Nebuchadnezzar dreams, and his spirit is troubled — and he demands of the Chaldeans not the interpretation only but the dream itself: 'if you make not known to me the dream and the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in pieces.' They answer that 'there is not a man upon the earth that can declare the king's matter' — and the decree goes out to slay all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel asks time, and mercy is sought of the God of heaven; the secret is revealed in a vision of the night, and Daniel blesses: 'He reveals the deep and secret things.' Then, before the king: the great image — head of fine gold, breast of silver, belly of brass, legs of iron, feet part iron and part clay — and the stone cut out without hands that smites the image and becomes a great mountain filling the whole earth. 'There is a God in heaven that reveals secrets.' Daniel is made ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and his three companions are set over its affairs.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep broke from him.
verse value 5992
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "dreamed" (חָלַ֥ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "Nebuchadnezzar" (נְבֻֽכַדְנֶצַּ֔ר, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 416: Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·in·year·of" (וּבִשְׁנַ֣ת), "two" (שְׁתַּ֗יִם), "dreams" (חֲלֹמ֑וֹת). The root שנה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·him" (root על, 64x in Daniel); "and·in·year·of" (root שנה, 38x in Daniel); "dreamed" (root חלם, 24x in Daniel). First appearance of the root שנים ("two") in Daniel. First appearance of the root חלם ("dreamed") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'dreams', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּבִשְׁנַ֣ת [and·in·year·of] (758) + שְׁתַּ֗יִם [two] (750) + לְמַלְכוּת֙ [royalty] (526) + נְבֻֽכַדְנֶצַּ֔ר [Nebuchadnezzar] (416) + חָלַ֥ם [dreamed] (78) + נְבֻֽכַדְנֶצַּ֖ר [Nebuchadnezzar] (416) + חֲלֹמ֑וֹת [dreams] (484) + וַתִּתְפָּ֣עֶם [and·was·troubled] (996) + רוּח֔וֹ [his·spirit] (220) + וּשְׁנָת֖וֹ [and·his·sleep] (762) + נִהְיְתָ֥ה [was] (470) + עָלָֽיו [upon·him] (116) = 5992.
Rashi
Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign It is impossible to say this, except that [it happened] in the second year after the destruction of the Temple. So it is taught in Seder Olam (ch. 28), and Scripture called it “of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign,” because he demonstrated his insolence by entering the Inner Sanctum of the Sovereign of the Universe. and his spirit was troubled Heb. וַתִּתְפָּעֶם רוּחוֹ. Concerning Pharaoh it says (Gen. 41:8): וַתִּפָּעֶם רוּחוֹ, for only the interpretation of the dream was hidden from him, but here, since the dream too was hidden from him, the expression is doubled: וַתִּתְפָּעֶם, an expression of pulsating and beating. was interrupted Heb. נִהְיְתָה, an expression of breaking like (Ezek. 7:25): “Breach upon breach (הוָה עַל הוָה).”
Ibn Ezra
'And in the ... year' — the text states that this was the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign over Jerusalem, after Zedekiah rebelled against him and he destroyed it. R. Moshe says that only two years remained of his reign; but we find nothing like this anywhere in Scripture. What seems correct to me is that it refers to his reign over all the nations that Jeremiah said he would conquer; once [he had done so], he had quiet, and thought thoughts upon his bed as to what would be at the end of days, as Daniel later mentions. And it speaks of 'dreams' in the plural because the image [in the dream] contained gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay [i.e., many different elements]; and it is the way of a dreamer to experience [several things together within] a single dream. 'And ... was troubled' [vatitpa'em] — related to [the root of] 'nif'amti ve-lo adaber' [I was overcome, and could not speak] (Psalms 77:5); and similarly, 'holem pa'am' [he who strikes the anvil] (Isaiah 41:7) — like a person who is pounded and pounded [struck again and again]. The Gaon says: Pharaoh knew his dream but did not know its interpretation, and therefore it is written of Pharaoh, 'vatipa'em rucho' [and his spirit was troubled] (Genesis 41:8), which is in the nif'al conjugation; whereas of Nebuchadnezzar, who knew neither the dream nor its interpretation, it is written 'vatitpa'em rucho' [in the hitpa'el conjugation]. If so, what is to be made of it, seeing that he himself later says 'vatipa'em ruchi' [and my spirit was troubled] (Daniel 2:3) — using the very form the Gaon assigned to Pharaoh? It may be that the dagesh in the peh of 'vatipa'em' stands in place of the nun of the nif'al conjugation — for a verb in this [vav-conversive] form is nif'al, as with 'vayilachem be-Yisrael' [and he fought against Israel] (Numbers 21:1), [where the dagesh likewise stands for an assimilated nun] — or, alternatively, the dagesh in the peh serves to absorb the tav of the hitpa'el. Accordingly, 'vatipa'em rucho' would mean the same as 'vatipa'em kocho' [his strength was struck], in the manner of 'vechibes hamitaher et begadav' [and he who is to be cleansed shall wash his garments] (Leviticus 14:8) [where a similar form carries a reflexive sense]. And the meaning of 'nihyetah alav' [his sleep 'befell' him, i.e., broke] is the opposite of 'ushenati arvah li' [and my sleep was sweet to me] (Jeremiah 31:25) — that is, in the sense of disturbance. Similar to it is 'nihyeiti venecheleiti' [I was overcome, and fell ill] (Daniel 8:27), and it is close in meaning to 'nehi nihyah' [a bitter lamentation] (Micah 2:4).
Metzudat David
And in the second year – After the destruction of the Temple, and after he had conquered all the [other] nations and come to rule over them, he began pondering what would happen in the end of days, and so the dream came to him — as is stated in [the account of] its interpretation. Dreams – Since it concerned many different matters, it is called "dreams," in the plural. Was troubled – His breath rattled within him, as happens to a frightened person who cannot hold his breath steady for a while, so that it comes and goes unevenly. Broke from him – Sleep was cut off from him, and he could no longer sleep.
Metzudat Zion
Was troubled (vatitpa'em) - An expression of striking and clattering, as in "and it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled (vatipa'em)" (Genesis 41); it relates to "pa'amon," a clattering bell. His sleep (ushnato) - From the term "sheinah" (sleep). Broke (nihyetah) - An expression of cutting off and breaking, as in "I was broken (nihyeiti) and made sick" (below, 8).
Malbim
The questions: (1) Why does it say ‘dreamed dreams’ in the plural? And: does the phrase ‘and his sleep was upon him’ imply that the sleep only then came about — that is, that this is when he fell asleep? And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar – it cannot be said that this means Nebuchadnezzar's own second year, strictly speaking, for how then could they have taken Daniel and his companions out to be killed, when they had not yet even completed their prescribed course of training? And how could Daniel have interpreted the dream and been promoted, together with his companions, in the second year — contrary to what was stated in the previous chapter, that they did not stand before the king until the completion of the third year? Therefore the words of our sages, of blessed memory, are correct: they explained ‘the second year’ as referring to Nebuchadnezzar's reign over the world in general, which began after the destruction of the Temple, when he had conquered all the nations and reigned over the whole world. It was then that he pondered to know who would reign after him, and Hashem made known to him what would happen in the end of days.
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams – meaning that within this single dream there were actually several dreams: the dream of the image, and the dream of the stone that broke the image. Since he forgot the dream, all he remembered was that he had dreamed many dreams. Scripture relates that he recalled three things about it: (1) that he had dreamed dreams but did not know what they were; (2) and his spirit was troubled – he remembered that fear and dread had fallen upon him during the dream, a sign that this was not an idle fancy but a true dream, the kind that works upon the dreamer's soul to cast great dread upon him; (3) and his sleep was upon him – meaning that after the dream he remained asleep and did not wake up on account of it.
This teaches that a dream with no substance leaves no lasting impression on the soul, whereas from a truly prophetic dream the very frame of a person's body would shudder. Sometimes, though, fright and trembling do fall upon a person during a dream because of a surge of blood gathering in one place, producing a fearsome impression in proportion to the bodily disturbance this causes during sleep — yet even so, there is no substance to it. In such a case, however, the person always wakes from the fright. But here, Nebuchadnezzar's spirit was troubled and yet he did not wake from his sleep — from which it could be known that this had not come from blood, or vapors, or a swoon during sleep, but rather from some inner working that took place within his spiritual soul, which had perceived a future vision portending evil. That is why he set his heart on knowing the dream.
Ibn Yahya
First, it happened in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign that he 'dreamed dreams' — that is, first he dreamed the dream, and then, immediately within that same dream, he dreamed the interpretation of the first dream; therefore the text says 'dreams' in the plural. But afterward, when he relates the dream, he says 'I have dreamed a dream' in the singular. 'And his spirit was troubled' etc. — it appears that after he awoke from his sleep he forgot the dream and its interpretation. Concerning the forgetting of the dream, [the text says] 'his spirit was troubled,' for he was like a bell that strikes now to one side and now to the other; so too he kept turning over changing thoughts, trying to remember the dream. And concerning the forgetting of the interpretation, [the text says] 'his sleep broke from him' — for when he was asleep he was crushed, downcast, and weak, because he sensed that the words of that interpretation foretold evil for him; and just as a person in pain, even while asleep, is downcast and ill at ease, so too he was broken and troubled in his sleep.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
verse value 3515
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 76 letters. The shortest word is "the·king" (הַ֠מֶּ֠לֶךְ, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·to·the·sorcerers" (וְלַֽמְכַשְּׁפִים֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 95: the·king, the·king. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·call" (לִקְרֹ֨א), "to·the·magicians" (לַֽחַרְטֻמִּ֜ים), "and·to·the·enchanters" (וְלָֽאַשָּׁפִ֗ים). The root מלך appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·commanded" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "and·stood" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel). First appearance of the root קרא ("to·call") in Daniel. First appearance of the root נגד ("to·tell") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·dreams', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·commanded] (257) + הַ֠מֶּ֠לֶךְ [the·king] (95) + לִקְרֹ֨א [to·call] (331) + לַֽחַרְטֻמִּ֜ים [to·the·magicians] (337) + וְלָֽאַשָּׁפִ֗ים [and·to·the·enchanters] (467) + וְלַֽמְכַשְּׁפִים֙ [and·to·the·sorcerers] (526) + וְלַכַּשְׂדִּ֔ים [and·to·the·Chaldeans] (410) + לְהַגִּ֥יד [to·tell] (52) + לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ [to·the·king] (120) + חֲלֹמֹתָ֑יו [his·dreams] (494) + וַיָּבֹ֕אוּ [and·came] (25) + וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ [and·stood] (136) + לִפְנֵ֥י [before] (170) + הַמֶּֽלֶךְ [the·king] (95) = 3515.
Ibn Ezra
'Then ... commanded ... the magicians' [chartumim] — these are scholars of the natural sciences, who know the fundamental principles and properties of all things, and of all deeds performed by stealth; and so it is written of 'the magicians of Egypt' [chartumei Mitzrayim] (cf. Exodus 7:11). 'And enchanters' [ashafim] — these are the physicians. 'And sorcerers' [mechashfim] — these are the ones who alter the appearance of a natural thing to the eye [through illusion]. 'And the Chaldeans' [kasdim] — these are the scholars of the constellations; and the 'gozerin' [diviners, cf. Daniel 2:27] are the masters of divination, who go 'to seek enchantments' [omens] (cf. Numbers 24:1) — and these [various experts] are the ones the king actually needed, not the scholars of geometry, arithmetic, valuation, architecture, and the higher wisdom. Now, he summoned the magicians because they know the fundamentals of dreams, and how the soul comes to see visions of the night. He also summoned the enchanters [physicians], because they can tell, from the pulse of the arm or from the urine, the changing state of the body — and most dreams follow the constitution of the body. He summoned the sorcerers too, because they know the hours suited to their practices, [with the thought] that perhaps they might observe and determine [the meaning of] the dream according to the arrangement of the stars at that hour. He also summoned the Chaldeans, because they know future events through their craft, by their knowledge of a person's [astrological] nativity — tracing the ascending degrees against the [zodiacal] boundaries, and by the aspects of the ministering stars [the five planets], and the two great lights [sun and moon], and the cycle of the year, the month, the week, and the day; and they knew the horoscope of Nebuchadnezzar's own birth. That is why the Chaldeans were the ones who answered first, since — by their own account — the matter depended on them and their wisdom.
Metzudat David
The magicians – These are the sages of the natural sciences, who understand the essence of dreams and how the soul perceives images during sleep. The enchanters – These are the masters of medicine, who can tell the state of the body from the pulse in the arm and from the urine; and most dreams follow the condition of the body. The sorcerers – These are the ones who alter the workings of nature before the eye, at the times fit for it according to the arrangement of the stars; they too are able to know the dream by means of these astral arrangements. The Chaldeans – These are astrologers, who know something of a person's future once they know the time of that person's birth; and they knew the time of Nebuchadnezzar's birth, so they too were able to know his dream. To tell [the king his dreams] – That they would tell, out of their own imagination, what the dream was.
Malbim
The questions: (2) Is not the phrase “to tell the king his dreams” superfluous? Then the king commanded – he commanded that the magicians be summoned, who perform their acts quietly, according to the hidden workings of nature; and the enchanters, who are the astrologers who read fortunes by the stars; and the sorcerers, who work through the agency of demons; and the Chaldeans, who cast lots — for all of these prided themselves on knowing hidden things and things to come. And it relates that he commanded they be summoned “to tell the king his dreams,” meaning that they were told only that they had been summoned for this purpose, to tell him what he had dreamed, without his telling them the dream itself — so that they could prepare themselves at home to discern, through their wisdom, the whole of what the king had dreamed that night. For they would succeed better at this while secluded in their own homes, with the instruments and books needed for this craft close at hand, than they would from the moment they stood before the king, when fear of him would confound their thinking, and there they would lack the instruments, the preparations, and the solitude required. Accordingly, it would have been the wiser course for them not to come before him at all, once they already knew that it was not in their power to satisfy the king's request — why should they come before him empty-handed? Yet they came and stood before the king; and this was itself a kind of rebellion on their part, for they ought to have answered that this was not within their power, and not have come before him at all, as though they were prepared to fulfill his request and that it was within their power.
Ibn Yahya
Then the king commanded that there come before him the magicians (chartumim), who are those skilled in theoretical intellect; and the enchanters (ashafim), who are those skilled in practical intellect; and the sorcerers, who are practitioners of sorcery — necromancy through a medium ('ov') or a familiar spirit ('yidde'oni'), inquiry of the dead, and other such deeds and practices falling under that art called in the vernacular 'negromanzia' [necromancy]; and the Chaldeans, who are the sages who make known future events by way of astrology, such as reckoners and stargazers, and masters of casting lots by a practice called (in the vernacular) ‘qal’atarmah’ [the term is difficult to make out in the source, and this transliteration is uncertain] — so that they might tell him his dreams, both the dream and its interpretation.
And the king said to them: ‘I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.’
verse value 2813
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "to·them" (לָהֶ֛ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·dream" (אֶֽת־הַחֲלֽוֹם, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "dream" (חֲל֣וֹם), "I·dreamed" (חָלָ֑מְתִּי), "and·is·troubled" (וַתִּפָּ֣עֶם). The root חלום appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "to·know" (root ידע, 43x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·dreamed', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֧אמֶר [and·said] (257) + לָהֶ֛ם [to·them] (75) + הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ [the·king] (95) + חֲל֣וֹם [dream] (84) + חָלָ֑מְתִּי [I·dreamed] (488) + וַתִּפָּ֣עֶם [and·is·troubled] (596) + רוּחִ֔י [my·spirit] (224) + לָדַ֖עַת [to·know] (504) + אֶֽת־הַחֲלֽוֹם [the·dream] (490) = 2813.
Ibn Ezra
'And ... said' — One of the Geonim says that Nebuchadnezzar [in fact] knew the dream, and came [to his wise men] only to test them; and were this not so, he would not have believed Daniel's words. Indeed Scripture bears this out, [in that he says only,] 'my spirit is troubled to know the dream' [i.e., to have it confirmed]; and when [Daniel] told him, 'your thoughts came up upon your bed' (cf. Daniel 2:29), he immediately recalled that this was so — and when [Daniel] went on to describe the image, he recalled that this too was so.
Metzudat David
To know [the dream] – The agitation and dread I feel is because my soul longs to know the dream that has slipped from my memory.
Malbim
And the king said – he let them know that what he essentially sought concerned a certain dream that had troubled his spirit, since he understood it to be telling him of things to come.
Ibn Yahya
Then the king told them that he had dreamed a dream and forgotten it, and that his spirit was troubled to know it; therefore he asked them to make it known to him. He said nothing to them about the interpretation, for he thought, 'After they tell me the dream, I will then ask them for the interpretation' — for he wished to proceed by stages.
Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: ‘O king, live for ever! tell your servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.’
verse value 2961
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "live" (חֱיִ֔י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·spoke" (וַֽיְדַבְּר֧וּ, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·spoke" (וַֽיְדַבְּר֧וּ), "the·Chaldeans" (הַכַּשְׂדִּ֛ים), "Aramaic" (אֲרָמִ֑ית). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "tell" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "and·spoke" (root דבר, 40x in Daniel). First appearance of the root עלם ("for·ever") in Daniel. First appearance of the root חי ("live") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Aramaic', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words.
