Daniel 2:4

2:4 The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic ¹ ] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its ²  interpretation.”

Daniel 2:26

2:26 The king then asked Daniel (whose name was also Belteshazzar), “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I saw, as well as its interpretation?”

Daniel 2:31

2:31 “You, O king, were watching as a great statue – one ³  of impressive size and extraordinary brightness – was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm.

Daniel 2:34

2:34 You were watching as ⁴  a stone was cut out, ⁵  but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces.

Daniel 4:7

4:7 When the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners entered, I recounted the dream for them. But they were unable to make known its interpretation to me.

Daniel 4:11

4:11 The tree grew large and strong.

Its top reached far into the sky;

it could be seen ⁶  from the borders of all the land. ⁷ 

Daniel 5:8

5:8 So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its ⁸  interpretation to the king.

Daniel 11:31

11:31 His forces ⁹  will rise up and profane the fortified sanctuary, ¹⁰  stopping the daily sacrifice. In its place they will set up ¹¹  the abomination that causes desolation.

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¹ sn Contrary to common belief, the point here is not that the wise men (Chaldeans) replied to the king in the Aramaic language, or that this language was uniquely the language of the Chaldeans. It was this view that led in the past to Aramaic being referred to as “Chaldee.” Aramaic was used as a lingua franca during this period; its origins and usage were not restricted to the Babylonians. Rather, this phrase is better understood as an editorial note (cf. NAB) marking the fact that from 2:4b through 7:28 the language of the book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. In 8:1, and for the remainder of the book, the language returns to Hebrew. Various views have been advanced to account for this change of language, most of which are unconvincing. Most likely the change in language is a reflection of stages in the transmission history of the book of Daniel.

² tn Or “the.”

³ tn Aram “an image.”

⁴ tn Aram “until.”

⁵ tc The LXX, Theodotion, and the Vulgate have “from a mountain,” though this is probably a harmonization with v. 45.

⁶ tn Aram “its sight.” So also v. 17.

⁷ tn Or “to the end of all the earth” (so KJV, ASV); NCV, CEV “from anywhere on earth.”

⁸ tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishra’) of the Kethib.

⁹ tn Heb “arms.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “the sanctuary, the fortress.”

¹¹ tn Heb “will give.”