Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 2:28
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
28. But, though human skill is unable to satisfy the king, there is a God in heaven, the revealer of secrets, who has in reality by means of this dream disclosed to him the future. Cf. Gen 41:28.
and maketh known ] and he hath made known.
in the latter days ] lit. in the end ( closing-part [210] ) of the days. An expression which occurs fourteen times in the O.T., and which always denotes the closing period of the future so far as it falls within the range of view of the writer using it. The sense expressed by it is thus relative, not absolute, varying with the context. In Gen 49:1 (spoken from Jacob’s standpoint) it is used of the period of Israel’s occupation of Canaan; in Num 24:14 of the period of Israel’s future conquest of Moab and Edom (see Dan 2:17-18); in Deu 31:29; Deu 4:30, of the periods, respectively, of Israel’s future apostasy and return to God; in Eze 38:16 (cf. Dan 2:8 with years for days) of the imagined period of Gog’s attack upon restored Israel; in Dan 10:14 of the age of Antiochus Epiphanes. Elsewhere it is used of the ideal, or Messianic age, conceived as following at the close of the existing order of things: Hos 3:5; Isa 2:2 (= Mic 4:1); Jer 48:47; Jer 49:39; comp. Jer 23:20 (= Jer 30:24) [211] . Here, as the sequel shews, it is similarly the period of the establishment of the Divine Kingdom which is principally denoted by it (v. 34, 35, 4 4, 45); but the closing years of the fourth kingd om (v. 40-43) ma y also well be included in it.
[210] For the sense of see Job 8:7; Job 42:12 (where it denotes clearly the latter part of a man’s life).
[211] Cf. in the N.T. Act 2:17 (for the ‘afterward’ of Joe 2:28), Heb 1:2, 2Ti 3:1 , 2Pe 3:3.
visions of thy head ] Dan 4:5; Dan 4:10; Dan 4:13, Dan 7:1; Dan 7:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets – One of the principal objects contemplated in all that occurred respecting this dream and its interpretation was, to direct the mind of the monarch to the true God, and to secure the acknowledgment of his supremacy. Hence, it was so ordered that those who were most eminent for wisdom, and who were regarded as the favorites of heaven, were constrained to confess their entire inability to explain the mystery. The way was thus prepared to show that he who could do this must be the true God, and must be worthy of adoration and praise. Thus prepared, the mind of the monarch was now directed by this pious Hebrew youth, though a captive, to a truth so momentous and important. His whole training, his modesty and his piety, all were combined to lead him to attribute whatever skill he might evince in so difficult a matter to the true God alone: and we can scarcely conceive of a more sublime object of contemplation than this young man, in the most magnificent court of the world, directing the thoughts of the most mighty monarch that then occupied a throne, to the existence and the perfections of the true God.
And maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar – Margin, hath made. The translation in the text is more correct, for it was not true that he had as yet actually made these things known to the king. He had furnished intimations of what was to occur, but he had not yet been permitted to understand their signification.
What shall be in the latter days – Greek ep’ eschaton ton hemeron – in the last days. Vulgate, in novissimis temporibus – in the last times. Chaldee, be‘acharyth yomaya’ – in the after days; or, as Faber expresses it, in the afterhood of days. The phrase means what we should express by saying, hereafter – in future times – in time to come. This phrase often has special reference to the times of the Messiah, as the last dispensation of things on the earth, or as that under which the affairs of the world will be wound up. Compare the notes at Isa 2:2. It does not appear, however, to be used in that sense here, but it denotes merely future times. The phrase the latter days, therefore, does not exactly convey the sense of the original. It is future days rather than latter days.
Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed – The phrase visions of thy head means conceptions or notions formed by the brain. It would seem from this, that, even in the time of Daniel, the brain was regarded as, in some sense, the organ of thinking, or that thought had its seat in the head. We are not to suppose that by the use of these different expressions Daniel meant to describe two things, or to intimate that Nebuchadnezzar had had visions which were distinct. What he saw might be described as a dream or a vision; it, in fact, had the nature of both.
Are these – These which I now proceed to describe.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Dan 2:28
But there is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets.
A God in Heaven
I. THE ASSERTION. There is a God in Heaven. Daniel was not one of those who say in their hearts there is no God; he was well persuaded, both of His existence and of the perfections of His nature. Daniels God is a God of wisdom and knowledge; a just God; a powerful God; a great God; a good and merciful God; a faithful God; a holy God: a God of love.
