Daniel 2: 1 – 16
In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed such dreams that his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. So the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, ‘I have had such a dream that my spirit is troubled by the desire to understand it.’
The Chaldeans said to the king (in Aramaic), ‘O king, live for ever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will reveal the interpretation.’ The king answered the Chaldeans, ‘This is a public decree: if you do not tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you do tell me the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honour. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.’ They answered a second time, ‘Let the king first tell his servants the dream, then we can give its interpretation.’ The king answered, ‘I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see I have firmly decreed: if you do not tell me the dream, there is but one verdict for you. You have agreed to speak lying and misleading words to me until things take a turn. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.’ The Chaldeans answered the king, ‘There is no one on earth who can reveal what the king demands! In fact no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king is asking is too difficult, and no one can reveal it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.’
Because of this the king flew into a violent rage and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. The decree was issued, and the wise men were about to be executed; and they looked for Daniel and his companions, to execute them. Then Daniel responded with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the king’s chief executioner, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon; he asked Arioch, the royal official, ‘Why is the decree of the king so urgent?’ Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. So Daniel went in and requested that the king give him time and he would tell the king the interpretation.
Reflection
Today’s text takes on a further turn of depth and complexity: from ‘O King, live forever!’ to the end of Chapter 7, the text switches from Hebrew to Aramaic. Aramaic was the common language of the area from around 1000 BCE. Aramaic and Hebrew are related languages, very roughly like Italian and French. It was also the everyday language Jesus spoke. It is important because chapters 2-6 narrate Daniel’s (and his friends’) service to four Gentile, Aramaic-speaking kings, events which witness to God’s sovereignty in the strange dreams and happenings. Daniel’s integrity ultimately paved the way for the Israelites’ release from exile.
Today’s text may sound oddly familiar from another, more well-known account in the Bible. In Genesis 41, there is another Gentile king (Pharoah) troubled by dreams whose own mystics are unable to help. Along comes Joseph and interprets Pharoah’s dream; along comes Daniel to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Did you spot the difference? Pharoah readily shared his dream, but Nebuchadnezzar refused to do so, expecting the interpreter not only to narrate the dream but also to interpret it! A seemingly impossible task! We will discover in the coming days how it works out.
Communicating God’s message in a language which folk understand was important to Daniel, a point emphasised by the author of Daniel by writing in Aramaic. Central to the Reformation was translating the Scriptures into the languages of the people. As languages and society evolve, Bible translators publish refreshed translations of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. The foundation of their work is scholarship. I am forever grateful to my college tutors who opened up the Biblical languages, giving me considerable new insight into God’s Word.
If you are interested in learning Hebrew or Greek, why not consider auditing a course at one of the URC’s Resource Centres for Learning?
Alternatively, I can recommend the following free online beginners’ resources:
https://freehebrew.online/
https://freegreek.online/
Or, if you have some rusty Hebrew and Greek and would like to revive it:
https://dailydoseofhebrew.com/
https://dailydoseofgreek.com/
Prayer
Creator God, whose words spoke creation into being;
Saviour Jesus, the Word made flesh;
Holy Spirit, who inspires us to speak in Your name –
we thank You for Daniel’s message,
Your servant who spoke truth to power,
in the language of the people.
We thank you for the work of Bible translators.
We pray for the Scriptures to speak to us afresh;
help us to speak Your love plainly to those we meet. Amen.