But if you tell me the dream and its interpretationThis phrase highlights the challenge set by King Nebuchadnezzar to his wise men. In the ancient Near Eastern context, dreams were often seen as messages from the divine, requiring skilled interpretation. The king's demand for both the dream and its interpretation underscores his suspicion of the wise men's abilities and possibly their honesty. This sets the stage for Daniel's divine insight, contrasting human wisdom with God's revelation. The demand for both the dream and its interpretation is unique and emphasizes the miraculous nature of what Daniel is about to accomplish, pointing to the sovereignty of God over human affairs.
you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor
In the Babylonian empire, kings often bestowed lavish gifts and honors on those who pleased them or provided valuable service. This reflects the cultural practice of rewarding loyalty and skill, which was common in ancient royal courts. The promise of gifts, rewards, and honor serves as an incentive for the wise men, but also highlights the king's desperation for a true interpretation. This also foreshadows the eventual elevation of Daniel, who, through God's wisdom, will receive these rewards, prefiguring the exaltation of Christ, who is honored above all for His obedience and revelation of divine truth.
So tell me the dream and its interpretation.
The repetition of the demand emphasizes the urgency and seriousness of the king's request. It also sets a clear condition for the rewards, underscoring the king's authority and the high stakes involved. This insistence on both the dream and its interpretation serves to eliminate any possibility of deception, ensuring that only true divine insight can meet the king's challenge. This moment foreshadows the revelation of God's kingdom, as Daniel's ability to reveal and interpret the dream points to the ultimate revelation of God's plan through Jesus Christ, who fully reveals the mysteries of God's kingdom.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
King NebuchadnezzarThe ruler of Babylon who had a troubling dream and demanded its interpretation from his wise men.
2.
DanielA young Hebrew captive in Babylon, known for his wisdom and ability to interpret dreams through God's revelation.
3.
BabylonThe empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar, known for its grandeur and as a center of power and culture.
4.
Wise Men of BabylonA group of magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers tasked with interpreting the king's dream.
5.
The DreamA mysterious vision given to Nebuchadnezzar, which none of the wise men could interpret without knowing the dream itself.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in RevelationGod alone reveals mysteries and grants wisdom to those who seek Him, as demonstrated in Daniel's life.
Faithfulness in AdversityDaniel's faithfulness and reliance on God in a foreign land serve as a model for believers facing trials and challenges.
The Role of Spiritual GiftsSpiritual gifts, such as interpreting dreams, are given by God for His purposes and should be used to glorify Him and serve others.
The Importance of Prayer and Dependence on GodDaniel's response to seek God in prayer for the interpretation emphasizes the necessity of prayer in understanding God's will.
Rewards for FaithfulnessWhile Daniel was promised earthly rewards, his ultimate reward was the honor of serving God and being used for His glory.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Daniel 2:6?
2.How does Daniel 2:6 demonstrate God's sovereignty in revealing mysteries to believers?
3.What role does faith play in understanding God's revelations in Daniel 2:6?
4.How can Daniel 2:6 encourage us to seek divine wisdom in challenges?
5.In what ways does Daniel 2:6 connect to James 1:5 about wisdom?
6.How can we apply the promise of rewards in Daniel 2:6 today?
7.What does Daniel 2:6 reveal about God's sovereignty over earthly kingdoms and rulers?
8.How does Daniel 2:6 challenge our understanding of divine reward and human effort?
9.What historical evidence supports the events described in Daniel 2:6?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Daniel 2?
11.What is the Bible's view on lucid dreaming?
12.Why is Daniel, a prominent figure in the king's court, conspicuously absent in the events of Daniel 3?
13.How does Daniel interpret dreams and visions in Babylon?
14.If Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2:1 was as significant as described, why is there no historical record outside the Bible that confirms any such event or demand from the king?What Does Daniel 2:6 Mean
But if you tell me the dream and its interpretationNebuchadnezzar has asked his court sages to recount the dream itself before explaining it.
• This prevents guesswork: if they can describe what the king alone knows, their interpretation must also be reliable (Daniel 2:9).
• God is positioning Daniel for a moment of testimony; He had already “given him understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17).
• Scripture shows a similar pattern with Joseph, who likewise faced a ruler eager for a trustworthy interpreter (Genesis 41:15-16).
The verse begins with “But,” contrasting the dire threat in verse 5 with a gracious option—demonstrating both the king’s severity and his openness to be convinced.
you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honorThe king promises lavish incentives.
• Ancient monarchs often rewarded extraordinary service (1 Samuel 17:25;Esther 6:3).
• Nebuchadnezzar’s offer underscores how highly he values true revelation; material riches seem small compared with the peace of knowing the future.
