In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”
—Daniel 2:1–4
The most obvious thing about our text is 99.99% invisible to us in our English translations. The only hint of it subtly comes in the midst of verse 4 when we are told that the wise men spoke to the King in Aramaic. The next words in the text are Aramaic. Not only are their words in Aramaic, but all the following words in Daniel are in Aramaic until 7:28.
Aramaic is a cousin to Hebrew. It too is a “Semitic language.” These days we are once more hearing of antisemitism, referring to hatred of the Jews. “Semetic” in the context of languages has a broader reach, but shares the same root and reference point. Semetic languages are those spoken by the descendants of Shem, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:21). Among the offspring of Shem are Aram and Eber. From Aram we eventually get Aramaic. And from Eber we eventually get Hebrew. That these languages share much in common should be no surprise, for Abraham was called by God out of Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 15:7). Deuteronomy 26:5 refers to Joseph as being “a wandering Aramean.” Still, these languages are distinct. These are not brothers with different accents or dialects. They are cousins; something like Spanish and Portuguese.
Why is this portion of Daniel in Aramaic? As you carefully read on, an answer emerges alongside a pattern. There is a chiastic pattern to chapters 2–7. A chiasm is a greater than (>) or an ABCBA pattern. The text curves back in on itself. On the outside of this chiasm, with chapters 2 and 7, we have first Nebuchadnezzar’s dream concerning four kingdoms and then Daniel’s vision concerning four kingdoms. In chapters 3 and 6 there is a story of faithfulness despite the threat of death, first that of the three Hebrew children and the fiery furnace and then that of Daniel and the lion’s den. Finally, in the middle, chapters 4 and 5, we have stories of two kings who are humbled, first Nebuchadnezzar then Belshazzar.
Remember that Daniel falls into two halves: the first half is made up of six narratives, the latter half relates four apocalyptic visions given to Daniel. Chapter 7 is a bridge, linking the narratives to the visions and showing the unity of the message of Daniel. Yahweh, the God of Israel, is sovereign over all nations. Also, it should now be noted, Aramaic was the lingua franca of this era, the common language, the trade language, the international language.
So as you see these pagan kings recognizing something of Yahweh’s supremacy and as you see them make public decrees like, “…he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end” (6:26), it is fitting that this be recorded in the very language that would reach the empire. Yahweh is telling the nations that He is Lord of the nations.
But this message is framed by Hebrew. Further insight and understanding of this proclamation of the international Lordship of Yahweh is held out to His covenant people. Daniel is a message to the people of God that contains within it a message to all the nations. The message to the nations, is understood most deeply by the people of God to whom Yahweh reveals Himself in covenant. What is that message? It is essentially the same message that gives the people of God hope and the nations cause to tremble in Psalm 2.
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
No Other Boast 