Rashi
May the king live forever Aram. מַלְכָּא לְעָלְמִין חֱיִי. Tell your servants the dream [as translated,] Tell your servants the dream.
Ibn Ezra
'Then ... spoke' — from here [the text] begins to speak in the language of the Chaldeans [Aramaic], which was the king's [official] language, since that is how they spoke, and he replied to them [in that language].
Metzudat David
Then the Chaldeans spoke – They were the ones who answered, since they were more qualified than all the other sages who had come to know the dream, because they had some knowledge of future things. In Aramaic – In the Aramaic language, the language of the Chaldeans that everyone commonly used; their intention was that everyone should hear, thinking that perhaps the king would be too embarrassed, in front of the assembled people, to seek out such a pretext. O king, live forever, etc. – May the king live forever; it is proper etiquette to bless the king at the outset of one's words to him. We will declare the interpretation – That is, we will tell you the interpretation.
Metzudat Zion
The interpretation (ufishra) - Meaning "its interpretation," as in "and there is none to interpret (pother) it" (Genesis 40), which Targum Onkelos renders "ufishar leit leih" (and it has no interpretation). Most of this book is in the language of Targum - that is, Aramaic - and there is no need to bring proof for such words.
Malbim
The questions: (4–8) Is not what is said, “tell the dream,” a foolish thing to say — did he not already tell them that he wants to know the dream precisely because he does not know it himself? And if they did not understand this from his words, how is it that they answer a second time that he should tell them the dream, when he still does not remember it? Also, in verse 5 he uses the language of “make known,” while in verse 6 he uses the language of “declare” — [why the change]? Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic – he explains the reason it was the Chaldeans who spoke, and not the magicians and the enchanters: because they spoke in Aramaic, and among the rest of the sages there were those from other lands who were not as fluent in the Aramaic tongue as the Chaldeans, who were native to the land. “O king, live forever” – since they could not entirely contradict the king's words — for he had already resolved not to tell them the dream, yet still asked to know its interpretation — they thought that the king actually did know the dream but did not want to mention it, because it was a bad dream foretelling the king's death, and he was afraid to say it with his own mouth lest he bring bad luck upon himself; it was for this reason that they said, “O king, live forever,” as if to say: do not fear death. Or perhaps they thought he was doing this because he wanted to test them, to see whether they could know the secrets of the heart — it was for this reason that they said, “tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation,” meaning that it is not within their power to know a matter that exists only in someone's thought, but that they could know the interpretation even without being told the dream; for through astrology or through sorcery they could know what decree, good or bad, had been decreed concerning him — only, they could not know in what imagery this message had been clothed within the dream, since the imaginative faculty constructs many images in a variety of forms. For example, an intimation of the king's death might be pictured by the imaginative faculty through the felling of a great tree, or the collapse of a mountain, or the slaying of a fearsome beast, and it was impossible for them to know in which particular way this decree had been imprinted upon his imaginative faculty. Therefore, on this basis, they proposed that the king tell the dream to his other servants standing before him, and that they would state the interpretation even without hearing the dream — for they claimed to know the interpretation of the dream, that is, the decree that had been communicated to him in the dream, only they did not know the dream itself, that is, in what form and imagery the imaginative faculty had clothed it within the dream. And if he were to tell the dream in secret to his other servants, and they were to state the interpretation without having heard the dream, it would then become clear that the interpretation matched the dream — and this may be understood, for it would be easy for them to accomplish this through trickery and fraud, simply by claiming that their interpretation matched the dream; and even were there in truth a great gap between the two, they would strive to make the accounts fit through invented and deceptive words.
Ibn Yahya
'Then the Chaldeans spoke' etc. — since the Chaldeans bore the greater obligation and the more fitting duty to answer his question, their profession being to make known new and future events, they answered first, saying: 'O king, live forever! Our power is to make known some matter in answer to people's questions, when they give us material — some starting point for the matter. Therefore, if you tell us the dream, so that the dream becomes, as it were, our raw material, we will certainly give you its interpretation; but in any other way such knowledge is impossible.'
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans: ‘The thing is certain with me; if you make not known to me the dream and the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
verse value 5575
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 85 letters. Notable word values: "certain" (אַזְדָּ֑א) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "if" (הֵ֣ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "you·will·make·known·to·me" (תְהֽוֹדְעוּנַּ֙נִי֙, 9 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·the·Chaldeans" (לְכַשְׂדָּאֵ֔י), "the·thing" (מִלְּתָ֖ה), "you·will·make·known·to·me" (תְהֽוֹדְעוּנַּ֙נִי֙). 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel). First appearance of the root ענה ("answered") in Daniel. First appearance of the root מלה ("the·thing") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'certain', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 10 words.
Rashi
The matter has escaped me The thing has left me. If you do not let me know the dream and its meaning [as translated,] if you do not let me know the dream and its meaning. you shall be torn limb from limb Aram. הַדָמִין תִּתְעַבְּדוּן. You shall be cut to pieces, and there are many such in the Gemara (Gittin 67b): “Arrange the cuts” (הַדוּמֵי הַדְמּוּהָ). a dungheap Aram. נְוָלִי, a dungheap. shall be made Aram. יִתְּשָּׂמוּן an expression of וְיָשֵּׂם, and he will make. They shall be made into dungheaps.
Ibn Ezra
The king answered — There are many words in the Chaldean tongue whose meaning follows the sense of the passage. In my opinion, ‘azda’ is like ‘qayyama’ (‘established’), and it is true; the sense is that this decree shall stand. And as for what follows, ‘if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you are guilty of death’ — Yefet said this means: you shall be made into cut pieces. And he brought proof, that it is like ‘Samaria’s king shall be cut off’ (Hosea 10:7) and likewise ‘I will destroy your mother’ (Hosea 4:5) — as if to say: you shall be hacked to pieces by the sword. And the word ‘nawali’ means ruins, destruction, and desolation. But Rabbi Yeshu’ah said it means like a dunghill.
Metzudat David
The thing is certain with me, etc. – [Meaning:] the matter has slipped away from me — that is, I have forgotten the words of the dream. If you make not known to me the dream, etc. – That is, if you do not tell me the dream. You shall be cut in pieces, etc. – You will be cut into pieces. And your houses shall be made a dunghill, etc. – Your houses will be turned into dunghills, places of disgrace.
Metzudat Zion
Is certain (azda) - [Literally] "it has gone forth" [i.e., it is fixed and settled]; and so in the words of our sages, "azda letaameih" (he follows his own reasoning). Cut in pieces (hadamin) - According to Targum Yonatan, this is an expression of "limbs," [i.e.,] pieces.
Malbim
The king answered – the king answered and said to the Chaldeans: what he meant by “the matter has gone from me” is not, as you think, that I myself know the dream and merely wish to test you — that is not so; rather, the dream itself has slipped from my memory. And do not think it will be enough for me if you tell me only the interpretation without the dream, for if you do not make known to me both the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces (or, meaning that limbs would be cut from you, as a mark of disgrace and shame), and your houses shall be made into a dunghill — for by this I will know that you are deceiving me with falsehood.
Ibn Yahya
Then the king answered that he had forgotten the dream and it had left him, and that he firmly insisted that they tell him the dream as well as its interpretation; and if they did not do so, he would cut them into pieces in order to destroy them, and turn their houses into rubbish heaps in order to destroy their name — for fine houses and courtyards leave a name and a remnant in the land for their owners after their death.
But if you declare the dream and the interpretation thereof, you shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor; only declare to me the dream and the interpretation thereof.’
verse value 4108
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 64 letters. Verse gematria: 4108 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·if" (וְהֵ֨ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·rewards" (וּנְבִזְבָּה֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 591: and·its·interpretation, and·its·interpretation. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "you·declare" (תְּֽהַחֲוֺ֔ן), "gifts" (מַתְּנָ֤ן), "and·rewards" (וּנְבִזְבָּה֙). The root חלם appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·before·me" (root קדם, 38x in Daniel); "and·its·interpretation" (root פשר, 34x in Daniel); "you·shall·receive" (root קבל, 27x in Daniel). First appearance of the root מתנה ("gifts") in Daniel. First appearance of the root יקר ("and·honor") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·before·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְהֵ֨ן [and·if] (61) + חֶלְמָ֤א [the·dream] (79) + וּפִשְׁרֵהּ֙ [and·its·interpretation] (591) + תְּֽהַחֲוֺ֔ן [you·declare] (469) + מַתְּנָ֤ן [gifts] (540) + וּנְבִזְבָּה֙ [and·rewards] (72) + וִיקָ֣ר [and·honor] (316) + שַׂגִּ֔יא [great] (314) + תְּקַבְּל֖וּן [you·shall·receive] (588) + מִן־קֳדָמָ֑י [from·before·me] (244) + לָהֵ֕ן [only] (85) + חֶלְמָ֥א [the·dream] (79) + וּפִשְׁרֵ֖הּ [and·its·interpretation] (591) + הַחֲוֺֽנִי [declare·to·me] (79) = 4108.
Rashi
But if [as translated,] But if. and lavish presents [as translated,] presents. but [as translated,] but. tell me [as translated,] tell me.
Ibn Ezra
But if — you declare the dream, you shall receive ‘rewards’ (nevizbah) — this means a gift and a present.
Metzudat David
But if you declare the dream, etc. – That is, if you tell me the dream and its interpretation. Gifts, etc. – You shall receive gifts, presents, and great honor from me. Only, etc. – Just tell me the dream and the interpretation; as if to say, I will not demand any further proof of the interpretation.
Metzudat Zion
Rewards (unevizbah) - An expression of a great gift given with great generosity; and so in the words of our sages, "one who squanders (hamevazbez) should not squander [more than a fifth]," etc. (Ketubot 50).
Malbim
But if you declare the dream and the interpretation thereof – but if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and wealth and honor, for by this I will know that your words are true — meaning, even if it is a bad dream I will not be angry with you; therefore declare to me the dream and the interpretation, not the interpretation alone. Now note that on the one side — the penalty, in verse 5 — he said, “if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation,” using the language of “making known,” whereas on the other side — the reward, here — he said, “declare to me the dream and its interpretation,” using the language of “declaring.” For “making known” refers to a matter one does not know except through the one who tells him, whereas the “declaring” of the dream means that after they tell it to him, he will himself afterward remember the dream, and it will become clear to him that it is indeed so. For with regard to the penalty, it is enough that they simply inform him, even if he does not then remember it — since it is possible they told him something false, and he could not punish them on mere suspicion. But with regard to receiving gifts and honor, that applies only if he comes to remember the dream through them, and it becomes clear to him that their words are true.
Ibn Yahya
But if they made it known to him, they would receive from the king: 'gifts' — meaning grants of great income for all the days of their lives; 'rewards' — meaning great gifts of movable property together with land; and 'great honor' — meaning that everyone else would be subject to them and honor them. Therefore it was fitting for them to tell the dream and its interpretation.
They answered the second time and said: ‘Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.’
verse value 2562
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "answered" (עֲנ֥וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·his·servants" (לְעַבְד֖וֹהִי, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "the·second·time" (תִנְיָנ֖וּת), "let·him·tell" (יֵאמַ֥ר), "we·will·declare" (נְהַחֲוֵֽה). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "to·his·servants" (root עבד, 40x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·said', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: עֲנ֥וֹ [answered] (126) + תִנְיָנ֖וּת [the·second·time] (916) + וְאָמְרִ֑ין [and·said] (307) + מַלְכָּ֕א [the·king] (91) + חֶלְמָ֛א [the·dream] (79) + יֵאמַ֥ר [let·him·tell] (251) + לְעַבְד֖וֹהִי [to·his·servants] (127) + וּפִשְׁרָ֥ה [and·the·interpretation] (591) + נְהַחֲוֵֽה [we·will·declare] (74) = 2562.
Rashi
a second time [as translated,] a second time. we shall tell [as translated,] we shall tell.
Ibn Ezra
They answered — The Gaon said: they added nothing now to their first answer. Rather, the first time they spoke directly to the king, in the manner of ‘arise, please, and sit’; but now they used the third-person form that is not otherwise found in direct address, like ‘let my father arise.’ And the reason is that they were afraid to speak directly to him, so in effect they said: we have no answer to give other than what we already answered the king.
Metzudat David
The second time – This was the very same thing they had said at first; but at first they had spoken to the king directly, addressing him as "you," whereas now they were afraid to answer him directly in such terms again, so instead they spoke of him in the third person before the king — as if to say: we have no other answer but what we already said, that the king should tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.
Malbim
They answered the second time and said – “let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation”: since they saw that the dream had utterly escaped him, and that it was no longer possible to insist that he tell them the dream right away, they answered that he should wait and allow some time to pass, and that in the meantime he would remember the dream. This is the meaning of “let the king tell his dream” — that is, that he would tell it at some point in the future, after he came to remember it; he would then tell it to his servants privately, and — so they said — we will declare the interpretation, and it will be seen to match the dream.
Ibn Yahya
'They answered the second time' etc. — it appears that the other sages, the magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers, answered the king a second time, saying that if he would tell them the dream, they would tell him the interpretation, just as the Chaldeans had said.
The king answered and said: ‘I know of a truth that you would gain time, inasmuch as you see the thing is certain with me,
verse value 2845
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 65 letters. Notable word values: "certain" (אַזְדָּ֖א) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "that" (דִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·truth" (מִן־יַצִּיב֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 125: answered, the·time. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "from·truth" (מִן־יַצִּיב֙), "you" (אַנְתּ֣וּן), "gaining" (זָבְנִ֑ין). The root די appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel). First appearance of the root יציב ("from·truth") in Daniel. First appearance of the root אנה ("I") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'gaining', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 7 words.
Rashi
in truth, I know [as translated,] in truth, I know. truth Aram. יַצִיב, a true and permanent thing. that this time you are doomed Aram. דִּי עִדָּנָא אַנְתוּן זַבְנִין, that this time you are delivered to death. because you see because you see that the matter escaped me, but you repeatedly ask me to tell you.
Ibn Ezra
The king answered — ‘I know for a truth that you are buying time’ — meaning, you are stalling for time because you have seen that a decree has gone out from my mouth and stands firm: that if you do not make the dream known to me there is but one law for you — the law I have set — that you shall be put to death. The dalet of ‘hizdamantun’ (‘you have agreed together’) stands in place of the tav of the hitpa’el (reflexive) form. Rabbi Marinus said that the word ‘hizku’ is likewise a form like ‘hizdaku,’ and that it cannot be a nif’al form because of the dagesh in the kaf. But Rabbi Moshe HaKohen of Spain said that it is indeed a hitpa’el form, with the doubling of the zayin coming from the tav being absorbed into it — so that it is really ‘hitzaku’ — and this is the correct view in my opinion.
Metzudat David
Of a truth – In truth, I know that at this time you are as good as sold and delivered over to death. Inasmuch as – This means "because": because you saw that the matter of the dream had escaped me, and despite this you still say that I should tell you the dream.
Metzudat Zion
Of a truth (yatziv) - An expression of "truth"; there are many similar occurrences in this book, and also in the prayer "emet veyatziv" (true and firm); it relates to something that stands firm, endures, and is established.
Malbim
The questions: (8–9) What is meant by “that you are buying time” [in verse 8]? And likewise, what is stated in verse 9 — the commentators have found it difficult to explain. The king answered and said – in truth, I know that you are buying time, since you see that the matter has gone from me — meaning, I see that you want to gain time, so that meanwhile you might seek out some stratagem to save yourselves, since you see that I can no longer remember the dream, and that I will not remember it afterward either; so you will gain nothing but time in which to save yourselves.
Ibn Yahya
The king answered: 'I know for certain that at this time you are bargaining for delay, because you see that I have forgotten the aforementioned dreams.'
that, if you make not known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; and you have agreed together to speak before me lying and corrupt words, till the time be changed; only tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can declare to me the interpretation thereof.’
verse value 6397
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 111 letters. The shortest word is "that" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "you·will·make·known·to·me" (תְהֽוֹדְעֻנַּ֜נִי, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: not, false. 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "if·the·dream" (הֵן־חֶלְמָא֩), "you·will·make·known·to·me" (תְהֽוֹדְעֻנַּ֜נִי), "one·she" (חֲדָה־הִ֣יא). The root די appears 3 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "to·speak" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel). First appearance of the root חד ("one·she") in Daniel. First appearance of the root דת ("your·law") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'be·changed', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 8 words.
Rashi
or if you have prepared yourselves...a false and corrupt word Or if you have prepared yourselves to say before me a false and corrupt word. until the time changes until the time changes, i.e., before the shadows of evening slant, when the time of morning changes. “Until the time changes” is an expression of rebuke and an exaggeration: so will he be punished, and the punishment was already delineated above. A similar instance is (Gen. 4:15): “Therefore, whoever kills Cain.” but the dream; tell me what I dreamed, and I shall know that you will surely tell me the interpretation.
Ibn Ezra
‘Till the time be changed’ — that is, until I become occupied with some other matter.