II. WHAT IS SAID OF HIM. He revealeth secrets. He is capable of doing this because He knoweth all things. He makes known to men the pride, hypocrisy, unbelief, of their own hearts. He reveals to His people, who are called by grace, the secret of His love and favour. This secret is revealed in the work of regeneration. He reveals also His covenant to those who fear Him. He shows them the necessity, nature, and stability of the covenant, and their interest in it. He reveals His people a sense of their pardon and acceptance in Christ. And as the Lord will reveal these secrets for His peoples comfort in this world, so also He will reveal to them the secrets of that which is to come. (S. Barnard.)
My Dreams
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was sorely troubled by a vision of the night. The wise men of the age acknowledged that the secrets of the mind were beyond their ken. The whole narrative affords us an excellent illustration of the limits of human reason, and the necessity of a revelation from God; and in these days, when both science and philosophy are employed to cast doubts on revelation, when the wise men of our time would decry the Word of God, it is well for all lovers of the Gospel to give a clear and settled answer to these who question the hope that is in us.
I. THERE ARE SECRETS, THE REVELATION OF WHICH IS OF THE GREATEST IMPORTANCE TO HUMANITY. I, also, in common with all mortals, have dreamed a dream, ay, dreams of God, of responsibility, of happiness, of immortality; but they have gone from me; the pictures are blurred, the ideas are indistinct.
1. I dream of the existence of a God. I have a dim consciousness of a great First Cause, an innate conviction independent of creeds, and which defies the impious foot of Atheism to crush it, or the breath of a cold Materialism to wither it away. I see around me a thousand irresistible tokens of His creating power and wisdom. He is my Maker, hence my Master! the Creator and Maintainer of the Universe, hence the Universal King! My lot, my destiny, is in His hands. To Him I am responsible. On Him I depend. Who is He? How does He regard me? I would secure His favour. For the sake of my happiness, my life, it is essential to me to know my God. Who art Thou, Lord? What is Thy will, that I may do it? What are the conditions of Thine approval, that I may obtain it? I have faint dreams of God, of truth, and right, and duty. Tell me, ye wise men, Who is the Ruler, and what is the rule of life? I also have dreamed a dream, and, like the vision of the king, it has left an intermittent horror on my soul.
2. I am conscious of wrong-doing. I am sensible of the existence of a certain something, which condemns or approves, according to the nature of my deeds. This conscience which is native to my soul upbraids me with my guilt, and saddens me with the responsibility of my own I will! All peoples, all individuals, have this conscious wrong. God is angry with me, and justly. It defies argument What can I do? Must His justice take its course? How can a man be just before God? This guilt oppresses me, this sense of sin embitters my life and fills me with unspoken dread. Is there an interpreter, one among a thousand, who will deliver me from going down into the pit, saying, I have found a ransom? Like Nebuchadnezzar, I also have dreamed a dream, but it has gone from me.
3. I dream of a possible rest. Toiling and moiling amid the cares and anxieties of time, wrestling with ever-multiplying trials, my weary spirit gets fitful and broken glimpses of a state of quiet. I strive to bear my disappointment with a manly spirit, but I miserably fail. I hanker after contentment. I am a searcher after happiness, and my search is vain. All men seek it, but gold cannot buy it; honour cannot invest me with it; pleasure is a false and gilded substitute; I dream, and the world dreams of a one time golden age, but it has gone from me. I ask the wise men of the age, Is there a possible happiness for my poor soul to-day? Like the King of Babylon, I also dream a dream, and it fills me with anxiety and unrest.
4. I dream of an after life. My mind refuses the idea of dying like the beasts below me. I am repelled at the thought of annihilation. I shall live!–this is the innate instinct of every human mind. The conviction isuniversal. Then, what is there awaiting me in that unseen future? I submit to you that these are primal questions of man; and while these secrets are unrevealed, what good will my birthright do me? I cannot live by bread alone. I cannot subsist on theories and propositions. Who will recover and interpret my dreams and bring me satisfaction and repose! Oh, ye wise men, ye sages of to-day: I sit at your feet! I open my ears to your words. My anxious soul awaits your answer to these problems. But leave me ignorant of these vital matters and my life is chaos, existence is a riddle and a curse, death is a horror, and the mysterious afterward a terror and a woe!
