Daniel 2:49 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 2:49
Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
to seek or ask · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
of
מִןmin-
H4481
properly · preposition
king
מַלְכָּ֔אmal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
set
וּמַנִּ֗יu.ma.Ni
H4483
to count · conjunction + verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Shadrach
לְשַׁדְרַ֥ךְle.shad.Rakh
H7715
Shadrak · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
Meshach
מֵישַׁ֖ךְmei.Shakh
H4336
Meshak · proper noun, a man's name
Abed-nego
וַעֲבֵ֣דva.'a.Ved
H5665
Abed-Nego · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
over
עַ֤ל'al
H5922
above · preposition
affairs
עֲבִֽידְתָּא֙'a.vi.de.Ta'
H5673
labor or business · noun, common feminine singular determined + particle of affirmation
province
מְדִינַ֣תme.di.Nat
H4083
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct
Babylon
בָּבֶ֔לba.Vel
H895
Babel (i.e. Babylon) · proper noun, a place name
Daniel
וְדָנִיֵּ֖אלve.da.ni.Yel
H1841
Danijel · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
gate
בִּתְרַ֥עbit.Ra'
H8651
a door · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
king
מַלְכָּֽאmal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Esther 2:19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.
Daniel 1:7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Misha…
Esther 2:21 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were…
Daniel 3:12-30 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king,…
Amos 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant…
Esther 3:2 And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mo…
Proverbs 28:12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
Jeremiah 39:3 And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Ner…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 2:46–end
One might have expected that when Nebuchadnezzar was contriving to make his own kingdom everlasting he would be enraged at Daniel, who foretold the fall of it and that another kingdom of another nature should be the everlasting kingdom; but, instead of resenting it as an affront, he received it as an oracle, and here we are told what the expressions were of the impressions it made upon him. 1. He was ready to look upon Daniel as a little god. Though he saw him to be a man, yet from this wonderful discovery which he had made both of his secret thoughts, in telling him the dream, and of things to come, in telling him the interpretation of it, he concluded that he had certainly a divinity lodge…
Daniel requested--Contrast this honorable remembrance of his humble friends in his elevation with the spirit of the children of the world in the chief butler's case (Gen 40:23; Ecc 9:15-16; Amo 6:6).
in the gate--the place of holding courts of justice and levees in the East (Est 2:19; Job 29:7). So "the Sublime Porte," or "Gate," denotes the sultan's government, his counsels being formerly held in the entrance of his palace. Daniel was a chief counsellor of the king, and president over the governors of the different orders into which the Magi were divided.
Between the vision of Nebuchadnezzar in the second chapter and that of Daniel in the seventh, four narratives of Daniels and his frien…
Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon - He wished his three companions promoted, who had shared his anxieties, and helped him by their prayers. They all had places of trust, in which they could do much good, and prevent much evil.
Daniel sat in the gate of the king - That is, was the chief officer in the palace; and the greatest confidant and counselor of the king. But whatever his influence and that of his friends was, it extended only over the province of Babylon; not through the empire.
The Church Fathers
Verse 49. "Moreover Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the public works of the province of Babylon. But Daniel himself was in the king's gate." Daniel does not forget those men with whom he had made intercession to the Lord, and who had shared his peril with him. And so he makes them judges over the province, while he himself does not leave (a variant reading is: "did not leave") the king's side.
Truly this holy prophet loved God with all his heart, all his soul, all his strength, all his power. And having loved so fervently, he genuinely trusted, and he believed deeply, expecting that help would come from him. And it was as he had expected. And so also one is taught about the love of a neighbor, as it happened that the companions were also accepted. "For all the ancient Scriptures were written for our instruction and that through fortitude and the encouragement of the Scriptures we may have faith in Jesus Christ," who is the glory for the Father with the Holy Spirit world without end. Amen.
"And Daniel asked a favor from the king and he appointed Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego over the affairs of the country of Babylon." [Daniel 2:49] And this which happened under Daniel is worthy of faith and approval. For since they themselves joined with Daniel in prayer to God, so that the vision might be revealed to him, and because of this Daniel himself received worth and honor from the king, Daniel remembered them and entrusted them with the work which happened under them on behalf of the king, so that they themselves also were esteemed with some honor as fellow-initiates and God-fearing men. For after requesting the heavenly things from the Lord, they were also engaged with the earthy things beside the king.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abednego — Servant of Nego=Nebo, the Chaldee name given to Azariah, one of Daniel’s three companions (Dan. 2:49). With Shadrach and Meshach, he was delivered from the burning fiery furnace (3:12-30).
Meshach — The title given to Mishael, one of the three Hebrew youths who were under training at the Babylonian court for the rank of Magi (Dan. 1:7; 2:49; 3:12-30). This was probably the name of some Chaldean…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Abed-Nego · .A Jewish — .A Jewish
Daniel · .Promotion and executive authority of — .Promotion and executive authority of
Friendship · .Daniel and his three companions — .Daniel and his three companions
Meshach · A name given by the chief eu — A name given by the chief eu
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on Daniel 2:49
Then Daniel requested of the king,.... Being in his favour, he improved it to the advantage of his friends, whom he did not forget in his elevated state; but made suit to the king for them to be put into places of trust and honour, which the king listened to:
and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon; that is, under Daniel, who was made ruler over it; these were deputies under him, appointed to take care of some affairs, which would have been too troublesome to him, and would have took up too much of his time from court; where he chose to be, to improve his interest on behalf of the church of God. De Dieu thinks, from the use of the word in Chal…
Daniel 2:49
49. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
49. Et Daniel petiit a rege; et constituit super opus [167] provinciae Babylonis Sidrach, Mesach, et Abed-nego: Daniel antem erat in porta regis.
Some ambition may be noticed here in the Prophet, since he procures honors for his own companions. For when the king spontaneously offers him a command, he is obliged to accept it; he need not offend the mind of the proud king. There was a necessity for this, because he himself seeks from the king prefectships for others. What shall we say was the origin of this conduc…
At Daniel's request the king made his three friends governors of the province. וּמנּי is not, with Hv. and other older writers, to be translated that he should ordain; this sense must be expressed by the imperfect. The matter of the prayer is not specially given, but is to be inferred from the granting of it. But this prayer is not, with Hitz. and older interpreters, to be understood as implying that Daniel entreated the king to release him from the office of vicegerent, and that the king entrusted that office to his three friends; for if Daniel wished to retain this dignity, but to transfer the duty to his friends, there was no need, as Hitz. thinks, for this purpose, for the express appoin…
Daniel delegated the administration of the province to his three friends so that he could remain in the king’s court as his counselor.
Rashi on Daniel 2:49
and he appointed, over the affairs of the capital cities of Babylon He appointed, over all the necessities of the kingdom, Hananiah Mishael, and Azariah.
