Daniel 2:10

2:1-13 The greatest men are most open to cares and troubles of mind, which disturb their repose in the night, while the sleep of the labouring man is sweet and sound. We know not the uneasiness of many who live in great pomp, and, as others vainly think, in pleasure also. The king said that his learned men must tell him the dream itself, or they should all be put to death as deceivers. Men are more eager to ask as to future events, than to learn the way of salvation or the path of duty; yet foreknowledge of future events increases anxiety and trouble. Those who deceived, by pretending to do what they could not do, were sentenced to death, for not being able to do what they did not pretend to.

As follows, in order to appease his wrath, and cool his resentment, and bring him to reason: there is not a man upon the earth can show the king's matter; or, "upon the dry land" (g): upon the continent, throughout the whole world, in any country whatever; not one single man can be found, be he ever so wise and learned, that can show the king what he requires; and yet Daniel afterwards did; and so it appears, by this confession, that he was greater than they, or any other of the same profession with them: this is one argument they use to convince the king of the unreasonableness of his demand; it being such that no man on earth was equal to; another follows: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler; there neither is, nor never was, any potentate or prince, be who he will; whether, as Jacchiades distinguishes them, a "king" over many provinces, whose empire is very large; or "lord" over many cities; or "ruler" over many villages belonging to one city; in short, no man of power and authority, whether supreme or subordinate: that asked things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean; never was such a thing required of any before; no instance, they suggest, could be produced in ancient history, or in the present age, in any kingdom or court under the heavens, of such a request being made; or that anything of this kind was ever insisted upon; and therefore hoped the king would not insist upon it; and which no doubt was true: Pharaoh required of his wise men to tell him the i

(10) No king. —A further argument of the wise men, offering a delicate flattery to the king, and, at the same time, assuming as a proof of their wisdom, that all possibilities had been already submitted to them. “Because no king,” they say, “has left any precedent for such a request, therefore the thing is impossible.”

Daniel 2:10-11 . The Chaldeans answered, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter — Here the wise men are driven to acknowledge their inability, and their excuse is, that they could indeed tell what dreams signified, if the dreams were told them; but as to telling what a person had dreamed, it was above the power of any art or knowledge but that of the gods, who knew all things. But this reasoning was weak, and showed the king’s accusation to be just, namely, that they had prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before him; or, that their business and skill were only to invent or affix such interpretations of dreams as they thought suitable, without having any real knowledge at all of future things.

10. There is not a man … that can show—God makes the heathen out of their own mouth, condemn their impotent pretensions to supernatural knowledge, in order to bring out in brighter contrast His power to reveal secrets to His servants, though but "men upon the earth" (compare Da 2:22, 23). therefore, &c.—that is, If such things could be done by men, other absolute princes would have required them from their magicians; as they have not, it is proof such things cannot be done and cannot be reasonably asked from us.

10 . shew ] declare . therefore , &c.] forasmuch as (R.V.) no great and powerful king (cf. R.V. marg. ) hath asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean . As no king has ever thought of making such a demand, it may be fairly concluded to be one which it is impossible to satisfy.

Verse 10. - The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is to be noted, in the first place, that we have the same Syriac form of כַּשְׂדָיֵא . This seems to us a survival from an earlier condition of the text, when the Syriac forms were predominant, if not universal, in it. Scribes accustomed to speak and write in Chaldee would naturally harmonize the text to the language they were accustomed to use. The word "saying" ("and said," Authorized Version) is omitted from the. Septuagint, but it is found in all other versions: its omission in the Septuagint may have been due to error - the Aramaic is not complete without it. לָא־אִתַי ( la-'itha ), "there is not." The ordinary Targumic and Talmudic usage is לַיִת ( layith ), "is not." one word. This full way of writing this negative form is an undeniable proof of antiquity. Neither Levy nor Castell gives any example of the full writing which is the regular practice in Biblical Aramaic. Merx, 'Chrestomath. Targ.,' 168, 225, also gives only לית . As a rule, the fuller a form is, the older it is. Earth ; literally, dry groined- the same word as is used in the Targum of Genesis, "Let the dry land appear," but not the usual word for "the world." Theodotion, in accordance, translates ξηρᾶς ; the LXX. renders merely, ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς . The Peshitta has ( ar'a )

. The king's matter ( mil-lath malea ); literally, the king's word , which, consequently, Theodotion translates ῤῆμα . The LXX renders, "to tell the king that which he has seen." It is evident that he read milbdh , as it' derived from melal , "to speak," as lemallala. The rendering, "that which he has seen," is due to reading ל ( l ) into ד ( d ); the verb heva was read heza , and then the change in meaning be. conies intelligible. Therefore there is no king , lord , nor ruler. The mote natural interpretation of the Aramaic is, "There is no king great and powerful." Some have regarded ral , ushlat as a title of the King of Babylon, but this does not seem to be borne out by inscriptions. The sense is rather that of 1he marginal rendering, "There is no king be he never so great and powerful." Then-dotion has this reading. The Septuagint renders, " no king and no ruler ( πᾶς βασιλεὺς καὶ πᾶς δυνάστης... οὐκ )," reading כול ( eol ) for רב ( rab ). The Peshitta follows the Massoretic closely here. In this connection, it may be observed, שליט ( shaleet ) is not frequent in the Targums, but it occurs in the Peshitta. That asked such things. Kidnah , "like this." This form of the demonstration, ending with ה ( h ), instead of א , is regarded as older than the Targumic form. Theodotion inserts ῤῆμα here. A t any magician , or astrologer , or Chaldean.