II. THE REVELATION OF THESE SECRETS ALTOGETHER SURPASSES HUMAN WISDOM. Nebuchadnezzar called to his aid the wise men of his kingdom, the philosophers and scientists of the day, men who professed to read the secrets of the stars. To these the king stated his difficulty; they honestly confessed that the thing was beyond their skill. This, I submit, is the position occupied by the wise men of to-day as regards these solemn problems of the soul. In the presence of my questioning heart, Science is voiceless, Philosophy makes an effort to reply, flings a little border light upon the mystery, flounders in a sea of contradictions, then lapses into silence. The Astronomer talks with me on the composition of the sun, he tells the number of the stars, calculates their distances, and calls them by their names. He cannot tell me by what law my wandering soul may gravitate towards Deity, and circle in the orbit of truth and duty around the Eternal God. The geologist, who digs among the deep foundations of the earth, can read the wondrous scroll of the earths biography; can echo in mine ear the testimony of the rocks; but he finds no rock on which my restless soul can settle and build its hopes of Heaven! The depth saith, it is not in me! The Zoologist thrills me with his descriptions of animated nature. He discourses on all the winged denizens of air, from the eagle with the sweeping pinions to the sparrow chirping amid cottage eaves, but he hath found no single messenger who can bring to human hearts, fearsome and sorrowful, the true olive-branch of peace! The botanist, splendid sage, expounds the secrets of the vegetable kingdom, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop upon the wall, from the tropic palm to the lichen amid northern snows; but, tell me, glorious magician! canst thou tell me where the herb hearts-ease grows, to soothe the moral sores that run in the night of sorrow? The mathematician hath a marvellous power over numbers, and proudly calls his, par excellence, the exact and certain science; but can he calculate the unknown quantity of the price required to redeem a law-condemned life? The geographers eye ranges over the wide surface of the globe from China to Peru, from the scorching equator to the shivering poles. But he hath never found the river of life among the unknown hills! If we were to travel thus around all the circle of the sciences, if we questioned thus at the portals of every school and system of philosophy, the answer of the Babylonian astrologers must come alike from all: There is not a man upon earth that can show the kings matter, and there is none other that can show it except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh. Great and precious and important are all these in their legitimate domain. All honour to the men who patiently study the mysteries of nature, and explore the secrets of mind; but there are higher studies, there are grandar laws. Discarding all secondary illumination, we must go the the Fount of Light and utter our humble prayer to the Highest–Teach me Thy statutes, even wondrous things out of Thy law. Let human wisdom honestly avow its limits.
III. These great secrets, so important for humanity to understand, have been revealed by God himself! Daniel received the desired knowledge direct from Heaven. Even so hath God revealed these great mysteries to the human mind. He hath reproduced the dreams that had gone from us, hath showed the great necessities of our moral nature, and hath produced in His glorious Gospel an efficient satisfaction for every yearning of the human heart. Jesus Christ is Gods answer to mans questions, and the answer is redemptive and complete. Come and hear Him, then! His lips are touched by an unkindled fire. He speaks as never man spake, for He is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. He hath come to answer the cry of humanity. Sit at His feet and propound your heart-questions. Do you ask Him for rest and peace? He says, Come unto Me, and ye shall find rest unto your soul. Do you ask for power and guidance, comfort and aid? I will send unto you the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, who shall guide you into all truth. Afraid of death, do you ask for help and victory? He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whoso liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Oh! surely these are glad tidings of great joy! Oh! my Saviour, I will trust Thee! I will listen and believe! My fears fade, my doubts vanish, my terrors die! Here, then, lies the key to unlock all secrets. We are, by the mediation of Christ, brought back to God–to God, the true home of the soul. Offended God and offending man atone and reconciled, and Jesus Christ the healer of the breach! From Nebuchadnezzar went forth the edict that, should the secret remain unrevealed, the men must die. There is but one decree for you. That edict was a cruel wrong, a strict injustice. But that decree has also gone out from God. There is but one decree for you if this divinely-interpreted secret is not made clear to you; and this decree is just. You have the dream and the interpretation; you have the statement of your need, and you have the Gospel that will meet it to the full. If you reject this great salvation, so adapted to your need, so attested as to its authority, so simple in its terms, so mighty in its transformations, so glorious in its results, so tremendous in its cost–there is but one decree for you–He that believeth shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned! Alas for us if the slope of natural religion, the ladder of science, were the only stair to lead us up to God! But where natural religion abandons us, where science at its highest leaves us, where philosophy in its purest form forsakes us–then revealed religion takes us up. (J. J. Wray.)
