Daniel 2.24-Daniel Tells Arioch To Not Execute Wise Men And To Escort Him To See The King In Order To Reveal The Interpretation Of His Dream
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday March 14, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 2:24-Daniel Requests That Arioch Not Execute The Wise Men And To Escort Him To See The King In Order To Reveal The Interpretation Of His Dream
Lesson # 48
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 2:1.
Daniel 2:1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. 6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. 11 Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.” 12 Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. 17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter. 18 so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. 22 It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. 23 To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, for You have made known to us the king’s matter.” 24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.” (NASB95)
“Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch” is composed of the preposition k- (כְּ־) (kee) and this is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed) and then we have the preposition qǒḇēl (קֳבֵל) (kob-ale´) and then we have the demonstrative pronoun denā(h) (דְּנָה) (dane-awe), “this” which is followed by the masculine singular proper noun dā∙niy∙yē(ʾ)l (דָּנִיֵּאל) (daw-nee-yale), “Daniel” and then we have the third person masculine peʿal (Hebrew equivalent is the qal stem) active perfect form of the verb ʿǎlǎl (עֲלַל) (al-al´), “went in” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed), “to” and its object is the masculine singular proper noun ʾǎr∙yôḵ (אַרְיֹוךְ) (ar-yoke´), “Arioch.”
The preposition k- and the prepositions lĕ and qǒḇēl and the demonstrative pronoun denā(h) indicate that Daniel made these two requests of Arioch because the Father had answered his prayer and revealed to him the content of the king’s dream as well as its interpretation.
The verb ʿǎlǎl means “to approach” and refers to Daniel entering into the presence of Arioch in order to request that he spare the lives of the wise men and to escort him into the king’s presence in order to reveal to him the content of his dream as well as its interpretation.
The proper noun ʾǎr∙yôḵ “Arioch” is identified as the captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s bodyguard and is the executioner.
“Whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon” is composed of the relative particle dî (דִּי) (dee), “whom” and then we have the third person masculine singular paʿʿel (Hebrew: piel) active perfect form of the verb menā(h) (מְנָה) (men-aw´), “had appointed” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “king” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed) “to” and its object is the hafʿel (Hebrew: hiphil) active infinitive construct form of the verb ʾǎḇǎḏ (אֲבַד) (ab-ad´), “destroy” and then we have the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed) and it is followed by the masculine plural construct form of the noun ḥǎk∙kîm (חַכִּים) (khak-keem´), “the wise men of” and then we have the feminine singular proper noun bā∙ḇěl (בָּבֶל) (baw-bel´), “Babylon.”
The verb menā(h) means “to assign” and refers to Nebuchadnezzar “assigning” to Arioch the duty or task of executing the city of Babylon’s wise men.
The verb ʾǎḇǎḏ means “to execute, to kill” and is used of capital punishment referring to the execution of Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men.
The noun ḥǎk∙kîm appears twice in Daniel 2:24 and in each instance the word means “wise men” and is not only a reference to the four groups mentioned in Daniel 2:2, namely, the occult priests (ḥǎr∙ṭōm), necromancers (ʾǎš∙šāp̄), witches (kā∙šǎp̄) and astrologers (kǎś∙dîm) but also it is a reference to all the other dignitaries or diplomats.
This is indicated by the fact that Daniel 2:13 records Arioch, the executioner looking for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah who did not belong to these four groups.
The proper noun bā∙ḇěl refers to the city of Babylon and not the province or the empire as a whole.
This is indicated by the fact that Daniel 2:14 tells the reader that Arioch, the captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s bodyguard was sent by the king to execute the wise of men Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar would not send only one man to execute the wise men of a province or an entire empire but he would for an entire city.
“He went and spoke to him as follows” is composed of the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew equivalent is the qal stem) active perfect form of the verb ʾǎzǎl (אֲזַל) (az-al´), “he went” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the adverb kēn (כֵּן) (kane), “as follows” and then we have the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) active perfect form of the verb ʾǎmǎr (אֲמַר) (am-ar´), “spoke” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed), “to” and its object is the third person masculine singular pronomial suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “him.”
The verb ʾǎzǎl means “to return, go back to a place” and is used with Daniel as its subject indicating that Daniel “returned” to Arioch from his home.
The word denotes Daniel leaving his home and “returning” to Arioch.
“Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon!” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed), which is not translated and its object is the masculine plural construct form of the noun ḥǎk∙kîm (חַכִּים) (khak-keem´), “the wise men of” and then we have the feminine singular proper noun bā∙ḇěl (בָּבֶל) (baw-bel´), “Babylon” which is followed by the adverb ʾǎl (אַל) (al), “not” which is negating the meaning of the second person masculine singular hafʿel (Hebrew: hiphil) active imperative form of the verb ʾǎḇǎḏ (אֲבַד) (ab-ad´), “do destroy.”
