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Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be called to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. The king said to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”
Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”
Daniel 2:2-4 sits inside this longer paragraph.
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be called to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. The king said to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”
Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”
Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be called to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
The king said to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”
Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
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.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
And the king said unto them: 'I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.'
Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Aramaic: 'O king, live for ever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.'
31 distinct cross-references across this passage (32 total citations).
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv2–3 This verse more clearly proves what I have already…
This verse more clearly proves what I have already said that the dream caused the king to feel God to be its author. Though this was not his first dream, yet the terror which God impressed on his mind, compelled him to summon all the Magi, since he could not rest even by returning to sleep. He felt as. it were a sing in his mind, since God did not suffer him to rest, but wished him to be troubled until he received an interpretation of the dream. Even profane writers very correctly consider dreams connected with divine agency. They express various opinions, because they could not know anything with perfect certainty; yet the persuasion was fixed in their minds relative to some divine agency in dreams. It would be foolish and puerile to extend this to all dreams; as we see some persons never passing by a single one without a conjecture, and thus making themselves ridiculous. We know dreams to arise from different causes; as, for instance, from our daily thoughts. If I have meditated on anything during the daytime, something occurs to me at night in a dream; because the mind is not completely buried in slumber, but retains some seed of intelligence, although it be suffocated. Experience also sufficiently teaches us how our daily thoughts recur during sleep, and hence the various affections of the mind and body produce, many dreams. If any one retires to bed in sorrow from either the death of a friend, or any loss, or through suffering any injury or adversity, his dreams will partake of the previous preparation of his mind. The body itself causes dreams, as we see in the case of those who suffer from fever; when thirst prevails they imagine fountains, burnings, and similar fancies. We perceive also how intemperance disturbs men in their sleep; for drunken men start and dream in their sleep, as if in a state of frenzy. As there are many natural causes for dreams, it would be quite out of character to be seeking for divine agency or fixed reason in them all; and on the other hand, it is sufficiently evident that some dreams are under divine regulation. I omit events which have been related in ancient histories; but surely the dream of Calphurnia, the wife of Julius Caesar, could not be fictitious; because, before he was slain it was commonly reported, “Caesar has been killed,” just as she dreamt it. The same may be said of the physician of Augustus, who had ordered him to leave his tent the day of the battle of Pharsalia, and yet there was no reason why the physician should order him to be carried out of the tent on a litter, unless he had dreamt it to be necessary. What was the nature of that necessity? why, such as could not be conjectured by human skill, for the camp of Augustus was taken at that very moment. I doubt not there are many fabulous accounts, but here I may choose what I shall believe, and I do not yet touch on dreams which are mentioned in God’s word, for I am merely speaking of what profane men were compelled to think on this subject. Although Aristotle freely rejected all sense of divination, through being prejudiced in the matter, and desiring to reduce the nature of Deity within the scope of human ingenuity, and to comprehend all things by his acuteness; yet he expresses this confession, that all dreams do not happen rashly but that μαντίκη, that is “divination,” is the source of some of them. He disputes, indeed, whether they belong to the intellectual or sensitive portion of the mind, and concludes they belong to the latter, as far as it is imaginative. Afterwards, when inquiring whether they are causes or anything of that kind, he is disposed to view them only as symptoms or accidents fortuitously contingent. Meanwhile, he will not admit dreams to be sent from heaven; and adds as his reason, that many stupid men dream, and manifest the same reason in them as the wisest. He notices next the brute creation, some of which, as elephants, dream. As the brutes dream, and wise men more seldom than the rudest idiots, Aristotle does not think it probable that dreams are divinely inspired. He denies, therefore, that they are sent from God, or divine, but asserts that they spring from the Daimones; that is, he fancies them to be something between the natures of the Deity and the Daimones. We know the sense in which philosophers use that word, which, in Scripture, has usually a bad sense. He says that dreams were occasioned by those aerial inspirations, but are not from God.; because, he says, man’s nature is not divine, but inferior; and yet more than earthly, since it, is angelic. Cicero discourses on this subject at great, length, in his first book on Divination; although he refutes in the second all he had said, while he was a disciple of the Academy. For among other arguments in proof of the existence of deities, he adds dreams; — if there is any divination in dreams, it follows that there is a. Deity in heaven, for the mind of man cannot conceive of any dream without divine inspiration. Cicero’s reasoning is valid; if there is divination in dreams, then is there also a Deity. The distinction made by Macrobius is worthy of notice; although he ignorantly confounds species and genera, through being a person of imperfect judgment, who strung together in rhapsodies whatever he read, without either discrimination or arrangement. This, then, should remain fixed, — the opinion concerning the existence of some kind of divine agency in dreams was not rashly implanted in the hearts of all men. Hence that expression of Homer’s, a dream is from Jupiter. He does not mean this generally and promiscuously of all dreams; but he takes notice of it, when bringing the characters of his heroes before us, since they were divinely admonished in their sleep.
