Daniel 2.6-Nebuchadnezzar Promises Wise Men Rewards If They Make Known To Him Both The Content Of His Dream And Its Interpretation
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday February 1, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 2:6-Nebuchadnezzar Promises Wise Men Rewards If They Make Known To Him Both The Content Of His Dream And Its Interpretation
Lesson # 30
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 2:1.
This evening we will study Daniel 2:6.
Daniel 2:1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. 6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” (NASB95)
“But if you declare the dream and its interpretation” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “but” and this is followed by the conjunction hēn (הֵן) (hane), “if” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun ḥē∙lěm (חֵלֶם) (khay´-lem), “the dream” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun pešǎr (פְּשַׁר) (pesh-ar´), “interpretation” and then we have the third person masculine singular pronomial suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “its” and then we have the second person masculine plural hafʿel (Hebrew equivalent: hiphil) active imperfect form of the verb ḥǎwā(h) (חֲוָה) (khav-aw´), “you declare.”
The conjunction wa is a marker of contrast meaning that it is introducing a statement which stands in contrast with the previous statement in verse 5, which records Nebuchadnezzar threatening to execute his wise men if they do not tell him the content and the interpretation of his recurring dream.
The word is introducing a statement which tells the reader that Nebuchadnezzar promised to reward any of these wise men if they can communicate to him both the content and interpretation of his recurring dream.
Therefore, the word is marking a contrast between the wise men being executed for not being able to communicate both the content and interpretation of the king’s dream and being rewarded for doing so.
The conjunction hēn means “if” and denotes the certainty that the wise men will be rewarded by Nebuchadnezzar if they tell him both the content of his dream as well as its interpretation.
The verb ḥǎwā(h) means “to make known” and denotes that Nebuchadnezzar will reward the wise men if they meet his condition and tell him both the content and interpretation of his recurring dream in the sense that they “make known” this dream in the sense of explaining or interpreting this dream for him.
Thus, the word refers to the act of explaining Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him.
The second person masculine plural form of the verb denotes the individual members of the wise men.
It denotes that if “any” of these wise men could make known to the king both the content of his recurring dream as well as its interpretation then this individual would receive from him gifts, a reward and great honor.
It does not denote that they will all receive gifts, a reward and great honor but only the one who can meet his condition.
The noun ḥē∙lěm refers to the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
It refers to the revelation Nebuchadnezzar received from God in a dream.
The noun pešǎr means “interpretation” referring to the wise men interpreting or explaining Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him.
The wise men want the king to communicate the content of the dream in order that they can interpret it.
However, the king does not want to do so.
His reasoning must have been that if they are so wise and have the power to interpret someone else’s dream, then they should certainly be able to tell the contents of the dream.
Nebuchadnezzar feels that if they are so in touch with the gods, then the gods should be able to communicate the contents of his dream and not just give him the interpretation of it.
If he communicated the contents of his dream, then they could come up with any interpretation that fits their imagination.
Thus, he doesn’t trust them which is clearly indicated by his statement to them in verse 9 where he calls them liars who will tell him something that is false.
So by demanding that they tell him what exactly he dreamed, Nebuchadnezzar could be sure that their interpretation of this dream is correct and the truth.
If they tell him the contents of the dream, he could be sure that he has received the correct interpretation of the dream in that the gods had in fact given them the interpretation of his dream and passed it along to him.
The king senses that this dream is significant and related somehow to his kingdom and its future.
Thus, he does not want speculation or the product of someone’s imagination but the truth and nothing but the truth since the future of his kingdom, he senses, is at stake.
“You will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor” is composed of the feminine plural form of the noun mǎt∙tenā(h) (מַתְּנָה) (mat-ten-aw´), “gifts” which is followed by the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the feminine singular form of the noun neḇiz∙bā(h) (נְבִזְבָּה) (neb-iz-baw´), “a reward” and then once again we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun yeqār (יְקָר) (yek-awr´), “honor” which is modified by the masculine singular form of the adjective śǎg∙gî(ʾ) (שַׂגִּיא) (sag-ghee´), “great” and then we have the second person masculine plural paʿʿel (Hebrew equivalent: piel) active imperfect form of the verb qeḇǎl (קְבַל) (keb-al´), “you will receive” and then we have the preposition min (מִן) (min), “from” and this is followed by the preposition qǒḏām (קֳדָם) (kod-awm´), “from” and then we have the first person singular pronomial suffix –î (־י) (ee), “me.”
The verb qeḇǎl means “to receive” and denotes that these wise men will “receive” from Nebuchadnezzar gifts, a reward and great honor if they meet his condition and make known to him both the content of his recurring dream as well as its interpretation.
The second person masculine plural form of the verb refers to a single honorable person among the wise men who is able to make known to Nebuchadnezzar both the content of his dream as well as its interpretation.
The paʿʿel (Hebrew equivalent: piel) stem of the verb is resultative indicating that the result of Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men making known to him both the content of his recurring dream as well as its interpretation will result in these wise men receiving gifts, a reward and great honor.
The noun mǎt∙tenā(h) refers to the gifts of great value which will be given out of gratitude by Nebuchadnezzar to the member of the wise men who can make known to him both the content of his recurring dream as well as interpret for him.
The noun neḇiz∙bā(h) means “reward” and denotes something which is of great value given by Nebuchadnezzar to the wise man for serving him by making known to him both the content of his recurring dream as well as its interpretation.
The conjunction wa is emphatic meaning that the wise man who can make known to Nebuchadnezzar both the content of his recurring dream as well as its interpretation will receive gifts, “indeed” a reward.
The word denotes that these gifts constitute the reward, which is indicated by the meaning of the two words it is connecting, which both refer to something of great value that is given to another implying gratitude for a service rendered.
The noun yeqār means “honor” and denotes public recognition and is modified by the adjective śǎg∙gî(ʾ), which means “great” in the sense of degree.
The two words denote that the individual who can make known to Nebuchadnezzar both the content of his dream and its interpretation will receive from him great honor in the sense of public recognition throughout Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
“Therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation” is composed of the conjunction lā∙hēn (לָהֵן) (law-hane´), “therefore” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun ḥē∙lěm (חֵלֶם) (khay´-lem), “the dream” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun pešǎr (פְּשַׁר) (pesh-ar´), “interpretation” and then we have the third person masculine singular pronomial suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “its” and then we have the second person masculine plural hafʿel (Hebrew equivalent: hiphil) active imperative form of the verb ḥǎwā(h) (חֲוָה) (khav-aw´), “declare to” which is followed by the first person singular pronomial suffix –î (־י) (ee), “me.”
The conjunction lā∙hēn is a marker of result indicating that based upon these two promises, Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men must make known to him both the content of this dream as well as its interpretation.
The verb ḥǎwā(h) means “to make known” and refers to the act of explaining Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him.
The second person masculine plural form of the verb denotes the individual members of the wise men.
It denotes that the king demanded that “one” of his wise men make known to him both the content of his recurring dream as well as its interpretation.
It was customary in the ancient world for kings like Nebuchadnezzar to reward individuals with expensive gifts and public recognition for extraordinary service to them.
This custom appears in the Scriptures where Joseph and Mordecai along with Daniel received great reward and honor from kings for service they rendered to these kings.