Daniel 2:25-35 - Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

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Daniel Declares the Dream to the King. By the inspiration of God Daniel is enabled to describe to the king his forgotten dream. In this dream the king had seen the image of a colossal man, which was of surpassing brilliance. The head was made of gold, the upper part of the body of silver, the lower part of bronze, the legs of iron, the feet of iron mixed with clay. As the king watched, a stone cut without hands smote the image and smashed it in pieces. The stone then grew till it became a mountain and filled the whole earth.

Daniel 2:27. soothsayers: lit. determiners of fates, i.e. fortunetellers. For the prevalence of magic at Babylon, Daniel 1:20 *.

Daniel 2:28. in the latter days: lit. at the end of the days, or, as we should say, at the close of time.

Daniel 2:29. thy thoughts came: the thoughts must be distinguished from the dream. The king was probably pondering over the future destinies of his kingdom, wondering what the future would bring for it, and the dream took shape as a weird and fantastic answer to his musings.

Daniel 2:31. excellent: surpassing. The word is used here in its old English sense.

Daniel 2:34. stone was cut out: i.e. from the mountain (see Daniel 2:45).

Related Commentaries of Daniel 2:25

Daniel 2:25-35

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

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;

29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts camef into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakesg that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

31 Thou, O king, sawest,h and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighsi of brass,

33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out withoutj hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.