Daniel 2

This is the second chapter of the Book of Daniel. Daniel and his three friends, who were trained at the Babylonian court in chapter 1, now face their first life-threatening test.

Outline

• Verses 1–11 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and is troubled. He demands that the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans tell him both the dream itself and its interpretation. The wise men reply that no one but the gods could reveal such a thing.
• Verses 12–16 The king orders that all the wise men of Babylon be put to death, and Daniel and his companions are also in danger of being slain. Daniel asks Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, about the matter and requests time from the king.
• Verses 17–23 Daniel, together with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, seeks mercy from God. When the secret is revealed to him in a night vision, he praises God.
• Verses 24–30 Brought before the king by Arioch, Daniel declares that only the God of heaven reveals secrets.
• Verses 31–35 The dream itself. The image's head is of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron, and its feet a mixture of iron and clay. A stone cut out without hands breaks the image in pieces and becomes a great mountain that fills the whole earth.
• Verses 36–45 The interpretation. The head of gold is Nebuchadnezzar, and after him three kingdoms arise in succession. The fourth kingdom is strong as iron but divided. In the days of these kings, God will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.
• Verses 46–49 The king bows down before Daniel and confesses that Daniel's God is "a God of gods." Daniel is made ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief over all the wise men. At Daniel's request, his three friends are also promoted.

Key Verses

• Daniel 2:21 "He removeth kings, and setteth up kings" — This verse distills the theme of the entire Book of Daniel: that sovereignty over history belongs to God.
• Daniel 2:28 "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets" — This verse contrasts the wisdom of the Babylonian wise men with the revelation of God.
• Daniel 2:44 "The God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed … and it shall stand for ever" — This is regarded as an important Old Testament text for the concept of the kingdom of God.

Characters and Places

• Nebuchadnezzar: King of Babylon.
• Daniel: A young man taken captive from Judah; his Babylonian name is Belteshazzar.
• Arioch: Captain of the king's guard.
• Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Daniel's companions, who in verse 49 are called by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
• Babylon: The imperial capital in which the narrative is set.

Notes for Reading

• From the latter part of verse 4 through the end of chapter 7, the text is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew (see languages of the Bible).
• Interpretations differ on the identity of the four kingdoms. Traditionally, they have often been read as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Historical-critical scholars frequently identify them as Babylon, Media, Persia, and Greece. The vision of the image is generally considered a counterpart to the vision of the four beasts in Daniel 7.
• Views also diverge on what the stone and its kingdom represent. Dispensationalism tends to read the feet and toes as the kingdom of the end times and the stone as the millennial kingdom following the Second Coming. In the Reformed tradition, many interpret the stone as the first coming of Christ and the kingdom of God that grows from it. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is known to regard Daniel 2 and 7 as foundational to prophetic interpretation.
• Some interpreters connect "that stone" in Luke 20:18 with the stone imagery of this chapter.
• Commentators have offered various explanations for reconciling the three-year training period in chapter 1 with "the second year" of the king's reign in chapter 2.

In Korean Churches

In Sunday schools, the story of Daniel and his three friends is frequently taught together with the fiery furnace episode in Daniel 3. Verses 17–18 are often cited in sermons as a model of believers praying together.