I now come to Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream. In this, two points are worthy of remark. First, all remembrance of its subject was entirely obliterated; and secondly, no interpretation was; found for it. Sometimes the remembrance of a dream was not; lost while its interpretation was unknown. But here Nebuchadnezzar was not only perplexed at the interpretation of the dream, but even the vision itself had vanished, and thus his perplexity and anxiety was doubled. As to the next point, there is no novelty in Daniel making known the interpretation; for it sometimes, but rarely, happens that a person dreams without a figure or enigma, and with great plainness, without any need of conjurers — a name given to interpreters of dreams. This indeed happens but seldom, since the usual plan of dreams is for God to speak by them allegorically and obscurely. And this occurs in the case of the profane as well as of the servants of God. When Joseph dreamt that he was adored by the sun and moon, (Genesis 37:9,) he was ignorant of its meaning; when he dreamt of his sheaf being adored by his brothers sheaves, he understood not its meaning, but related it simply to his brothers. Hence God often speaks in enigmas by dreams, until the interpretation is added. And such was Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
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We perceive, then, that God reveals his will even to unbelievers, but not clearly; because seeing they do not see, just as if they were gazing at a closed book or sealed letter; as Isaiah says, — God speaks to unbelievers in broken accents and with a stammering tongue. (Isaiah 28:11 and Isaiah 29:11.) God’s will was so revealed to Nebuchadnezzar that he still remained perplexed and lay completely astonished. His dream would have been of no use to him, unless, as we shall see, Daniel had been presented to him as its interpreter. For God not only wished to hold the king in suspense, but he thus blotted out the remembrance of the dream from his mind, to increase the power of his sting. As mankind are accustomed to neglect the dreams which they do not remember, God inwardly fastened such a sting in the mind of this unbeliever, as I have already said, that he could not rest, but was always wakeful in the midst of his dreaming, because God was drawing him to himself by secret chains. This is the true reason why God denied him the immediate explanation of his dream, and blotted out the remembrance of it from his mind, until he should receive both from Daniel. We will leave the rest till tomorrow.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 For all these Astrologers and sorcerers called themselves by…
For all these Astrologers and sorcerers called themselves by this name of honor, as though all the wisdom and knowledge of the country depended upon them, and that all other countries were void of the same.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Dan 2:2 Then the king commanded to call the…
Dan 2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
Ver. 2. Then the king commanded to call the magicians.] These had Ham for their founder, saith Pintus; but who can tell that? Daniel haply was forgotten by Nebuchadnezzar, as David had sometime been by Saul. {1Sa 17:55-56} A sweet providence it was that he was not called among the magicians. God will not have his matched or mingled with wicked ones.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–4 The magicians and the astrologers: these words signify astrologers,…
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 "Exo 7:11"; See Poole "Exo 22:18", See Poole "Deu 18:10". Though Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar made use of these as their great counsellors, yet God baffled them by Moses and Daniel; and forbade his people the use or toleration of them, because they are an abomination to him. God will have his people ask counsel of him and his words, and not of the devil’s oracles.
Chaldeans: this name the magicians assumed, as being national and most noble; and whatever these wise men or wizards said, it was as if Jupiter himself had spoken it, as the Roman satirist said of them, Juv. Sat. 6.
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They came and stood before the king. Daniel was not called among them. Why? Because the king confided more in these his own old standers; but chiefly God had thus ordered by his wise providence that Daniel should not be in their number, for if he had, the interpretation would have been attributed to astrology and magic, and not to God, as now it was.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Then the king commanded to call the magicians,.... He…
Then the king commanded to call the magicians,.... He ordered his servants in waiting to send immediately for the wise men, the philosophers of that age and kingdom, that studied the things of nature, and the natural causes of things:
and the astrologers; that cast nativities, and pretended by the position and influence of the stars to know what would befall men:
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and the sorcerers; or wizards, that made use of familiar spirits, and the help of the devil; necromancers that consulted the dead, in order to get knowledge of future things:
and the Chaldeans; so called, not from their country; for probably all the preceding were Chaldeans by nation; but inasmuch as the study of judiciary astrology, and other unlawful arts, greatly obtained in Chaldea; hence those that were addicted to them had this name (w):
for to show the king his dreams; both what it was he dreamed, and what the interpretation or meaning of it was: so they came, and stood before the king; they came immediately, with great readiness and willingness, esteeming it a great honour done them to be sent for by the king, and admitted into his chamber; and hoping it would turn much both to their credit and profit; and being come, they stood waiting his will and pleasure.
