Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Daniel 2:1-13

We meet with a great difficulty in the date of this story; it is said to be in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Dan. 2:1. Now Daniel was carried to Babylon in his first year, and, it should seem, he was three years under tutors and governors before he was presented to the king, Dan. 1:5. How then could this happen in the second year? Perhaps, though three years were appointed for the education of other children, yet Daniel was so forward that he was taken into business when he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 2:6

But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof ,.... Which he was extremely intent upon to know; and therefore makes use of every way to obtain it, first by threatenings, to terrify, and next by promises, to allure: ye shall receive of me gifts, and rewards, and great honour ; gold, silver, jewels, rich apparel, houses, lands, and great promotion to some of the highest places of honour, trust, and profit, in the kingdom, as Daniel afterwards had: therefore show me the dream,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Daniel 2:6

Verse 6 Here the king, on the other hand, desires to entice them by the hope of gain, to apply themselves to narrate his dream. He had already attempted to strike them with horror, that even if they are unwilling he may wrest the narration of the dream from them, as well as its interpretation. Meanwhile, if they could be induced by flattery, he tries this argument upon them; for he promises a gift, and reward, and honor, that is, he promises a large remuneration if they narrated his dream, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 2:1-13

The revelation lost. "My spirit was troubled to know the dream" ( Daniel 2:3 ). Since the word "and," at the beginning of this chapter, links it with Daniel 1:21 , i.e. Daniel's public life with Daniel's preparation, it may be well here to notice what his preparation had been. 1 . At home, and the associations of Jerusalem. 2 . Knowledge of previous revelations (see Daniel 9:2 ). 3 . Moral victory at a crisis of history. 4 . Experience of life at one of its great... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 2:1-13

The failure and discomfiture of falsehood. As every drop of water on the surface of the hills has a tendency to flow towards the ocean, as every step of the racer moves towards the goal, so every event in every kingdom points toward the establishment of Messiah's empire. The exile of the Jews, though apparently a retrograde movement in the spiritual machinery; the special education of Daniel and his companions; the heathen monarch's dream; the discomfiture of the magicians;—all these, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 2:1-49

EXPOSITION DANIEL FIRST BECOMES DISTINGUISHED . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 2:2-18

Character revealed by trial. Critical moments are tests of character, In this incident the leading features of three distinct classes of character are clearly revealed. I. THE CONDUCT OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR REVEALS THE EVIL CHARACTER or TYRANNY . 1 . It is selfish. Though the charge of a vast empire is entrusted to him, the king exercises, is irresponsible power of life and death simply for his own convenience. 2 . It is unreasonable. Nebuchadnezzar not only... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 2:6

But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. The Septuagint Version is "If ye will show me the dream, and tell me its interpretation, ye shall receive every sort ( παντοῖα ) of gifts, and be honoured by me: show me the dream, and judge." There are indications of differences in the text, which are considered below. Theodotion agrees with the Massoretic in its... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Daniel 2:6

But if ye show the dream - If you show what the dream was.And the interpretation thereof - What it signifies. That is, they were so to state the dream that Nebuchadnezzar would recognize it; and they were to give such an explanation of it as would commend itself to his mind as the true one. On this last point he would doubtless rely much on their supposed wisdom in performing this duty, but it would seem clear, also, that it was necessary that the interpretation should be seen to be a “fair”... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Daniel 2:5-6

Daniel 2:5-6. The king said, The thing is gone from me That is, he could not recollect the substance, much less all the particulars of it; some traces of it, however, must have remained in his mind, by which he thought the whole might be brought back to his remembrance, if his wise men could give him any clew to his dream, or hit, any way, upon the subject of it. This, without doubt, was the state of his mind; for unless some traces of his dream, however imperfect, had remained in it, his... read more

Group of Brands