Daniel 7.1-Daniel Wrote Down a Vision He Saw in a Dream During the First Year of Belshazzar's Reign
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday April 23, 2013
Daniel: Daniel 7:1-Daniel Wrote Down a Vision He Saw in a Dream During the First Year of Belshazzar’s Reign
Lesson # 200
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 7:1.
Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it. (NASB95)
“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), “in” and its object is the feminine singular construct form of the noun šā∙nā(h) (שָׁנָה) (shaw-naw), “the year” which is modified by the feminine singular form of the cardinal number ḥǎḏ (חַד) (khad), “first” and this is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) “of” and its object is the masculine singular proper name bē∙lešǎ(ʾ)ṣ∙ṣǎr (בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר) (bale-shats-tsar´), “Belshazzar” which is modified by the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “king of” and then we have the feminine singular proper noun bā∙ḇěl (בָּבֶל) (baw-bel´), “Babylon.”
Belshazzar was the first-born son of Nabonidus who had gone into semi-retirement in the oasis of Tema, leaving Belshazzar to rule the empire as co-regent.
The proper name bē∙lešǎ(ʾ)ṣ∙ṣǎr is the object of the preposition lĕ, which is a marker of possession indicating that the first year “belongs to” the reign of Belshazzar.
The noun mě∙lěḵ means “king” and of course is used with reference to Belshazzar referring to the fact that he was the governmental head of Babylon.
This word is in the construct state indicating that it is governing the proper noun bā∙ḇěl (בָּבֶל) (baw-bel), “Babylon” which refers to the Babylonian empire.
Together, these two words denote that Belshazzar was Babylon’s king when Daniel received this revelation from God in a vision in a dream.
The noun šā∙nā(h) means “year” referring to a unit of time involving a complete cycle of seasons, spring, summer, fall and winter.
Daniel is writing according to the Jewish reckoning of time and thus this word denotes 360 days.
It does not refers to 365 days but rather 360 days since the solar year, which we live by in the twenty-first century, of 365.25 days was unknown to the nations in the Old Testament.
The Jewish year of biblical times was lunar-solar and had only 360 days.
The noun šā∙nā(h) is modified by the cardinal number ḥǎḏ, which means “first” in a series of time.
It is also the object of the preposition bĕ, which is a marker of an extent of time within a larger unit and thus means “during.”
Therefore, it denotes that “during” the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, Daniel received revelation from God in the form of a vision in a dream.
“Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed” is composed of the masculine singular proper noun dā∙niy∙yē(ʾ)l (דָּנִיֵּאל) (daw-nee-yale), “Daniel” and then we have the masculine singular noun ḥē∙lěm (חֵלֶם) (khay´-lem), “a dream” which is followed by the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb ḥǎzā(h) (חֲזָה) (khaz-aw´), “saw” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine plural construct form of the noun ḥězû (חֱזוּ) (khay´-zev), “visions,” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun rē(ʾ)š (רֵאשׁ) (raysh), “mind” which is modified by the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “his” and then we have the preposition ʿǎl (עַל) (al), “on” and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun miš∙kǎḇ (מִשְׁכַּב) (mish-kab´), “bed” which is modified by the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “his.”
The verb ḥǎzā(h) means “to see” in the sense of Daniel “receiving a prophetic revelation” in a vision in a dream.
The word refers to Daniel “receiving a prophetic revelation” in a dream from God, which was concerning the future and parallels the prophetic revelation that God gave Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in Daniel chapter 2.
The noun ḥē∙lěm is in the singular and refers to the content of Daniel’s dream and refers to the revelations Daniel received from God in a dream.
This is indicated by the fact that Daniel’s communication of the content of the dream and the interpretation of the dream given to him by an unidentified individual reveals that this dream was just that, a revelation from God concerning the future of planet earth.
The conjunction wa is used in an explicative or epexegetical sense meaning that the word is introducing a statement, which clarifies something about Daniel’s dream, namely it contained visions in his mind.
Therefore, Daniel is saying that he saw a dream, “specifically,” he saw visions in his mind while lying on his bed.
The noun ḥězû means “visions” and refers to Daniel receiving a supernatural revelation from God while he was awake and describes an appearance of something in Daniel’s mind that was a supernatural revelation to communicate a truth to him, not seen as a sensory perception.
This term ḥězû in Daniel 7:1 speaks of revelation from God the Holy Spirit with regards to the Father’s will for planet earth and denotes that God gave Daniel revelation with regards to His future plans for planet earth.
In Daniel 7:1, the noun ḥězû denotes that Daniel received these revelations while he was in a trance or altered state of consciousness in which extrasensory audiovisual experiences, which were revelatory in character, were perceived by him in the privacy of his own bedroom.
Here Daniel was in an altered state of consciousness while God revealed the content and interpretation of the dream to him as well while in the privacy of his own bedroom.
The noun rē(ʾ)š means “mind” referring to that area of the soul in which thought takes place as well as contemplation and perception and is used of Daniel’s mind, i.e. the area of his soul in which he thought, contemplated and perceived.
“Then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), which is not translated and is followed by the temporal adverb ʾěḏǎ∙yin (אֱדַיִן) (ed-ah´-yin) and together they are translated “then” and they are followed by the masculine singular noun ḥē∙lěm (חֵלֶם) (khay´-lem), “the dream” which is followed by the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb keṯǎḇ (כְּתַב) (keth-ab´), “he wrote down” and then we have the masculine singular construct form of the noun rē(ʾ)š (רֵאשׁ) (raysh), which is not translated and followed by the masculine plural form of the noun mil∙lā(h) (מִלָּה) (mil-law´), “the summary of it” which is followed by the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb ʾǎmǎr (אֲמַר) (am-ar´), “related.”