God as a Revealer of Secrets
Men have secrets, or what they consider secrets, for really there are no secrets in the universe, nor should there be such. Sin alone has secrets, virtue has none. With it, all is as open as the day. Looking at the Great One as the revealer of secrets, we observe:
I. HE MAKES NO OMISSIONS. When men reveal the secrets of others, from ignorance they omit something; but God knows the whole–the most hidden thought of the most obscure mind in the universe.
II. HE COMMITS NO MISTAKES. Men who reveal secrets, commit great errors; they either say too much or too little. Omniscience commits no blunders; the revelation will be severely faithful.
III. HE HAS NO UNKINDNESS. Men often tell the secrets of others maliciously, but not so with Him. God is constantly revealing the secrets of men now:
1. Through the dictates of human consciences.
2. Through the unguarded actions of human life. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 28. There is a God in heaven] To distinguish him from those idols, the works of men’s hands; and from the false gods in which the Chaldeans trusted.
In the latter days.] A phrase which, in the prophets, generally means the times of the Messiah. God is about to show what shall take place from this time to the latest ages of the world. And the vision most certainly contains a very extensive and consecutive prophecy; which I shall treat more largely at the close of the chapter, giving in the mean time a short exposition.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Here the prophet gives God entirely all the glory, proving all the powers on earth to come short in it, it being one of Gods peculiar prerogatives to reveal secrets. Yea, in great humility he denies himself to have any share in it, as also Dan 2:29.
What shall be in the latter days: observe here the prophets wisdom in this discovery, he doth not fall abruptly upon the dream, but first prepares this lofty king for it in general, and by degrees he doth labour to win him to the knowledge of the true God.
1. By this his power; and,
2. By his gracious favour to the king, in revealing to him the greatest secret in the world about the change of kingdoms and governments, and touching the power of Christs kingdom over all in the latter days. See Dan 2:44.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. Godin contrast to “thewise men,” c. (Da 2:27).
revealeth secrets(Amo 3:7 Amo 4:13).Compare Ge 41:45,Zaphnath-paaneah, “revealer of secrets,” the titlegiven to Joseph.
the latter daysliterally,”in the after days” (Da2:29); “hereafter” (Ge49:1). It refers to the whole future, including the Messianicdays, which is the final dispensation (Isa2:2).
visions of thyheadconceptions formed in the brain.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,…. By this Daniel meant to inform the king that there was but one God, in opposition to the notion of polytheism, that obtained among the Heathens; that this one God is in heaven, and presides over all persons and things on earth; and that to him alone belongs the revelation of secrets, and not to Heathen gods, or to any magician, astrologer, c. and of this kind was the king’s dream, a secret impenetrable by men:
and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days: in the latter days of his monarchy, which should be subverted, and succeeded by another; and in ages after that, during the Persian, Grecian, and Roman monarchies; and in the days of the Messiah, even in the latter of his days:
thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; which were of God, and of great importance; and, that the king might observe it, Daniel introduces these words with what goes before, and says what follows:
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets For I take ברם, berem, here for the adversative particle. He opposes therefore the revelation of God to the conjectures and interpretations of the Magi, since all human sciences are included, so to speak, within their own bounds and bolts. Daniel, therefore, says that the matter requires the singular gift of the Holy Spirit. The same God also who revealed the king’s dream to Daniel, distributes to each of us ability and skill according to his own pleasure. Whence does it arise that some are remarkable for quickness and others for stupidity and sloth? — that some become proficients in human arts and learning, and others remain utterly ignorant, unless God shews, by this variety, how by his power and will the minds of men become enlightened or remain blunt and stupid? As the Almighty is the supreme origin of all intelligence in the world, What Daniel here says is not generally true; and this contrast, unless we come to particulars, is either cold or superfluous. We understand, therefore, why he said in the former verse that the Magi and Astrologers could not explain the king’s dream, since the Almighty had raised King Nebuchadnezzar above the common level for the purpose of explaining futurity to him through his dream.
There is then a God in heaven who reveals secrets; he shews to king Nebuchadnezzar what will come to pass. He confirms what I have said, that the king was utterly unable to comprehend the meaning of his own dream. It often happens that men’s minds move hither and thither, and thus make clever guesses; but Daniel excludes all human media, and speaks of the dream as proceeding directly from God. He adds, what shall happen at the end or extremity of the days We may inquire what he means by the word “extremity.” Interpreters think this ought to be referred to the advent of Christ; but they do not explain why this word signifies Christ’s advent. There is no obscurity in the phrase; “ the end of the days” signifies the advent of Christ, because it was a kind of renewal to the world. Most. truly, indeed, the world is still in the same state of agitation as it was when Christ was manifest in the flesh; but, as we shall afterwards see, Christ came for the very purpose of renovating the world, and since his Gospel is a kind of perfection of all things, we are said to be “in the last days.” Daniel compares the whole period preceding Christ’s advent with this extremity of the days. God therefore wished to shew the king of Babylon what should occur after one monarchy had destroyed another, and also that there should be an end of those changes whenever Christ’s kingdom should arrive. At present I touch but briefly on this point, since more must; be said upon it by and bye.
