Introduction

In Daniel 2, we learn that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has had a troubling dream and is seeking counsel on what the dream means. This happens during the second year of his reign. The Nebuchadnezzar Daniel speaks of is Nebuchadnezzar II, the longest reigning king of Babylon (or Babylonia). His reign officially began in 605 BC and ended around 591 BC.[1][2] This means the events of this chapter happened in 604 BC.

Nebuchadnezzar Has A Dream

Nebuchadnezzar calls upon all the "magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans" (according to the KJV—other translations have slightly different titles for the people called) to learn the interpretation of his dream. The catch is, he will not tell them the dream; he expects them to divine the dream for themselves. Naturally, this seems like an impossible task and the men tell the king that only the gods have power to do such a thing. Nebuchadnezzar is enraged by this response and sentences all the wise men to death—which includes Daniel, Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah.

Magicians, Astrologers, Sorcerers and Chaldeans

Every time I read Daniel 2, I get to verse 14 and ask the same question: why is Daniel surprised by the decree? It seems that the men called to interpret the dream are the wise men, otherwise why is Nebucadnezzar trying to kill people who had nothing to do with his request? It would seem there are two possibilities:

1. Daniel and his friends were in attendance for the request but Nebuchadnezzar's decree went out after they had been dismissed. After seeing how serious the king was about diving the interpretation of the dream, Daniel decides to petition God for an answer.
2. Only a subset of the wise men are included in "magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans." In this case, Daniel and his friends were not among those categories but got caught up in the crossfire. This would be like a ruler calling on a brain surgeon then having all doctors put to death because of the brain surgeon's failure.

Becasue of this confusion (and the difference in translations), I wanted to look up the actual Hebrew words to see if it helps any.

Magician

The first Hebrew word in the list of positions called to the king is חַרְטֹם. It is always translated to magician in the KJV, and is also used in Genesis 41:8, when Pharaoh is looking for an interpretation of a dream. Strong's defines it as "a horoscopist (as drawing magical lines or circles):—magician."[3] Note that in Daniel 1:20, when Daniel and his friends are found to be 10 times better than the magicians, it is the same word. This means that whether Daniel and his friends were considered "magicians" or not, they were able to do whatever the magicians did (and better).

There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch
Deuteronomy 18:10

Astrologer

The second Hebrew word in the list is אַשָּׁף. It is translated to astrologer in the KJV and only appears twice (both in Daniel). Strong's defines it as "a conjurer:-astrologer."[4] Note that in Daniel 1:20, when Daniel and his friends are found to be 10 times better than the astrologers, it is the same word. This means that whether Daniel and his friends were considered "astrologers" or not, they were able to do whatever the astrologers did (and better).

Sorcerer

The third Hebrew word in the list is כָּשַׁף. The KJV translates it to "sorcerer" and Strong's defines it as "to whisper a spell, i.e. to inchant or practise magic:—sorcerer, (use) witch(-craft)."[5] It is the word translated to witch in Deuteronomy 18:10 and Exodus 22:18. Because both of these verses forbid this type of behavior, we can probably assume that Daniel and his friends did not partake in this bit of magic. We can also observe that they are not compared to the sorcerers in Daniel 1 after their fast.

Chaldean

The last word in the list actually refers to a group of people native to Ur,[6] the land from which Abraham came. Nebuchadnezzar's father was the founder of the Chaldean dynasty of Babylon, which means that these were probably his kinsmen.[1] I am curious if they were included in the "wise men" decree—it seems unwise to have your own kinsmen killed, would these not be the people expected to keep him in power?

Wise Men

The word men is not actually present in the Hebrew text; the word is inferred by using a form of "wise" that acts as a plural noun. Interestingly, because of how pluralization works in languages that have masculine and feminine endings, this could be references men and women—I have not studied Babylonian history enough to say how likely this phrase is to be specific to men versus inclusive of women. The word is also only used in the book of Daniel, mostly in this chapter. Strong's defines it as wise or a magi (like the magi who visited Messiah in the New Testament). Each case of this term being used has this same strange implication: the wise men seem to be either scholars or magicians of sorts whom the king requests when in need of information and often when they are called, Daniel is left out however he is able to do what they cannot and he is included in death decrees meant for them. (See also Daniel 5).

Dreams in Other Cultures?

My whole life I've heard talk of dreams being significant, with people suggesting the appearance of certain animals had this or that meaning. It is natural to see dreams as having meaning if you have a Judeo-Christian background because the Bible supports that concept. In Season 3 I did a bunch of episodes on similarities between cultures and somehow I missed the significance of dreams. I think this would be interesting to research and discuss. I'll circle back around to it (probably near the end of this season).

Interpretation of the Dream

When Daniel finds out they're to be killed because no one can do as the king has requested, he petitions for more time and is granted his request. As we've seen from the previous episode in establishing Daniel's character, his first instinct is to take it to the Most High. As the other men had said, no man was capable of what the king requested. Daniel calls Azariah, Mishael, and Hananiah so that they can pray together and receive the vision and interpretation from the Most High. It is Daniel He gives the vision to.