Metzudat David
That – Namely, that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for all of you: the sentence I already pronounced — "you shall be cut in pieces," etc. — will apply to every one of you; none will be spared. Lying and corrupt words – You have prepared false and corrupt words to speak before me, to stall until the time changes. That is: in offering to tell me the interpretation, I see that you have made ready a false, corrupt interpretation, claiming it foretells events of the distant future — thinking that I will believe you until the time you set for it passes, the days grow long, and the whole matter is forgotten. Only – Just tell me the dream, and by this I will know that you can truly tell me the interpretation. As if to say: from now on I will trust no interpretation you offer unless you first tell me the dream; only then will I know for certain that you possess the wisdom to give the true interpretation. And the king reasoned this way because he suspected that, once they saw the king's sentence of doom closing in on them, they might invent words out of their own minds and fabricate a story, saying, "this is what you saw, and this is its interpretation." For this reason the king was shrewd and insisted as he did, speaking as though he himself remembered the dream, while in fact concealing it, merely in order to test them.
Malbim
That, if you do not make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you — he adds this to inform them that they will have no rescue in the matter: from now on, even if he does recall the dream, he will not be satisfied with whatever interpretation they offer, because he no longer believes them, and he wants, from now on, to test them — only if they tell him the dream will he then believe their words. This is what he means: if you do not tell the dream, then even if you do tell the interpretation and I recall the dream, the decree and the judgment will be one and the same, and the decree that has gone out against you for punishment will not change — for it has become clear to me that your word is a lying and corrupt word. That is: you have prepared to speak before me something false and corrupt, until the time changes — that you would give a false interpretation and a false prediction, and even though afterward the predicted thing does not come to pass and it becomes clear that you have lied falsely, you imagine that you can keep the lie standing until some future time, when the times will change and another king will reign — and who will then call you to account for your lies? Therefore, tell me the dream, and by this I will know that you can truly declare to me its interpretation.
Ibn Yahya
'And it is settled with me that if you do not make it known to me, your sentence shall be the same as what I said [I would do] to the Chaldeans — to cut them into pieces and make their houses rubbish heaps. And you cannot blame me for putting you to death, because whatever you would tell me as the interpretation of a dream that I relate to you would be deceit in your mouths, for you would prepare to speak some false and corrupt thing as the interpretation, in order to save yourselves from death until time should change and either I or you should die — and who could then prove the matter? Therefore tell me the dream, if you want me to believe that your interpretation will be true.'
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said: ‘There is not a man upon the earth who can declare the king’s matter; forasmuch as no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.
verse value 6132
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 108 letters. The shortest word is "who" (דִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "before·the·king" (קֳדָם־מַלְכָּא֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 14: who, because. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "upon·the·dry·land" (עַל־יַבֶּשְׁתָּ֔א), "all·king" (כׇּל־מֶ֙לֶךְ֙), "and·mighty" (וְשַׁלִּ֔יט). The root כשדי appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "who" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel). First appearance of the root איתי ("not·there·is") in Daniel. First appearance of the root אנש ("man") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·declare', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 12 words.
Rashi
who...the king’s word who will be able to tell the king’s word. because Aram. כָּל קַבֵל, lit. all opposite; i.e., our reply is true, in view of the fact that there was never a king who asked anything like this. such a thing Aram. מִלָה כִדְּנָה, a thing like this. astrologer who presses the constellation.
Ibn Ezra
The Chaldeans answered — meaning: there is no man on dry land who could tell the king’s matter; indeed, no king who has ever lived before you has asked such a question of anyone.
Metzudat David
They answered – The Chaldeans responded before the king and said as follows. There is not a man – There is no man on earth who can declare the king's matter. Forasmuch as – Again, this means "because": because this matter is utterly impossible. That no great and powerful king – Because of how truly difficult this is, no king, prince, or ruler has ever asked so difficult a thing of any magician, enchanter, or Chaldean, etc.
Malbim
The questions: (10–11) Why does he say it twice — “there is not a man who can declare the king’s matter” and “the thing that the king demands is difficult”? The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, “There is no man on earth who can declare the king’s matter,” since no great and powerful king has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or Chaldean, and the thing the king asks is heavy, and there is no one who can declare it before the king except the gods, who do not dwell among mortal men. They told him that the thing he was asking involved a difficulty on two counts: first, that even if he had asked them merely to tell him hidden matters of the king’s own that the king himself already knows, that would already be a difficult thing; second, and all the more so, he was asking them to tell him something that is hidden even from the king himself, and no longer even exists within his own thought. Now, the Chaldeans believed that there are deities who have a dwelling and closeness with mortal men and who reside in the air near human beings; these know the thoughts of men and reveal them to those attached to them. And there are other deities entirely separated from mankind — divine beings whose dwelling is in the heavens. On this basis they said that as for knowing the thoughts of men — although this could be known by one who has fellowship and connection with the intermediate divine beings who dwell among mortal men — nevertheless, the magicians, enchanters, and Chaldeans could not know this, since their concern is not with the divine but only with natural science and the judgments of the stars. This is what they meant by “there is no man on the dry land who can declare the king’s matter” — that even this, to tell the king’s matter, meaning the rest of the king’s affairs that are [already] known to the king, no man dwelling on dry land can declare, but only the divine beings who dwell in the air above the dry land. And they brought proof for this: that no great and powerful king has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or Chaldean — and so they all agreed that this is a thing impossible except for one who has fellowship with divine beings, not for magicians and enchanters. And “the matter that the king asks” — however, the thing the king asks of us, to tell him things that even he himself does not know, that is “difficult,” for even the intermediate gods who commune with them do not know this either; for, as it continues, “there is no other who can declare it before the king, except the gods above, whose dwelling is not with mortal flesh” — only the gods that are in heaven, who have no fellowship or connection with mankind at all, know even such things as this, and these gods do not reveal their purposes to mortal flesh. Therefore it is an altogether impossible thing, even for prophets who walk before God. And our Sages, of blessed memory, explained that in saying the matter was “difficult” they meant that it requires prophecy, and that there was no Aaron — that is, no priest — to inquire by the Urim and Tummim. On this view, it was conceded that Israel alone possessed this special faculty, of attaining a word of prophecy from the supreme God who is in heaven, and that this would no longer be found after the destruction of the Temple, when the Divine Presence departed. And he explained that this is why he was furious with all of them — because they had given counsel to destroy the Holy Temple.
Ibn Yahya
'The Chaldeans answered' etc. — the Chaldeans again spoke to the king, after the other sages had spoken, saying that there is no man on dry land who can tell the king's matter. And certainly no king who rules over many provinces and districts, nor a 'great one' — one who rules over many towns of a single district — nor a 'ruler' — one who rules over many villages of a single town — has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or Chaldean.
And it is a hard thing that the king asks, and there is none other who can declare it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.’
verse value 3863
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לָ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·the·king" (דִֽי־מַלְכָּ֤ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: not, not. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "that·the·king" (דִֽי־מַלְכָּ֤ה), "difficult" (יַקִּירָ֔ה), "he·will·declare·it" (יְחַוִּנַּ֖הּ). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "who" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אחרן ("and·other") in Daniel. First appearance of the root מדור ("their·dwelling") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·king', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Rashi
difficult Aram. יַקִירָה, heavy, and its burden is heavy. and there is no other who can tell it and there is no other who will tell it. but the angels but the angels whose dwelling is not with flesh and blood. whose dwelling Aram. מְדָרְהוֹן, their dwelling. The Midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (ad loc.) [says]: וְאַחֲרָן לָא אִיתַי, and Aaron is not here. A priest who wears the Urim and Tummim is not here to tell you. He said to them, “That Temple was so powerful, and you advised me to destroy it?” Immediately, he became angry and commanded to slay them.
Ibn Ezra
‘And it is a hard thing’ — ‘weighty’ (yaqqirah) is like ‘the redemption of their soul is costly’ (Psalms 49:9), for which no price could be found. ‘Except the gods’ — these are the supernal angels, who are of true form and are not like bodies; souls derive from them, as light comes forth from the sun. But souls are bound up with bodies, and therefore they know hidden things only a little — and more so in visions of the night, when the soul is not occupied with the needs of the body. And one who understands the secret of the soul will bear witness to the truth of my words.
Metzudat David
And it is a hard thing – The thing that the king is asking is heavy and difficult. And there is none other – There is no one else in the world who could declare it before the king, except the angels, whose dwelling is not among creatures of flesh; as if to say, there is no one to declare it besides the angels, and they are not here with us.
Ibn Yahya
Because the thing the king asks is rare and impossible to attain, and there is no one who can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not among flesh and blood.
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
verse value 1535
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "this" (דְּנָ֔ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·destroy" (לְה֣וֹבָדָ֔ה, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "was·angry" (בְּנַ֖ס), "and·was·furious" (וּקְצַ֣ף). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "all" (root כל, 41x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אבד ("to·destroy") in Daniel. First appearance of the root חכים ("wise·men·of") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'very', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: כׇּל־קֳבֵ֣ל [all·opposite] (182) + דְּנָ֔ה [this] (59) + מַלְכָּ֕א [the·king] (91) + בְּנַ֖ס [was·angry] (112) + וּקְצַ֣ף [and·was·furious] (276) + שַׂגִּ֑יא [very] (314) + וַאֲמַר֙ [and·said] (247) + לְה֣וֹבָדָ֔ה [to·destroy] (52) + לְכֹ֖ל [all] (80) + חַכִּימֵ֥י [wise·men·of] (88) + בָבֶֽל [Babylon] (34) = 1535.
Rashi
In view of this in view of this reply. in great wrath and anger Aram. מַלְכָּא בְּנַס וּקְצַף שַּׂגִיא. The king was in great wrath and anger. (בְּנַס) means in wrath. (Gen. 40:6): “And behold they were angry (זעַפִים), and Onkelos renders: נסִיסִין. and ordered to destroy Aram. וַאֲמַר לְהוֹבָדָה. About this “vav” of וַאֲמַר, Menahem and Dunash disputed. Menahem (p. 46) forced himself to make the “beth” of בְּנַס, a radical and did not interpret בְּנַס וּקְצַף as nouns, but as an expression of a verb: was greatly wroth and angry and ordered to destroy. The “vav” in וַאֲמַר forced him to interpret it this way. Dunash (p. 9) says that it is impossible for the “beth” to be a radical, but it is a noun, and he interpreted it in this manner: with great wrath and anger he ordered to destroy, and the “vav” there is superfluous, like the “vav” of (Ps. 76:7): “chariot (וְרֶכֶב) and horse.” But I say that the “vav” is not forced to be superfluous, but so is its interpretation: מַלְכָּא בְּנַס וּקְצַף שַּׂגִּיא, the king was in great wrath and anger, and he ordered in his wrath to destroy them. Accordingly, this is an elliptical verse.
Ibn Ezra
‘For this cause...was angry’ (benas) — means with fury; Targum likewise renders ‘and behold, they were sullen’ (Genesis 40:6) with the same root. ‘The wise men of Babylon’ — these are the ones mentioned at the beginning of the chapter.
Metzudat David
For this cause – Because of this the king became enraged and greatly furious, and ordered the destruction and death of all the wise men of Babylon.
Metzudat Zion
Furious (bin'as) - [Meaning] in vexation, as in "and behold, they were sad (zoafim)" (Genesis 40:6), which Targum Onkelos renders "nesisin."
Malbim
For this cause — in response to this, the king flew into a great rage and fury, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. [On “and behold, they were sad” (Genesis 40:6) — Targum renders it nesisin, “agitated.”] That is, he was enraged over the dream and furious at the wise men, and therefore commanded to destroy all the wise men — for the term “wise men” is a generic name, including the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans, who were the ones occupied with interpreting dreams and knowing hidden things, and also including wise men in other fields of wisdom, such as natural science, engineering, statecraft, and the like, who were not occupied with dreams and visions and had not been summoned at all to tell the king his dreams, since that was not their profession. That is why Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were also not summoned, even though they were wise men — for although Daniel understood every vision and dream, the king did not know this about him. And it would not have been right for him to kill the rest of the wise men, who were not occupied with this matter and had not been summoned to the king at all; but out of the greatness of his rage and fury, it was, as it were, an error that went out from before the ruler, to destroy all the wise men without distinction.
Ibn Yahya
'For this cause' etc. — because of these words the king became angry, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.
So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
verse value 2770
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "and·the·decree" (וְדָתָ֣א, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·the·wise·men" (וְחַכִּֽימַיָּ֖א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 95: and·the·wise·men, Daniel. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·the·decree" (וְדָתָ֣א), "went·forth" (נֶפְקַ֔ת), "and·the·wise·men" (וְחַכִּֽימַיָּ֖א). The root קטל appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). First appearance of the root נפק ("went·forth") in Daniel. First appearance of the root קטל ("were·being·slain") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'were·being·slain', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְדָתָ֣א [and·the·decree] (411) + נֶפְקַ֔ת [went·forth] (630) + וְחַכִּֽימַיָּ֖א [and·the·wise·men] (95) + מִֽתְקַטְּלִ֑ין [were·being·slain] (639) + וּבְע֛וֹ [and·sought] (84) + דָּנִיֵּ֥אל [Daniel] (95) + וְחַבְר֖וֹהִי [and·his·companions] (237) + לְהִתְקְטָלָֽה [to·be·slain] (579) = 2770.
Rashi
And a decree was issued The law of the king and his decree were issued in the province. and Daniel and his colleagues were sought to be slain [as translated,] and Daniel and his colleagues were sought to be slain.
Ibn Ezra
‘And the decree’ — the decree went forth from before the king.
Metzudat David
So the decree went forth – The verdict went out, and the wise men were being put to death. And they sought – Daniel and his companions were sought out as well, to be put to death.
Malbim
The questions: (13) Why did they seek to kill Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, when they had not been summoned at all to tell the king his dream? And the decree — the decree went out, and the wise men were being put to death, and Daniel and his companions were sought out to be put to death. Just as the king’s command was stated in general terms — to destroy all the wise men of Babylon — without specifying particulars, so too the decree went out in general terms, and they killed everyone called by the name “wise man.” Therefore they sought to kill Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah as well, even though they had not been summoned and had not sinned in any way.
Ibn Yahya
'And the decree went forth' — he wanted them to die by law and by decree of the kingdom, on the grounds that they were rebelling against him and not doing his will, and that they had been prepared to answer him, by way of interpretation, with something false and ruinous — for in his foolishness, these pretexts seemed to him valid and persuasive. Thus the matter went into effect: the wise men were being put to death, and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them.
Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and discretion to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
verse value 1958
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "of" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "captain·of·the·guard" (רַב־טַבָּחַיָּ֖א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 14: of, who. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "returned" (הֲתִיב֙), "counsel" (עֵטָ֣א), "and·discretion" (וּטְעֵ֔ם). The root די appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "of" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אדין ("then") in Daniel. First appearance of the root תוב ("returned") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·king', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: בֵּאדַ֣יִן [then] (67) + דָּנִיֵּ֗אל [Daniel] (95) + הֲתִיב֙ [returned] (417) + עֵטָ֣א [counsel] (80) + וּטְעֵ֔ם [and·discretion] (125) + לְאַרְי֕וֹךְ [to·Arioch] (267) + רַב־טַבָּחַיָּ֖א [captain·of·the·guard] (232) + דִּ֣י [of] (14) + מַלְכָּ֑א [the·king] (91) + דִּ֚י [who] (14) + נְפַ֣ק [had·gone·forth] (230) + לְקַטָּלָ֔ה [to·slay] (174) + לְחַכִּימֵ֖י [wise·men·of] (118) + בָּבֶֽל [Babylon] (34) = 1958.
Rashi
Then Aram. בֵּאדַיִן, the Targum for אָז. answered with counsel and good sense He answered [with] counsel and good sense to Arioch, the name of the man. the...chief executioner the officer over those who executed the ones condemned to death.
Ibn Ezra
Then — Daniel then replied with counsel and sense; and this (‘counsel’) is like the word for ‘his seven counselors’ (Ezra 7:14). And its sense (‘discretion’) is like ‘more than seven who can answer with reason’ (Proverbs 26:16). As for ‘captain of the guard’ — compare Potiphar, chief of the guard of Pharaoh. In my opinion this is not the same as ‘rav tabachaya’ (Arioch’s title), for the word ‘tabach’ in the Holy Tongue carries two senses. The first is killing, as in ‘chief of the executioners’ (rav tabachim) — proven by the words ‘who had gone forth to slay,’ and likewise ‘like a lamb led away, like a choice ram, to the slaughter’ (cf. Jeremiah 11:19), and there are many such cases. The second sense, as in the Ishmaelite (Arabic) tongue, is ‘to cook,’ as in ‘slaughter an animal and prepare it’ (Genesis 43:16); for note that at that time no one in Egypt slaughtered sheep as such menial work — this refers rather to spice-makers and cooks (1 Samuel 8:13), since women do not slaughter animals, only cook — and also ‘and the cook took up the portion’ (1 Samuel 9:24). And since the chief baker baked bread and the chief cupbearer was his companion, I have therefore said that the king placed them in the house of companions, that is, the house of the chief of the cooks, and did not place them in the prison-house where all prisoners are confined, on account of the greatness of their rank, for they were noblemen.
Metzudat David
Then – At that point Daniel responded with counsel and prudence to Arioch, the chief of the king's executioners, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. For in truth, even in Arioch's own eyes it was a terrible thing to destroy all the wise men of his own people, but he had no choice, being bound by fear of the king. Therefore Daniel gave him some counsel for how to keep his sword from bloodshed and to excuse himself before the king; but exactly what that counsel was is not specified.
