Daniel 1.17-God Gives Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael And Azariah Ability To Master Babylonian Scholarship And Oneiromancy
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday January 10, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 1:17-God Gives Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael And Azariah Ability To Master Babylonian Scholarship And Oneiromancy
Lesson # 20
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 1:17.
This evening we will note Daniel 1:17 which records that God rewarded Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah for their faithfulness by giving them secret knowledge as well as skill in each and every type of literature and branch of wisdom.
It also records that God distinguished Daniel from his three friends by giving him discernment with regards to each and every type of vision and dream.
Daniel 1:17 As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. (NASB95)
“As for these youths” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “as for” and this is followed by the articular masculine plural form of the noun yě∙lěḏ (יֶלֶד) (yeh-led), “youths” and then we have the articular plural form of the demonstrative pronoun ʾēl∙lě(h) (אֵלֶּה) (ale-leh), “these” which is followed by the feminine singular construct form of the number ʾǎr∙bǎʿ (אַרְבַּע) (ar-bah), “four” and then we have the third person masculine plural pronomial suffix -hē∙mā(h) (־הֵמָה) (hay-maw).
The conjunction wa is used in a transitional sense meaning that it is introducing a statement that marks a transition from the account in verses 8-16 to the account in verses 17-20.
The noun yě∙lěḏ is in the masculine gender and is plural in number and means “young men” referring specifically to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
“God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom” is composed of the third person masculine singular qal active perfect form of the verb nā∙ṯǎn (נָתַן) (naw-than), “gave” and then we have the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed) and its object third person masculine plural pronomial suffix -hē∙mā(h) (־הֵמָה) (hay-maw), “them” and this is followed by the articular masculine plural form of the noun ʾělō∙hîm (אֱלֹהִים) (el-o-heem), “God” and then we have the masculine singular form of the noun mǎd∙dāʿ (מַדָּע) (mad-daw), “discerning knowledge” which is followed by the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine plural hiphil active infinitive absolute form of the verb śā∙ḵǎl (שָׂכַל) (saw-kal), “intelligence” and then we have the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beth), “in” and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun sē∙p̄ěr (סֵפֶר) (say-fer), “literature” which is modified by the feminine singular form of the adjective kōl (כֹּל) (kole), “every” which is followed by the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” and then we have the feminine singular form of the noun ḥā∙ḵemā(h) (חָכְמָה) (khok-maw), “wisdom.”
The noun ʾělō∙hîm means “God” and refers to the Lord’s complete sovereign power over creation as evidenced by the fact that He bestowed gifts upon Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah that made them intellectually and spiritually superior to their contemporaries and anyone in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
The word emphasizes the sovereignty of God in that He bestowed gifts upon Daniel and his three companions, which made them superior to all others in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
It also emphasizes God’s omnipotence in that He has the power to do this and no one else and emphasizes that Daniel and his companions are the objects of God’s love.
As was the case in Daniel 1:4, this noun mǎd∙dāʿ in Daniel 1:17 means “secret knowledge” since it denotes that God gave these four superior knowledge with regards to various subjects which the Babylonians did not possess and neither did the young Israelite men who ate the king’s food and drank his wine.
It means that these four knew things with regards to various subjects, which others in Babylon did not.
As was the case in Daniel 1:4, the verb śā∙ḵǎl in Daniel 1:17 means “to possess skill” since it denotes a person who is skillful in applying various areas or fields of knowledge or learning as a result of superior education.
These various fields would involve science, math, agriculture, philosophy, languages, military, medicine, history and government.
As was the case in Daniel 1:4, the noun sē∙p̄ěr in Daniel 1:17 means “type of literature” referring to the books or writings of the Babylonians, which reflect or represent their culture, religion, philosophy and values.
As was the case in Daniel 1:4, this noun ḥā∙ḵemā(h) means “branch of wisdom” indicating that God gave Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah skill in each and every “branch of wisdom” which would include math, medicine, science, agriculture, philosophy, languages, military, history and government.
“Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “even” and then we have the masculine singular proper noun dā∙niy∙yē(ʾ)l (דָּנִיֵּאל) (daw-nee-yale), “Daniel” which is followed by the third person masculine plural hiphil active perfect form of the verb bîn (בִּין) (bene), “understood” and then we have the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beth), “in” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun ḥā∙zôn (חָזוֹן) (khaw-zone), “visions,” which is modified by the masculine singular form of the adjective kōl (כֹּל) (kole), “all” and then we have conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the feminine plural form of the noun ḥǎlôm (חֲלֹום) (khal-ome), “dreams.”
This time the conjunction wa is emphatic meaning that it is emphasizing the following statement that God gave Daniel the ability to interpret dreams, which is preparing the reader for chapter two in which Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
The verb bîn means “to possess discernment” in the sense of having the power of judgment and perceptive insight as demonstrated in the use of knowledge rather than knowing by experience.
Here in Daniel 1:17 the word means “to possess discernment” and is used with Daniel as its subject. Its object is composed of the nouns ḥā∙zôn, “visions” and ḥǎlôm, “dreams” which are both modified by the adjective kōl.
Thus, these four words literally mean that Daniel “possessed discernment with regards to each and every type of vision as well as dreams.”
This verb denotes that Daniel had the God-given ability to interpret visions and dreams which was impossible for the average human mind.
The noun ḥā∙zôn refers to “visions” which speaks of revelation from God the Holy Spirit with regards to the Father’s will for an individual or a nation or the earth as a whole.
In Daniel 1:17, this word denotes that God gave Daniel revelation with regards to His future plans, which is demonstrated in chapter two and throughout the book.
The word denotes that Daniel was a prophet of God according to Numbers 12:6.
In these visions, Daniel received revelation from God with regards to the future of planet earth, the Jews as well as the Gentiles.
He received revelation from God with regards to God’s future plans related to planet earth.
The noun ḥǎlôm is in the plural and means “dreams” referring to a series of thoughts, images, or feelings that occur while one is sleeping as a natural altered state of awareness, with an emphasis upon the images a dream invokes.
It denotes a communication from God to make something known about the future, which can include both verbal, rational communication as well as images.
In Daniel 1:17, this word denotes that Daniel had the God-given ability to interpret a person’s dreams, which is called oneiromancy.
This gift appears in Daniel chapter two which records Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams.
Daniel 1:17 is composed of two statements.
The first distinguishes Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah as superior to the other young Israelite men who did not adhere to the dietary regulations of the Mosaic Law.
It marks them out as being blessed by God with superior abilities and gifts, which will distinguish them in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
The second statement is emphatic distinguishing Daniel from Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
It denotes that God had marked out Daniel as having superior abilities and gifts than Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah which would distinguish from these three in Nebuchadnezzar’s government.
It emphasizes Daniel possessed the ability to discern dreams and visions and the other three did not.
Daniel chapter two presents Daniel exercising this gift he received from God.
God gave him superior abilities and not the other three because he was the first to make up his mind to keep himself ceremonially pure by observing the dietary regulations of the Mosaic Law despite the fact that he was a captive in Babylon.
The other three followed his lead.
Thus, God rewarded him for his leadership since he was the first of the four to trust in Him despite the fact that he was a captive in Babylon whose diet was regulated by the king of Babylon himself.
Daniel was given these gifts in order to glorify God in the sense that through the function of these gifts he would manifest God to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, and the Gentiles as a whole.
The exercise of these gifts would glorify God since it would manifest His omnipotence, wisdom, omniscience, and sovereignty.