Ketuvim כתובים / Hagiographa / writing

Daniyel (דניאל) Chapter 2

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

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The king's dream - unknown (1-12)

THE VISION OF THE IMAGE MADE OF FOUR METALS (2:1-49)

2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nevukadnetzar Nevukadnetzar dreamed chalomot (dreams), wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Kasdim (Chaldeans), for to shew the king his chalomot (dreams). So they came and stood before the king.

2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

2:4 Then spake the Kasdim (Chaldeans) to the king in Syria, O king, live forever: tell thy avadim the dream, and we will shew the pesher (interpretation, explanation).

2:5 The king answered and said to the Kasdim (Chaldeans), The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the pesher (interpretation, explanation) thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

2:6 But if ye shew the dream, and the pesher thereof, ye shall receive of me mattena (gifts) and nebizbah (rewards) and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the pesher thereof.

2:7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his avadim the dream, and we will shew the pesher of it.

2:8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

2:9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, [there is but] one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the pesher (interpretation, explanation) thereof.

2:10 The Kasdim answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the eretz that can shew the king's matter: therefore [there is] no king, rav, nor ruler, [that] asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Kasdim.

2:11 And [it is] a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the elahim (אלהין), whose dwelling is not with flesh.

2:12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise [men] of Bavel (בּבל).

The Dream discovered (13-30)

2:13 And the decree went forth that the wise [men] should be slain; and they sought Daniyel (דניאל) and his fellows to be slain.

2:14 Then Daniyel (דניאל) answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise [men] of Bavel (בּבל):

2:15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why [is] the decree [so] hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniyel (דניאל).

2:16 Then Daniyel (דניאל) went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the pesher (interpretation, explanation).

2:17 Then Daniyel (דניאל) went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananyah, Miysha'el (מישׁאל), and AzarYahu, his companions:

2:18 That they would desire mercies of the Elah (אלהּ) of shamayim concerning this secret; that Daniyel (דניאל) and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise [men] of Bavel (בּבל).

2:19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniyel (דניאל) in a night vision. Then Daniyel (דניאל) blessed the Elah (אלהּ) of shamayim.

 

2:20 Anah Daniyel ve amar:

"le hava shem ha di Elah mebaruk min olam ve ed olam di chokmah ve gevorah di le hu he"

Daniyel (דניאל) answered and said: "Baruk haShem Elah (אלהּ) le olam va ed: for wisdom and power are His:

2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kingim, and setteth up kingim: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

2:22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

2:23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou Elah (אלהּ) of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known unto us the king's matter.

2:24 Therefore Daniyel (דניאל) went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise [men] of Bavel (בּבל): he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise [men] of Bavel (בּבל): bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the pesher (interpretation, explanation).

2:25 Then Aryok (lion-like) brought in Daniyel (דניאל) before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the Benai golus Yehudah, that will make known unto the king the pesher (interpretation, explanation).

2:26 The king answered and said to Daniyel (דניאל), whose name [was] Belt'shatzar (בּלטשׁאצAramaic), Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the pesher (interpretation, explanation) thereof?

2:27 Daniyel (דניאל) answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise [men], the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

2:28 But there is a Elah (אלהּ) in shamayim that revealeth razim (secrets), and maketh known to the king Nevukadnetzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the chazot (visions) of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

2:29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came [into thy mind] upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth razim (secrets) maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

2:30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for [any] wisdom that I have more than any living, but for [their] sakes that shall make known the pesher (interpretation, explanation) to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

The description of the image (31-35)

2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness [was] excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof [was] terrible.

2:32 This image's head [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without yad (hand)s, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the dehab (gold Arb.), broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole eretz.

2:36 This [is] the dream; and we will tell the pesher (interpretation, explanation) thereof before the king.

2:37 Thou, O king, [art] a king of kingim: for the Elah (אלהּ) of shamayim hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the shamayim hath he given into thine yad (hand), and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou [art] this head of dehab (gold Arb.).

2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the eretz.

2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all [things]: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

2:42 And [as] the toes of the feet [were] part of iron, and part of clay, [so] the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

2:44 And in the days of these kingim shall the Elah (אלהּ) of shamayim set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without yadim, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the dehab (gold Arb.); the great Elah (אלהּ) hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream [is] certain, and the pesher (interpretation, explanation) thereof sure.

2:46 Then the king Nevukadnetzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniyel (דניאל), and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

2:47 The king answered unto Daniyel (דניאל), and said, Of a truth [it is], that your Elah (אלהּ) [is] a Elah (אלהּ) of elahim (אלהין), and a Mare* kingim, and a revealer of razim (secrets), seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

2:48 Then the king made Daniyel (דניאל) a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Bavel (בּבל), and chief of the governors over all the wise [men] of Bavel (בּבל).