• Daniel will later receive similar honors from Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:48) and from Belshazzar (Daniel 5:16-17), showing that God can elevate His servants in pagan courts.
• The principle that God Himself rewards faithful obedience runs through Scripture (Proverbs 18:16;Hebrews 11:6).
So tell me the dream and its interpretationThe royal command is repeated for urgency.
• Human impotence is exposed when the court magicians confess, “No one on earth can do what the king requests” (Daniel 2:10-11).
• The stage is set for God to reveal “deep and hidden things” (Daniel 2:22), proving His sovereignty over kings (Daniel 2:21;Isaiah 41:21-23).
• Daniel’s calm reliance on prayer (Daniel 2:17-19) contrasts with the panic of the wise men, illustrating that true wisdom begins with God (Proverbs 9:10).
The repetition invites the reader to anticipate God’s intervention—a pattern repeated throughout biblical history whenever a human situation seems impossible (Exodus 14:13-14;2 Chronicles 20:12).
summaryDaniel 2:6 shows a pagan king unknowingly paving the way for God’s glory. By insisting on both the dream and its meaning, Nebuchadnezzar requires evidence only the living God can supply. His promised rewards highlight how greatly the world values genuine revelation, yet they also reveal that God’s servant ultimately serves a higher King. The verse prepares us to watch God exalt Himself and His faithful people in the midst of worldly power.
(6)
Rewards.--A word of uncertain meaning. It occurs again
Daniel 5:17, and probably is correctly rendered.
Verse 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 rendering of this verse. The Peshitta also manifests no serious difference. All these older ver
sions render it doubtful whether
nebizba was part of the original text.
But if ye show the dream,
and the interpretation thereof,
ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards an
d great honour. Ewald would conjoin with this verse the latter part of the verse preceding, with considerable justification. Like the latter part of the previous verse, it is to be taken as the summation of a long argument, in which threats and promises would bear a large part, probably both heightening as they failed to produce tire effect required of making the soothsayers reproduce to Nebuchadnezzar his dream. Now the acme is reached - on the one hand, a death of torture and infamy is threatened; on the other band, in the verse before us, "gifts, rewards, and great honour." The king is eager to have his dream interpreted, but he has taken his stand - before he will listen to the interpretation, they must afford him evidence that they can interpret correctly this dream, by reproducing it to him. One of the words here has been used by Berthohlt as evidence that the Book of Daniel originated in the days of the Maccabees, when Greek was largely spoken. The word translated "
reward" in our version is
nebizba; this, it was argued by Bertholdt, is
νόμισμα,
m becoming
b - a not infrequent commutation. In support of this, if we take
νόμισμα as meaning "coined money," this would make a distinction between this word and
matnan, the more ordinary word for "a
girt." Jephet-ibn-Ali translates in accordance with this meaning: "I will give you raiment and dinars," he makes Nebuchadnezzar say. Yet this view is now abandoned by all critics, and however many alleged Greek words are found in Daniel, this is never now brought forward as one of them. Lexicographers are practically unanimous in rejecting this derivation. There are two other derivations, one making it a palpel form of the
בְוז with a
נ pre-formative which was Gesenius's view in his 'Thesaurus.' He later abandoned this view, and maintained that it was connected with some Persian root. Winer maintains the former of these views, and Furst the latter. As a Persian word, it is supposed to prove the late date of Daniel. It does seem somewhat strange logic to argue, from the presence of Persian words in a document, that therefore it was written late in the Greek period. The prior question presents itself - Is the word Persian, Greek, or Aramaic, really a part of the original text of Daniel? In regard to this the Septuagint Version is of importance. Its rendering of this clause is, as we have seen, "But if ye shall show me the dream, and tell me the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive all manner of gifts, and shall be honoured by me." This interpretation implies a different text - the word
nebizba disappears from the text altogether, for no one would translate it
παντοῖα; evidently the translator had before him some combination of
col, "all." The combination
matnan nebizba occurs in the Targum in
Jeremiah 40:5, therefore, had it been present, the translator would have been aware of its meaning. Theodotion renders it
δωρεάς. If the phrase occurred elsewhere, there would easily be a motive to introduce the word
nebizba, but there seems none to substitute for it another word altogether; certainly
כ and
נ are not unfrequently confounded, and a defective
ל might be read as a
ב. It would not be difficult to reproduce a Hebrew sentence, the rendering of which would require
παντοῖα. This much is clear
- nebizba was not before the Septuagint translator. It is further to be observed that the Septuagint translator has had before him, not the noun
