Scripture Daily

Context No. 41 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)

Context · Reflection

Daniel (Greek) 2:1-6: in context

1In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him. 2Then 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. 3The king said to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4Then 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.” 5The king answered the Chaldeans, “The thing has gone from me. If you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill. 6But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.”

Daniel and three other young Judeans have been taken to Babylon and trained for royal service. In this chapter Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that leaves him badly shaken, and he summons the whole professional class of dream readers, magicians, enchanters, astrologers, to explain it.

They answer with the standard formula: tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation. The king refuses. Tell me the dream itself, he says, and then its meaning, or you will be torn limb from limb and your houses made a rubbish heap. He is demanding proof no technique can supply. Interpretation was a real craft in Babylon, with manuals and trained readers, and none of it worked without a dream to work on. He has taken away the input and kept the deadline.

There is a detail here easy to miss in English. At the exact moment the Chaldeans open their mouths, the book of Daniel switches languages. It begins in Hebrew and turns to Aramaic, the working language of the empire, right at their reply, and stays in Aramaic for the next six chapters. The court speaks and the book starts speaking the court's language. When have I been asked to produce certainty out of nothing, on a deadline, by someone who could not admit they were frightened?

Sources