Malbim
The Questions: (14–15) Is it possible that Daniel, who was in the king’s palace, did not know everything that was happening until Arioch informed him? And why does the text first call him “the captain of the king’s guard” and afterward call him by the name “the king’s captain”? And what is the meaning of the phrase “he responded with counsel and discretion” — was this not simply a question, not counsel and discretion? Then [Daniel returned answer with counsel and discretion] to Arioch, captain of the king’s guard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon — now Daniel, who was stationed at the king’s gate, had certainly heard of the matter and knew everything that was happening; but as long as they showed no intention of touching him, he kept silent, for why should he place himself in danger? But once he saw that they wanted to kill him too, [he had to act]: had he simply said that he wished to tell the dream and asked for time, they would have asked him why he had kept silent until now, and had not come to tell the king his dream when all the wise men were first summoned for this purpose — and now the time had passed, so that no [further] time would be granted, just as the king had told them that he would not give time, because this itself betrayed deceit, as explained above on verse 8. He therefore acted shrewdly and made himself appear as though he knew nothing at all of what had happened, and asked Arioch the reason why they wanted to kill the wise men. This was a deep strategy: once Arioch told him the reason, he could say that he would tell the interpretation, and that until now he had known nothing of the matter at all — and so he deserved to be granted special time. For if they wanted to kill him, they first had to ask him whether he could tell the dream, just as they had asked the other wise men — and see, he was in effect saying that he was able to tell it. This is the meaning of “he responded with counsel and discretion” to Arioch: he asked the reason for the killing, and that itself was the counsel.
Ibn Yahya
Then Daniel, with the sweetness of his lips, answered with words of counsel and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who was putting the wise men of Babylon to death, so that he would listen to his words and not kill him; and he asked him the reason for this execution.
he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain: ‘Why is the decree so peremptory from the king?’ Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
verse value 3180
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 69 letters. The shortest word is "answered" (עָנֵ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Arioch" (לְאַרְיוֹךְ֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 125: answered, to·Daniel. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "the·captain" (שַׁלִּיטָ֣א), "upon·what" (עַל־מָ֥ה), "the·decree" (דָתָ֛א). The root אריוך appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of·the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "to·Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·king', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
Why was the decree issued so hastily Why is the decree of the king [issued] in such a haste to kill? Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel that the king was angry because no one told him his dream.
Ibn Ezra
He answered — the sense of ‘so peremptory’ is haste. Then Arioch informed Daniel that he should come and request time for himself, and so he did; and Daniel came and made his request of the king — in the Holy Tongue, this would be: ‘if you would ask, ask.’
Metzudat David
Why – For what reason did the decree go out from the king so hastily? As if to say: why did he not give them time for so difficult a matter? Then Arioch made the thing known – That is, he told Daniel that they had answered that it was impossible, and had not asked for more time.
Metzudat Zion
He answered (anah) - This means raising the voice, as in "and the Levites shall answer... with a loud voice" (Deuteronomy 27:14). So peremptory (mehachtzefah) - [Meaning] so hasty; it relates to "chatzuf" (brazen), one who rushes to shame and embarrass people.
Malbim
He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain: ‘Why is the decree so peremptory from the king?’ Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel — Daniel was asking him the reason why the decree had gone out with such urgency; and he did not ask this of him in his capacity as captain of the guard, but as an officer and ruler of the king — for as a great officer among the king’s officers [aside from his present occupation as captain of the guard], he was entitled to know the reason behind a matter of royal decree. Then Arioch informed him that this had come about because of a dream that the king had forgotten.
Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, that he might declare to the king the interpretation.
verse value 1893
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "went·in" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Daniel" (וְדָ֣נִיֵּ֔אל, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·desired" (וּבְעָ֣ה), "time" (זְמָ֣ן), "would·give·to·him" (יִנְתִּן־לֵ֔הּ). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). First appearance of the root עלל ("went·in") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·king', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְדָ֣נִיֵּ֔אל [and·Daniel] (101) + עַ֖ל [went·in] (100) + וּבְעָ֣ה [and·desired] (83) + מִן־מַלְכָּ֑א [from·the·king] (181) + דִּ֚י [that] (14) + זְמָ֣ן [time] (97) + יִנְתִּן־לֵ֔הּ [would·give·to·him] (545) + וּפִשְׁרָ֖א [and·the·interpretation] (587) + לְהַֽחֲוָיָ֥ה [to·declare] (64) + לְמַלְכָּֽא [to·the·king] (121) = 1893.
Rashi
entered and requested [as translated,] entered and requested. be given him [as translated,] be given him.
Metzudat David
He went in – He entered and requested of the king that he be given time. The interpretation – He asked for time in order to tell the king the interpretation of the dream as well; for, based on the last clause of the verse, it appears that Daniel already knew the dream itself, and his whole request concerned the interpretation alone — that he might ascertain its true meaning, as stated above; and Scripture, in phrasing it so, states the essential point.
Malbim
The Questions: (16) Why does it say “that he might declare the interpretation to the king” — was the king’s main demand not that they tell him the dream itself? Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, that he might declare to the king the interpretation — once the matter had become known to him, he had a way to gain entry before the king, seeing that although he had not been summoned at first together with the wise men, they nevertheless wanted to kill him as if he had some connection to the affair. And his request was that the king give him time so that he could tell the interpretation — as though he already knew the dream itself, and it was only for the interpretation that he needed time. For the king had already stated that he would not give the wise men time regarding the dream itself, and a royal decree cannot be reversed; therefore the request was phrased in terms of the interpretation.
Ibn Yahya
And he went up to the king and asked him for time to declare the interpretation of the dream; for by knowing the interpretation he would also come to know the dream itself, which was the cause of the king's fury.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions;
verse value 2270
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "went" (אֲזַ֑ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·to·Hananiah" (וְ֠לַחֲנַנְיָ֠ה, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "his·companions" (חַבְר֖וֹהִי). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel); "then" (root אדין, 46x in Daniel); "made·known" (root ידע, 43x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אזל ("went") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'went', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: אֱדַ֥יִן [then] (65) + דָּנִיֵּ֖אל [Daniel] (95) + לְבַיְתֵ֣הּ [to·his·house] (447) + אֲזַ֑ל [went] (38) + וְ֠לַחֲנַנְיָ֠ה [and·to·Hananiah] (159) + מִֽישָׁאֵ֧ל [Mishael] (381) + וַעֲזַרְיָ֛ה [and·Azariah] (298) + חַבְר֖וֹהִי [his·companions] (231) + מִלְּתָ֥א [the·matter] (471) + הוֹדַֽע [made·known] (85) = 2270.
Ibn Ezra
Then...he went to his house — so as not to be occupied with anything else, but to be alone with his companions.
Metzudat David
To his house – He went to his house to be alone and to entreat Hashem. Made the thing known – He told them about the matter of the decree.
Malbim
Then Daniel went to his house — for he was always occupied with his affairs at the king’s gate, and so he went to his house to seclude himself, until the divine influence would come to rest upon him. and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions — so that they too would seclude themselves, in case the divine spirit might come to rest upon them as well, each according to his own preparedness.
Ibn Yahya
And Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to his companions, so that they would seek mercy from Hashem concerning the revealing of this secret, so that the four of them would not perish along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
that they might ask mercy of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
verse value 2638
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 67 letters. Notable word values: "the·God·of" (אֱלָ֣הּ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "that" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "shall·perish" (יְהֽוֹבְדוּן֙, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·mercy" (וְרַחֲמִ֗ין), "to·ask" (לְמִבְעֵא֙), "concerning·the·secret" (עַל־רָזָ֖א). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel). First appearance of the root שמין ("heaven") in Daniel. First appearance of the root רז ("concerning·the·secret") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 8 words.
Ibn Ezra
‘And to seek mercy from before the God of heaven’ — for there is no wise man on earth who could be of help in this matter.
Metzudat David
And mercy – So that they too would seek mercy from Hashem. Concerning this secret – Regarding the revealing of this secret. That Daniel and his companions should not perish – Namely, that Daniel and his companions should not perish along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Malbim
That they might ask mercy of the God of heaven concerning this secret — he also instructed them to ask for mercy together with him, for the prayer of an individual is not equal to the prayer of four. And they should ask for mercy specifically for this: that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon — similar to the matter of “Gather not my soul with sinners” (Psalms 26:9). And as is stated in the Tosefta of Sanhedrin, we find in two places that the righteous ask of Hashem that they not be gathered together with the wicked, etc.
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
verse value 1359
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "the·secret" (רָזָ֣א, 3 letters) and the longest is "of·the·night" (דִֽי־לֵילְיָ֖א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 95: of·the·night, Daniel. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "in·a·vision" (בְּחֶזְוָ֥א), "of·the·night" (דִֽי־לֵילְיָ֖א), "the·God·of" (לֶאֱלָ֥הּ). The root אדין appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel); "the·God·of" (root אלה, 57x in Daniel); "then" (root אדין, 46x in Daniel). First appearance of the root חזו ("in·a·vision") in Daniel. First appearance of the root לילי ("of·the·night") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'was·revealed', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: אֱדַ֗יִן [then] (65) + לְדָנִיֵּ֛אל [to·Daniel] (125) + בְּחֶזְוָ֥א [in·a·vision] (24) + דִֽי־לֵילְיָ֖א [of·the·night] (95) + רָזָ֣א [the·secret] (208) + גְלִ֑י [was·revealed] (43) + אֱדַ֙יִן֙ [then] (65) + דָּֽנִיֵּ֔אל [Daniel] (95) + בָּרִ֖ךְ [blessed] (222) + לֶאֱלָ֥הּ [the·God·of] (66) + שְׁמַיָּֽא [heaven] (351) = 1359.
Rashi
the secret was revealed [as translated,] the secret was revealed.
Ibn Ezra
‘The secret’ (raza) — this is the same as ‘sod’; ‘razi li’ (Isaiah 24:16) is not the same word, but comes from the root of ‘razon’ (leanness).
Metzudat David
In a vision of the night – In a dream-vision at night, that secret was revealed to him.
Malbim
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in A vision of the night — for Daniel was more suited for this than his companions. And the revelation came as a vision, which is a higher level than a plain dream: he saw, with the eyes of his imagination, the vision of the image standing before his eyes, and beheld the interpretation of the four kingdoms; and he was shown that this was the very same dream that Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Ibn Yahya
And to Daniel, in a vision of the night, Hashem revealed the secret, for He had mercy on them and heard their prayer. And Daniel immediately blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel spoke and said: Blessed be the name of God From everlasting even to everlasting; For wisdom and might are His;
verse value 2785
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "for" (דִּ֧י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·might" (וּגְבוּרְתָ֖א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 51: of·God, to·Him·it. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "blessed" (מְבָרַ֔ךְ), "from·everlasting" (מִן־עָלְמָ֖א), "to·Him·it" (לֵֽהּ־הִֽיא). The root עלם appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). First appearance of the root הוה ("let·be") in Daniel. First appearance of the root היא ("to·Him·it") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'everlasting', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Ibn Ezra
‘Daniel spoke’ — and he mentioned ‘wisdom’ and ‘might,’ for wisdom and might truly belong to His name alone; and all created beings, above and below, are as it were incidental, for they exist from Him.
Metzudat David
Blessed be the name of God – May the name of God be blessed from world to world — that is, from the lower world to the upper world. For wisdom and might are His – For the wisdom and the might are His.
Malbim
Daniel spoke and said — this act of thanksgiving divides into two parts: first he offers a general thanksgiving for Hashem’s work in general, and afterward a particular thanksgiving for His providence toward him personally. Blessed be the name of God From everlasting even to everlasting; For wisdom and might are His — he explains that Hashem is the source and root of all things: both with respect to existence in general, for as long as it is His will that it continue to exist (and this is the meaning of “from everlasting to everlasting” — that is, throughout the entire time that this world continues to exist, which it does through His flow, His will, and His blessing, until He wills that another world come into being; and this span is the whole duration of this world’s standing, until eternity comes to take its place) — and He is likewise the source of wisdom and of ability. For wisdom and might are not additional attributes appended to Him; rather, He Himself is the very essence of wisdom and might, and all wisdom and power that exist in reality are emanated and flow forth from Him.
Ibn Yahya
'Daniel spoke' — he began his prayer, in the manner of [the phrase] 'you shall answer and say': 'May the name of God be blessed from this world to the World to Come, for wisdom and might are His.' He mentions wisdom, because he perceived His wisdom in that He had made known to him the dream and its interpretation; and he mentions might, because he perceived His might in what would occur at the end of days — bringing low the exalted, and raising up the lowly.
And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise, And knowledge to those who know understanding;
verse value 2304
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "and·He" (וְ֠ה֠וּא) = 18, chai, 'life'. Verse gematria: 2304 = 48². The shortest word is "gives" (יָהֵ֤ב, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·wise" (לְחַכִּימִ֔ין, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 150: kings, kings. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "changes" (מְהַשְׁנֵ֤א), "the·times" (עִדָּנַיָּא֙), "and·the·seasons" (וְזִמְנַיָּ֔א). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "to·those·who·know" (root ידע, 43x in Daniel); "changes" (root שנה, 38x in Daniel). First appearance of the root הוא ("and·He") in Daniel. First appearance of the root עדה ("removes") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'kings', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְ֠ה֠וּא [and·He] (18) + מְהַשְׁנֵ֤א [changes] (396) + עִדָּנַיָּא֙ [the·times] (135) + וְזִמְנַיָּ֔א [and·the·seasons] (114) + מְהַעְדֵּ֥ה [removes] (124) + מַלְכִ֖ין [kings] (150) + וּמְהָקֵ֣ים [and·sets·up] (201) + מַלְכִ֑ין [kings] (150) + יָהֵ֤ב [gives] (17) + חׇכְמְתָא֙ [wisdom] (469) + לְחַכִּימִ֔ין [to·the·wise] (168) + וּמַנְדְּעָ֖א [and·knowledge] (171) + לְיָדְעֵ֥י [to·those·who·know] (124) + בִינָֽה [understanding] (67) = 2304.
Rashi
changes [as translated,] changes. removes He removes kings, for he understood from the dream that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom would terminate, and another kingdom would rise.
Ibn Ezra
‘And He’ — according to His wisdom changes times, removes kings and raises up others in their place, as He sees fit in His wisdom; and the wisdom a person knows, He is the One who granted it.
Metzudat David
He changes the times and the seasons – This doubles the same idea, for emphasis; it means that He switches the time from day to night and from night to day. He removes kings, and sets up kings – As stated: He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise – Scripture calls them "wise" on account of their eventual outcome, for before wisdom was given to them they would not yet be called wise; so too, "and you strip the clothing of the naked" (Job 22:6). And knowledge – And knowledge.
Malbim
And He changes the times And the seasons; He removes kings, And sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise, And knowledge to those who know understanding — now he explains his own words. Corresponding to what he had said, that Hashem rules as He wishes throughout the whole span of time that runs according to His will, until the very end — the day when light shall be with darkness — he now explains how Hashem brings about changes and transformations within this time, which governs this world of change: for He changes the times And the seasons. And corresponding to what he had said, that might is His, he says that He removes kings, And sets up kings — for ability and power come from Him, and when He withdraws His power from a king, that kingdom is broken and given over to one upon whom He bestows power from His might. And corresponding to what he had said, that wisdom is His, he says He gives wisdom to the wise — that the flow of wisdom comes from Him, and He bestows it only on one who is prepared to receive it, just as the Sages said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, gives wisdom only to one who already has wisdom” — meaning that the divine flow comes only after natural preparation. And the order of these levels is wisdom (chochmah), understanding (binah), and knowledge (da’at): wisdom is that which is received from Hashem, and Hashem gives wisdom to whoever has the readiness to receive the principles of wisdom; after it comes binah, understanding — the ability to draw one thing out of another by one’s own reasoning; and when a person comes to understand through wisdom, he attains clear knowledge, like something grasped by the senses or by a self-evident first principle — and this is called mada, science, and da’at, knowledge. And so Hashem gives knowledge to those who know understanding. I have explained all of this in my commentary on the book of Proverbs.
Ibn Yahya
This is what he says corresponding to might: 'He changes the times and the seasons, and removes mighty kings from their kingship, and raises up other kings, lowly men, in their place.' And corresponding to wisdom he says: 'He gives wisdom' — that is, the perfection of the theoretical intellect — to the wise, meaning to those who prepare themselves to receive the influx of wisdom, who are wise in potential; and 'gives knowledge' — that is, the perfection of the practical intellect — to those who know understanding in potential, who prepare themselves to receive the influx from understanding.
He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.
verse value 3396
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "what" (מָ֣ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·secret" (וּמְסַתְּרָתָ֑א, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "the·deep" (עַמִּיקָתָ֖א), "and·the·secret" (וּמְסַתְּרָתָ֑א), "in·the·darkness" (בַחֲשׁוֹכָ֔א). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "knows" (root ידע, 43x in Daniel); "with·Him" (root עם, 30x in Daniel). First appearance of the root עם ("with·Him") in Daniel. First appearance of the root שרה ("dwells") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·secret', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words.
Rashi
He reveals the profound [as translated,] He reveals the profound. and secret things for He revealed this profound thing to me.
Ibn Ezra
‘He’ — reveals deep and hidden things that a person could not otherwise know, when His servants entreat Him, as He did for me, for He revealed to me the secret of the dream. ‘He knows what is in the darkness’ — the opposite of man. In my opinion, the sense is that He knows what has the potential to come into being, as in ‘and what is hidden He brings forth to light’ (Job 28:11). And the sense of ‘and the light dwells with Him’ — everything lies before Him as an accomplished deed. And the word ‘shera’ — is like ‘dwells.’ ‘And light’ (nehora) — is like ‘let no light shine upon it’ (Job 3:4), and likewise the word for ‘tunnels’ (ha-minharot).
