Daniel 2:38
in Daniel 2Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.
KJV
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
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This verse in Daniel 2
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heavens, hath he given into thy hand - This is evidently general language, and is not to be pressed literally. It is designed to say that he ruled over the whole world; that is, the world as then known. This is common language applied in the Scriptures to the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman kingdoms.
This site's exposition
king of kings
on Daniel 2:37-38
Daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar “the king of kings” and names the source: “the God of heaven has given” it, over people, beasts and birds alike. “You are that head of gold” names Babylon as the first of the kingdoms, the fixed point from which every reading of the metals begins.
This site's exposition
You are that head of gold
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hear Genesis 1:28 in this list, a dominion first given to man and lent for a time to a world power. Albert Barnes takes the language as general. Matthew Henry notes other great kingdoms of the time, such as the Scythians.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Verse 38. "Now thou art the head of gold." "The head of gold," he says "is thou, O king." By this statement it is clear that the first empire, the Babylonian, is compared to the most precious metal, gold.
In all events Scripture says, "You, O king, were looking, and behold, one image: Great was that image and its appearance was fearful. The head of the image was of pure gold, its hands and chest and its arms were silver, the stomach and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, the feet were part iron, part clay. You were looking until you saw a stone, which was cut without hands and it struck the image at the iron and clay feet and crushed it completely. Then once for all, the clay, iron, bronze, silver and gold were ground and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor. And the greatness of the wind carried them away and no place was found for them. And the stone which struck the image became a great mountain and it filled all the earth. This is the dream and we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a strong, mighty, and honorable kingdom in every place where the sons of men dwell, and he has given into your hand beasts of the field and birds of heaven and he has ordained you Lord of all. You are the head of gold. And after you another kingdom shall arise, which is lesser than you. And a third kingdom shall arise which is bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron. In the way which iron grinds and subdues all, in this way it will grind and subdue all. And because you saw the feet and the toes, part of which were iron, part of which were clay, the kingdom shall be divided, and in it there shall be from the nature of iron, in which manner, you saw iron mixed with clay. […]
And so since the blessed Daniel described the vision and was not silent about its interpretation, he left behind some questions for those who possess a keen mind, so that again what was spoken by Daniel may be explained by another. Yet it is necessary for the lovers of truth, to not merely read cursorily, but to seek to say the obscure and to understand what was spoken by the prophets. For Daniel sees a great image, and the head of this he likens to be as pure gold. Next, the shoulders and chest he describes as being silver. Then, the stomach and thighs are bronze. Next, the legs are iron. Likewise also the toes of the feet are clay and iron which has been mixed together. Then, a stone, which is cut from a mountain without hands, strikes the image and grinds it. And the same stone became a great mountain and filled all the earth. After saying these things concerning the image, he afterwards divides the image, in accordance with its sections, into kingdoms and he explains each part of the statue, proceeding to each part, saying that the gold is king Nebuchadnezzar himself, describing him to be the golden head of the image. Next, he names a second kingdom, implying that it is inferior, saying that it is silver. Next, a third which is bronze. Then, a fourth strong kingdom, which is iron. Next, the clay and iron, having been mixed together, exhibit the tips of the feet of the image. For I have begun from the head because it displays the gold. Next, the chest and arms and he names them silver. Then, the stomach and thighs, and he indicates them to be bronze. Next, he describes the legs, and he shows them to be iron. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There were other powerful kingdoms in the world at this time, as that of the Scythians; but it was the kingdom of Babylon that reigned over the Jews, and that began the government which continued in the succession here described till Christ's time. It is called a head, for its wisdom, eminency, and absolute power, a head of gold for its wealth ( Isa. xiv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
No; it is the God of heaven that has given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory, a kingdom that exercises great authority, stands firmly, and shines brightly, acts by a puissant army with an arbitrary power. Note, The greatest of princes have no power but what is given them from above. The extent of his dominion is set forth (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Made thee ruler - He hath given thee absolute dominion of all creatures, men and beasts within the bounds of thy vast kingdom. Thou - He was first in order, as the head is before the other parts, and the vision began in him, and descended downwards to the other three monarchies.
And wheresoever the children of men dwell,....
But to Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen prince, they were represented by a gay and pompous image of a man, for he was an admirer of the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them. To him the sight was so charming that he was impatient to see it again.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
men . . . beasts . . . fowls--the dominion originally designed for man (Ge 1:28; 2:19, 20), forfeited by sin; temporarily delegated to Nebuchadnezzar and the world powers; but, as they abuse the trust for self, instead of for God, to be taken from them by the Son of man, who will exercise it for God, restoring in His person to man the lost inheritance (Ps 8:4-6).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Thou art this head of gold - See on Dan 2:31-34 (note), and at the end.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and over all | H3606 → | 82 times |
| דִּ֣י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| דָֽיְרִ֣ין | daarin | [are] dwelling | H1753 → | 7 times |
| בְּֽנֵי־ | benei- | [the] sons of | H1247 → | 19 times |
| אֲ֠נָשָׁא | ʾanasha' | <the> humankind | H606 → | 25 times |
| חֵיוַ֨ת | cheivat | [the] animal[s] of | H2423 → | 20 times |
| בָּרָ֤א | bara' | field the | H1251 → | 8 times |
| וְעוֹף־ | veof- | and [the] bird[s] of | H5776 → | |
| שְׁמַיָּא֙ | shemaiya' | heavens the | H8065 → | 38 times |
| יְהַ֣ב | yehav | he has given | H3052 → | 28 times |
| בִּידָ֔ךְ | bidakh | in hand your | H3028 → | 17 times |
| וְהַשְׁלְטָ֖ךְ | vehashletakh | and he has made ruler you | H7981 → | 7 times |
| בְּכָלְּה֑וֹן | bekhalehon | over all of them | H3606 → | 82 times |
| אַנְתְּ | ʾantah | you | H607 → | 15 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | [are] it | H1932 → | 22 times |
| רֵאשָׁ֖ה | reshah' | head the | H7217 → | 14 times |
| דִּ֥י | di | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| דַהֲבָֽא׃ | dahava' | <the> gold | H1722 → | 23 times |
וּבְכָל־and over all
uvekhol-H3606 →82 times
דִּ֣יthat
diH1768 →345 times
דָֽיְרִ֣ין[are] dwelling
daarinH1753 →7 times
בְּֽנֵי־[the] sons of
benei-H1247 →19 times
אֲ֠נָשָׁא<the> humankind
ʾanasha'H606 →25 times
חֵיוַ֨ת[the] animal[s] of
cheivatH2423 →20 times
בָּרָ֤אfield the
bara'H1251 →8 times
וְעוֹף־and [the] bird[s] of
veof-H5776 →
שְׁמַיָּא֙heavens the
shemaiya'H8065 →38 times
יְהַ֣בhe has given
yehavH3052 →28 times
בִּידָ֔ךְin hand your
bidakhH3028 →17 times
וְהַשְׁלְטָ֖ךְand he has made ruler you
vehashletakhH7981 →7 times
בְּכָלְּה֑וֹןover all of them
bekhalehonH3606 →82 times
אַנְתְּyou
ʾantahH607 →15 times
ה֔וּא[are] it
hu'H1932 →22 times
רֵאשָׁ֖הhead the
reshah'H7217 →14 times
דִּ֥יof
diH1768 →345 times
דַהֲבָֽא׃<the> gold
dahava'H1722 →23 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
About Daniel

This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.7; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.11; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.