(w) Vid. Juvenal. Satyr. 6. A. Gellii Noet. Attic, l. 1. c. 9. Cicero de Divinatione, I. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–4 The astrologers - Who pretended great skill in natural,…
The astrologers - Who pretended great skill in natural, and supernatural things. The sorcerers - Or necromancers, who used diabolical arts. Chaldeans - This name the magicians assumed as being national, and most noble.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 Verse 2. The magicians] חרטמים chartummim. See Clarke on…
Verse 2. The magicians] חרטמים chartummim. See Clarke on Ge 41:8.
The astrologers] אשפים ashshaphim. Perhaps from נשף nashaph, to breathe, because they laid claim to Divine inspiration; but probably the persons in question were the philosophers and astronomers among the Babylonians.
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The sorcerers] מכשפים mechashshephim. See Clarke on De 18:10; and "Ex 22:18"; and "Le 19:31", where several of these arts are explained.
The Chaldeans] Who these were is difficult to be ascertained. They might be a college of learned men, where all arts and sciences were professed and taught. The Chaldeans were the most ancient philosophers of the world; they might have been originally inhabitants of the Babylonian Irak; and still have preserved to themselves exclusively the name of Chaldeans, to distinguish themselves from other nations and peoples who inhabited the one hundred and twenty provinces of which the Babylonish government was composed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 Dan 2:2. Then the king commanded to call the…
Dan 2:2. Then the king commanded to call the magicians and the astrologers — Concerning the meaning of these two words, see note on Dan 1:20. Daniel and his companions were not called among them; perhaps because the Chaldeans despised them as youths and strangers, and would not have them thought equal in knowledge to themselves. And the sorcerers — This word is always taken in an ill sense by the sacred writers, signifying a sort of necromancers, that through diabolical arts pretended to an acquaintance with departed spirits, from כשׂŠ, præstigiis uti, to use deceitful tricks, or enchantments. They were, perhaps, not very unlike the sortilegi, or fortune-tellers of the ancient Romans; and exercised themselves in various sorts of juggling tricks, or enchantments, which were supposed to be performed by the assistance of demons: see note on Isa 29:4. And the Chaldeans — The Chaldeans were so much addicted to the study of the motions of the heavenly bodies, and to make prognostications from thence, that the word Chaldean is used, both in Greek and Latin writers, for an astrologer. Diodorus, lib. 2., speaking of the Chaldeans, says, They employ their whole time in philosophy and divination, and are trained up to them from their childhood: and Strabo, lib. xvi, makes a distinction, and observes, that the word is sometimes applied to the nation, sometimes to the sect. Curtius, lib. 5. cap. 1, describes them thus: “Chaldæi siderum motus et statas temporum vices ostendere soliti:” “The Chaldeans are accustomed to show the motions of the stars, and the appointed changes of times:” and Cicero, De Divin., p. 4, “Chaldæi — diuturna observatione siderum scientiam putantur effecisse, ut prædici posset quid cuique eventurum et quo quisque fato natus esset:” “The Chaldeans, by the long observation of the stars, are thought to have formed a science, whereby may be foretold what is about to happen to every one, and to what fate every one is born.” These passages may serve to show the opinion that was commonly entertained of these Chaldeans; and therefore we shall be less surprised to find, at Dan 2:4, this name, according to the general sense of it, used for the magicians of every sort. To show the king his dreams — Dreams were often considered by the heathen as giving particular intimations of the will of Heaven; and hence the expression of Homer, in his first Iliad, Και γαρ τ’ οναρ εκ Διος εστι, For dreams descend from Jove. And in the beginning of his second Iliad, he has, by a bold and beautiful prosopopœia, conveyed the will of Jupiter to Agamemnon in a dream, investing Ονειρος (a dream) with all the qualities of a divine messenger. Diog. Laert. makes mention of a dream of Socrates, whereby he foretold his death within three days; and most of the schools among pagan philosophers gave credit to dreams, and considered them as revealing the will of the gods: see Wintle.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Then the king commanded - That is, when he…
Then the king commanded - That is, when he awoke. The particle rendered “then,” does not imply that this occurred immediately. When he awoke, his mind was agitated; he was impressed with the belief that he had had an important Divine communication; but he could not even recal the dream distinctly, and he resolved to summon to his presence those whose business it was to interpret what were regarded as prognostics of the future.
The magicians, and the astrologers - These are the same words which occur in Dan 1:20. See the note at that place.