The preposition b- is prefixed to the temporal adverb ʾěḏǎ∙yin in order to function as a temporal coordinator and mean “then” since they show consecutive events in the narrative.
Here it introduces a statement that tells the reader the next event that took place after Daniel saw visions in his mind in a dream while lying on his bed.
Therefore, this temporal coordinator indicates to the reader that this was the next event that took place after Daniel received this revelation from God concerning the future of planet earth.
The verb keṯǎḇ means “to write” referring to Daniel putting down in writing in the Aramaic language all that he saw and heard in this revelation he received from God concerning the future of planet earth.
The verb ʾǎmǎr means “to declare” in the sense of Daniel “declaring” in writing the beginning of the account of the revelation from God which he received in these visions in a dream.
The noun rē(ʾ)š means “beginning” referring to Daniel beginning to recount for the reader what he received from God through visions in a dream while lying on his bed during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign.
The noun mil∙lā(h) means “account” since it refers to the written record of the revelation that Daniel received from God through visions in a dream.
Therefore, this expression means “the beginning of the matter” and not “substance or summary of the matter” since the noun mil∙lā(h) appears with the noun sôp̄, “end” in verse 28 which would indicate that the noun rē(ʾ)š means “beginning” when it is employed with the noun mil∙lā(h) at the beginning of the chapter.
Daniel 7:1 During Belshazzar’s, Babylon’s king, first year, Daniel saw a dream specifically visions in his mind on his bed. Then, he wrote down the dream. He declares the beginning of the account. (My translation)
Daniel chapter seven records Daniel receiving revelation from God through visions during a dream while lying on his bed.
This is the first time that we have seen Daniel receive revelation from God in such a manner.
Nebuchadnezzar received revelation from God in this fashion but never Daniel.
In chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar received revelation from God regarding the future of planet earth and the times of the Gentiles in the same fashion that Daniel received revelation from God as recorded in chapter seven.
Daniel received the content and the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as a result of God answering his prayer.
In chapter four, God gave Nebuchadnezzar revelation regarding the fact that he would be disciplined for seven years because of his arrogance but would be restored to power after he humbled himself.
Daniel chapter seven records the first of four great prophetic revelations that Daniel received from God.
Here in Daniel chapter seven, Daniel receives prophetic revelation from God during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign as co-regent with his father Nabonidus, which would be the year 553 B.C.
This dream took place 14 years prior to his experience in the lions’ den.
He was 68 years of age in 553 B.C. since he was taken captive about the age of 16 or 17 which was 52 years earlier in 605 B.C.
This revelation Daniel received from God as recorded in chapter seven also took place before the events of Daniel chapter five, which took place in 539 B.C., thus, this revelation in chapter seven took place 14 years prior to the fall of Babylon.
In chapter eight, he received his second great prophetic revelation from God in 551 B.C. during the third year of the reign of Belshazzar.
Then, chapter nine records Daniel receiving his third great prophetic revelation during the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus in 539 B.C.
Lastly, chapter ten records Daniel receiving the fourth and final great prophetic revelation from God in 536 B.C. during the third year of the reign of Cyrus king of Persia.
Daniel 7:1 records that during the first year of Belshazzar’s co-regency with his father in 553 B.C. Daniel received prophetic revelation from God in a dream, which the rest of the chapter reveals was concerning the future of planet earth and parallels the prophetic revelation that God gave Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in Daniel chapter 2.
Like the revelation Nebuchadnezzar received, Daniel received a prophetic revelation in a dream which was concerning the future of the empires of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, the Revived Form of the Roman Empire and its wicked ruler, who we know from the book of revelation as the Antichrist.
This revelation also points to the ascension and session of Jesus Christ at His Father’s right hand as well as the destruction of the final form of the fourth empire by the Lord Jesus Christ and in addition, it speaks of His Messianic Kingdom.
Like the prophetic revelation that Nebuchadnezzar received, Daniel also received prophetic revelation regarding the Times of the Gentiles.
Nebuchadnezzar’s revelation dealt with the Times of the Gentiles from the perspective of man whereas Daniel’s revelation of the Times of the Gentiles was from God’s perspective.
Daniel 7:1 tells the reader that Daniel received a “dream” from God, which emphasizes the unity of this revelation and in this dream, he saw “visions” which emphasizes the successive stages in which the revelation was given to Daniel.
“Visions” speaks of revelation from God the Holy Spirit with regards to the Father’s will for planet earth and denotes that God gave Daniel revelation with regards to His future plans for planet earth.
Daniel received this revelation from God while he was in a trance, which is distinguished from the possession trance and dreams since it is an altered state of consciousness in which extrasensory audiovisual experiences, which are revelatory in character, are perceived in private by individuals.
Here this word denotes that Daniel was in an altered state of consciousness in which God revealed what will take place in the future with regards to planet earth.
Theses visions were prophetic in that they tell Daniel about the future of planet earth.
They were also symbolic as indicated by the fact that the four kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and the Revived Form of the Roman Empire are represented by wild beasts.
These visions were also oracles of assurance since Daniel is assured that God will rule this earth through His Son Jesus Christ which acknowledges that God is sovereign over the earth and sovereign of history.
These revelations Daniel received from God regarding the future of planet earth were designed to direct him, the Jews and the Gentiles to submit to God’s will and to teach them and the reader that God’s authority is over every ruler and every nation and over history itself.
Therefore, Daniel 7:1 tells us that Daniel received these revelations while he was in a trance or altered state of consciousness in which extrasensory audiovisual experiences, which were revelatory in character, were perceived by him in the privacy of his own bedroom.
Here Daniel was in an altered state of consciousness while God revealed the content and interpretation of the dream to him as well while in the privacy of his own bedroom.