One could stop to ask why Daniel was chosen out of the four, but I think this is best answered by 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. There are many gifts given to God's people and often we put emphasis on one over the other but all are needed in the Kingdom. Daniel was clearly called to be a prophet, but perhaps his friends were called to other uses (it is also possible that sometimes they were ones interpreting dreams but the tales of their interpretations are simply lost).

The Dream

Daniel reveals that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great statue made of different materials. The statue has a head of gold, a chest of silver, stomach and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet of iron mingled with clay. A stone, cut without hands, comes along and breaks the statue into pieces. The stone then becomes a moutain that grows to fill the whole Earth.

The Interpretation

Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar (and us) that each material represents a different kingdom. This head of gold represents Babylon, while the silver represents the kingdom that will come after Babylon, and the brass reperesnts the kingdom that will come after that, etc. The materials reveal a bit about each kingdom, such as the silver kingdom being inferior to Babylon, which is represented by gold. The fourth kingdom is described as being very powerful and strong, like the iron that represents them. The last kingdom, made of iron and clay, has the strength of the iron that preceded it but is weak because the iron and clay will not mix. The stone that is made without hands represents God's Kingdom which is to come about during this last kingdom. It is to tear down all that came before it and exist forever as the final kingdom of the world.

There are a couple interesting things to point out before we align this prophecy with history.

The Clay & Iron

The first thing that came to my mind when I was reading about the iron and clay that cannot mix is the symbolism of the Potter and the clay. Now, admittedly, this is after years of study and already having an idea of what the iron and clay represent. Nonetheless, there are several verses (Isaiah 64:8; 45:9; 41:25; 29:16; Jeremiah 18) in which we are referred to as clay with God being the Potter. This is significant because when God's Kingdom starts to sprout up (at the arrival of Messiah) this is exactly what happens. Just as Messiah says He came to divide (Luke 12:49-56), those who follow the Most High are in fact separated from those who do not—clay and iron.

The Stone Cut Without Hands

Both the word stone and the phrase "without hands" take me to the Messiah. Messiah is described as the cornerstone in many passages (Psalms 118:22; Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 21:42; Ephesians 2:20) and He says that He will build a Temple without hands (Mark 14:58). Colossians 2:10-11 also talks about a circumcision that is made without hands; this is the circumcision of the heart. All of this points to Messiah as the one meant to initiate and establish this final Kingdom of God that is over the whole Earth.

History

We know the first kingdom is Babylon, Daniel tells us that in the interpretation. Historically, the kingdoms that follow are Persia (usually referred to as Medio-Persia), Greece, Rome, and Papal Rome (or the Papal States). Let's look at a little history—don't worry, they're going to come up again so we'll keep adding to this history which will also verify that these are the kingdoms the vision was foretelling.

👑 Kingdom	⏳ Dates of Existence
Babylon	1850 BC -539 BC
The Medes & Persians	550 BC – 330 BC
Greece	1200 BC - 323 BC
Rome	27 BC - 476 AD
Papal States	756 AD - 1870 AD

In the table above you will notice that the dates are not exactly sequential and in many cases the ending date does not represent a complete end. For example, Babylon no longer exists but Rome and Greece are still countries today. Each of these empires had a "height" (like the British Empire when they were colonizing the world) before they were conquered and reduced. I believe the sequential order is meant in reference to God's people. So for instance, the Medes and the Persians did not spring up the same year Cyrus deposed the Babylonian king, but from the point of view of the prophecy, this is when they gained control over Jerusalem. Similarly, Greece eventually becomes the nation exerting control over Israel (the Greek captivity is discussed moreso in the Apocrypha in texts like Macabees). Rome takes power after the Greeks, during the time of Messiah. After Rome dissolves the papcy becomes the leading power in the region and forms Papal States, which not only claim a great deal of authority within the region but also claim authority over the Word of God.

References & Footnotes

1. "Nebuchadnezzar II". Encyclopedia Britannica. August 2, 2024; visited September 7, 2024
2. Joshua J. Mark. "Nebuchadnezzar II". World History Encyclopedia. November 7, 2018; visited September 7, 2024
3. "Strong's H2748. חַרְטֹם". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 7, 2024
4. "Strong's H825. אַשָּׁף". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 7, 2024
5. "Strong's H3784. כָּשַׁף". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 7, 2024
6. "Strong's H3778. כַּשְׂדִּימָה". Blue Letter Bible; visited September 7, 2024
7. "Roman Empire". Encyclopedia Britannica; visited September 7, 2024
8. "Babylonia". Encyclopedia Britannica. July 22, 2024; visited September 7, 2024
9. "Achaemenid Empire". Wikipedia; visited September 7, 2024
10. "Persis". Encyclopedia Britannica. November 2, 2016; visited September 7, 2024
11. "Ancient Greek Civilization". Encyclopedia Britannica. August 13, 2024; visited September 7, 2024
12. "Papal States". Encyclopedia Britannica. March 1, 2024; visited September 7, 2024