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And the sorcerers - Hebrew מכשׁפים mekashepı̂ym. Vulgate, malefici - sorcerers. Greek, φαρμακεύς pharmakeus Syriac, “magician.” The Hebrew word is derived from כשׁף kâshaph - meaning, in Piel, to practice magic; to use magic formulas, or incantations; to mutter; and it refers to the various arts by which those who were addicted to magic practiced their deceptions. The particular idea in this word would seem to be, that on such occasions some forms of prayers were used, for the word in Syriac means to offer prayers, or to worship. Probably the aid of idol gods was invoked by such persons when they practiced incantations. The word is found only in the following places: once as a “verb,” 2Ch 33:6, and rendered “used witchcraft;” and as a “participle,” rendered “sorcerers,” in Exo 7:11; Dan 2:2; Mal 3:5; and “witch,” in Exo 22:18 (17); Deu 18:10. The noun (כשׁף kashâph and כשׁפים keshâpı̂ym) is used in the following places, always with reference to sorcery or witchcraft: Jer 27:9; 2Ki 9:22; Isa 47:9; Mic 5:12 (11); Nah 3:4. It may not be easy to specify the exact sense in which this word is used as distinguished from the others which relate to the same general subject, but it would seem to be that some form of “prayer” or “invocation” was employed. The persons referred to did not profess to interpret the prognostics of future events by any original skill of their own, but by the aid of the gods.
And the Chaldeans - See the notes at Dan 1:4. The Chaldeans appear to have been but one of the tribes or nations that made up the community at Babylon (compare the notes at Isa 23:13), and it would seem that at this time they were particularly devoted to the practice of occult arts, and secret sciences. It is not probable that the other persons referred to in this enumeration were Chaldeans. The Magians, if any of these were employed, were Medians (see the notes at Dan 1:20), and it is not improbable that the other classes of diviners might have been from other nations. The purpose of Nebuchadnezzar was to assemble at his court whatever was remarkable throughout the world for skill and knowledge (see analysis of Dan. 1), and the wise men of the Chaldeans were employed in carrying out that design. The Chaldeans were so much devoted to these secret arts, and became so celebrated for them, that the name came, among the Greek and Roman writers, to be used to denote all those who laid claim to extraordinary powers in this department.
Diodorus Siculus (lib. ii.) says of the Chaldeans in Babylon, that “they sustain the same office there that the priests do in Egypt, for being devoted to the worship of God through their whole lives, they give themselves to philosophy, and seek from astrology their highest glory.” Cicero also remarks (De Divin., p. 3), that “the Chaldeans, so named, not from their art, but their nation, are supposed, by a prolonged observation of the stars, to have wrought out a science by which could be predicted what was to happen to every individual, and to what fate he was born.” Juvenal likewise (Sat. vi., verses 552-554), has this passage: “Chaldaeis sed major erit fiducia; quidquid dixerit astrologus, credent a fonte relatum Ammonis. - But their chief dependence is upon the Chaldeans; whatever an astrologer declares, they will receive as a response of (Jupiter) Ammon.” Horace refers to the “Babylonians” as distinguished in his time for the arts of magic, or divination:
“nec Babylonios,
tentaris numeros.” - Car. lib. i.; xi.
It is not probable that the whole nation of Chaldeans was devoted to these arts, but as a people they became so celebrated in this kind of knowledge that it was their best known characteristic abroad. (See also Barnes’ Appendix to Daniel)
For to show the king his dreams - To show him what the dream was, and to explain its import. Compare Gen 41:24; Jdg 14:12; 1Ki 10:3. That it was common for kings to call in the aid of interpreters to explain the import of dreams, appears from Herodotus. When Astyages ascended the throne, he had a daughter whose name was Mandane. She had a dream which seemed to him so remarkable that he called in the “magi,” whose interpretation, Herodotus remarks, was of such a nature that it “terrified him exceedingly.” He was so much influenced by the dream and the interpretation, that it produced an entire change in his determination respecting the marriage of his daughter. - Book i., 107: So again, after the marriage of his daughter, Herodotus says (book i., cviii.): “Astyages had another vision. A vine appeared to spring from his daughter which overspread all Asia. On this occasion, also, he consulted his interpreters; the result was, that he sent for his daughter from Persia, when the time of her delivery approached. On her arrival, he kept a strict watch over her, intending to destroy her child. The magi had declared the vision to intimate that the child of his daughter should supplant him on the throne.” Astyages, to guard against this, as soon as Cyrus was born, sent for Harpagus, a person in whom he had confidence, and commanded him to take the child to his own house, and put him to death. These passages in Herodotus show that what is here related of the king of Babylon, demanding the aid of magicians and astrologers to interpret his dreams, was by no means an uncommon occurrence.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2–4 The Chaldeans. That is, the astrologers, that pretended to…
The Chaldeans. That is, the astrologers, that pretended to divine by stars. (Challoner) --- They dwelt on the banks of the Euphrates, and were highly esteemed. (Diodorus Sic. i.) --- They were the most ancient philosophers. (Civ. Div. i.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Chaldeans--here, a certain order of priest-magicians, who wore a…
