within the bounds of thy vast kingdom, to hunt, catch, or kill far thy use and pleasure. God as Lord paramount allows thee, his vassal and tenant at will, all this.

Another kingdom inferior to thee; this was that of the Medes and Persians, inferior in time and succession; in duration, it lasted not half so long as the Assyrian; and in prosperity and tranquillity, for the Persian was fuller of trouble; yet was this wonderfully rich and large for a time, Est.

The fourth kingdom is the kingdom of the Romans; and was to last not only to Christ’s first coming, but under antichrist to his second coming, but still going down as to pagan worship, and at last to antichristian and papal power; for in Dan.

The kingdom shall be divided; partly strong and partly weak. The Roman kingdom was divided, partly, because tyranny followed aristocracy, and the government made up of both; partly, in their civil wars, when two competitors strove each for dominion, the common people against the senate, Sylla…

This was plain in the civil wars of the Romans, the falling off of some countries, especially in and towards the end of it.

With the seed of men, i.e. by marriage; but they shall never solder well together, because ambition is of stronger force than affinity and consanguinity in rulers.

In the days of these kings, i.e. while the iron kingdom stood, (for Christ was born in the reign of Augustus Caesar, Luke 2:1) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom. Now see the difference of Christ’s kingdom from all other kingdoms in the world. 1.

This verse notes, 1. The small beginning of Christ’s kingdom visibly. 2. The different rise of Christ from all other; his conception by the Holy Ghost, like as Melchizedek, without father and mother, respectively as to his two natures.

This was strange, that so great a monarch should thus worship his vassal: thus was it sometimes done to men, as to Elias the prophet, 2 Kings 1:13; this was done in consternation and admiration, because he saw so much of God in the prophet, and in the revelation of the dream; but why did Daniel…

A God of gods; the greatest and supreme God of all the world, above Baal, or Bel, and above all other gods. A Lord of kings; the word is Maron or Maran, which in the Syriac signifies Lord, or high Lord, seeing he is the highest King of all the earth.

Made Daniel a great man, Chald. rabbi, magnified him. Many great gifts; an estate suitable to his honour. Ruler over the whole province of Babylon; gnal col medina over the chief province of Babylon, which was head, because of the metropolis; the word is also Arabic, and therefore used in Spain at…

He substituted them as lieutenants for the king’s service, under Daniel, which, as the curious observe, was chiefly about agriculture, and gathering revenues and provisions for the court; but Daniel was as privy counsellor and lord chamberlain, about arduous affairs of the king and kingdom, sitting…