Daniel 2:47

The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(47) God of gods.—He does not acknowledge Jehovah as the true God, but deems Him worthy of a place in the Babylonian Pantheon.

Benson Commentary

Daniel 2:47-48. Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods — Such a God as there is no other; above all gods in dignity, over all gods in dominion. And a Lord of kings — From whom they derive their power, and to whom they are accountable: the supreme Governor of the world, and Ruler of all the kings and kingdoms in it. And a revealer of secrets — One who sees and can bring to light what is most secret; seeing thou couldest reveal this secret — Couldest discover a matter, which it would have been impossible for thee to discover, if God had not revealed it to thee. Then the king made Daniel a great man — Or magnified him, as the original expression means. God made Daniel a great man indeed, when he took him into such intimate communion with himself, a much greater man than Nebuchadnezzar could make him; but because God had honoured him, therefore the king honoured him too. And gave him many great gifts — Which Daniel had no reason to refuse, since they put him into the greater capacity of doing good to his brethren in captivity. These gifts were no more than grateful returns from the king for the good services Daniel had done him, and were not desired or aimed at by Daniel, as the rewards of divination were by Balaam. And made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon — Which, no doubt, had a mighty influence upon the other provinces; and chief of the governors over all the wise men — Constituted him the chief ruler and inspector of them who were students and professors of learning and wisdom. We are not to suppose that this holy prophet, in the exercise of the office now assigned him, would give any countenance or encouragement to any who practised unlawful arts and divinations: rather he would do all in his power to abolish all such practices, and would instruct those of whom he had the oversight in the knowledge of the one living and true God, and in that wisdom which has him for its author and its end.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:46-49 It is our business to direct attention to the Lord, as the Author and Giver of every good gift. Many have thoughts of the Divine power and majesty, who do not think of serving God themselves. But all should strive, that God may be glorified, and the best interests of mankind furthered.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The king answered unto Daniel - Answered either what he had said in the interpretation of the dream, or "possibly" something that he had said in regard to the impropriety of offering this homage to him. Compare the notes at Daniel 2:46. It is certain that, for some cause. whatever might have been the homage which he was disposed to render to Daniel, his thoughts were soon turned from him to the true God, and to an acknowledgment of him as superior to all other beings. He seems, at least, instantly to have reflected on what Daniel had himself said Daniel 2:30, and to have remembered that religious homage was due, not to Daniel, but to the God who had communicated the secret to him.

Of a truth it is - It is truly so. This had been shown by the manner in which this secret was disclosed.

That your God is a God of gods - Is superior to all other gods; is supreme over all. Compare Revelation 17:14; 1 Timothy 6:15. The idea is, that whatever subordinate beings there may be, He is supreme.

And a Lord of kings - Supreme over kings. They are all inferior to him, and subject to his control.

And a revealer of secrets - One of the attributes of divinity. See the notes at Daniel 2:28.

Seeing thou couldest reveal this secret - A secret which the wisest men of the realm had sought in vain to disclose. The fact that a professed servant of God had been able to do this showed that God was himself supreme, and worthy of adoration. We have here, then, an instance in which a proud and haughty pagan monarch was brought to an acknowledgment of the true God, and was constrained to render him homage. This was a result which it was evidently intended to reach in the whole transaction; in the dream itself; in the fact that the wise men of Babylon could not interpret it; and in the fact that an acknowledged servant of the Most High had been enabled to make the disclosure. The instance is instructive, as showing to what extent a mind clearly not under the influence of any genuine piety - for subsequent events showed that no "permanent" effects were produced on him, and that he was still an idolater Daniel 3, and a most proud and haughty man Daniel 4 - may be brought to acknowledge God. See the remarks at the end of the Daniel 7.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

47. Lord of kings—The world power shall at last have to acknowledge this (Re 17:14; 19:16); even as Nebuchadnezzar, who had been the God-appointed "king of kings" (Da 2:37), but who had abused the trust, is constrained by God's servant to acknowledge that God is the true "Lord of kings."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

A God of gods; the greatest and supreme God of all the world, above Baal, or Bel, and above all other gods.

A Lord of kings; the word is Maron or Maran, which in the Syriac signifies Lord, or high Lord, seeing he is the highest King of all the earth. He makes, overrules, and pulls down whom he will, 1 Timothy 6:15 Revelation 17:14 19:16: by this he gathers that God is a

revealer of secrets, Isaiah 48:3,5-8. A revealer of secrets; is supreme God, because he knows, and foreknows, and decrees all things future.

Seeing thou couldest reveal this secret; therefore Daniel had it from God, who revealed it to him, which here the king confesseth.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The king answered unto Daniel,.... By which it appears that Daniel interposed and expostulated with the king, and prevented the oblation to him as a god, and instructed him in the knowledge of the true God he ought to worship; as the following confession of the king more clearly shows:

and said, of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods; the God of Daniel and his companions, and of the people of the Jews, to whom they belonged, is above all gods that are named and worshipped by men: this appeared at this time for the present, though it did not last long, as the following chapter shows, a most glaring truth; that the God of Israel was above all his gods, and whom his magicians and people worshipped, and above all others:

and a Lord of kings; that rules over them, and disposes of them; sets them up and pulls them down at his pleasure; and transfers their kingdoms from one to another, as he learned by the interpretation of his dream, to which he may in this refer:

and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret; of the dream, and the interpretation of it; which he could never have done, had not his God been a revealer of secrets, and revealed it to him.