Chaldeans--here, a certain order of priest-magicians, who wore a peculiar dress, like that seen on the gods and deified men in the Assyrian sculptures. Probably they belonged exclusively to the Chaldeans, the original tribe of the Babylonian nation, just as the Magians were properly Medes.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 2. The magicians — This is a “good Babylonian…
2. The magicians — This is a “good Babylonian word” (Fr. Delitzsch) and is found in connection with several other good Babylonian terms. Hommel adds to Delitzsch’s references to the Babylonian magicians (kardamu) this passage: “They [certain deities?] break the kardami if they give not a right decision.” Babylonian and Persian magic seems to be of Median origin (Noldeke). The Magi, so famous in classical times, were already so powerful in the sixth century B.C. that king Nabonidus gives to himself as one of his greatest titles “Chief Magus,” if that indeed is the meaning of Rab-mag (Jer_39:3). On the death of Cyrus one of these Magi (Gaumata) actually seized the throne, and so strong was the fear of these magicians upon the people that the whole empire was shaken by the insurrection. The magic formulas which have come down to us are positively innumerable. I suppose in the British Museum alone there must be a thousand tablets which give warnings concerning the old woman or the black cat or the black dog. As Budge has said, the ancient Babylonian passed his entire life in perpetual terror of evil spirits and demons and the wizards who could control them. The following fragments of texts from King’s great work (Babylonian Magic, 1896) show the constant supplications of king and people: —
O merciful goddess, I beseech thee to stand and harken to my cries.
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I am afraid; I tremble and am cast down with fear.
O Marduk, lord of lords, thou art compassionate; I am weak… may they never
approach me, the magic of the sorcerer or the sorceress. May there never
approach me the evil of dreams; of powers and portents of heaven and earth.
The incantations of the wizards, and magical charms to be used against these, are given in great detail. Lenormant believed that the different classes of magic workers mentioned in this verse corresponded exactly to the different orders among the Babylonian magicians. Other Assyriologists do not recognize this similarity, yet it cannot be doubted that there were wonder-workers corresponding, at least generally, to each class named here: magicians (khartummim), probably wise men in general, astrologers, or “enchanters” (assaphim); sorcerers, perhaps “horoscopists” (Prince), that is, drawers of horoscopes or prognosticators (Bevan), etc. Assurbanipal, in one text, mentions the interpretation of dream visions as the special business of the mahe (magha, magi). The Assyrian generals were always accompanied in every campaign by the asipu, who is mentioned here, that is, the “dreamer,” or “mutterer,” on whose interpretation of the signs of heaven the movement of the troops depended. The Chaldeans are named here and in Dan_2:10 as if they merely constituted one division of these magicians. They were really not an order of magicians, but the ruling race in Babylon at this time; though the fact that the wise men of the court would naturally come from this race points to the easy possibility of all the literati being called, by the conglomerate alien races with which Babylon was populated, by the name Chaldean, “doer of great deeds.” (See Introduction, II, 8.) One Greek version, which many scholars believe to represent the original text of the LXX., in this verse speaks of the Chaldeans properly as a race: “The magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers of the Chaldeans.” In Dan_2:27, where the list is given again, the Chaldeans are omitted.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 2. the magicians, and the enchanters] See on Dan_1:20.…
2. the magicians, and the enchanters] See on Dan_1:20. As in Egypt (Gen_41:8), the ‘magicians’ and ‘wise men’ (Dan_2:12) would be the natural persons for the king to consult on the interpretation of a dream.
and the sorcerers] This is a word which is well known in the earlier literature: e.g. Exo_7:11; Exo_22:18 (in the fem.); Deu_18:10; cf. the subst. sorceries Mic_5:11, and (in Babylon) Isa_47:9; Isa_47:12.
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Chaldeans] Here, as in Dan_1:4, used in the sense of the priestly or learned class (see p. 12 ff). So Dan_2:4-5; Dan_2:10.
for to shew] for to tell (R.V.). To ‘shew’ is used often in A.V., and sometimes in R.V., not in the modern sense of pointing out, but in that of telling or declaring; and it stands here for the Heb. word usually rendered tell or declare. So Gen_46:31 (R.V. tell); Jdg_13:10; 1Sa_11:9 (R.V. told), 1Sa_19:7, 1Sa_25:8 (R.V. told); 2Ki_6:11; Isa_41:22; Isa_41:26 (R.V. declare), &c.; cf. the Parallel Psalter, p. 481.
3 was disturbed] or is disturbed. It is not perfectly clear whether the intention of the writer is to represent the king as having really forgotten the dream and desiring to have it recalled to him; or as still remembering it, and merely making this demand for the purpose of testing the magicians’ skill.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–4 (2) Magicians.—Heb. chartummim, so called, most probably, from the…
(2) Magicians.—Heb. chartummim, so called, most probably, from the pencil or stylus with which they wrote. The word is elsewhere used of the Egyptian magicians. (See Schrader, Keil-Inschriften, p. 26; Records of the Past, vol. 1 p. 131.)