This, says he, is the dream and vision of thy head upon thy couch It may seem absurd for Daniel here to profess to explain to the king the nature of his dream and its interpretation, and yet to put in something else. But, as he will add nothing out of place, we ought not to question the propriety of his saying, this was the king’s vision and his dream; for his object was to rouse the king the more urgently to attend to both the dream and its interpretation. Here we must; take notice how the Prophet persists in this, with the view of persuading the king that God was the author of the dream about. which he inquired of Daniel; for the words would be entirely thrown away unless men were thoroughly persuaded that the explanation given proceeded from God. For many in the present day will hear willingly enough what may be said about the Gospel, but they are not inwardly touched by it, and then all they hear vanishes away and immediately escapes them. Hence reverence is the principle of true and solid understanding. Thus Daniel does not abruptly bring forward either the explanation or the narration of the dream, but prepares the proud king to listen, by shewing him that he neither dreamt at, random nor in accordance with his own thoughts, but was divinely instructed and admonished concerning hidden events. It now follows,-
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(28) Visions of thy head.Called thoughts, Dan. 2:29, which were the natural means through which the supernatural revelation was communicated. These came into his mind without his forcing them upon himself. He was thinking of other things, further conquests, perhaps, and the like, but these thoughts came from a higher source.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Dan 2:28. And maketh known, &c. The impious king had a prophetic dream; that the saint interpreting it, God might be glorified, and the captives, and those who served God in captivity, might receive consolation. We read the same thing of Pharaoh: not that Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar deserved to see such things, but that Joseph and Daniel, by interpreting them, might be preferred to all others: and that Nebuchadnezzar might admire the grace of divine inspiration, Daniel not only told him what he saw in his dream, but also what he thought within himself before his dream. See Bishop Newton on the Prophesies, vol. 1: p. 406.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Dan 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
Ver. 28. But there is a God in heaven. ] The saints are ever tender of God’s glory. Ezr 8:22 Let these that are indued with singular gifts beware of self-admiration, apt to steal upon them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
maketh = hath made. Compare Dan 2:29.
in the latter days. Reference to Pentateuch (Gen 49:1. Num 24:14. Deu 4:30; Deu 32:29). App-92.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a God: Psa 115:3, Mat 6:9
that revealeth: Dan 2:18, Dan 2:47, Gen 40:8, Gen 41:16, Isa 41:22, Isa 41:23, Amo 4:13
maketh known: Chal, hath made known
in the: Dan 10:14, Gen 49:1, Num 24:14, Deu 4:30, Deu 31:19, Isa 2:2, Jer 30:24, Jer 48:47, Eze 38:8, Eze 38:16, Hos 3:5, Mic 4:1, Mic 4:2, 2Ti 3:1, Heb 1:1, 2Pe 3:3
Reciprocal: Gen 41:8 – but there Gen 41:25 – God Num 20:10 – we fetch 2Ki 6:12 – telleth Ezr 1:2 – Lord God Job 4:13 – thoughts Job 11:6 – show thee Ecc 8:1 – who knoweth Isa 44:8 – ye are Jer 49:39 – in the Eze 28:3 – no secret Dan 2:11 – and there Dan 2:22 – revealeth Dan 2:29 – he that Dan 2:44 – the God Dan 4:5 – and the thoughts Dan 7:1 – Daniel Luk 11:2 – which Act 3:12 – or Act 14:15 – We also Eph 1:17 – revelation Heb 1:2 – these 1Pe 1:12 – it Rev 1:1 – Revelation
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 2:28. Daniel is about to fulfill his promise to the king that he would give him the answer to his problem. But before doing so he makes it clear that it will not be through his ability as a soothsayer. It Is to be through the wisdom of God in heaven that the vision is to be recalled and explained.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2:28 But there is a God in {o} heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
(o) He affirms that man by reason and craft is not able to attain to the cause of God’s secrets, but the understanding only of them must come from God: by which he smites the king with a certain fear and reverence of God, that he might be the more able to receive the high mysteries that would be revealed.