Daniel 2:1

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream In the second year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. His mind was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וּבִשְׁנַ֣ת שְׁתַּ֗יִם לְמַלְכוּת֙ נְבֻֽכַדְנֶצַּ֔ר חָלַ֥ם נְבֻֽכַדְנֶצַּ֖ר חֲלֹמ֑וֹת וַתִּתְפָּ֣עֶם רוּח֔וֹ וּשְׁנָת֖וֹ נִהְיְתָ֥ה עָלָֽיו׃

Transliteration

And in shənath two to malkhuth Nəvukhadnetzar, ḥalam Nəvukhadnetzar ḥalomoth; wattitpāʿem ruḥo and shənato nihyəthah upon him.

Grammar Details

• *shənath*: construct state, feminine singular - 'year of'
• *malkhuth*: construct state, feminine singular - 'kingdom/reign of'
• *Nəvukhadnetzar*: proper noun, masculine - 'Nebuchadnezzar'
• *ḥalam*: qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - 'dreamed'
• *ḥalomoth*: masculine plural noun - 'dreams'
• *wattitpāʿem*: hitpael imperfect with waw consecutive, 3rd feminine singular - 'and was troubled/agitated'
• *ruḥo*: feminine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - 'his spirit'
• *shənato*: feminine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - 'his sleep'
• *nihyəthah*: niphal perfect, 3rd feminine singular - 'happened/came/was'

Word Meanings

• *shənath*: year of, second year
• *malkhuth*: kingdom, kingship, reign, royal power
• *ḥalam*: dreamed, had dreams
• *ḥalomoth*: dreams (plural form)
• *wattitpāʿem*: was troubled, was agitated, was disturbed
• *ruḥo*: his spirit, his mind, his breath
• *shənato*: his sleep, his rest
• *nihyəthah*: was, happened, came, occurred

Referenced Verses

• Esth 6:1 : 1 The Turning Point: The King Honors Mordecai Throughout that night the king was unable to sleep, so he asked for the book containing the historical records to be brought. As the records were being read in the king’s presence,
• Dan 4:5 : 5 I saw a dream that frightened me badly. The things I imagined while lying on my bed– these visions of my mind– were terrifying me.
• Dan 6:18 : 18 Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions were brought to him. He was unable to sleep.
• Gen 40:5-8 : 5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream the same night. Each man’s dream had its own meaning. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house,“Why do you look so sad today?” 8 They told him,“We both had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded,“Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me.”
• Job 33:15-17 : 15 In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds. 16 Then he gives a revelation to people, and terrifies them with warnings, 17 to turn a person from his sin, and to cover a person’s pride.
• Dan 2:3 : 3 The king told them,“I have had a dream, and I am anxious to understand the dream.”
• Jer 25:1 : 1 Seventy Years of Servitude for Failure to Give Heed In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the LORD spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah.(That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.)
• Gen 41:1-9 : 1 Joseph’s Rise to Power At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream. As he was standing by the Nile, 2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. 3 Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. 4 The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, healthy and good. 6 Then seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. 8 In the morning he was troubled, so he called for all the diviner-priests of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. 9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh,“Today I recall my failures. 10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards– me and the chief baker. 11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. 12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guards, was with us there. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. 13 It happened just as he had said to us– Pharaoh restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” 14 Then Pharaoh summoned Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph,“I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard about you, that you can interpret dreams.” 16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh,“It is not within my power, but God will speak concerning the welfare of Pharaoh.” 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,“In my dream I was standing by the edge of the Nile. 18 Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. 19 Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt! 20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven fat cows. 21 When they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. 22 I also saw in my dream seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 23 Then seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh,“Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. 27 The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent seven years of famine. 28 This is just what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 30 But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land. 31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. 32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed by God, and God will make it happen soon. 33 “So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt. 34 Pharaoh should do this– he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food, and they should preserve it. 36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.”
• 2 Chr 36:5-7 : 5 Jehoiakim’s Reign Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the items in the LORD’s temple to Babylon and put them in his palace there.
• Dan 1:1-5 : 1 ¶ Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem and laid it under siege. 2 Now the Lord delivered King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, along with some of the vessels of the temple of God. He brought them to the land of Babylonia to the temple of his god and put the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 The king commanded Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his court officials, to choose some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent– 4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated and having keen insight, and who were capable of entering the king’s royal service– and to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians. 5 So the king assigned them a daily ration from his royal delicacies and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.