Astrologers.—Heb. ashshaphim, a name derived from the whisperings or mutterings made by them while employed in their incantations. They are mentioned by Daniel only.
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Sorcerers.—Heb. mekashshaphim; are spoken of in the Pentateuch both as male and female, (e.g. Deu_18:10). They are mentioned by Isaiah (Isa_47:9; Isa_47:12) as prevalent in the Babylon of his days. Probably the Chaldæans spoken of in this verse did not form a separate class of magicians, but denoted the priests, such as those mentioned Herod. i. 181, and was contained in the first class of magicians mentioned in the verse. It appears that Daniel excelled (Dan_1:17) in all classes of magic learning, whether it required a knowledge of “learning, wisdom, or dreams.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and…
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. The Septuagint renders, "And the king commended that the magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers of the Chaldeans be brought in to tell the king his dream. And they came and steed before the king." The difference is slight verbally, but very important. Theodotion and the Peshitta agree closely with the Massoretic. The Vulgate renders mecashe-pheem, "sorcerers," malefici, "evil workers." Then the king commanded to call the magi cians. The scene seems to stand out before us the king, excited and sleepless, calling out to his attendants to summon to his presence all the wise men in the capital of his empire. The first that are named are the hartummeem. The name is derived by Gesenius from frj, (heret), "a stylus," and he supposes them to be sacred scribes. We find the word in Gen_41:24. Although the order may have existed among the Egyptians, the name given to them here and in Exodus may quite well have a Semitic origin. The Tel-el-Amarna tablets show us how well the language of Assyria was known in Egypt. Hitzig is quite sure that Nebuchadnezzar "est Abbild des Pharao und zugleich Vorbild des Antiochus Epiphanes." It is a way critics have; they are always quite sure. It may be observed that both the Greek versions have for this word ejpaoidouv, "those who use incantations." The Peshitta has harasha, primarily "one who is silent," then "one who mutters," then "one who sings an incantation." Paulus Tellensis has lehasha, "to whisper," and then "to reheat a charm" or "incautation." Jerome renders arioli," foretellers." While the Peshitta interprets hartummeem in Genesis by the same word as that used here, in the Septuagint the word in Genesis is ejxhghthv instead of ejpaoidov, and Jerome uses conjectores instead of, as we have seen, arioli In Exo_7:11 harturameem is translated in the Septuagint ejpaoidoi. Jerome renders ipsi, as if the word had not been in his text. if, then, the word hartummeem stood in the text of Daniel when the Greek versions were made, there was an uncertainty as to the meaning to be assigned to it in Egypt. The distinction between the two meanings drawn from the etymology of the word hartummeem , and that derived from the Greek equivalent, is not great. The religion of the Chaldeans was largely a system of incantations that were preserved primarily in the Accadian a tongue known only to the sacred scribes. Many of the formulae are translated into Assyrian a language, by the time of Nebuchadnezzar, practically as much restricted to the scribes and learned class as the Accadian. Hence only a scribe could know the proper words to use in an incantation, only he could perpetuate and preserve them. It is difficult to know on what grouted the translators of the Authorized Version selected the word "magicians." The Geneva Bible rendered it "enchanters," which is adopted by the Revisers. Luther is further afield in tendering sternsehers. The name is Assyrian, and apparently derived from harutu, "a staff" (Norris, "Assyr. Dict."). This staff was possibly used, as the staff of the Roman augur, to mark off the regions of the heavens, or, it may be, to ward off demons. And thw astrologers. The Hebrew word used hero is ashshapheem. "In Assyrian the word asep or asipu is used in the sense of diviner. The word was actually borrowed by the Aramaic of Daniel under the form of ashshaph" (Sayce, "Hibbert Lecture," p. 51). It is supposed to mean "one who uses enchantments." It is not Hebrew, but really Syriao or Eastern Aramaic. In both Greek versions the equivalent is magoi, which Jerome follows. The Peshitta reserves magoeha for the next term. The assertion that this word was really the Greek sofoi is now abandoned. The Greek s never rendered by v, which represented a sound not present in Greek at all. The fact that this non-Hellenic sound is doubled makes it utterly impossible that this word could be brought over from the Greek. It is impossible to assign to this word the precise shade of meaning which belongs to it. There is nothing to suggest "astrologers" in the root of the word. And the sorcerers. The Hebrew here is mekash,hepheem. Dr. Robertson Smith, as quoted in Professor Bevan, suggests that the word is derived from p "to shred or cut to pieces," hence "to prepare magical drugs." This is in agreement with the Greek versions, which render farmakoi. The verb, however, is a Syrian one, and means "to worship". (Act_4:31; Php_1:4) It occurs in the Hebrew of Exo_7:11 along with hartummeem; in Deu_18:10, in a verse forbidding to the Israelites the use of magical arts; ink 2Ch_33:6, in an account of how Manasseh traversed that law. It may be noted that in this last verse the Peshitta renders Chaldea "Chaldeans." Again we have to repeat the remark that we do not know the distinctions involved in these different names. And the Chaldeans. The Hebrew word here is (Kas"deern); both the form Kassatu and Kaldu occur in in-seriptions. The meaning