The verb ʾǎḇǎḏ means “to execute, to kill” and is used of capital punishment referring to the execution of the city of Babylon’s wise men.
The word’s meaning is negated by the adverb ʾǎl, which means “not” since it is marker of negation and prohibition.
Together, these two words denote Daniel is requesting that Arioch “not execute” the city of Babylon’s wise men because he can reveal the content of the king’s dream and its interpretation.
The jussive mood is used with ʾǎl and expresses Daniel’s desire that Arioch would not execute the wise men because he can meet the king’s demands.
“Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king” is composed of the second person masculine singular hafʿel (Hebrew: hiphil) active imperative form of the verb ʿǎlǎl (עֲלַל) (al-al´), “take into” which is followed by the first person singular pronomial suffix –î (־י), “me” and then we have the preposition qǒḏām (קֳדָם) (kod-awm´), “to” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “the king” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun pešǎr (פְּשַׁר) (pesh-ar´), “interpretation” and then we have the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed), “to” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “the king” which is followed by the first person singular paʿʿel (Hebrew: piel) active imperfect form of the verb ḥǎwā(h) (חֲוָה) (khav-aw´), “I will declare.”
This time the verb ʿǎlǎl and refers to Daniel’s request that Arioch “bring” him “into” the presence of Nebuchadnezzar.
It is used of Daniel requesting access to the presence of Nebuchadnezzar in order to tell him the content of his dream and reveal its interpretation.
The imperative mood of the verb is an imperative of request rather than command since Daniel is addressing Arioch who is in a position of authority over him and denotes that Daniel is requesting that Arioch bring him into the presence of the king.
The conjunction wa is a marker of purpose indicating that the word is introducing a clause that presents the purpose of Daniel requesting that Arioch give him an audience with Nebuchadnezzar.
The verb ḥǎwā(h) means “to reveal” and has Daniel as its subject and pešǎr “interpretation” as its object and refers to Daniel revealing to Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of his dream.
The noun pešǎr means “interpretation” referring to Daniel explaining to Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of his recurring dream.
Daniel 2:24 contains two requests that Daniel made of Arioch who was ordered by Nebuchadnezzar to execute the city of Babylon’s wise men because his occult priests, necromancers, witches and astrologers could not tell him the content of his recurring dream.
The first request “Please do not execute the city of Babylon’s wise men” is a request not only to spare the occult priests, necromancers, witches and astrologers in Babylon but also Daniel and his friends as well as all the city’s diplomats who help to compose the city’s wise men since Daniel was of their number.
However, notice that Daniel could have requested that Arioch only spare his life and the lives of his three friends and not include the occult priests, necromancers, witches and astrologers.
Daniel would have been justified since the practices of these four groups were condemned by God in the Mosaic Law yet he pleads for their lives which was a great demonstration of the love of God in Daniel’s life, which was a great reflection of God’s love towards His enemies.
These four groups were the enemies of God and led by Satan and the kingdom of darkness.
However, through Daniel, God shows mercy and is magnanimous towards these individuals.
So the wise men are being exposed to the love of God by Daniel.
By sparing their lives when he could have had them executed was an act of forgiveness.
Through Daniel, God was forgiving the wise men and giving them an opportunity to repent and obey and worship Him rather than the gods of Babylon.
This act of God’s love on the part of Daniel demonstrates that he was in fellowship with God.
This first request also makes clear that the wise men were not executed on the spot but were arrested and assembled at a public place of execution.
That this was the case is indicated by the fact that Daniel in verses 14 and 15 is allowed time to ask Arioch a question with regards to his arrest and Arioch responds to this question.
If Arioch’s orders were to execute the wise men on the spot, then Daniel would not have been allowed time to ask a question but would have been executed.
Furthermore, here in Daniel 2:24 Daniel requests that Arioch not execute the wise men because God had given him the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as well as its interpretation.
This makes clear that the wise men were not executed on the spot but were about to.
The second request “please take me into the king’s presence in order that I may reveal the interpretation to the king” appears not to meet the king’s demand in which he told his occult priests, necromancers, witches and astrologers to tell him the content of his dream as well as its interpretation.
This does not imply that Daniel was not required to make known the content of the dream and only its interpretation since the writer, Daniel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit leaves this out for the sake of brevity, which is the same reason why the text does not say that Arioch granted Daniel’s request.
The following verses make clear that Arioch did grant Daniel his request just as the rest of the chapter makes clear that Daniel made known to Nebuchadnezzar both the content of his dream as well as its interpretation.
Furthermore, if Daniel knew the interpretation of the dream he certainly knew the content of the dream.