Daniel 4:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 4:19
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
an appellation · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Belteshazzar
בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּ֗רbe.le.te.sha.Tzar
H1096
Belteshatstsar · proper noun, a man's name
astonied
אֶשְׁתּוֹמַם֙'esh.to.Mam
H8075
to stun (or intransitively · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
one
חֲדָ֔הcha.Dah
H2298
as card. one · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
hour
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
Daniel 7:28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matte…
Daniel 8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but n…
1 Samuel 3:17 And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou…
2 Samuel 18:31-32 And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against…
Jeremiah 4:19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my sou…
Daniel 4:4-5 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
Daniel 4:24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
Daniel 10:16-17 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood bef…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 4:19-27
We have here the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream; and when once it is applied to himself, and it is declared that he is the tree in the dream (Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur - Change but the name, the fable speaks of thee), when once it is said, Thou art the man, there needs little more to be said for the explication of the dream. Out of his own mouth he is judged; so shall his doom be, he himself has decided it. The thing was so plain that Daniel, upon hearing the dream, was astonished for one hour, Dan 4:19. He was struck with amazement and terror at so great a judgment coming upon so great a prince. His flesh trembled for fear of God. He was likewise struck with confusion wh…
Daniel . . . Belteshazzar--The use of the Hebrew as well as the Chaldee name, so far from being an objection, as some have made it, is an undesigned mark of genuineness. In a proclamation to "all people," and one designed to honor the God of the Hebrews, Nebuchadnezzar would naturally use the Hebrew name (derived from El, "God," the name by which the prophet was best known among his countrymen), as well as the Gentile name by which he was known in the Chaldean empire.
astonied--overwhelmed with awe at the terrible import of the dream.
one hour--the original means often "a moment," or "short time," as in Dan 3:6, Dan 3:15.
let not the dream . . . trouble thee--Many despots would have pu…
Daniel - was astonied for one hour - He saw the design of the dream, and he felt the great delicacy of interpreting it. He was not puzzled by the difficulties of it. He felt for the king, and for the nation; and with what force and delicacy does he express the general portent; "The dream to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies!"
John Gill on Daniel 4:19
Then Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar) was astonied for one hour,.... Not at the difficulty of interpreting the dream, which was plain and easy to him; but at the sad and shocking things he saw plainly by the dream were coming upon the king: and though he was a wicked prince, and justly deserved such treatment; and thus he continued for the space of an hour like one thunder struck, filled with amazement, quite stupid, dumb, and silent:
and his thoughts troubled him; both about what should befall the king, and how he should make it known to him:
the king spake and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee: he saw by his countenance the confusion h…
The Church Fathers
Daniel did not speak these words ("may the dream be for those who hate you") … because he feared the majesty of the king or in order to flatter him and his fortune but either to show respect for the king and the worship of the vessels in the temple or for that general edict through which he [the king] repressed those who wanted to scorn the divine name in their actions or words.
Verse 19. "Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, began quietly to meditate by himself for about an hour, and his meditations greatly troubled him. And the king answered and said, 'Belteshazzar, let not the dream or its interpretation disturb you.' Belteshazzar answered and said..." Daniel silently understood that the dream was directed against the king, and the pallor of his countenance showed forth the fear in his heart, and he felt sorry for the man who had conferred upon him the greatest of honor. And to avoid all appearance of taunting the king or glorying over him as an enemy, he only told him what he understood of the matter after he had begged to be excused. "'My lord, may this dream apply to those who hate thee, and its interpretation to thy foes.'" And so Nebuchadnezzar, seeing that Daniel was afraid of appearing to speak something of ill omen and against the king's interest, urged him to speak out plainly and truly what he understood of the matter without any apprehension.
Therefore he, who also interpreted the dream of the king, was grieved and became tearful and for about one hour was amazed and his thoughts troubled him, not wishing to send out his voice, indicating the affection which he had for the king, so that in this even the king was sorely pricked and when he did what was spoken by the prophet, he was able to be saved. And so after Daniel stood voiceless for one hour and was greatly silent, he, while looking at everyone, was confused by his thoughts and his face was changed, and Daniel became pale on account of the fear of the interpretation, lest the king, having heard what was spoken concerning him, become angered and command him to be killed; but when he was empowered by the Spirit and assumed the face of an angel, his appearance became fiery and his eyes shining as a flame of fire, so that in this the king, being astounded, was afraid. For if the sons of Israel were not able to look upon the face of the blessed Moses on account of the glory of his face, how then were the Babylonians not afraid who looked at the face of Daniel which had changed? Certainly when he appeared as a man they were not afraid, but when he was also shown as an angel of God, they were afraid. Then having been calmed from great vision and agony and coming to his own state of human nature, he answered the king and said, "Let, O king, the dream be upon those who hate you and its judgment on your enemies." [Daniel 4:19] And in this way, having begun, he proclaimed to him according to each thing which was to happen to him and encouraged him with comforting words and he again restored his hopes for what was about to be. For he says to him, "And when the king saw a watcher and a holy one descending from heaven who said, 'Cut down the tree and strip its leaves and shake its branches except leave the stump of the roots of the tree in the earth.' Your kingdom will remain, O king, until you know the heavenly authority, because the Most High rules the kingdom of men and he shall give it to whom he wills." [Daniel 4:23-26]
Dictionary and topics
Daniel — God is my judge, or judge of God. (1.) David’s second son, “born unto him in Hebron, of Abigail the Carmelitess” (1 Chr. 3:1). He is called also Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3). (2.) One of the four great…
Day — The Jews reckoned the day from sunset to sunset (Lev. 23:32). It was originally divided into three parts (Ps. 55:17). “The heat of the day” (1 Sam. 11:11; Neh. 7:3) was at our nine o’clock, and “the…
Hour — First found in Dan. 3:6; 4:19, 33;5:5. It is the rendering of the Chaldee shaah, meaning a “moment,” a “look.” It is used in the New Testament frequently to denote some determinate season (Matt.…
Media — Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.…
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).