of this word has caused great discussion, and its use in this chapter for a class of magicians has been held as a strong proof that the writer of the book before us lived long after the time in which he places the events he narrates. The use of "Chaldean" for "magician," "astrologer," or "soothsayer" in classic times is well known. The difficulty here is that the name "Chaldean" is used for a particular and limited class in the nation, and at the same time for that nation as a whole. This is not necessarily impossible. In Scotland, although the inhabitants are all called Scots, there is also the clan whose surname is Scott, or, as it was earlier spelt, "Scot." It would not show confusion or iguorance did a writer of the fifteenth century speak in one page of the Kers, the Hepburns, and the Scots (Scotts) as forming one army, and then in the next page proceed to speak of the whole army as the army of the Scots. His use of the name in the one case for the nation and the other for the clan, so far from showing an insufficient acquaintance with the constitution of Scotland, or the history of its affairs, really evidences the accuracy of the writer"s knowledge. We cannot conclude that the author therefore made a mistake in speaking if he does so of a class of the Babylonian magians being called Chaldeans because the nation bore the same name. We certainly have as yet found no trace of such a usage, but the argumentum e silentio is of strikingly little value in regard to Babylon her annals are so very incomplete. We retest bear in mind that the text of Daniel is in a very bad state: it has been subjected to various inter-polstions and alterations. It is, therefore, hazardous to rest any stress on single words. It is clear the writer knew perfectly well that the nation were called Chaldeans. According to the Massoretic text, wn Dan_5:30 asserts, "In that night was Belshazzar King of the Chaldeans slain;" according to the LXX version of the same verse it is, "And the kingdom was taken from the Chaldeans and given to the Medea and Persians." If we are sure the writer did make the Chaldeans also a class of magians, the probability is that he knew what he was talking about, and made no explanation because, as a contemporary, he took for granted everybody knew how this was. But is it absolutely certain that the writer of Daniel does make this asset-lion? It is true that in the Massoretic text the Kasdeem are represented as a class of magiaas coordinate with the hartummeem, ashshapheem, and mekashepheem, but in the Septuagint we find the word caldai) in the genitive. Consequently, the sentence reads, "the magicians and the astrologers and the sorcerers of the Chaldeans." If at the time the Massoretic recension was made the name "Chaldean" had gained its later significance of "soothsayer," one can easily understand how natural it would be to insert the copulative before the preposition. The construction of the sentence in the text before the translator of the LXX Version is certainly irregular, but not unexampled. It is not so easy to imagine the Septuagint translator changing the nominative plural into a genitive, especially when, by the time the translation was made, the osage we have spoken of above was in full force. We may assume, then, that in the original text of Daniel the "Kasdeem" were not spoken of, in this verse at all events, as a class of magicians. As the clause appears in the LXX, Nebuchadnezzar assembled all the magicians of his nationality, the Chaldeans as distinguished from the Babylonians. Perhaps he had more confidence in them. While the change we have suggested would make only the mekashshepheem connected with the Chaldeans, the grammatical structure of the verse has the aspect of a freer rendering than that in Theodotion" hence it might quite well have been that the original Hebrew had the meaning represented by the Greek of the Septuagint. Lenormant sees in the four classes here an exact representation of the four classes of Babylonian soothsayers. We do not feel obliged to maintain that all the different classes should be called in on the occasion of this dream. We do not know precisely the characteristics that separated one class from the other, but it seems little likely that they all devoted themselves to the interpretation of dreams. There were other omens and portents that had to be explained. For to show the king his dreams. The natural sense is that represented by the Greek versions, "to tell the king his dream." The usual reason for these officials being called was to declare to the king the interpretation of the dream; but here it was to declare the dream its. If. Yet if they could foretell the future, could they not much more easily tell what had happened? They professed to know what was coming; they could so Nebuchadnezzar might argue readily enough reason back from the future they knew to the sign of the future, the dream which had been given to him. So they came and stood before the king. We can imagine the long ranks of the principal classes of Chaldean soothsayers in Babylon hastening into the royal presence. All the soothsayers, we see, were not summoned, for Daniel and his friends were not, and they were not singular, else the writer would have given some reason for this omission. The writer assumes that his readers know so much about the habits of Bah; Ionian wise men and their schools, as to be aware that certain individuals might nominally be summoned to the court; and yet it might be some time before they were summoned on any critical occasion. The absence of the four Hebrews might be explained in two ways: either only the Chaldean magicians were in this case summoned, and, as Daniel and his friends were not Chaldeans, they were omitted; or they were not summoned he cause their training was not yet complete.
