Daniel 2:26
in Daniel 2The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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?
KJV
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?
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This verse in Daniel 2
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBelteshazzar - By this name of Belteshazzar he had given Daniel, he took courage as if he might expect some great thing from him: for the word signifies the keeper of secret treasure.
This site's exposition
Art thou able to make known
on Daniel 2:26-30
The king's question repeats the original impossible demand, and Daniel's answer opens by conceding it outright, the wise men, astrologers, magicians and soothsayers cannot shew it, a flat agreement with everything the Chaldeans already said. What follows is the pivot the whole scene has been built for, there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and Daniel refuses even his own credit for what is coming, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, insisting the revelation serves the king's understanding and the wise men's rescue rather than Daniel's own reputation.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Verse 26. "Dost thou truly believe that thou canst show me the dream I have seen...." In framing his inquiry he adheres to logical sequence, so that he first asks for the dream, of which the magi had replied they were ignorant, and afterwards he asks for the interpretation of the dream. The implication is that after he has heard the dream, then he would believe also in the correctness of what was susceptible of varying interpretations.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Art thou able to make known unto me the dream? Such a babe in this knowledge, such a stripling as thou are, wilt thou undertake that which thy seniors despair of doing? The less likely it appeared to the king that Daniel should do this the more God was glorified in enabling him to do it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The king answered, and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar - See the notes at Dan 1:7. The “king” may have addressed him by this name, and probably did during this interview. This was the name, it would seem, by which he was known in Babylon - a name which implied honor and respectability, as being conferred on one whom it was supposed the principal Babylonian divinity favored.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָנֵ֤ה | ʾaneh | [was] replying | H6032 → | 30 times |
| מַלְכָּא֙ | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| וְאָמַ֣ר | veamar | and [was] saying | H560 → | 71 times |
| לְדָנִיֵּ֔אל | ledaniyel | to Daniel | H1841 → | 57 times |
| דִּ֥י | di | who | H1768 → | 345 times |
| שְׁמֵ֖הּ | shemeh | name his | H8036 → | 12 times |
| בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּ֑ר | beleteshatzar | [was] Belteshazzar | H1096 → | 8 times |
| הַֽאִיתָ֣ךְ | haitayikh | ¿ [are] you | H383 → | 17 times |
| כָּהֵ֗ל | kahel | able | H3546 → | 4 times |
| לְהוֹדָעֻתַ֛נִי | lehodautani | to make known to me | H3046 → | 47 times |
| חֶלְמָ֥א | chelma' | dream the | H2493 → | 22 times |
| דִֽי־ | di- | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| חֲזֵ֖ית | chazeit | I saw | H2370 → | 31 times |
| וּפִשְׁרֵֽהּ׃ | ufishreh | and interpretation its | H6591 → | 31 times |
עָנֵ֤ה[was] replying
ʾanehH6032 →30 times
מַלְכָּא֙king the
malka'H4430 →180 times
וְאָמַ֣רand [was] saying
veamarH560 →71 times
לְדָנִיֵּ֔אלto Daniel
ledaniyelH1841 →57 times
דִּ֥יwho
diH1768 →345 times
שְׁמֵ֖הּname his
shemehH8036 →12 times
בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּ֑ר[was] Belteshazzar
beleteshatzarH1096 →8 times
הַֽאִיתָ֣ךְ¿ [are] you
haitayikhH383 →17 times
כָּהֵ֗לable
kahelH3546 →4 times
לְהוֹדָעֻתַ֛נִיto make known to me
lehodautaniH3046 →47 times
חֶלְמָ֥אdream the
chelma'H2493 →22 times
דִֽי־which
di-H1768 →345 times
חֲזֵ֖יתI saw
chazeitH2370 →31 times
וּפִשְׁרֵֽהּ׃and interpretation its
ufishrehH6591 →31 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 5:12did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon…
it leads to
- Daniel 5:14
I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 1:7
The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 6:3
Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
- Daniel 5:16
But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in…
- Daniel 5:14
Through
Daniel 1:7The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
it leads to
- Daniel 5:12
did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon…
- Daniel 4:8
But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:
- Daniel 2:49
And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
- Daniel 5:12
Through
Daniel 5:16But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in…
it leads to
- Daniel 5:7
The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be…
- Daniel 5:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TWO; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.