Metzudat David
He reveals the deep and secret things – He reveals deep and hidden matters. He knows what is in the darkness – He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.
Malbim
He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him — he now adds that with regard to matters to which the human mind has no access at all, there are three categories. Concerning matters that cannot be grasped because of the depth of the concept itself, He reveals the deep things. Concerning matters that, beyond being deep, are also hidden away in concealment — such as matters that can be grasped only through prophecy — He reveals the secret things. And concerning matters that are still in darkness and have not come out into the light at all — such as future events whose shape is still wrapped in mist — of these He knows what is in the darkness. And he explains that there is a difference between Hashem's knowledge and the knowledge of flesh and blood: a human being's perception comes by way of the senses — the sensed object enters the eye of the observer from outside, and the eye is affected by the sparks of light shining upon it from the thing sensed, and therefore it cannot perceive things that are in darkness. But Hashem's knowledge is not through the senses; rather, His knowledge itself casts light upon the existence of things, and because the light dwells with Him, He knows what is in the darkness.
Ibn Yahya
He reveals to those who love Him the deep and hidden things, for nothing is hidden from before the throne of His glory, and before Him darkness is as light; and He knows what is in the darkness, even though light dwells with Him — which is why it would have been fitting that the darkness, being the opposite of light, should not see Him and should not know Him.
I thank You, and praise You, O You God of my fathers, Who have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we desired of You; For You have made known to us the king’s matter.
verse value 4589
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 80 letters. Notable word values: "the·God·of" (אֱלָ֣הּ) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 4589 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "to·You" (לָ֣ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·might" (וּגְבוּרְתָ֖א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 56: thank, I. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "my·fathers" (אֲבָהָתִ֗י), "thank" (מְהוֹדֵ֤א), "and·praise" (וּמְשַׁבַּח֙). The root ידע appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "Who" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "the·God·of" (root אלה, 57x in Daniel). First appearance of the root לך ("to·You") in Daniel. First appearance of the root אב ("my·fathers") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Rashi
You have let me know [as translated,] You have let me know.
Ibn Ezra
‘To You’ — Daniel offers this praise because his forefathers were prophets, unlike the ancestors of other nations, praising Him for having given him wisdom and might above all the wise. And it says: ‘You have made known to me’ — for to him alone was the secret made known. And it says: ‘that we asked of You’ — meaning he and his companions; as if to say: it was not by my merit alone that You made this secret known to me. And it says: ‘You have made known to us’ — for He made it known to them all.
Metzudat David
I thank – I give thanks and praise. And might – the strengthening of the power of the mind. Have given me – You have given me. And now – and now You have made known to me what I asked of You — "for You have made known to us the king's matter" — meaning, You have now gone still further, doing me a great kindness by revealing this matter to me.
Malbim
I thank You, and praise You, O You God of my fathers, Who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of You; For You have made known to us the king's matter — having first offered a general thanksgiving for Hashem's will, power, and wisdom in general — prompted by the revelation he had just received of how Hashem watches over and acts until the end of all generations — Daniel now offers a particular thanksgiving for the special favor granted to him personally. He states first that it was by the merit of his ancestors, of the house of David, that he was given wisdom and might to stand in the king's palace; and now Hashem had favored him further by making known to him the king's matter and its secret. He says "You have made known to me" in the singular, but "what we desired" in the plural, for he and his companions had asked that it be made known to them, yet Hashem made it known to him alone, in particular, by the merit of his ancestors, who were holy princes with whom prophecy was closely bound, and by the merit of his companions' prayer.
Ibn Yahya
'To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what I asked of You concerning the king's matter' — he says that He gave him wisdom in revealing this secret, since that is the well-known [sense of the term]; and he says that He gave him might, because through this knowledge he would save his own life from death, and likewise the lives of his companions and all who are called by the name 'wise men.' And victory — whether in killing, or in being saved from being killed, whether by weapons or by wisdom and words — is called 'might.'
Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: ‘Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will declare to the king the interpretation.’
verse value 3296
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 99 letters. The shortest word is "went·in" (עַ֣ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Arioch" (עַל־אַרְי֔וֹךְ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 118: the·wise·men·of, the·wise·men·of. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·Arioch" (עַל־אַרְי֔וֹךְ), "do·not·destroy" (אַל־תְּהוֹבֵ֔ד), "bring·me·in" (הַעֵ֙לְנִי֙). The root מלך appears 3 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "whom" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "said·to·him" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel). First appearance of the root כן ("and·thus") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Babylon', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 12 words.
Rashi
In view of this in view of this, that the secret was revealed to him. Daniel came in to Arioch He entered Arioch’s premises. had appointed [as translated,] had appointed. Do not destroy [as translated,] Do not destroy. bring me in [as translated,] bring me in.
Ibn Ezra
‘Therefore’ — and it says ‘and the interpretation’ — this is a shorthand way of speaking, for it is not possible to give the interpretation except after the dream has first been told.
Metzudat David
Therefore – because of this, that the dream had been revealed to him. Went in – he went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. He went – he went to him. Destroy not – meaning, from now on do not destroy them at all. Bring me in – bring me in before the king, and I will tell him the interpretation as well.
Malbim
Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: 'destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will declare to the king the interpretation' — the word "therefore" (in the Aramaic, precisely, "in exact correspondence to this") signals that he explains here the reason Daniel went in to Arioch and did not go to the king himself directly [just as at first he had gone in by himself, without Arioch, to ask for time]. This was because Arioch had been appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and Daniel feared that in the meantime Arioch would carry out his mission and kill the wise men; he therefore went to him first, to hold back the angels of death. And since, on reflection, merely telling the dream would not by itself save the wise men of Babylon — indeed it would rather increase their guilt, for not having known how to do this themselves, after having said, "There is no man on earth who can declare the king's matter," when in fact their denial would now be answered by the discovery of a man able to tell and know it — Daniel therefore told Arioch in advance not to destroy the wise men of Babylon, but simply to bring him in before the king, and he would speak well on their behalf to hold back anger and wrath. And so that the king should not become furious at Arioch for not yet having carried out his order to destroy them, Daniel advised that Arioch himself bring him before the king, as though Arioch had found Daniel and had sent him to the king to ask for time — and by this Arioch would have an excuse for why he had not killed the wise men immediately as the king had commanded. And he said to him, and I will declare the interpretation — meaning that it would become clear to the king that this was the true interpretation, which is what the word "declare" indicates, for Daniel would recount to him both the dream itself and the very thoughts of his heart, until the king knew with certainty that this was indeed so.
Ibn Yahya
Then Daniel went to Arioch, who was appointed over the execution, and told him that he should not destroy the wise men of Babylon any further, and that he should bring him up before the king, and he would declare to him the interpretation.
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him: ‘I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.’
verse value 4012
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 83 letters. The shortest word is "of" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·haste" (בְּהִתְבְּהָלָ֔ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 14: of, who. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "brought·in" (הַנְעֵ֥ל), "that·I·have·found" (דִּֽי־הַשְׁכַּ֤חַת), "will·make·known" (יְהוֹדַֽע). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "of" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "said·to·him" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel). First appearance of the root בהל ("in·haste") in Daniel. First appearance of the root שכח ("that·I·have·found") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·king', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 12 words.
Rashi
Then Aram. אֶדַיִן, [the equivalent of] אָז. in haste Aram. בְּהִתְבְּהָלָה, in haste, i.e., quickly. brought... in brought Daniel in. that “I have found a man [as translated,] that “I have found a man. the exiles of Judea [as translated,] the exiles of Judea.
Ibn Ezra
Then...I have found — means ‘I found,’ and there is nothing like this usage in the Holy Tongue; and the one who says that it is like the phrase ‘and they were forgotten in the city’ is mistaken.
Metzudat David
In haste – in haste he brought Daniel in before the king. I have found – whom I have found, a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will also make known the interpretation to the king.
Malbim
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste — as though his hand were still outstretched to carry out the king's order to destroy his wise men, and he had only just now been stopped, for the moment, by the discovery that this man was Daniel; and he would carry out the king's word immediately. and said thus to him: 'I have found A man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation' — that is, "this is why I have been delayed in carrying out my mission." He said that he had found Daniel and that he had sent Daniel to the king yesterday; and he made known that this man was not from Babylon but from Judah, of the children of the captivity — which would speak well, in one respect, for the wise men of Babylon, since such wisdom coming from so far away would bring credit from a place where prophecy and the revelation of God were to be found, while in another respect it would condemn them, for their own wisdom was shown to be inferior to that of a man who had been "poured from vessel to vessel" and had gone into exile on foreign soil. And Arioch said, 'and its interpretation will be made known,' not, as Daniel had put it, 'and I will declare the interpretation' — which implies that the king would recall the dream himself and it would become clear to him that this was indeed so — for Arioch did not believe Daniel on that point, only that he would, in any case, make known the interpretation.
Ibn Yahya
Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and informed him that a man had been found among the exiles of Judah who would make known the interpretation to the king.
The king spoke and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar: ‘Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?’
verse value 4200
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 66 letters. Verse gematria: 4200 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "whose" (דִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·make·known·to·me" (לְהוֹדָעֻתַ֛נִי, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 125: spoke, to·Daniel. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "are·you" (הַֽאִיתָ֣ךְ). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "whose" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel). First appearance of the root כהל ("able") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Belteshazzar', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words.
Rashi
Do you have the ability Are you able? that I have seen [as translated,] that I have seen.
Ibn Ezra
The king spoke...are you able — means ‘are you able.’
Metzudat David
Whose name was – whose name was Belteshazzar, as stated above, that Ashpenaz had named him thus. Are you able – do you have it in you to make known to me the dream that I saw, and its interpretation?
Metzudat Zion
Able (kahel) - [Meaning] able, as in "and they were not able (kahalin) to read the writing" (below, 5).
Malbim
The king spoke and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar: 'Are you able to make known to me The dream which I have seen, and The interpretation thereof?' — the question was asked in astonishment, since none of the magicians had been able to do this. Yet the king mentioned that his name was Belteshazzar, a name indicating that there was some divine power within him, and it was on this basis that he thought this might be conceivable.
Ibn Yahya
Then the king asked Daniel: 'Are you able to make known to me the dream that I saw, and its interpretation?'
Daniel answered before the king, and said: ‘The secret which the king has asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers, declare to the king;
verse value 2848
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 71 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לָ֧א, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·the·king" (דִּֽי־מַלְכָּ֣א, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "wise·men" (חַכִּימִ֣ין), "are·able" (יָכְלִ֖ין). The root מלך appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). First appearance of the root גזר ("astrologers") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·said', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 11 words.
Rashi
demonologists Aram. גָזְרִין, the name of a type of ruler over demons.
Ibn Ezra
Daniel answered...wise men — a general term encompassing the enchanters and the Chaldeans.
Metzudat David
The secret – the secret that the king has asked, the wise men, etc., cannot declare to the king; and he says this in order to argue in defense of the wise men of Babylon.
Metzudat Zion
Astrologers (gazrin) - These are the masters of divination who go out to encounter omens.
Malbim
The Questions: (27–30) Why did Daniel preface his answer by saying that no man is able to tell the secret to the king — what did he intend to accomplish by this statement? And why did he preface it by saying that it was not through his own wisdom that he knew this — for all these preliminary statements are lengthy and seem superfluous? Daniel answered before the king, and said — before revealing the secret to him, Daniel came to remove the king's wrath from his wise men, upon whom he had decreed death. This decree could have stemmed from either of two attitudes: either the king thought it possible to tell such a thing, and had decreed death upon them for not having perfected themselves in wisdom; or he thought it was truly the case that this was impossible, and had therefore ordered them destroyed, since their wisdom was mere vanity and vexation of spirit, incapable of knowing hidden things — so why should he support them for nothing? To address both of these possibilities, Daniel came to remove the king's fury and wrath. First, he said that the secret which the king has asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers declare to the king — for it is beyond the grasp of the human intellect altogether; and since all of these perform their craft by means of demons and the powers of the stars or of nature, which are lowly powers, it is impossible for them to tell a secret of this kind.
Ibn Yahya
Then Daniel answered in his humility: 'I am not able, as a mere man, to make known to you all this,' for the secret that the king asks cannot be declared to the king by the wise men, [the enchanters, the magicians,] or the astrologers ('gazrin') — these being the Chaldeans who pronounce concerning a man that such-and-such will happen to him.
but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and He has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the end of days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, are these:
verse value 3985
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 85 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלָ֤הּ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "what" (מָ֛ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "Nebuchadnezzar" (נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּ֔ר, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·He·has·made·known" (וְהוֹדַ֗ע), "your·dream" (חֶלְמָ֨ךְ), "your·head" (רֵאשָׁ֛ךְ). 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "God" (root אלה, 57x in Daniel). First appearance of the root ברם ("but") in Daniel. First appearance of the root נבוכדנצר ("Nebuchadnezzar") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·days', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 6 words.
Rashi
But there is...and He lets Nebuchadnezzar know He revealed this secret to me, and through me let the king know that his dream refers to future events. your dream and the visions of your head on your bed which are on your bed.
Ibn Ezra
‘But there is a God in heaven’ — the wise men had said to him ‘gods,’ in the plural, but Daniel said ‘God,’ in the singular.
Metzudat David
But – but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He made known to the king what will be at the end of days; as if to say: the God who made this known to you is the very One who revealed this secret to me. And the visions of your head – what you saw in your head, not through the senses or with the eye, but through the imaginative faculty that resides in the head — that is, the dream. The matter is stated twice, in synonymous terms, just as later, "the dust of the earth" (Daniel 12:2). Upon your bed – while you were on your bed, sound asleep and slumbering. Are these – this is it.
Malbim
but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets – indeed, there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, but He has no connection with these wise men, and He will not reveal His secret to them. Therefore they do not deserve death for not knowing this secret, since it was impossible for them to know it. Yet even so, do not think to destroy them on the grounds that they serve no purpose at all — therefore he says that the God in heaven made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the end of days: since Nebuchadnezzar rules a universal kingdom, He made known to him future things, what will happen at the end of days. This is something that only Hashem knows, and He does not reveal it to anyone except a great king like him, who longed to know this, as [Daniel] will go on to explain — He revealed it to him this one time. Yet even so, the king would still have use for his wise men: for as to other dreams and messages, which are of slight worth compared to this message, and which concern not the end of days but only the near future — dreamed by means of the imaginative faculty and lesser powers — these his wise men would still be able to say something about. But a dream as great as this one will never happen to him again, for its like is rare. Now he begins the actual matter of the dream: your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, are these:
Ibn Yahya
'But there is a God in heaven' — He is the One who reveals secrets, and He has made known to you what will be in the end of days. And the cause of your dream and the visions of your mind upon your bed was this.
as for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall come to pass.
verse value 2875
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 64 letters. The shortest word is "what" (מָ֛ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·your·bed" (עַל־מִשְׁכְּבָ֣ךְ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 59: this, what·that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "arose" (סְלִ֔קוּ), "and·revealing" (וְגָלֵ֧א), "the·secrets" (רָזַיָּ֛א). The root מה appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "shall·be" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אנתה ("you") in Daniel. First appearance of the root רעיון ("your·thoughts") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Rashi
your thoughts Aram. רַעְיוֹנָיךְ. came while on your bed What you were thinking of during the day, what would be after you, came [to you] on your bed. and the Revealer of secrets and the Holy One, blessed be He, Who reveals secrets, let you know what will come about.
Ibn Ezra
‘As for you’ — he mentions what arose in his mind as he lay in bed, for he had been pondering what would happen after him.
Metzudat David
As for you – first Daniel tells the king the reason for this dream, saying: you, the king — while lying on your bed, before falling asleep, your mind then turned to thinking about what would happen afterward — that is, who would reign after you. And He who reveals – Hashem, who reveals these secrets to me, is the One who made known to you what would happen.
Metzudat Zion
Your thoughts (ra'yonach) - Your thinking, as in "You have discerned my thought (lere'i)" (Psalms 139).
Malbim
as for you, O king – he explains to him the reason why Hashem revealed to him these future things: it was because he had prepared himself for it. For, [Daniel says], your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed, what should come to pass hereafter – that is, you wished to know what would happen after your own time; and He who reveals secrets made known to you what would come to pass. And through this very preparation Hashem made known to you not only what would happen after you, but what would happen all the way to the end of days.
Ibn Yahya
For every night you would think about what would happen afterward, and whether your great kingdom would endure for a long time; and He who reveals secrets made known to you what would be.
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
verse value 3722
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לָ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·all·the·living" (מִן־כׇּל־חַיַּיָּ֔א, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "in·wisdom" (בְחׇכְמָה֙), "that·there·is" (דִּֽי־אִיתַ֥י), "from·all·the·living" (מִן־כׇּל־חַיַּיָּ֔א). The root ידע appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel). First appearance of the root לבב ("your·heart") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 9 words.
Rashi
And I, not with wisdom And I, not with superior wisdom that I have, more than other creatures, was this secret revealed to me. but in order that they should let the king know the interpretation They should let you know from heaven. and you should know the thoughts of your heart and the thoughts of your heart about which you are constantly thinking, [which are] to know who will rise after you. you should know [as translated,] you should know.