Vers. 2-18.
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Character revealed by trial.
Critical moments are tests of character, In this incident the leading features of three distinct classes of character are clearly revealed.
I THE CONDUCT OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR REVEALS THE EVIL CHARACTER or TYRANNY.
1. It is selfish. Though the charge of a vast empire is entrusted to him, the king exercises, is irresponsible power of life and death simply for his own convenience.
2. It is unreasonable. Nebuchadnezzar not only asks for the interpretation, he demands the recovery of his forgotten dream. Whenever great authority is not balanced by an equivalent intelligence, the result must be some such issue of most unreasonable commands.
3. It is cruel. For failing to meet the king"s preposterous demand, the Chaldeans are to be hewn in pieces. Even those junior members, such as Daniel and his three companions, who were not consulted, are to suffer the same fate. Thus the isolation of supreme rank and irresponsible power tends to destroy that sympathy which is dependent on the feeling of fellowship.
4. It is suicidal, in the madness of his disappointment, the king is about to kill the man who subsequently proves to be his best friend. Selfishness is often blind to its highest interest. Cruelty reverts on the head of its author.
II THE CONDUCT OF THE CHALDEANS EXPOSES THE WEAKNESS OF PRETENSIONS TO MAGICAL POWER. If the dream had been given, these men would have offered an interpretation, though probably one of Delphic ambiguity. But when the demand is for the exercise and test of a distinctly supernatural faculty, they fail. We may note, in reference to the pretensions to second sight of such men and their modern successors, that:
1. They fail before the crucial test which plainly requires supernatural powers. They are too vague for this.
2. They are of no practical interest. Trivial secrets may appear to be revealed, but mysteries of serious importance remain unsolved.
3. Instead of increasing religious faith, they discourage it. The Chaldeans say that what the king requires can be done only by "the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh," thus implying that these gods make no revelation to men, and have no contact with them. Contrast their godless divination with Daniel"s higher power of divination, which he attributes solely to the revealing grace of his God.
III THE CONDUCT OF DANIEL EXHIBITS THE EXCELLENCY OF DEVOUT WISDOM UNDER SEVERE TRIAL.
1. It has immediate recourse to prayer. Daniel deer not pretend to solve the mystery by the force of his own wisdom. He at once invokes the help of God. In the method and object of his prayer his action is a medal of devout wisdom. Thus
(1) he associates his three companions with him in his prayer, and shows his faith in the efficacy of united prayer. (see Act_2:1 Act_12:5; Jer_5:14)
(2) his prayer is to the point, asking for special help in special need;
(3) it is reasonable, Daniel asks for deliverance from threatened death, but only by receiving power to fulfil the king"s condition; he does not took for a miraculous escape, but for light in the matter of the king"s dream.
2. Devout wisdom finds its greatest strength in the greatest trial. If it had not been for the king"s savage threat, Daniel might have been long in developing his gifts and realizing his mission. The danger brings him out of obscurity, and compels him to exercise the Divine faculties which are entrusted to him. If we have the right spirit in us to appreciate the opportunities they afford, we shall often find that the extremities and emergencies of life are, under the providence of God, the very means by which his best gifts and graces are made to fructify. Their greatest excellency is in their capacity to shine brightest under the hardest trials.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 i.e. the men having the ancient wisdom; the learned;…
Chaldeans
i.e. the men having the ancient wisdom; the learned; Chaldeans par excellence (Dan 2:13). "wise"
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v3 my mind is anxious
my mind is anxious
Here "mind" refers to the king himself. AT: "I am anxious" (See: Synecdoche)
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anxious
"troubled"
Aramaic
This is the language that people in Babylon spoke. (See: How to Translate Names)
King, live forever!
The men probably said this to show the king that they were loyal to him. AT: "King, we hope you will live forever!"
us, your servants
The men called themselves the king's servants to show him respect.
we will reveal
Here the word "we" refers to the men that the king is speaking to and does not include the king. (See: Exclusive and Inclusive "We")
translationWords
king
dream
mind
know
wise men
eternity
servant
reveal
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2–4 2:2 magicians, enchanters: See study note on 1:20. •…
2:2 magicians, enchanters: See study note on 1:20. • Sorcerers were incantation priests or ritual technicians. • Astrologers studied the heavenly bodies to discern the times and seasons of major events.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.