Daniel
Chapter 2
{Note: Per RBT, see James 1:19 for what happened to Daniel between Chapter 1 and 2.}
1~~And
in the second year
of
the reign of Nebuchadnezzar {604 BC},
{he is at the height of his prosperity - ALL the details of life of
which he could dream}
Nebuchadnezzar
dreamed many dreams {divine revelation},
wherewith
he was troubling his own spirit
{mental attitude sin of fear},
and
his sleep broke from him {insomniac}.
2~~Then
the king called in 'the scribes'/'his administrators'
{chartom - means 'writes with a pen' - they were the legal
department - they wrote in hieroglyphics and were brilliant
humanly speaking},
and
'the astrologers'/'his CIA'
{'ashshaph - means to 'breathe or blow' - these men supposedly
watched the stars to tell the king what his neighbors were doing.
In reality, RBT says they were fakers. They were the intelligence
agency who sent out spies and predicted the actions of other
nations. They were also intelligent men with great insight into
science and astrology},
and
'the sorcerers'/"his public relations men"
{kashaph - Foreign Relations department - public relations
people- they entertained foreign dignitaries and had pleasing
personalities - they also practiced demonism and witchcraft},
and
the Chaldeans/'Priests of the Babylonians'
{Kasdiy -Department of Religion - the priestly class of the ancient
Babylonians - the Chaldeans conquered and ruled Babylonians
and these men 'kept the Babylonians in line'} . . .
that
they might reveal to the king his dreams.
So they came and stood before the king.
3~~And
the king said unto them,
"I
have dreamed a dream,
and
my spirit was troubled
to
know/interpret the dream."
{Note: The king knew that if he told them the dream, they would fabricate an interpretation. So he is making THEM tell him the dream first!}
4a~~Then
spoke the Chaldeans {priestly class}
to
the king in
'the
Chaldean form of the Aramaic Language' {'Aramiyth}.
{Note: 'Aramiyth was the eastern Aramaic form of language, the KJV erroneously translated it 'Syriack' which was the western version of the language. RBT says from here through Daniel 7, Daniel wrote this book in the Chaldean version of the language (and RBT read it in the original so he knows the difference!}
4b~~"O
king, live forever
{standard greeting when addressing the king - you would lose your
head if you did not address the king with this first} . . .
tell
your servants {advisors} the dream,
and
we will showed the interpretation."
5a~~The
king answered and said to the Chaldeans,
"I
have issued a decree.
{means he has decided - and his decision is LAW}
5b~~If
you will not make known to me the dream,
with
the interpretation thereof,
you
shall be cut in pieces,
and
your houses shall be made a dunghill."
{Note: To make your house a 'dunghill' had a specific meaning to these people. It meant that your wife, your kids, your other family and and any visitors at your home at the time would be killed and not permitted to be buried (a big no-no for them). Then your house was torn down and manure spread on the wreckage - not only death, but a big disgrace on your family honor. Your home will become the public toilet and garbage dump!}
6~~"But
if you show the dream,
and
the interpretation thereof,
you
shall receive of me money {financial rewards}
and
rewards {chariots, armor etc}
and
great honor {promotion in rank and status}.
Therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof."
7~~They
answered again {evasively} and said,
"Let
the king tell his servants the dream,
and
we will showed the interpretation of it."
{Verses
8-9: Great Discernment of the King}
8~~The
king answered and said,
"I
know of certainty
that
you would gain the time {you are stalling!},
because
you see the thing is gone from me
{because I have already declared your punishment if you fail}."
9~~"But
if you will not make known to me the dream,
there
is but one decree for you.
For
you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me
till
the time is changed
{meaning until the king drops the matter or the king reveals the
dream}.
Therefore
tell me the dream,
and
I shall know that you can show me the interpretation thereof."
{Verses
10-11: Chaldean's 'Gimmick' Defense - No one could do that}
10a~~The
Chaldeans answered before the king, and said,
"There
is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter."
{means 'there is no precedent for this'}
10b~~"Therefore
there is no king, lord, nor ruler,
that
asked such things at any scribe/administrator,
or
astrologer/'intelligence officer',
or
Chaldean/'member of the priestly class'."
11~~"And
it is a rare thing that the king requires,
and
there is none other that can showed it before the king,
except
the gods/'elohiym,
whose
dwelling is not with flesh {not here on earth}."
{Note: God used this situation to demonstrate the fallacy of human reason. As long as a believer depends on his own reasoning power and tries to solve his problems apart from the Lord, he will bump his head on the wall.}
12~~For
this cause the king was angry and very furious,
and
commanded to destroy all the 'wise ones' of Babylon.
{Note: The king is so furious with the Chaldeans that he decrees that ALL the 'State Department' is to be wiped out.}
13~~And the decree went forth that the 'wise ones' should be slain.
And they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
14~~Then
Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom
{using a doctrinal frame of reference}
to
Arioch the captain of the king's guard
{similar to the head of the FBI},
who
had gone forth to slay the 'wise ones' of Babylon.
{Note: Daniel was part of what we would call the 'State Department' so he was one of the men the king commanded to be killed. Here we see Arioch, the head man, was so impressed with Daniel that he came to execute Daniel personally. This is a great sign of respect. On Daniel's side, you can not apply doctrine to the situation if you do not have FACTS. So, Daniel gets facts.}
15a~~He
answered and said to Arioch the king's captain,
"On
account of what is the decree from the king
causing
{such} hurriedness?"
{chatsaph - Chaldean Aphel causative participle -
idiom: we would say 'why are you running around 'half cocked'}
{Note: Daniel is appealing to Chaldean law. Why an execution without a trial?}
{Daniel
Obtains FACTS}
15b~~Then
Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
{Verses
16-19: Daniel Faces Crisis with a Faith Rest Exhale}
16~~Then
Daniel went in
{to the palace},
and
desired of the king
{through his adjutant}
that
he would give him time,
and
that he would show the king the interpretation.
