DANIEL SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 2.3
Gleanings
from the Book of Daniel:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
DANIEL
Chapter
Two
The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar
(The Rise and Fall of Empires)
Review
In the third year of Nebuchadnezzar’s
reign, select captives from the conquest of Judah had completed their
Babylonian re-educational training. At about this time, Nebuchadnezzar had a
disturbing nightmare. The nature of his dream caused him to awaken with
excessive agitation and fear. Vehemently, the king summoned the advisors of his
court, consisting of four groups of wise men: (1) the magicians, (2) the
astrologers, (3) the sorcerers, and (4) the Chaldeans. They professed to be
able to predict the future by any means.
Contrastingly, in this narrative, God is in sovereign
control (see Daniel 1:2) and contrives a situation whereby everyone would know
it could only be executed by Him. Thusly, He will render their powers helpless.
Additionally, only God holds the key to the future and has ways to frighten and
expose even the world’s greatest men of their limitations.
2. The Demands of
Nebuchadnezzar continued…
(Verse 3)
And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a
dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
Upon awakening,
Nebuchadnezzar’s spirit was affectingly troubled by his dream. Being anxious
for its interpretation, he summoned his consortium of wise men, of which he queried,
to reveal the nature and understanding of the dream.
(Verse 4)
Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in
Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew
the interpretation.
Appealingly, the
coalition of wise men stood before the king and first unanimously addressed him
with the appropriate salutation. In the tongue of Syriac (אֲרָמִית, defined as Aramaic) they intoned, O king live forever, or in modern
vernacular, “Long live the king!” Here Daniel, while in Babylonian captivity, begins the vernacular
of Gentiles describing world history. It extends from 2:4 through 7:28.
Languages of the Bible
Originally, the Bible was
written and spoken in three separate languages (not translations). They are
listed as such:
1. Aramaic
2. Hebrew
3. Koine Greek
1. Aramaic
Aramaic, closely
related to Hebrew, was the official court language of the Babylonian Empire. It
was spread by Aramaean merchants for international business and trade. Several
dialects evolved in different Near Eastern areas. Later, it was considered the language of the Gentiles.
Briefly, Aram, the son
of Shem (cf. Genesis 10:22), a grandson of Noah, was the ancestor of the inhabitants
of northern Mesopotamia and Syria. The word Aramaic
is derived from Aram (also the name of a region in northern Palestine). After
the Assyrians conquered all territories in Mesopotamia, they identified as Arameans, Syriacs,
and Chaldeans. Also, the Aramaeans similarly spoke a Semitic language adapted
from the Sumerians. Taken from cuneiform, its pictographic symbols comprised
divergent written figures.
The Aramaic language
was widely accepted and used during the time of Christ until the middle of the
second century. Apart from the Babylonian section of Daniel, Aramaic portions
and words have remained in their original form. There are 268 verses, apart
from various names and phrases in the Old and New Testaments. Some examples are
thus recorded, namely:
Old Testament
A. The first usage
of an Aramaic word in Scripture is found when Rachael stole some idols from
Laban after Jacob and Rachael parted. However, Jacob made a covenant with
Laban, and placed a monument of stones east of the Jordan River as
a gesture of peace between them:
Genesis 31:47 - And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: (Aramaic for the heap of the testimony) but Jacob called
it Galeed (Hebrew for witness pile).
B. Sixty-seven
verses in the form of official correspondence regarding the rebuilding of the
Temple are stated in Ezra. Portions to identify include:
a. Ezra 4:8 – 6:18
b. Ezra 7:12-26
C. Unlike the rest
of Jeremiah, one verse is in Aramaic. The translation is as follows:
Jeremiah 10:11 - Thus shall ye say
unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the
earth, and from under these heavens.
Here, Jeremiah
is writing to the elders of Israel on how to respond to the Chaldeans.
Listed are three
possibilities why this verse is in Aramaic:
1. It is a parenthetical
note written by some scribe
2. It is a
proverbial warning against idolatry
3. It is a
paraphrase for those familiar with the language
New Testament
It is believed
Christ mainly spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic, along with some Hebrew and
Greek. In a few familiar passages, Aramaic words are spoken and defined. They encompass:
1. When Jesus spoke
to Jarius’ daughter
Mark 5:41 - And He took the damsel by the hand, and said
unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
2. When Jesus spoke
to the deaf and mute man
Mark 7:34 - And looking up to Heaven, He sighed, and saith
unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
3. When Jesus spoke from the Cross
Matthew 27:46 - And about the ninth
hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou
forsaken Me?
Additional instances should be noted
from the New Testament:
A. When Christians speak as heirs with
Christ
Romans
8:15 - For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
B. When the early Church proclaimed
expectations of Messiah
1 Corinthians 16:22 - If any man love not
the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema (declared accursed) Maranatha (Come, O Lord!).