כְּשָׁעָ֣ה
ke.sha.'Ah
H8160
properly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
thoughts
וְרַעְיֹנֹ֖הִיve.ra'.yo.No.hi
H7476
a grasp. i.e. (figuratively) mental conception · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
troubled
יְבַהֲלֻנֵּ֑הּye.va.ha.lu.Neh
H927
to terrify · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
king
מַלְכָּ֜אmal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
spake
עָנֵ֨ה'a.Neh
H6032
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
said
וְאָמַ֗רve.'a.Mar
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
Belteshazzar
בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר֙be.le.te.sha.Tzar
H1096
Belteshatstsar · proper noun, a man's name
not
אַֽל'al-
H409
not (the qualified negation · negative particle
dream
חֶלְמָ֤אchel.Ma'
H2493
a dream · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
interpretation
וּפִשְׁרֵא֙u.fish.Re'
H6591
an interpretation · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
trouble
יְבַהֲלָ֔ךְye.va.ha.Lakh
H927
to terrify · verb, piel jussive, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Belteshazzar
בֵלְטְשַׁאצַּר֙ve.le.te.sha.Tzar
H1096
Belteshatstsar · proper noun, a man's name
answered
עָנֵ֤ה'a.Neh
H6032
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
said
וְאָמַ֔רve.'a.Mar
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
lord
מָרִ֕יma.re.'i
H4756
a master · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix
dream
חֶלְמָ֥אchel.Ma'
H2493
a dream · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
hate
לְשָֽׂנְאָ֖ךְle.sa.ne.'a.yikh
H8131
to hate (personally) · preposition + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
interpretation
וּפִשְׁרֵ֥הּu.fish.Reh
H6591
an interpretation · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
enemies
לְעָרָֽךְle.'a.ra.yikh
H6146
a foe (as watchful for mischief) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Daniel 4:19
19. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
19. Tunc Daniel, cui nomen Beltsazar, obstupefactus fuit circiter horam unam: et cogitationes ejus turbabant eum. Respondit rex et dixit, Beltsazar, somnium et interpretatio ejus ne conturbet to, terreat. Respondit Beltsazar et dixit, Domine mi, somnium sit inimicis tuis, et interpretatio ejus hostibus tuis.
Here Daniel relates how he was in some s…
The interpretation of the dream.
As Daniel at once understood the interpretation of the dream, he was for a moment so astonished that he could not speak for terror at the thoughts which moved his soul. This amazement seized him because he wished well to the king, and yet he must now announce to him a weighty judgment from God.
Daniel 4:16 (Dan 4:19)
The punctuation אשׁתּומם for אשׁתּומם is Syriac, as in the Hebr. Dan 8:27; cf. Winer's Chald. Gram. 25, 2. חדא כּשׁעהmeans, not about an hour (Mich., Hitz., Kran., etc.), but as it were an instant, a moment. Regarding שׁעה, see under Dan 3:6. The king perceives the astonishment of Daniel, and remarks that he has found the interpretation. Therefor…
the Most High rules: God distributes kingship and kingdoms to whomever he will, even to the lowliest (e.g., Joseph, Gen 41:41-57; David, 1 Sam 16—2 Sam 5).
Rashi on Daniel 4:16
Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was bewildered He was silent.
and his thoughts [as translated,] and his thoughts.
alarmed him for he was afraid to interpret the dream for him.
My lord Aram. מָרִאי. Our Rabbis said (Shevu. 35b): “My Lord, may the dream be for Your enemies,” refers to God. He raised his eyes to the Holy One, blessed be He, and said, “May this dream be fulfilled upon this enemy of Yours.” But if you say that he said it to Nebuchadnezzar, was not Israel his enemy? Is it possible that he would curse them?
for your foes Aram. לְעָרָךְ, like (Sam. 28:16): “and has become [the supporter of] your foes (עָרֶךָ).”