Geneva Study Bible

The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your {c} God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

(c) This confession was but a sudden motion, as it was also in Pharaoh, Ex 9:28, but his heart was not touched, as appeared soon afterwards.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

47. a God … a Lord] the God … the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the supremacy of Daniel’s God over all other gods, and His sovereignty over all kings. ‘Lord of lords’ (bêl bêlê), and ‘Lord of gods’ (bêl ilâni), are titles often given by the Babylonian kings (including Nebuchadnezzar) to Marduk, the supreme god of Babylon; but it is doubtful whether the terms here used were chosen with allusion to the fact. ‘God of gods,’ as Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:2; ch. Daniel 11:36.

a revealer of secrets] as Daniel had averred, Daniel 2:28; cf. Daniel 5:22.

couldest] better, hast been able to.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 47. - The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a Revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. The versions do not exhibit any important variation from the Massoretic text. We must observe the plural form of the pronoun "your," implying the Hebrew nation as a whole, or at all events the three youths along with Daniel. It must be noted that the titles are not in the emphatic state, but are simply absolute, implying that Nebuchadnezzar simply placed the God of heaven, the God of Daniel, in his pantheon, as one of the superior gods. The historical difficulty that some have seen in Nebuchadnezzar making this confession to God, and yet straightway framing a golden image, is due to a failure to understand the attitude of a polytheist to his gods. To the heathen his god is a person he is afraid of, much more powerful than he is himself, able to do him much ill, or, on the other hand, able to bestow upon him much good, but able to be deceived, cajoled, and flattered. In worshipping his deities the heathen feels that any breach of sacred etiquette in regard to any deity is far more certain of bringing down the vengeance of the aggrieved power than any crime, however heinous. He would be most potent in prayer who could go over all the deities of the pantheon, and give to each his or her appropriate title. Thus the Hindus tell tales of fakirs whose power over the gods was due to this. One of the forms of this religious etiquette was to address each deity as if he were the supreme god who alone deserved worship. Lenormant ('Los Premieres Civilizations,' 2:159) gives an address to the god Hourki, or Sin, in which he is called "prince of the gods of heaven and earth, the good god, the great god, lather of gods and men, the lord who extends his power over heaven and earth" In the same work (p. 178) there is an address to Marduk (Merodach), the favourite deity of Nebuchadnezzar, in which he is called "god of gods, king of heaven and earth." A little further on in the same work (p. 18t) Nebu is called "the supreme intelligence, scribe of the universe, who bears the supreme sceptre, the interpreter of the celestial spheres." In p. 189 Nergal is addressed as "great prince of the greatest gods, who has brought up the greatest gods." In his ' La Magie,' p. 175, he gives an address to Silik-mulu-ki, regarded as an Accadian name of Marduk, in which he is called "god of gods." In his ' Hibbert Lecture,' pp. 97-104, Professor Sayce, on the contrast between the religion of Babylon and that of Persia in this respect, says that Nebuchadnezzar calls Merodach "lord of all," yet declares him the "son of the gods." The same titles are given to Merodach and to Samas, and yet Samas is distinct from Merodach - he is his comrade in the struggle with the assailants of Otis, the moon-god. At the same time, we must observe the limitations of Nebuchadnezzar's praise - it is simply as the Revealer of secrets that he praises and honours the God of Daniel. Daniel 2:47

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The impression which this interpretation of the dream made upon Nebuchadnezzar, and the consequences which thence arose for Daniel.

The announcement and the interpretation of the remarkable dream made so powerful an impression on Nebuchadnezzar, that he fell down in supplication before Daniel and ordered sacrifice to be offered to him. Falling prostrate to the earth is found as a mark of honour to men, it is true (1 Samuel 20:41; 1 Samuel 25:28; 2 Samuel 14:4), but סגד is used only of divine homage (Isaiah 44:15, Isaiah 44:17, Isaiah 44:19; Isaiah 46:6, and Daniel 3:5.). To the Chaldean king, Daniel appeared as a man in whom the gods manifested themselves; therefore he shows to him divine honour, such as was shown by Cornelius to the Apostle Peter, and at Lystra was shown to Paul and Barnabas, Acts 10:25; Acts 14:13. מנחה, an unbloody sacrifice, and ניחחין, are not burnt sacrifices or offerings of pieces of fat (Hitz.), but incensings, the offering of incense; cf. Exodus 30:9, where the קטרת is particularly mentioned along with the עלה and the מנחה. נסּך is, with Hitz., to be taken after the Arabic in the general signification sacrificare, but is transferred zeugmatically from the pouring out of a drink-offering to the offering of a sacrifice. Daniel 2:47, where Nebuchadnezzar praises the God of the Jews as the God of gods, does not stand in contradiction to the rendering of divine honour to Daniel in such a way that, with Hitz., in the conduct of the king we miss consistency and propriety, and find it improbable. For Nebuchadnezzar did not pray to the man Daniel, but in the person of Daniel to his God, i.e., to the God of the Jews; and he did this because this God had manifested Himself to him through Daniel as the supreme God, who rules over kings, and reveals hidden things which the gods of the Chaldean wise men were not able to reveal. Moreover, in this, Nebuchadnezzar did not abandon his heathen standpoint. He did not recognise the God of the Jews as the only, or the alone true God, but only as God of gods, as the highest or the most exalted of the gods, who excelled the other gods in might and in wisdom, and was a Lord of kings, and as such must be honoured along with the gods of his own country. מן־קשׁט דּי, of truth (it is) that, stands adverbially for truly.