2. Hebrew
The original language of Hebrew emerged
from the northwestern branch of the Semitic tongues, i.e., Akkadian, Aramaic,
Phoenician, Moabitic, and Canaanite. Written from right to left, its vocabulary
paints pictures and is limited to consisting of twenty-two consonant letters.
The Hebrew portion of Scripture found
in Daniel (Daniel 1:1 – 2:3; 8:1 to 12:13) applied to the Jews and Jerusalem. Near
the beginning of the Christian era, labored Hebrew eventually diminished, and
Aramaic became the spoken language, however, written Hebrew continued in Jewish
and Rabbinic literature. Remarkably, Hebrew resurfaced and has become the
living language of the modern Jewish people.
3. Koine Greek
Koine
Greek is an ordinary
spoken language known as, “The common dialect,” as opposed to the ancient formal
Classic (Old Ionic-Attic, Homeric, Epic, or sometimes Hellenistic) Greek – The
language of academia. Known as the Septuagint or LXX, the Old Testament was
translated into Greek from about the third century B.C.
Despite the fact of divergent dialects,
Koine Greek, being the simplest spoken language amongst the armies of Alexander
the Great, made communication possible between the peoples of his conquests. Also,
throughout his empire, Koine Greek became commonplace from the third century
B.C. until the middle of the third century A.D.
For instance, in New Testament times, when
Paul was seized in the Temple by Claudius Lysias, the chief captain of the army
garrison spake common Greek:
Acts 21:37 - And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto
thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?
Tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew
the interpretation
Now, this scholarly
group was notorious for their uncanny abilities including:
1. Revealing dreams
2. Foretelling events
3. Unveiling mysteries
So, being confident in
their collective wisdom, and speaking to the king in Aramaic, the Chaldeans (evidently,
the spokesmen for the group) requested the king to disclose the dream, and, in
turn, they would explain its interpretation.
Continuing the
narrative…
(Verse 5)
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans,
The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with
the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be
made a dunghill.
In response to the
wise men’s request of Nebuchadnezzar to articulate to them the dream, Nebuchadnezzar
stated, “The thing is gone from me.” Substantially,
there has been a great deal of discussion examining this archaic phrase.
However, the text is interpreted as meaning the
dream itself.
Taking into
consideration the implications and magnitude of his dream, three possibilities
as to Nebuchadnezzar’s thinking are suggested:
1. He had not forgotten
the dream, but it had gone from his mind
2. He had merely put his
servants to a test by allowing them to prove their supernatural powers
3. He had wanted to
replace the elders with younger intellects
If ye will not make known unto me the dream,
with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses
shall be made a dunghill
The Dunghill Decree
To that end, Nebuchadnezzar
made a decree. Not only did he want the dream’s substance, but Nebuchadnezzar also
demanded of they to disclose the dream itself. If the dream was not made known
to him, the penalty would be stiff. He hence asserted:
1. All would be cut into
pieces, including sons and daughters
The Assyrians,
Persians, and Babylonians were notorious for their barbaric, and brutal
punishments. After stoning, one's limbs would be tied upside-down to a tree and
dismembered (cf. Ezekiel 16:40; 23:47)
2. All would have their family
and homes destroyed
A person’s home was destroyed
and burned along with all his possessions
3. All would have their
properties become a dunghill
The property on which
the house stood was turned into a dump, or rubbish heap, never to be rebuilt.
The word dunghill means an outhouse
(Verse 6)
But if ye shew the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great
honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
The Rewards Decree
On the other hand, the
good news was, if they were able to reveal and interpret the dream accurately,
they would be recompensed lavishly:
1. By receiving gifts
Gifts consisted of
luxury items, jewelry, etc.
2. By receiving rewards
Some translations render
rewards as singular. In any case,
they would be rewarded with gold and silver
3. By receiving a great
honour
Far beyond what they
already enjoyed; they would be elevated to a higher esteemed position in the
Empire
For further Bible
Study:
Two preceding eminent Bible personages are also
noteworthy for being rewarded for their dreams:
A. Joseph (read
Genesis 41:37-45)
B. Mordecai (read
Esther 10:1-3; 6:1-11)
In the following
chapter, the response of the wise men, Nebuchadnezzar’s rage, and the fate of
the wise men are discussed.
QUESTIONS:
1. What were the abilities of the wise men?
2. What was unique about Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream?
3. How did the wise men greet the king?
4. What are the three languages of the
Bible?
5. Why is Daniel written in two languages?
6. What was the nature of Nebuchadnezzar’s
request?
7. What were the punishment, and rewards
for the wise men?
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