2:49 Then Daniyel (דניאל) requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, over the affairs of the province of Bavel (בּבל): but Daniyel (דניאל) [sat] in the gate of the king.


1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

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Approximately 602 BC

Aramaic Word (arb)

Elah - eloah, Aramaic

Elahim (eloahs) plural

Mare - Master, master / *YHWH (יהוה)

Pesher - פּשׁר - This word iss an Aramaic word literally means "to untie" or to loose" In other word Daniyel could unravel the mysteries of dreams and vision. Yet he always give Elah the credit for his ability

The Interpretation

You may wonder why Hashem would use items that would lead the gentile king practice idolatry. This dream proves in the man's heart there is this very strong inclination toward idolatry, we are to be careful what elements we use during worship and to the Yehudim is a test of their faithfulness to Hashem. The symbolism used in this prophecy was an idol that was made of precious metals. The value of the metal decreased as you went from head to toe, but the strength increased. Metal is a type that describes the Gentile relationship with eloah and His people. As time progressed the metals became less valuable but stronger. Each successive kingdom would become more brutal and would be an even greater enemy of HaShem.

Nevukadnetzar' dream

Daniyel's dream

Daninyel's vision

Pester / Interpretation

 Historical comment

Head of fine gold (609-539 B.C.)

A Beast like a lion with eagle's wings (7:4)

 

Bavel would establish itself as the first world empire (2:387:17)

Hashem was gracious and merciful not to judge Nevukadnetzar for his idolatry act but exhibit Elah's power and dominion over the idolatries, however judgment was swift over his pride which the next dream of the fallen of strong tree in chapter 4. Nevukadnetzar the king finally recognise the sovereignty of Almighty, the fall of Bavel was due to pride, misuse of Hashem's sacred items from the temple and eventual hostility toward Yehudim

Chest and a pair of Arms of Silver - (539-331 B.C.)

A Beast like a bear with three rib in its mouth (7:5)

A ram with two horns, one of which was higher than the other (8:3)

Medo-Parsi would defeat Bavel and establish itself as the secod world empire (2:397:8:20)

The Maday and Parsi next conquered Bavel and Koresh allowed the Yehudim to go home. He made arrangements to have the temple rebuilt. But the nation was still ruled by foreigners. The two arms are the two empires of the Maday and Parsi who succeeded the neck of Bavel. They progress to the chest which represents the fact that the Parsi empire took control after and were more powerful than the Maday. The heart in the chest is Koresh who was called by Hashem to show great kindness to Yisrael.

Belly and a pair of Thighs

 (331-168 B.C.)

A Beast like a leopard with four wings (7:6)

A male goat with a large horn a little horn  (8:5-9)

Greece / Yavan would defeat Medo-Parsi and establish itself as the fourth world empire (2:40-43:7:17)

The Greeks under the leadership of Alexander the Great were the third conquerors. The belly represents the first phase after they defeated the Parsi, when there was one leader. It eventually was divided into four and then two sections at the end. These two divisions were called the King of the North and the King of the South in prophecy. These final two divisions are represented by the two thighs. These two were conquered by the next empire.

Legs of Iron

(168 B.C. - 476 A.D.)

A Beast like iron teeth and ten horns (7:7)

 

Romaios would defeat Yavan and estalish itself as the fourth would empire (2:40-43:7:17)

Romaios was known as the "Iron Monarchy". "Romaios" means strength, and iron is the strongest of the metals.Prophetically, Romaiyos was always a nation of two divisions. The two legs of iron represent the northern and southern divisions of Romaiyos as it conquered each Greek division. Geographically, it later became the Western and Eastern (Byzantine) empire as it declined. Religiously, it had two phases, these are Pagan Romaiyos and Papal Romaiyos.

Feet of Iron and Clay - (476 to the end)

The Romaios empire was divided in the eastern (Byzantine) empire and the western empire. The divided kingdom includes all the nations of Eastern and Western Romaios empire.Romaios was known as the "Iron Monarchy". "Romaios" means strength, and iron is the strongest of the metals.Prophetically, Romaiyos was always a nation of two divisions. The two legs of iron represent the northern and southern divisions of Romaiyos as it conquered each Greek division. Geographically, it later became the Western and Eastern (Byzantine) empire as it declined. Religiously, it had two phases, these are Pagan Romaiyos and Papal Romaiyos. In the end, the divided kingdom will again have ten distinct sections which are divided internally.

Lesson for gentile to know acknowledge the sovereignty of eloah the Creator of the Universe and acts of kindness to the Yehudim is richly blessing like gold precious metal. All wisdom, power, talent, riches and glory are gift from eloah and man must learn to be humble give glory to eloah not for self glorification.