The Meaning of Daniel 2:49 Explained

Daniel 2:49

KJV: 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.

YLT: And Daniel hath sought from the king, and he hath appointed over the work of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and Daniel is in the gate of the king.

Darby: And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon. And Daniel was in the gate of the king.

ASV: And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Daniel 2:49 Mean?

Study Notes

Daniel
Cf. Genesis 19:1 . Lot the compromiser with Daniel the inflexible.

Verse Meaning

At Daniel"s request, the king also promoted Daniel"s three friends to positions of authority within the provincial administration (cf. Daniel 2:17-18). Daniel himself remained in the palace and was available to Nebuchadnezzar as an adviser when the king needed him. God prepared for the arrival of thousands of exiled Judahites (in597,586 B.C.) by placing men in authority who were sympathetic to their needs (cf. Joseph).
"Thus Daniel , the obscure Jewish captive who could have been lost to history like many others if he had compromised in chapter1 , is now exalted to a place of great honor and power. Like Joseph in Egypt, he was destined to play an important part in the subsequent history of his generation." [1]
"This chapter, so basic to an understanding of all God"s dealing in history and prophecy, reveals three important truths: 1. God, not man is sovereign in world affairs.... 2. Our sovereign God has a plan for the world.... 3. God is ordering history according to His plan." [2]
B. Nebuchadnezzar"s golden image ch3
There is a logical connection between the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream (ch2) and the image that he had built on the plain of Dura (ch3). Perhaps he got the idea for the statue he built from the statue he saw in his dream. He forgot, however, the lesson that he had learned about Yahweh"s sovereignty ( Daniel 2:47). Evidently thoughts of his position as the head of gold made him proud.
We know that this chapter describes events that followed those in chapter2because Daniel"s three friends had assumed their positions of administrative leadership in Babylon ( Daniel 2:12). How much later is unclear, though it seems that several years had elapsed. Dyer believed the likely background for these events was a coup attempt against Nebuchadnezzar that occurred in December595 and January594 B.C, which the Babylonian Chronicles record. [3] The Septuagint translation of Daniel 2:1 dates these events in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar (about587 B.C.), though that is not necessarily true. Whitcomb speculated that this event may have occurred shortly after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem (about585 B.C.). [4] Such an empire-wide demonstration of the superiority of Babylon"s gods and king would have been understandable then. What follows is the account of a ceremony designed to unify the empire under Nebuchadnezzar"s leadership, which normally would have happened fairly early in his reign (closer to605 B.C.).

Context Summary

Daniel 2:36-49 - God's Kingdom Triumphant
Our Lord probably refers to these five empires when He speaks of "the times of the Gentiles." The empire of Babylon was followed by that of Medo-Persia under Cyrus; that by Greece under Alexander the Great; and that in turn by Rome led by the Caesars. Since the dissolution of the Roman Empire, the vast dominions of the East and the West have fallen, generally speaking, into some ten main divisions. There is, therefore, now nothing between us and the final setting up of the kingdom that is not made by human hands and shall never be destroyed. Note the striking anticipation of the outcome of Gentile dominion, in the prostration of supreme human power at the feet of a Jew. Evidently Daniel refused the king's homage, because we are told that Nebuchadnezzar "answered" him. Those who have shared our anxieties and prayers must not be forgotten in our hour of triumph, Daniel 2:49. The heart of man may not be able to recall its forgotten dreams of innocence and truth, but it will recognize them when presented by the servant of God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 2

1  Nebuchadnezzar, forgetting his dream,
5  requires it of the Chaldeans, by promises and threats
10  They acknowledging their inability are judged to die
14  Daniel obtaining some respite finds the dream
19  He blesses God
24  He staying the decree is brought to the king
31  The dream
36  The interpretation
46  Daniel's advancement

What do the individual words in Daniel 2:49 mean?

And Daniel petitioned of king the and he set over affairs the of the province of Babylon Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego but Daniel [sat] in the gate of king the -
וְדָנִיֵּאל֙ בְּעָ֣א מִן־ מַלְכָּ֔א וּמַנִּ֗י עַ֤ל עֲבִֽידְתָּא֙ דִּ֚י מְדִינַ֣ת בָּבֶ֔ל לְשַׁדְרַ֥ךְ מֵישַׁ֖ךְ וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ וְדָנִיֵּ֖אל בִּתְרַ֥ע מַלְכָּֽא פ

וְדָנִיֵּאל֙  And  Daniel 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּנִיֵּאל  
Sense: the 4th of the greater prophets, taken as hostage in the first deportation to Babylon, because of the gift of God of the interpretation of dreams, he became the 2nd in command of the Babylon empire and lasted through the end of the Babylonian empire and into the Persian empire. His prophecies are the key to the understanding of end time events. Noted for his purity and holiness by contemporary prophet, Ezekiel.
בְּעָ֣א  petitioned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בְּעָה  
Sense: to ask, seek, request, desire, pray, make petition.
מַלְכָּ֔א  king  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: מֶלֶךְ  
Sense: king.
וּמַנִּ֗י  and  he  set 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מְנָה  
Sense: to number, reckon.
עַ֤ל  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל  
Sense: upon, over, on account of, above, to, against.
עֲבִֽידְתָּא֙  affairs  the 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular determinate
Root: עֲבִידָה  
Sense: work, service, ritual, worship.
מְדִינַ֣ת  the  province 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מְדִינָה  
Sense: district, province.
בָּבֶ֔ל  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
לְשַׁדְרַ֥ךְ  Shadrach 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁדְרַךְ  
Sense: the godly friend of Daniel whom Nebuchadnezzar renamed Shadrach; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king’s table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord.
מֵישַׁ֖ךְ  Meshach 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֵישַׁךְ  
Sense: the godly friend of Daniel who Nebuchadnezzar renamed Meshach; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king’s table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord.
נְג֑וֹ  Abed-nego 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲבֵד נְגֹו  
Sense: the godly friend of Daniel who Nebuchadnezzar renamed Abednego; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king’s table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord.
וְדָנִיֵּ֖אל  but  Daniel  [sat] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּנִיֵּאל  
Sense: the 4th of the greater prophets, taken as hostage in the first deportation to Babylon, because of the gift of God of the interpretation of dreams, he became the 2nd in command of the Babylon empire and lasted through the end of the Babylonian empire and into the Persian empire. His prophecies are the key to the understanding of end time events. Noted for his purity and holiness by contemporary prophet, Ezekiel.
בִּתְרַ֥ע  in  the  gate 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תְּרַע  
Sense: gate, door.
מַלְכָּֽא  of  king  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: מֶלֶךְ  
Sense: king.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation