Daniel 4:6

Daniel 4:6

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.

5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, ^aand the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head ^btroubled me.

6 Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

7 ^aThen the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.

8 But at last Daniel came before me ^a(his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; ^bin him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying:

9 “Belteshazzar, ^achief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.

10 “These were the visions of my head while on my bed:
I was looking, and behold,
^aA tree in the midst of the earth,
And its height was great.

11 The tree grew and became strong;
Its height reached to the heavens,
And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

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Therefore made I a decree - The word here rendered decree ( ṭ^e ‛êm ) means, commonly, "taste, flavor," as of wine; then "judgment, discernment, reason;" and then a judgment of a king, a mandate, edict. Compare Daniel 3:10. The primary notion seems to be that of a delicate "taste" enabling one to determine the qualities of wines, viands, etc.; and then a delicate and nice discrimination in regard to the qualities of actions. The word thus expresses a sound and accurate judgment, and is applied to a decree or edict, as declared by one who had the qualifications to express such a judgment. Here it means, that he issued a royal order to summon into his presence all who could be supposed to be qualified to explain the dream. The Greek (Codex Chisianus) omits Daniel 4:6-9.

To bring in all the wise men ... - Particularly such as are enumerated in the following verse. Compare Daniel 2:12. It was in accordance with his habit thus to call in the wise men who were retained at court to give counsel, and to explain those things which seemed to be an intimation of the Divine will. See the note at Daniel 2:2. Compare also Genesis 41:8.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Daniel 4:6:**

Daniel 4:6
1 Corinthians 2:13

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Daniel 4:7 >>

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