{Note: RBT says that Daniel would have passed the request through channels. The king had an adjutant and it would be his job to handle such requests. And, note that Daniel does NOT have the answer yet. What he did have was FAITH that God would provide him the answer because His service to God was not yet complete.}
{'Belteshazzar'
Gathers to Himself 'Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego' (Chaldean Names)
for Prayer}
17-18~~Then
Daniel went to his house,
and
made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah . . .
his
companions
{chabar - Chaldean for Category 3 Love (true friendship)} 18~~
for
the purpose that
they
would desire the graces/mercies/'acts of grace'
of
the 'Elohiym/Godhead of heaven concerning this secret . . .
that
Daniel and his fellows should not perish
with
the rest of the 'wise ones'/'State Department' of Babylon.
{Note: Daniel is allowing his friends to share the blessings. This is very thoughtful of Daniel to what the amazing power of God. Daniel faces the crisis with prayer.}
19a~~Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision.
{Note: Daniel has the gift of prophecy (not the office of prophet) and his vision is bonified.}
19b~~Then Daniel blessed the 'Elahh/God of heaven.
{Note: Daniel exhales praise to the source of his blessings - God in heaven ('Elahh is Chaldean for God). Daniel is totally grace oriented.}
{Verses
20-23: Expression of Divine Viewpoint - Gives the Credit to the
Source - God}
20~~Daniel
answered and said,
"Blessed
be the Name/Person/Essence {all that He is}
of
'Elahh/God forever and ever . . .
for
wisdom and might are His."
{Note: Here are two examples of the essence of God - His Omniscience and Omnipotence. Daniel emphasized the most pertinent characteristics of God here. Calvinists would have mentioned 'Sovereignty and love', but Daniel knew better. Sovereignty and love ARE characteristics of God, but they are not always the most pertinent characteristics of God in each crisis.}
21a~~"And
He {God}
{actually we see in the NT that Jesus Christ is the member of the
Godhead Who controls history}
changed
the times
{`iddan - Chaldean for succession of events - similar to Greek's
chronos - a series of events one immediately after another
(chronology) - 5 cycles of discipline in view}
and
the seasons
{z@man - Chaldean word meaning eras or dispensations}.
{Note: So the first part refers to history studied in terms of its ages or dispensations and the rise and fall of nations through the various cycles of discipline. The image in the King's dream represents history and the rise and fall of great empires.}
21b~~He {God} removed kings, and set up kings.
21c~~He
{God} gives {it is a GIFT}
wisdom
{chokmah}
{wisdom is having divine viewpoint in the frame of reference in your
soul}
to
the wise
{chakkiym (Chaldean)- in context, refers to spiritually mature
believers} . . .
and
knowledge
{manda` (Chaldean) - knowledge is the cycling of 'divine viewpoint
frame of reference' to experience}
to
those who 'know understanding'."
{Note: y@da` biynah (Chaldean) - God does NOT give understanding to 'fools'/'the stupid' but to those who KNOW - that means it takes time - learn baby doctrines, then more advanced, finally advanced doctrine -building doctrine upon doctrine.}
22a~~"He {God} reveals the deep and secret things.
22b~~He
knows what is in the darkness
{'darkness' is how this dream affected the king - and in application
all unbelievers are in darkness when it comes to spiritual
matters},
and
the Light dwells with Him."
{'God is Light' and there is no darkness in Him - His Divine
Viewpoint is Righteous and Just - 'light' in individuals is a synonym
for having an Edification Complex of the Soul}
23~~"I
thank you, and praise you,
O
you 'Elahh/God of my fathers,
who
has given me
wisdom
{chokmah (Chaldean}- 'epignosis' in the Greek}
and
might {g@buwrah (Chaldean)- ECS},
and
has made known unto me now {in the crisis}
what
we desired of You.
For
You have now made known unto us {the 4 who prayed}
the
king's matter."
24~~Therefore
Daniel went in unto Arioch,
whom
the king had ordained to destroy
the
'wise ones'/'State Department' of Babylon.
He
went and said this to him,
"Destroy
not the 'wise ones'/'State Department' of Babylon.
Bring
me in before the king,
and
I will showed to the king the interpretation."
{Arioch
tries to Grab the Glory}
25~~Then
Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste,
and
said this to him,
"I
{glory-grabbing}
have
found a man of the captives of Judah,
who
will make known unto the king the interpretation."
26~~The
king answered and said to Daniel . . .
whose
name was Belteshazzar . . .
{the king called him by his 'new name' Belteshazzar}
"Are
you able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen,
and
the interpretation thereof?"
{Note: Just as Arioch had the opportunity to grab glory - approbation lust - Daniel now has the opportunity to take the credit to himself - the king is offering the opportunity to Daniel to grab glory to himself.}
27-28~~Daniel
answered in the presence of the king, and said,
"The
secret which the king has demanded
of
the 'wise ones'/'State Department' {chakkiym} . . .
the
'the astrologers'/'his CIA' {'ashshaph},
the
'the scribes'/'his administrators' {chartom}
the
soothsayers {g@zar -pagan counterpart to prophets}
can
not reveal to the king . . .
{a statement of a fact here
so THEY can not try to grab the glory} 28~~
but
there is a 'Elahh/God in heaven
Who
reveals secrets,
and
makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar
what
shall be in the latter days.
Your
dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed,
are
these . . ."
{Note: Being grace oriented, Daniel gives God the credit.}
29~~"As
for you, O king,
your
thoughts came into your mind upon your bed,
what
should come to pass hereafter.
And
He that reveals secrets makes known to you
what
shall come to pass."
Continued
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