Ibn Ezra
‘But as for me’ — spoken out of humility: I do not possess wisdom by which I could know this secret; rather, the secret was revealed to me for your honor’s sake, so that you may know the interpretation of your dream and the thoughts of your heart that you pondered at the start of the night — now you shall know them. And the word ‘yehod’un’ (‘they made known’) — refers back to the servants of the glorious Name.
Metzudat David
But as for me – and I — this secret was not revealed to me on account of any wisdom I possess beyond that of any living being; that is, it was not out of Hashem's love for me because of my great wisdom that He revealed this dream to me. But to the intent – rather, it was only because God wanted some person to make known to the king the interpretation of his dream, and through this you would come to know the thoughts of your heart, which you longed to know — namely, who would reign after you; and it was for your sake that God revealed it to me, so that I could tell you.
Metzudat Zion
To the intent (al divrat) - Its meaning is like "on account of," as in "concerning (al divrat) the sons of man" (Ecclesiastes 3:18).
Malbim
but as for me – [Daniel says], this secret was not revealed to me because of any wisdom I possess beyond all the living — for if it were, you would then have cause to be angry at the wise men of Babylon for not being as wise as I am. Rather, it was revealed to me so that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart — it had to be made known to some one man, and He made me the messenger for this. And so there is no difficulty in asking why He did not reveal it to your own wise men, since it only needed to be made known to a single man; He found me prepared for this mission through prayer, and there is no further reason to be sought for Hashem's will in choosing me.
Ibn Yahya
'But as for me, this secret was not revealed to me because of any wisdom I have beyond all flesh, beyond every living thing'; rather, it came about by way of a miracle, for I was raised up through the providence of Hashem, so that the interpretation might be made known to you, and that you might know the thoughts of your heart.
You, O king, saw, and behold a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was surpassing, stood before you; and the appearance thereof was terrible.
verse value 3651
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 65 letters. The shortest word is "one" (חַד֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·its·brightness" (וְזִיוֵ֥הּ, 5 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "one" (חַד֙), "and·its·brightness" (וְזִיוֵ֥הּ), "surpassing" (יַתִּ֖יר). The root צלם appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "you·were" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "stood" (root קום, 36x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אלו ("and·behold") in Daniel. First appearance of the root צלם ("an·image") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'before·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 2 words.
Rashi
you were watching [as translated,] you were watching. and behold Aram. וַאֲלוּ, an expression of “behold.” an image which had a large base [as translated,] an image which had a large base. with unusual splendor, was standing opposite you [as translated,] standing opposite you. and its form was frightening [as translated,] and its form was frightening.
Ibn Ezra
‘You...and behold’ — means ‘and behold, as it were.’ ‘This image’ — ‘this image.’ ‘Mighty’ — ‘great.’ ‘And whose brightness was surpassing’ — perhaps like the word ‘ziv’ in ‘the month of Ziv’ (1 Kings 6:1). ‘And the appearance thereof was terrible’ — ‘and its appearance was awesome.’
Metzudat David
You, O king, saw – you were watching. And behold – and behold, the form of a single great human figure. This image – this image was great, and its brightness was exceeding and abundant, and it stood before you. And the appearance thereof – its appearance was terrible and dreadful.
Metzudat Zion
And behold (va'alu) - [Meaning] "and behold," as in "and behold, a watcher and a holy one" (below, 4). This (dichen) - [Meaning] "this," as in "who is this (halazeh) man" (Genesis 24:65), which Targum Onkelos renders "dichi."
Malbim
The questions: (31–32) The phrase “a great image” and then “that image was mighty” appears to be repetitive; and if [the Aramaic word] dichen means “this,” as Ibn Ezra explains, is not the word “this” a term pointing to something now standing before the speaker? Why, then, does he say a second time, “it is the image”?
you, O king, saw – you the king were watching, and behold, a great image; this image was mighty, and its brightness was surpassing, stood before you, and its appearance was terrible – he tells him: this dream that you saw came to you because you are king, and you were shown a dream concerning kingship in general, reaching to the end of all generations. And as for the phrase “you were watching… that image” (which means “this image,” for Targum renders “this,” said of a person, as dichen) — this means that just as Daniel began to tell him of the dream he had seen — a great image — at that very moment the vision was pictured once again before Nebuchadnezzar, and he now saw the image a second time with the eye of vision. Daniel sensed this, and said to him: this image, which is now standing before you, and which you are now seeing just as you saw it in the dream, is mighty, and its brightness surpassing, and it now stands to meet you — as if to say, lift up your eyes now and see all its details. And [Daniel] depicted in it three things: first, that it was great; second, that its brightness was great; third, that its appearance was terrible. For the image encompasses all the kingdoms: it is great in that it extends over the whole of mankind, its brightness is great by virtue of the splendor of kingship, and it is terrible in that it casts its dread over all mortal beings.
Ibn Yahya
The third section: 'You, O king, saw, and behold a great image' — meaning, by 'image' here he intends the form of a man. This image and form was also great in quality, being a magnificent form, of great brightness and a terrible appearance, standing before you — so that this form was great in quantity, and great in quality as well, with great brightness and a terrible appearance.
As for that image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,
verse value 2367
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "fine" (טָ֔ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·its·arms" (וּדְרָע֖וֹהִי, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 14: of, of. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "fine" (טָ֔ב), "its·breast" (חֲד֥וֹהִי), "and·its·arms" (וּדְרָע֖וֹהִי). The root די appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of" (root די, 141x in Daniel). First appearance of the root דהב ("of·gold") in Daniel. First appearance of the root כסף ("silver") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'silver', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: ה֣וּא [that] (12) + צַלְמָ֗א [the·image] (161) + רֵאשֵׁהּ֙ [its·head] (506) + דִּֽי־דְהַ֣ב [of·gold] (25) + טָ֔ב [fine] (11) + חֲד֥וֹהִי [its·breast] (33) + וּדְרָע֖וֹהִי [and·its·arms] (301) + דִּ֣י [of] (14) + כְסַ֑ף [silver] (160) + מְע֥וֹהִי [its·belly] (131) + וְיַרְכָתֵ֖הּ [and·its·thighs] (641) + דִּ֥י [of] (14) + נְחָֽשׁ [brass] (358) = 2367.
Rashi
of fine gold [as translated,] of fine gold. its breast [as translated,] its breast. and its arms [as translated,] and its arms. its belly and thighs [as translated,] its belly and thighs.
Ibn Ezra
As for that image...its breast — that is, its chest; and likewise its arms, its belly, and its thighs.
Metzudat David
As for that image – that image's head was of fine gold; its breast and its arms were of silver; its belly and its thighs were of brass.
Metzudat Zion
And its thighs (veyarcheteih) - The leg has three segments: the upper one is called the "thigh" (yarech), the middle one is called the "shin" (shok), and the lower one is called the "foot" (regel).
Malbim
as for that image – that is, this image that now stands to meet you, and that you are seeing now, is the same image you saw in the dream; look and see the details of the vision. And behold, he saw in it four kinds of metal: its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass.
Ibn Yahya
This image had a head of fine gold; its breast and arms were of silver; its belly and thighs were of brass.
its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay.
verse value 2123
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "of" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "its·feet" (רַגְל֕וֹהִי, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 317: iron, iron. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "its·legs" (שָׁק֖וֹהִי), "its·feet" (רַגְל֕וֹהִי). The root די appears 3 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "part·of·them" (root מן, 32x in Daniel); "iron" (root פרזל, 20x in Daniel). First appearance of the root פרזל ("iron") in Daniel. First appearance of the root רגל ("its·feet") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'iron', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 9 words.
Rashi
Its legs were of iron [as translated,] Its legs were of iron. were partly of iron and partly of clay [as translated,] were partly of iron and partly of clay [i.e., part of each foot was of iron and part of clay].
Ibn Ezra
‘Its legs’ — its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay.
Metzudat David
Its legs – its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay — meaning, each foot was partly of iron and partly of clay.
Malbim
its legs – for the leg has three parts: the uppermost is called the “thigh,” and he had already seen that this was of brass; the middle part is called the “legs,” and he saw that its legs were of iron; and the last part is called the “foot,” and he saw that its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay.
Ibn Yahya
Its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay.
You saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.
verse value 3820
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֠ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·its·feet" (עַל־רַגְל֔וֹהִי, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 14: that, of. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "was·cut·out" (הִתְגְּזֶ֤רֶת), "and·struck" (וּמְחָ֤ת), "upon·its·feet" (עַל־רַגְל֔וֹהִי). The root די appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "that·not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "you·were" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אבן ("a·stone") in Daniel. First appearance of the root מחא ("and·struck") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·clay', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 2 words.
Rashi
until one stone was hewn that one stone was cut and separated. without hands not with hands, but by itself. and it struck the image [as translated,] and it struck the image. and crumbled them [as translated,] and crumbled them.
Ibn Ezra
You saw...was cut out — like ‘who divided the Sea of Reeds into parts’ (Psalms 136:13), and ‘I said, I am cut off’ (Lamentations 3:54). ‘And it smote the image’ — and struck the image.
Metzudat David
You saw – you were watching it standing in its place, until a stone was cut out by itself, not by human hands. Which smote – it struck the image on its feet, which were of iron and clay, and pulverized them into fine dust.
Malbim
you saw – behold, the vision of the image had now been pictured before him once again, but the vision of the stone was not so: that he did not see now, and it had been forgotten by him, and this cast great dread upon him. Therefore [Daniel] says, “you saw,” meaning: you then saw yet another vision as well, which you had forgotten — you were watching until a stone was cut out without hands (that is, by itself), which struck the image upon its feet, which were of iron and clay, and crushed them.
Ibn Yahya
And so you saw that a stone was cut from a rock by itself, and not by human hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed and shattered them.
Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
verse value 6517
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 115 letters. Notable word values: "and·the·gold" (וְדַהֲבָ֗א) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "great" (רַ֖ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·threshing-floors·of·summer" (מִן־אִדְּרֵי־קַ֔יִט, 9 letters). 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "were·broken" (דָּ֣קוּ), "together" (כַחֲדָ֡ה), "and·became" (וַהֲווֹ֙). The root הוה appears 2 times in this verse. 24 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·became" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "then" (root אדין, 46x in Daniel); "great" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). First appearance of the root עור ("like·chaff") in Daniel. First appearance of the root אתר ("and·all·place") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 8 words.
Rashi
Then...crumbled together Then all the types of metals and the clay that were in it crumbled together. and they were like chaff from the threshing floors of the summer [as translated,] and they were like chaff from the threshing floors of the summer. and the wind carried them off [as translated,] and the wind carried them off. and no place was found for them i.e., their original place was unknown, and it was unrecognizable that they were ever there. became a huge mountain [as translated,] became a huge mountain.
Ibn Ezra
‘Then...together’ — ‘together, as one.’ ‘Like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors’ — like chaff that is scattered from a threshing-floor in the days of summer. ‘So that no place’ — ‘place.’ ‘Into a great mountain’ — ‘into a great mountain,’ and it filled the whole earth.
Metzudat David
Then – then the iron and clay, etc., the limbs of that image, were crushed and pounded together. And became – and they became like chaff blown about from the threshing floors into which the grain that ripens in summer is gathered. And the wind carried them away – the wind carried them off and scattered them. So that no place – no place at all was found for them; meaning, that they filled the whole earth, and there was no place sufficient to hold it all. This is a matter of hyperbole and exaggeration. And the stone – the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Metzudat Zion
Like the chaff (ke'ur) - [Meaning] like straw-chaff (motz); or it may be related to "ne'oret" (flax refuse), written with the omission of the letter "nun," meaning something that is shaken off (yinu'ar).
Malbim
Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them off, until no place at all was left for them; and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Ibn Yahya
Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold of the image were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for it. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
verse value 1255
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "this" (דְּנָ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "before·the·king" (קֳדָם־מַלְכָּֽא, 7 letters). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "we·will·tell" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "before·the·king" (root קדם, 38x in Daniel); "and·its·interpretation" (root פשר, 34x in Daniel). Full calculation: דְּנָ֣ה [this] (59) + חֶלְמָ֔א [the·dream] (79) + וּפִשְׁרֵ֖הּ [and·its·interpretation] (591) + נֵאמַ֥ר [we·will·tell] (291) + קֳדָם־מַלְכָּֽא [before·the·king] (235) = 1255.
Rashi
This is the dream Behold this is the dream that you dreamed. and its interpretation we shall recite, etc. and its interpretation we shall tell you.
Ibn Ezra
This — this is the dream. And we will tell the interpretation — its interpretation I am able [to give], and [I have] the wisdom to interpret it; but he phrases it in the plural, and this is a matter of courtesy.
Metzudat David
This – this is the dream. And the interpretation thereof – and the interpretation will now be told. Since Daniel had said that knowing the dream itself is something impossible to attain through wisdom, but that it had been revealed to him from heaven, he now says, "but the interpretation will be told," as if to say: this, I and those like me can indeed tell, for it does depend on wisdom.
Malbim
this – this is the dream, and the interpretation will be told before the king – meaning: the dream itself he told him in the presence of all his servants, but the interpretation, which brought news of the downfall of Nebuchadnezzar's own kingdom, would not be told to him in the presence of everyone, but only “before the king” — that is, before the king alone, in private.
Ibn Yahya
This is the dream that you saw, and we will declare its interpretation before the king.
You, O king, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
verse value 3177
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 53 letters. Notable word values: "the·God·of" (אֱלָ֣הּ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "whom" (דִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·kingdom" (מַלְכוּתָ֥א, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "the·power" (חִסְנָ֛א), "and·the·strength" (וְתׇקְפָּ֥א), "he·gave·to·you" (יְהַב־לָֽךְ). The root מלך appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "whom" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "the·God·of" (root אלה, 57x in Daniel). First appearance of the root מלכו ("the·kingdom") in Daniel. First appearance of the root חסן ("the·power") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·kings', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 8 words.
Rashi
The King of kings Our Sages, of blessed memory, explained (Shev. 35b): Every mention of “king” in Daniel refers to an earthly king, except this one, which he said in reference to the Holy One, blessed be He, and this is what it means: The King of kings, Who is the God of heaven. a strong... kingdom gave you a strong and prominent kingdom.
Ibn Ezra
You ... the power — like "the strong shall become as tow" (Isaiah 1:31). And the Gaon [Saadia] said: it means an inherited kingdom.
Metzudat David
King of kings – ruler over all the kings of the earth. To whom – to whom the God of heaven has given a kingdom that is strong, mighty, and glorious.
Malbim
The Questions: (37–45) Why does [Scripture] go on at length, using the three terms “the power, the strength, and the glory”? And [why is it necessary] to understand all the details of the vision — in particular, why does it go to such lengths to distinguish between the feet and the toes of the feet, and which one is the clay and which is the iron? For it did not go to such great length there for nothing. You, O king, king of kings — our Sages explained that this is a sanctified term, meaning: a king whom the King of kings, may He be blessed, made king. And it goes on to explain, “to whom the God of heaven [has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory],” etc. — he makes clear to him that the statue as a whole represents the entire sequence of kingdoms that will stand from now until the end of days, until the kingship returns to Hashem alone, the One who enthrones kings. And for as long as it is flesh that reigns and not spirit, [Scripture] pictures it by a statue “whose molten image is false, and there is no breath in it” (Jeremiah 10:14); and just as this statue was made up of four kinds of metal, each baser than the one before, so four different kingdoms will arise, one after another. And since he attributed the head of gold to the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, he explains the reason to him: (1) inasmuch as “you are the king, king of kings” — for this reason it corresponds to the head, since he is king of kings; for until now there had never existed in the world a single person ruling with one unified hand, and every kingdom stood entirely on its own, not joined into one complete body — but now all the kings stand beneath him, and he is the head over them. (2) Just as the head is the seat of the intellect and the spiritual soul, so too this kingship came to him from Hashem, the God of heaven; and this is the meaning of “the God of heaven has given [it] to you.” And just as gold has an advantage over all the other metals in three respects: (1) it lasts longer and does not rust, so it says “has given [him] power” [chisna], for enduring strength is something that lasts; (2) because of its hardness beyond that of the other metals, it therefore says “strength” [tokpa]; (3) because of its worth and importance, it therefore says “and glory” [yekara].
Ibn Yahya
'You, O king, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory' — it was not by your own strength that you attained all this. Now, one who rules over the villages of a single town is called 'a kingdom'; one who rules over the towns of a single province is called 'power'; one who rules over many provinces, districts, and regions is called 'strength'; and one who rules, without qualification, over the whole world is called 'glory,' since there is no glory higher than it. And Hashem gave Nebuchadnezzar all these. As it says—
and wheresoever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven dwell, has He given them into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all; you are the head of gold.
verse value 4152
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 77 letters. Notable word values: "in·your·hand" (בִּידָ֔ךְ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "of" (דִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·fowl·of·the·heavens" (וְעוֹף־שְׁמַיָּא֙, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·in·all·where" (וּבְכׇל־דִּ֣י), "dwell" (דָֽיְרִ֣ין), "sons·of·the·men" (בְּֽנֵי־אֲ֠נָשָׁ֠א). The root כל appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·in·all·where" (root כל, 41x in Daniel); "in·your·hand" (root יד, 26x in Daniel). First appearance of the root דור ("dwell") in Daniel. First appearance of the root חיוה ("beast·of") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·all·of·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Rashi
and has given you dominion over them all And He gave you dominion over them all, so that even if you decree upon a horse, it will not whinny, or upon a bird, it will not fly, as it is said (Jer. 27: 6): “and even the beasts of the field I have given to him to serve him.” You are the head of gold You are the golden head of the image that you saw, for your kingdom is strong, and now it is in existence and is very prominent.
