Daniel 2:1

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar,.... It was in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign that Daniel was carried captive, Jeremiah 25:1, three years Daniel had been under tutors;

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.

DANIEL CHAPTER 2 In this chapter are four principal parts: I. The king’ s, dream, . II. The wise men’ s ignorance and danger, . III. The revelation and interpretation of the dream by Daniel, . IV. The advancement of Daniel to great honour by that means, . In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Heb. in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, for this was properly in the fifth year of that king’ s reign and of Daniel’ s captivity, and the ninth year of Jehoiakim; but in the second year after Daniel had by his three years’ preparation been brought before the king and approved, then the king dreamed. Dreamed dreams; it was one dream, but of many parts, therefore called dreams; chiefly for what follows. His spirit was troubled; by reason of the strangeness of it, he was terrified and in great consternation, and this made him awake.

Daniel 2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.Ver. 1. And in the second year.] Of Daniel’ s advancement. Or, as Josephus hath it, post annum secundum Aegyptiacae vastitatis, in the second year after that Nebuchadnezzar had subdued Egypt, and other countries, and so established his monarchy, whereupon likely was begun a new computation of the years of his reign. Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams.] All was but one dream, but of many and weighty matters. Wherewith his spirit was troubled.] God can easily trouble the troublers of his Israel, and make the ringleader of their bondage the trumpeter of their trophy, even nomen illud prolixum et terrificum, Nebuchadnezzar. Quid sunt regna omnesque res et spes mortalium nisi somnia vigilantium! - Plato.

II. (1) The second year.—Nebuchadnezzar was proleptically spoken of as “king of Babylon” in Daniel 1:1, for his father did not die till after the battle of Carchemish. On the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, see Notes on 2 Kings 24:1.) Dreams.—Spoken of in Daniel 2:3 as “a dream.” The one dream consisted of several parts, and is therefore spoken of in the plural. For the effects of the dream upon the king’s mind, comp. Genesis 41:8. His sleep brake.—i.e., his sleep finished. A similar use of the word occurs Daniel 6:18; Esther 6:1. The anxiety which the vision caused him prevented him from sleeping again. And no wonder. The battle of Carchemish, which forced Egypt to retire within her ancient frontiers, had indeed made Nebuchadnezzar master of all the district east of the Euphrates; but there was a growing power northward of him, the Median, which he may have dreaded, though at this time he was on good terms with it, and this may have increased his alarm, and led him to feel some presentiment of evil.

CHAPTER II Nebuchadnezzar, in the second year of his reign, (or in the fourth, according to the Jewish account, which takes in the first two years in which he reigned conjointly with his father,) had a dream which greatly troubled him; but of which nothing remained in the morning but the uneasy impression. Hence the diviners, when brought in before the king, could give no interpretation, as they were not in possession of the dream, 1-13. Daniel then, having obtained favour from God, is made acquainted with the dream, and its interpretation, 14-19; for which he blesses God in a lofty and beautiful ode, 20-23; and reveals both unto the king, telling him first the particulars of the dream, 24-35, and then interpreting it of the four great monarchies. The then existing Chaldean empire, represented by the head of gold, is the first; the next is the Medo-Persian; the third, the Macedonian or Grecian; the fourth, the Roman, which should break every other kingdom in pieces, but which in its last stage, should be divided into ten kingdoms, represented by the ten toes of the image, as they are in another vision (Daniel 7:7) by the ten horns of the fourth beast. He likewise informs the king that in the time of this last monarchy, viz., the Roman, God would set up the kingdom of the Messiah; which, though small in its commencement, should ultimately be extended over the whole earth, 36-45. Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, (named by the prince of the eunuchs, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,) are then promoted by the king to great honour, 46-49. NOTES ON CHAP. II Verse 1. The second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar] That is, the second year of his reigning alone, for he was king two years before his father's death. See Clarke on Daniel 1:1. This was therefore the fifth year of his reign, and the fourth of the captivity of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams wherewith his spirit was troubled] The dream had made a deep and solemn impression upon his mind; and, having forgotten all but general circumstances, his mind was distressed.

1–6. Nebuchadnezzar, being troubled by a dream, summons the wise men of Babylon before him, and bids them both tell him what his dream had been, and also interpret it to him.

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar - There is an apparent chronological difficulty in this statement which has given some perplexity to expositors. It arises mainly from two sources.

’S DREAM OF THE DECLINE OF ALL WORLD-.1. In the second year — See note Daniel 1:1.