yeqar, "honour," but the verb in the passive or ethpael. These, however, are not all the points where the Septuagintal text must have differed from the text we have received from the Massoretes. The adjective
sagi," great," occurs in the Authorized Version, but is not represented in the Septuagint. The order of the Greek words suggests a different order in the original Aramaic. Other things being equal, the strutter a reading, the more likely it is to be the original reading. It is clear that this advantage is with the Septuagint reading. If there were any likelihood of certain words being omitted from any probable cause as homoioteleuton, it would be different. On the other hand, the addition of a kind which is frequently seen, the more recent word
nebizba is put alongside its more ancient equivalents. In the other case, the adjective
sagi, "great," is inserted, as frequently happens, with a view of heightening the effect. Another explanation may be suggested. We know the Aramaic docquets on the back of the contract tablets are written in a script resembling Phoenician characters. If the original manuscripts were written at the date assigned by tradition, then it would be written in this style of letter. In it we find that
ש and
מ were liable to be mistaken, as also; and
ג; we should then have
נ (
minni), "from
me," as a possible reading which had been rot,read by some Palestinian scribe into
שׂגי (
sagi), "
great," and the
א added to complete the word. The case is only a familiar case of doublets. When we have further
מִן־קָדָמָי, "from me," the change of the preceding is thus in a sense necessitated. This may be regarded as an indication of age, as the square character had begun at least a century before Christ (Driver,' Samuel,' p. 21.). This leaves but little time for modifications and blunders of penmanship between this and the critical date of Daniel. The latter clause of this verse shows us another variation between the Massoretic text and that lying behind the Septuagint. The Massoretic recension is well represented in the Authorized Version.
Therefore show me the dream,
and the interpretation thereof. The version of the Septuagint indicates a different reading, and has a different point, "Declare to me the dream, and judge." According to the Massoretic reading, the king merely repeats his demands, the only reference to the preceding promises and threatenings being in the conjunction
לָהֵן (
lahen), "therefore." Whereas the main reference of the clause, according to the Septuagint, is to the immediately preceding promises, "Show me the dream, and judge if I will do as I have said." Another supposition possible is that there has been a transposition. In the very next verse
חְוָה (
hevah)
is represented by
κρίνω - in that case it may mean "interpret," the rendering then would be, "Show me the dream and interpret," and represent some part of the verb
פשר, only there is the awkwardness of using the same word as equivalent to two different Aramaic words in contiguous verses. The difference is not of great importance; the king is eager to get the magicians to tell him his dream and its interpretation, but, having commenced the experiment as to their powers, he will not allow himself to be driven from it. Before leaving this verse, we must note the presence of certain signs of old date in the Aramaic of the passage. First, the word
hen, "if," is not used in the Targums; it is not in Levy's Dictionary; neither Gesenius nor Furst gives any non-Biblical reference for the use of the word In the same way, its derivative
לָהֵן (
lahen), "therefore," is equally peculiar to Biblical Aramaic. Particles are good notes of age, as they are less liable to change than nouns substantive.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
But ifוְהֵ֨ן(wə·hên)Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 2006:Lo!, there, less, whether, but, ifyou tell meתְּֽהַחֲוֺ֔ן(tə·ha·ḥă·wōn)Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 2324:To showthe dreamחֶלְמָ֤א(ḥel·mā)Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 2493:A dreamand its interpretation,וּפִשְׁרֵהּ֙(ū·p̄iš·rêh)Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6591:An interpretationyou will receiveתְּקַבְּל֖וּן(tə·qab·bə·lūn)Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 6902:To acquirefromמִן־(min-)Preposition
Strong's 4481:From, out of, by, by reason of, at, more thanmeקֳדָמָ֑י(qo·ḏā·māy)Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 6925:Beforegiftsמַתְּנָ֤ן(mat·tə·nān)Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4978:A present, a sacrificial offering, a bribeand rewardsוּנְבִזְבָּה֙(ū·nə·ḇiz·bāh)Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5023:A largessand greatשַׂגִּ֔יא(śag·gî)Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7690:Great, muchhonor.וִיקָ֣ר(wî·qār)Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3367:Value, wealth, costliness, dignitySoלָהֵ֕ן(lā·hên)Conjunction
Strong's 2006:Lo!, there, less, whether, but, iftell meהַחֲוֺֽנִי׃(ha·ḥă·wō·nî)Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine plural | first person common singular
Strong's 2324:To showthe dreamחֶלְמָ֥א(ḥel·mā)Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 2493:A dreamand its interpretation.”וּפִשְׁרֵ֖הּ(ū·p̄iš·rêh)Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6591:An interpretation
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OT Prophets: Daniel 2:6 But if you show the dream (Dan. Da Dn) 