Ibn Ezra
And wherever ... Dwell — like "than dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psalms 84:11).
Metzudat David
And wheresoever – in every place where the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the birds of heaven dwell, He has given all these places into your hand and made you rule over them all — as it is stated, "and also the beasts of the field I have given him, to serve him" (Jeremiah 27:6); and our Sages said that he rode on a lion and tied a serpent about its head. You are the head of gold – meaning, the head of gold in the image alludes to you, for you are first both in time and in rank.
Malbim
And wheresoever [the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven dwell, has He given them into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all] — just as the head bestows intellect and knowledge upon the whole body, a faculty that belongs to man alone, who is a rational being, and likewise bestows sensation and movement, which is shared also by animals and birds, so too, in every place where human beings, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky dwell, He has given them into your hand and made you rule over them all. And therefore, for all these reasons, you are the head of gold.
Ibn Yahya
—wherever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowl of heaven dwell, He has given you dominion over them and placed them in your hand: you are the head of gold.
And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
verse value 5610
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "of" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·all·the·earth" (בְּכׇל־אַרְעָֽא, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 219: another, another. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·after·you" (וּבָתְרָ֗ךְ), "inferior" (אֲרַ֣ע), "third" (תְלִיתָאָ֤ה). The root ארע appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel); "shall·arise" (root קום, 36x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Rashi
And after you will arise another kingdom lower than you And after you, after the reign of your son, Belshazzar, will arise a kingdom that will take the ruling power from your seed, lower and humbler than your kingdom. lower Aram. אֶרַע, lower, as silver is lower and humbler than gold, and you saw that the breast, which is after the head, was of silver; so will the kingdom of Media and Persia, which will follow the kingdom of Babylon, be humbler than the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. and another, a third kingdom [as translated,] another. of copper as strong as copper, and that is the kingdom of Alexander of Macedon.
Ibn Ezra
And after you [shall arise another kingdom inferior to you] — a lower kingdom shall arise after you, as the Targum renders "the lower depths"; and for this reason the earth is called ara [in Aramaic], because it is the lowest of all things. Rav Saadia Gaon said — and all the commentators relied on him — that the gold is the kingdom of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar, his son Evil-Merodach, and Belshazzar his grandson, with whom the kingdom of the Chaldeans came to an end; as it is written, "In that very night Belshazzar the king was slain ... and Darius the Mede received the kingdom" (Daniel 5:30-31). And this is correct, for Scripture states, "And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son" (Jeremiah 27:7); and it is also written, "and they shall be servants to him and to his sons" — referring to Evil-Merodach and Belshazzar his son (for a grandson, too, is called "son," as in "to Reuel their father" [Exodus 2:18], for he was [really] Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses). And it is written, "And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon [lifted up the head of the king of Judah]" (II Kings 25:27) — so he [Evil-Merodach] reigned between the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Belshazzar. And the silver — the kingdom of Media and Persia; I will explain further, for there is great confusion regarding their number. And the brass — this is the kingdom of Greece, whose first [king] was Alexander of Macedon, as Daniel will explain in his words of prophecy. And the Gaon said that the fourth [kingdom] is the kingdom of Aram. Now, "it shall be strong" refers to the kingdom of Ishmael, which he found no mention of in the book of Daniel, even though it is greater in length and breadth than all the kingdoms mentioned. And he said that the kingdom of Aram is comparable to the iron, and the clay is the kingdom of Ishmael. He further said in his book: Do not wonder that he compared the kingdom of Ishmael to clay — it is not [really] lesser than the kingdoms mentioned; this is simply the order in which one arranges his vessels: first he displays the gold, then the silver, then the brass, then the iron, and last the clay vessels. But these are empty and confused words (tohu vavohu), for there is no proper order to his arrangement. The proof is that Daniel said of the kingdom of Persia [that it would be] "inferior to you," just as silver is inferior to gold; and he said of the clay, "and part of it shall be broken" — and the reliable proof that the clay belongs to the kingdom of iron is that it states explicitly, regarding the toes of iron and toes of clay: "part of the kingdom shall be strong and part shall be broken." Now, it is one kingdom [i.e., a single image] — so how can the kingdom of Ishmael be joined with the kingdom of Aram, when Ishmael never ruled over it, and their religions are not the same?! And since this is so, one must wonder why Daniel did not mention the kingdom of Ishmael at all, and why there were not five kingdoms [instead of four]. Now I will explain: know that Alexander, who was king of Greece, is the one who killed Darius the Persian, as Daniel will explain; he was also king of Aram, and Aram itself is Kittim, as Joseph ben Gurion showed in his book. And in Daniel it says, "and ships of Kittim shall come against him" (Daniel 11:30); and it appears, as best as can be determined, that the Targum renders "ships" as "they shall be sent from the Romans." Now Kittim is a son of Javan — "Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim" (Genesis 10:4) — so the kingdom of brass is the kingdom of Greece, and the kingdom of Aram is [also] the kingdom of Greece. If so, the iron is the kingdom of Ishmael. And because the kingdom of Persia destroyed the entire kingdom of the Chaldeans, and the kingdom of Greece likewise destroyed the entire kingdom of Persia, but the kingdom of Ishmael — which is the iron — was unable to destroy the [entire] kingdom of Greece, but destroyed only part of that kingdom. And so, to this day, there are places where Ishmael defeats the kingdom of Aram, and places where Ishmael is defeated. Therefore it says, "part of the kingdom shall be broken and part shall be strong"; and afterward it says, "and in the days of those kings" — meaning two kingdoms [that together make up] the kingdom of Aram, namely the kingdom of Greece and the kingdom of Ishmael, and these two kingdoms [still exist] on this very day. And "this fourth kingdom" is the kingdom of Ishmael, which has spread throughout the world, for all of Persia and Media, Sheba and Seba, Egypt and Africa, much of India, and most of the kingdom of Cush have gone over to its religion.
Metzudat David
And after you – after you another kingdom will arise, inferior to you — that is, lower and worse than you. Just as the breast and arms are below the head, and were made of silver, which is inferior to gold, so the kingdom that comes after you will be inferior to you; and this is the kingdom of Media. And another third kingdom – and the third kingdom, which will reign after it, will be of brass, and will rule over the whole earth; this is the kingdom of Greece, [whose people are] as hard and strong as brass; it will reign after Media, just as the belly and thighs are below the breast and arms. And the kingdom of Rome is included within the kingdom of Greece, as it is stated, "and ships from the coast of Kittim" (Numbers 24:24), which Targum Onkelos renders, "and fleets shall set out from the Romans," and likewise in the Jerusalem Talmud, "from the Romans"; and the Kittites are among the descendants of Greece, as it is stated, "and the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim" (Genesis 10:4).
Malbim
And after you [shall arise another kingdom] — “and after you another kingdom shall arise, lower than you” — now he explains to him the parable of the silver, which ranks after gold; this alludes to the kingdom that will arise after him, namely the kingdom of Media and Persia, which is “another” kingdom after his — that is, of a different kind, just as silver is not of the same kind as gold. “And [it shall be] inferior to you” — just as silver ranks lower in importance than gold. And he depicted it with a chest and two arms, because this kingdom consisted of two kingdoms, Media and Persia — just as he later saw in the vision (ch. 8) that it had two horns. “And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth” — that is, the third part, the belly and the thighs, which were of brass, alludes to the third kingdom, namely the kingdom of Greece, which is likewise “another” kingdom, of a different kind, just as bronze is a different metal [from gold and silver]. And the reason it is of bronze is that it will rule over all the earth, for bronze signifies the might of a kingdom. And also, just as the navel is bound up with the whole body, since it is from the navel that the whole body grows during gestation, and it is man's root insofar as he is like “a tree of the field” (see Deuteronomy 20:19) with respect to his vegetative soul — so too the kingdom of Alexander will fill the whole earth.
Ibn Yahya
And after you shall arise another kingdom, inferior to you; and a third kingdom after it, of brass, which shall rule over all the earth.
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and beats down all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.
verse value 5139
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "that" (דִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·like·the·iron" (וּֽכְפַרְזְלָ֛א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 344: and·beats·down, and·like·the·iron. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "like·the·iron" (כְּפַרְזְלָ֑א), "breaks·in·pieces" (מְהַדֵּ֤ק), "and·beats·down" (וְחָשֵׁל֙). The root פרזל appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "shall·be" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "and·kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel). First appearance of the root רביעי ("fourth") in Daniel. First appearance of the root תקיף ("strong") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'like·the·iron', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 11 words.
Rashi
And a fourth kingdom will be as hard as iron, as you saw the thighs, which are the fourth from the head, the breast, and the belly, and they are of iron. crumbles and flattens everything flattens and crumbles all kinds of metal, which are flattened with a hammer. and flattens Aram. וְחָשֵּׁל, and flattens. There are many such [words] in the Talmud. Keth. 77a, “who thins copper for kettles (חַשְּׁלָא דוּדֵי)”; Hul. 93a: “crushed testicles (בֵּיעֵי חֳשִּׁלָתָא).” all these all these kinds of metals that you saw in the image. it will crumble and shatter It will crumble and shatter all the nations.
Metzudat David
And the fourth kingdom – and the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron. Scripture does not say of it, as it did of the second and third kingdoms, that it would come "after" or "afterward," because the kingdom of Media took the kingdom away from the Chaldeans completely, leaving them no rule at all; and likewise the kingdom of Greece took the kingdom away from Media completely, leaving them no rule at all. But it was not so that the kingdom was taken away from Greece completely, for Rome still reigns and rules, and it is part of the kingdom of Greece, as stated above. Forasmuch as – meaning, this is why it is likened to iron: because iron crushes and flattens everything; and just as iron pulverizes everything, so this fourth kingdom will crush and pulverize all these kingdoms — even the surviving remnant from Chaldea and from Media. This is the kingdom of Ishmael, whose dominion will spread out after the spread of the kingdom of Greece, just as the legs and feet are below the belly and thighs.
Metzudat Zion
And beats down (vechashel) - And flattens by hammering; and so in the words of our sages, "chashlei dudi" (hammer out my [copper] pots) (Ketubot 77).
Malbim
And the fourth kingdom [shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces And beats down all things; And as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces And crush] — now he explains the parable of the iron, which alludes to the fourth kingdom, namely the kingdom of Rome. Here he does not say “after,” because the kingdom of Rome did not arise all of a sudden; rather, it first functioned together with the kingdom of Greece as one, and each was itself a mighty kingdom. He therefore depicts the thighs and the legs, both of which belong to the joints of the leg — the thighs of bronze and the legs of iron — because they stood adjacent to one another; therefore he does not say “another kingdom after,” but simply “the fourth kingdom.” And he explains that they resembled iron with respect to their strength — that they would be mighty as iron — and this in two respects: (1) like iron, which pulverizes and strips away everything — even things it does not shatter, it grinds down fine or strips them for use; (2) like iron that crushes and shatters completely — so, too, some nations they will shatter completely, while others they will pulverize and weaken, so that they remain within their own kingdoms but subdued beneath them. Regarding the first aspect it says “it shall break in pieces,” and regarding the second it says “and crush.” And this corresponds to what he later saw in the vision, in chapter 7: “it devoured, and broke in pieces, and stamped what was left with its feet” (Daniel 7:7).
Ibn Yahya
And after it, a fourth kingdom, which shall be strong as iron; and just as iron crushes, shatters, and cuts down everything, so it shall shatter and break all the remaining kingdoms that are found, and the kingdoms that preceded it.
And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the firmness of the iron, forasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.
verse value 5781
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 116 letters. The shortest word is "that" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·whereas·you·saw" (וְדִֽי־חֲזַ֜יְתָה, 8 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·whereas·you·saw" (וְדִֽי־חֲזַ֜יְתָה), "and·the·toes" (וְאֶצְבְּעָתָ֗א), "part·of·them" (מִנְּהֵ֞ן). The root פרזל appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "shall·be" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "a·kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אצבע ("and·the·toes") in Daniel. First appearance of the root ערב ("mixed") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·be·in·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 7 words.
Rashi
potter’s clay Aram. חֲסַף דִּי פֶחָר, a potter’s clay, and there are many instances of this in the Talmud (Taanith 7a): “vessels of a potter (מָאנֵי דְפַחְרָא).” it will be a divided kingdom It will be a divided kingdom; two kings will rise from it at once, strong and weak, as explained below (verse 42): “part of the kingdom will be strong.” and in it will be some of the strength of iron Even the weak one will be stronger than the other nations through the strength of his fellow, for they will fear him. And this is the meaning of וּמִן נִצְבְּתָא דִּי פַרְזְלָא לֶהֶוֵא בָהּ ; some of the strength of the stability of iron will be in the weak king. in view of what you saw in view of what you saw—iron mixed with clay.
Ibn Ezra
And ... Potters' clay — a clay vessel [made] by a potter; and therefore he explains that it is "a divided kingdom." Firmness — like "strength." Mixed — like "and they mingled among the nations" (Psalms 106:35).
Metzudat David
And whereas you saw – The feet and toes that you saw were partly the potter's clay and partly iron. A divided kingdom – The meaning is that the kingdom will be divided: in some places the power of Rome will be strong as iron, and in some places the power of Rome will be weak, like this clay — just as it still is today. Of the firmness – But the strength and capacity of the iron will be present in all of them; that is, the strong regions among them will use their power to help the weak ones, so that none may wipe them off the face of the earth. Forasmuch as – That is, because you saw the iron mixed with clay made of mire (for he saw iron and clay mixed together in one place, something not mentioned above) — as if to say: this indicates that the strong will help the weak, because of the intermixture that will exist among them, as will be explained below.
Metzudat Zion
Potters' [clay] (di fachar) - Of a potter [who works] clay; and so in the words of our sages, "bimanei defachra" (in earthenware vessels) (Ta'anit 7). Firmness (nitzbeta) - An expression of "planting," as in "the stock (matzevet) that remains in them" (Isaiah 6:13); here it means strength and capacity, since planting represents the vitality that produces the fruit and the leaves.
Malbim
And whereas you saw [the feet And toes, part of potters’ clay, And part of iron, it shall be A divided kingdom] — now, regarding this fourth kingdom, which was depicted by legs and feet, these being the last two joints of the leg, he saw that the legs were entirely of iron, but the segments of the feet and toes he saw as partly potter's clay and partly iron. This is because the kingdom of Rome was at first entirely mighty as iron; and he depicted this kingdom with two legs, because it was divided into two kingdoms, Ishmael and Edom, and both were of iron — until they reached the feet. This is the meaning of “it shall be A divided kingdom.” And from then on, one was always of iron and the other of clay, for one would always grow strong while the other grew weak; therefore he does not specify which foot would be of iron and which of clay, because this was not fixed — at times the former prevailed, and at times the latter prevailed. He further saw “of the firmness” — that is, that some of the strength of the iron would be present in the clay as well, just as you saw the iron mixed with the potter's clay — meaning that even in the kingdom that would be weak, there would be found some mighty individuals mixed in among the weak.
Ibn Yahya
And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of them potter's clay and part of them iron — this hints that the kingdom will be divided, and that something of the toughness of iron will be in the clay, corresponding to what you saw: the iron mixed with the clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part thereof broken.
verse value 5220
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 73 letters. Verse gematria: 5220 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "clay" (חֲסַ֑ף, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·toes·of" (וְאֶצְבְּעָת֙, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·toes·of" (וְאֶצְבְּעָת֙), "part·of" (מִן־קְצָ֤ת), "broken" (תְבִירָֽה). The root מן appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "shall·be" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "the·kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel); "part·of·them" (root מן, 32x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'clay', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 7 words.
Ibn Ezra
And the toes — these are the princes of Ishmael, and kings in the east and in the west.
Metzudat David
And as the toes of the feet – Now [Scripture] comes to explain what was said in the preceding verse, “it shall be a divided kingdom.” It states that what you saw — the toes of the feet, part iron and part clay — indicates that part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be broken and weak.
Malbim
And the toes of the feet — after this he turned his attention to the toes of the feet, the very final part of the image, which allude to the last period of the kingdoms. And he saw that the toes numbered ten, for at the end of days the general Roman empire — which had split between Edom and Ishmael, the two feet — will divide into ten toes, that is, ten kingdoms; for then there will be ten great kingdoms in the world, and no longer will a single kingdom rule over the whole globe, but rather ten will rule the globe, some of them from the descendants of Edom and some from Ishmael. So too he saw in the vision (Daniel 7) ten horns on the fourth beast, as will be explained there. And at that time it will not be that one side is iron and the other side is clay; rather, in every foot there will be found both toes of iron and toes of clay — meaning that both within the kingdom of Edom and within the kingdom of Ishmael there will be found strong kings and weak kings. Hence it says, ‘part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part thereof broken,’ meaning that within that kingdom itself there will also be found brokenness.
Ibn Yahya
'And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay' — this alludes to the fact that part of the kingdom will be strong as iron, while part of it will be broken and weak as clay.
And whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron does not mingle with clay.
verse value 4685
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 88 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לָ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "mingling" (מִתְעָרְבִ֤ין, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 318: the·iron, the·iron. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "mingling" (מִתְעָרְבִ֤ין), "by·seed·of" (בִּזְרַ֣ע), "and·not·they·shall·be" (וְלָֽא־לֶהֱוֺ֥ן). The root ערב appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·whereas" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "they·shall·be" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·this', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 5 words.
Rashi
that they will mingle with the seed of men They will intermarry with the other nations but they will not be at peace and truly cleave to them wholeheartedly, and their laws will differ from the laws of the other nations. as iron does not mix with clay Is it not just as iron does not stick well to clay?
Ibn Ezra
As you saw — the meaning of "they shall mingle" is that they all take wives from [other] nations — for example, the Persians take Babylonian women, and the Sabeans take Egyptian women — yet they do not resemble one another in build, in clothing, in food, or in custom; and there is also disagreement in their religion. This applies all the more to the descendants of Ham, who are in the southwestern region across the sea, and who border the great sea called the Ocean.
Metzudat David
And whereas you saw – Now [Scripture] comes to explain what the intermixture between them will be, on account of which they will help one another. It says: what you saw — iron mixed with clay made of mire — indicates that they will mix with one another by the seed of men, for they will take wives for themselves from among each other's daughters and give their own daughters to them; and because of this the strong will help the weak. But they shall not – Yet they will not be bound to one another in a love that comes from the heart. Even as – Just as iron does not blend with clay so as to become joined together, so too they will not be bound in love of heart; nevertheless, because of the intermixture, they will help one another against the enemy — namely, Rome.
Malbim
And whereas you saw — and the fact that you saw that even in the toes of the feet iron was mixed with clay of mud, is because these kingdoms will intermix among the seed of men: the weak will intermarry with the strong and bind themselves to them through covenant ties, and through this the weak will gain strength from the strong. Yet for all that, they will not truly cling to one another, for they will speak with a divided heart, and the strong one will scheme to swallow up the weak beneath his rule.
Ibn Yahya
'And whereas you saw the iron mixed with the clay' — this alludes to the fact that they will intermingle through the seed of men, but they will not cleave to one another, just as iron does not mingle with clay.
And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; nor shall the kingdom be left to another people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever.
verse value 6701
Insights
Verse structure: 24 words, 105 letters. Notable word values: "the·God·of" (אֱלָ֨הּ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "who" (דִּ֧י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·in·days·of·them" (וּֽבְיוֹמֵיה֞וֹן, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: not, not. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·in·days·of·them" (וּֽבְיוֹמֵיה֞וֹן), "shall·be·left" (תִשְׁתְּבִ֑ק), "and·shall·consume" (וְתָסֵיף֙). The root מלכו appears 3 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·kings" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "who" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אנון ("those") in Daniel. First appearance of the root חבל ("shall·be·destroyed") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·be·left', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 7 words.
Rashi
And in the days of these kings in the days of these kings, when the kingdom of Rome is still in existence. the God Of heaven will set up a kingdom The kingdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, which will never be destroyed, is the kingdom of the Messiah. it will crumble and destroy It will crumble and destroy all these kingdoms.
Ibn Ezra
And in the days of [those kings] — the kingdom of the Messiah. Shall not be left — it shall not be abandoned, and it shall not be left over [for another]. All — and the meaning of "without hands" is that [it will come about] not by an army and not by force, but of itself, at the time of the end.
Metzudat David
And in the days of those kings – In the days of these kings, that is, the kingdoms of Greece and Rome; for that one [Greece] too will hold sway and reign at the time the kingdom of Rome expands, as stated above. Shall set up – The God of heaven will establish a single kingdom that will never be destroyed, and its kingship will never be given over to another people. It shall break in pieces – It will crush and consume the very last remnant still remaining of the Chaldeans and of the Medes. But it – That kingdom will endure forever; it is the kingdom of the Messiah, may he be revealed speedily, in our days.
Malbim
And in the days of those kings — at the time when these kings alluded to by the toes of the feet — who are the last kings, who will arise in the time of the redemption — exist, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, meaning a kingdom that will stand forever and never be nullified. And the kingdom shall not be left to another people — meaning also that it will not allow any other people to reign alongside it, for it alone will be the kingdom, none besides it. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms — first it will crush and weaken them, and afterward it will consume and destroy them utterly, while it itself will stand forever.
Ibn Yahya
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed; and a kingdom that will not be left to any people other than itself — it will crush and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.
Forasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.’
verse value 5352
Insights
Verse structure: 27 words, 111 letters. Notable word values: "and·the·gold" (וְדַהֲבָ֔א) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "that" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·you·saw" (דִּֽי־חֲזַ֡יְתָ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 45: that·not, what. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "from·the·mountain" (מִטּוּרָא֩), "was·cut" (אִתְגְּזֶ֨רֶת), "and·certain" (וְיַצִּ֥יב). The root די appears 2 times in this verse. 26 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "that·not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אמן ("and·sure") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 23 and 4 words.
Rashi
Just as you saw just as you saw that a stone was broken off the mountain, which crumbled the entire image. This is the interpretation that the fifth kingdom will destroy and shatter them all. what will be after this what will be after this, after this kingdom of yours. and its interpretation is reliable for the Eternal of Israel neither lies nor repents.
Ibn Ezra
And the dream is certain — the dream is true, and its interpretation is reliable.
Metzudat David
Forasmuch as – That is, this matter is alluded to by what you saw: that a stone was cut from the mountain by itself, not by human hands, and it crushed the iron, etc. For so will the kingdom of the Messiah be: it will come not by might and not by power, but of itself, when the time arrives; and it will destroy all the nations that do not accept upon themselves the yoke of God. The great God – The great God made known to the king what would happen after this kingdom now ruling — namely, who precisely would rule until the end of days. And the dream is certain – Just as the substance of the dream is true, for you indeed saw exactly this, so is the interpretation trustworthy, for so it shall be.
Malbim
Forasmuch as — this corresponds to what you saw, that a stone was cut out without hands and crushed the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold: the stone alludes to the ‘Stone of Israel,’ which will arise through Hashem — not by human hands or human power — and this stone will destroy them all. Now, as to why the order is changed here to ‘iron, brass, clay,’ when the order should really be ‘iron, clay, brass,’ following their sequence from bottom to top in the image — he is informing us by this how this will come about: it will happen through the wars of Gog and Magog, when all the descendants of Edom will gather to make war against the descendants of Ishmael, and they will destroy one another, as is explained in Ezekiel and Zechariah. And it is clear that Edom is alluded to by the iron [for it will be powerful at that time against Ishmael], while Greece, alluded to by the brass, belongs to the same kingdom as Edom; whereas under the kingdom of the descendants of Ishmael will then be Media and Persia, alluded to by the silver, and Babylon, alluded to by the gold — for all of these are bound up within the kingdom of the descendants of Ishmael, as is known. Hence it says, ‘and it shall crush the iron, the brass,’ meaning that the iron and the brass — Edom and Greece — will crush ‘the clay, the silver, and the gold,’ the descendants of Ishmael, who are the clay that encompasses the silver and the gold, namely Persia and Babylon. The great God has made known to the king what will happen afterward — how the stone will grow forever, and this will be the end of days and their culmination. And it says the dream is certain — the dream has a sure fulfillment, and therefore its interpretation is sure, for the Eternal One of Israel does not lie and does not relent.
Ibn Yahya
'Forasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain by itself and not by human hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold' — for this is a parable: the last kingdom, symbolized by this stone, will cut off all that remains of the other kingdoms, symbolized by the gold, silver, etc. As for what I have to say about this dream: the great God has made known to the king what is to happen hereafter, and the dream is reliable, for it is true and not false, and its interpretation is trustworthy and enduring. It is fitting to know that the second kingdom after Nebuchadnezzar and his sons was the kingdom of Media and Persia. The third kingdom was the kingdom of Greece, which began with Alexander the Macedonian, who prevailed over his brother. And the fourth kingdom is the kingdom of Rome, which was split into two: part of it Christians and part of it Ishmaelites — and so the iron is mixed with the clay, for many Ishmaelites live under the rule of the Christians; and even those who do not live under their rule come into their cities to trade, to buy and to sell; and likewise Christians live under the rule of the Ishmaelites. Indeed, today in Constantinople there are fifteen hundred wealthy Christian merchant householders from Florence, Venice, Genoa, and other corners of the earth, and these show one another honor and good fellowship; yet, be that as it may, they do not intermarry with one another, just as iron does not cleave to clay with a true bond. And the last kingdom is the kingdom of the Messiah-King, who will not reign by human power but by divine power, and will endure forever and ever.
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.
verse value 1882
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "to·him" (לֵֽהּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "Nebuchadnezzar" (נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּר֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 67: then, worshiped. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "upon·his·face" (עַל־אַנְפּ֔וֹהִי), "worshiped" (סְגִ֑ד), "and·sweet·odors" (וְנִ֣יחֹחִ֔ין). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "and·to·Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). First appearance of the root נפל ("fell") in Daniel. First appearance of the root סגד ("worshiped") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'worshiped', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: בֵּ֠אדַ֠יִן [then] (67) + מַלְכָּ֤א [the·king] (91) + נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּר֙ [Nebuchadnezzar] (422) + נְפַ֣ל [fell] (160) + עַל־אַנְפּ֔וֹהִי [upon·his·face] (252) + וּלְדָנִיֵּ֖אל [and·to·Daniel] (131) + סְגִ֑ד [worshiped] (67) + וּמִנְחָה֙ [and·offering] (109) + וְנִ֣יחֹחִ֔ין [and·sweet·odors] (142) + אֲמַ֖ר [said] (241) + לְנַסָּ֥כָה [to·offer] (165) + לֵֽהּ [to·him] (35) = 1882.
Rashi
ordered to offer up... libations He wished to deify him.
Ibn Ezra
Then ... [HE] prostrated himself — he bowed down: he prostrated himself to him and bowed. Sweet odors — for he regarded him [Daniel] as though he were a god.
Metzudat David
Then – Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and bowed down to Daniel. An offering – An actual offering, for our Sages, of blessed memory, said that he intended to worship him as a deity. And sweet odors – Wine brought for libation and for a pleasing spirit; he commanded it poured out before him, but in truth it was never poured out before him, because Daniel would not accept it — so, too, our Sages, of blessed memory, said.
Malbim
Then — then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and bowed down to Daniel, and ordered that a meal-offering and incense be offered to him, for he thought that there was divinity within him — just as the ancients used to attribute divinity to anyone in whom they perceived something beyond the natural order. Therefore, instead of falling on his face to give thanks to the God on high, he bowed down to Daniel, thinking that it was he upon whom the God on high had made His Presence rest, and that he served as an intermediary between Him and mankind — as it is written [Malachi 2], ‘incense is offered, and a gift presented, to My name,’ for they would burn incense to whomever they believed had some closeness to the Name of Hashem. And it is clear that Daniel did not accept this from him, as our Sages have also stated — and it is concerning this that [the next verse continues].
Ibn Yahya
Then, when Nebuchadnezzar heard the dream and its interpretation, he recognized them as true, and fell on his face, as a sign that he was acknowledging that this was indeed the dream and the interpretation that he had dreamed. And he bowed down to Daniel. And out of intense honor he commanded that a meal offering and libations be poured out to him, in order to show the peoples that he had risen to divine rank and gone beyond the bounds of humanity. And understand his statement, 'he commanded to pour it out to him' — for in fact no libation was poured, because Daniel prevented the matter and did not want [the king] to worship him, but only wanted him to worship the living God who had made all this known.
The king spoke to Daniel, and said: ‘Of a truth it is, that your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you have been able to reveal this secret.’
verse value 2910
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 75 letters. Notable word values: "the·God·of" (אֱלָ֧הּ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "that" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Daniel" (לְדָנִיֵּ֜אל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 247: and·said, and·the·Lord·of. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "from·truth" (מִן־קְשֹׁט֙), "your·God" (אֱלָהֲכ֗וֹן), "and·the·Lord·of" (וּמָרֵ֥א). The root אלה appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel). First appearance of the root מרא ("and·the·Lord·of") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'secrets', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Rashi
truly [as translated,] in truth. and the Master of the kings The Lord of lords. this secret [as translated,] this secret.
Ibn Ezra
Of a truth — [related to] "that you may know the truth of true words" (Proverbs 22:21).
Metzudat David
The king spoke – When Daniel would not accept it, the king said to him: Do not think that I am denying the God of heaven — it is not so; for “of a truth,” etc. — meaning, it is true that your God is God over every god. As if to say: even granting that you [Daniel] are a god, He is nonetheless greater than you. And the Lord [of kings] – He rules and is prince over all kings, but you are not so. And a revealer [of secrets] – He is the one who reveals secrets, and that is why you were able to reveal this secret. As if to say: the very fact that this secret was revealed is because the God of heaven is the revealer of secrets, and He revealed it to you — so He is indeed far greater than you, and how could I deny Him?
Malbim
The king spoke to Daniel, and said — as though excusing himself, [explaining] that he does not thereby impinge upon the honor of Hashem, for he believes that Hashem is ‘the God of gods.’ Now, at that time people used to attribute a different power to each god — a god of thunder, a god of wind and storm, a god of rains, a god of might and strength, a god of wisdom and secrets — while believing that there was one supreme being who was god over them all. Hence he says that he believes the God of Israel to be the God of them all in godhood, with all of them beneath Him; and likewise that He is the Lord of kings and the Revealer of secrets — all of which had become clear through this dream, showing that He rules over all eras and over kings, to raise up and to remove them, and that He knows all secrets. All this became clear from the fact ‘that you have been able to reveal this secret.’
Ibn Yahya
Therefore, after Daniel's words, the king answered and said that in truth your God is the God of gods and the Lord of all kings, because through Him you were able to reveal this secret.
Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
verse value 3605
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 75 letters. The shortest word is "over" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·chief·of·prefects" (וְרַ֨ב־סִגְנִ֔ין, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 100: over, over. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "made·great" (רַבִּ֗י), "and·gifts" (וּמַתְּנָ֨ן), "many" (שַׂגִּיאָן֙). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel); "over" (root על, 64x in Daniel). First appearance of the root רבה ("made·great") in Daniel. First appearance of the root רברב ("great") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Babylon', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 4 words.
Rashi
elevated Daniel He elevated Daniel over all the princes.
Ibn Ezra
Then ... made [Daniel] great — he exalted him. Some say that "medinah" [province] is the name for a district; but if so, how could Ahasuerus have had a hundred twenty-seven provinces (Esther 1:1), when a king who has [only] ten is [already] a great king? And it is written, "violence and perverted justice you see in the medinah" (Ecclesiastes 5:7) — [which shows] that its meaning is [rather] "royal city." And it is written, "to Judah, the province, to the house of the great God" (Ezra 5:8). And further: "and I was in Shushan the capital, which is in Elam, the medinah" (Daniel 8:2) — and if Elam is [merely] a district, why does it not say "in the province of Elam," just as they explained regarding "the province of Babylon"?! And chief prefect — like "and prefects came."
Metzudat David
Then – Then the king made Daniel great, gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over all the provinces of Babylon. And chief prefect – He made him head over the officers who were in charge of all the wise men of Babylon; that is, he was made chief over the officers, etc.
Metzudat Zion
Prefect (seganin) - A term for a certain rank of authority, as in "and he shall come upon rulers (seganim) as upon mortar" (Isaiah 41:25).
Malbim
Then — then, once the king saw that Daniel would not accept divine honor, he raised him to greatness in authority and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
Ibn Yahya
Then the king made Daniel great, granting him many ongoing sources of income for all the days of his life, and giving him many gifts of movable property together with land. And he made him ruler over the whole province and kingdom of Babylon in material affairs, and made him chief of the prefects over the wise men of Babylon in matters of the mind.
And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the gate of the king.
verse value 3529
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "over" (עַ֤ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Daniel" (וְדָנִיֵּאל֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 101: and·Daniel, and·Daniel. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "the·affairs" (עֲבִֽידְתָּא֙), "in·gate·of" (בִּתְרַ֥ע). The root דניאל appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "of" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'nego', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 3 words.
Rashi
and he appointed, over the affairs of the capital cities of Babylon He appointed, over all the necessities of the kingdom, Hananiah Mishael, and Azariah.
Ibn Ezra
But Daniel was in the gate of the king — for this is a position of great rank, for there the judges and magistrates would sit. Likewise, "and Mordecai sat in the king's gate" (Esther 2:19), as I explained in [my commentary on] the Scroll of Esther.
Metzudat David
Requested – He asked the king to grant some position of authority to his companions; and [Scripture] is brief here about a matter that is self-evident. And he appointed – He placed Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in charge of the king's affairs in the province of Babylon. In the gate of the king – He sat continually at the gate of the king's house, which was a position of great stature and honor.
Malbim
And Daniel asked the king to lighten this burden from him; so instead of making him minister over Babylon, the king assigned that task to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, while Daniel himself remained at the king’s gate, serving as the king’s counselor, father figure, and patron.
Ibn Yahya
And Daniel asked permission from the king, and appointed his companions over the affairs of the province and kingdom of Babylon. And he himself sat in the gate of the king like a king, as a minister and judge; and his companions and the other officials of the kingdom would bring every difficult matter to him, while they themselves would judge the rest.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim
Ibn Yahya