Daniel 4:5

Dan 4:5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.

Ver. 5. I saw a dream, which made me afraid.] It is seldom seen that God alloweth unto the greatest darlings of the world a perfect contentment; something they must complain of that shall give an unsavoury verdure to their sweetest morsels, and make their very felicity miserable.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:5 Nebuchadnezzar’s dream disrupted the false peace and serenity of the king’s misguided life.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

[Daniel 4:5] And finally (וְעַ֣ד אׇחֳרֵ֡ין): [The Aramaic word acharein means] last/finally (אַחֲרוֹן - acharon [in Hebrew]). And in whom [was] the spirit of the holy gods (וְדִ֛י רֽוּחַ־אֱלָהִ֥ין קַדִּישִׁ֖ין בֵּ֑הּ): [Ibn Ezra draws a conclusion from Nebuchadnezzar's statement:] If the spirit of holy gods is in him, he [Daniel] is holy.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

This no doubt was a great grief to Daniel not only to have his name changed, but to be called by the name of a vile idol, which thing Nebuchadnezzar did to make him forget the true religion of God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 5. I saw a dream] See this dream circumstantially explained in the following verses.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. the thoughts] imaginations (without the art.); cf. R.V. marg. The word is a peculiar one, and is found only here in the O.T. The idea expressed by it is probably that of fancyings, imaginings (in Syr. it means a mirage); in the Targums it is used especially (like the cognate verb) of sinful imaginations, as Isa_57:17 (for the Heb. ‘way’), Eze_38:10.

visions of my head] Dan_2:28.

troubled me] alarmed me: cf. Dan_4:19, Dan_5:6; Dan_5:10, Dan_7:15; Dan_7:28; also Dan_5:9. The corresponding Hebrew word means to perturb or dismay.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I saw a dream which made me afraid,.... Things were represented to his fancy in a dream, as if he saw them with his eyes, as the tree, its leaves and fruit; the shaking and cutting it down to the stump, &c.; and though he did not understand the meaning of it, yet he thought it portended some evil, which threw him into a panic; he was afraid that something bad would befall him, though he knew not what: thus God can make the minds of the greatest men uneasy amidst all their glory, pride, and pleasure:

and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me; the thoughts that came into his mind while he was upon his bed dreaming, and the things which were represented to his fancy in his brain, he remembered when awake, gave him a great deal of trouble and uneasiness, what should be the meaning of them, and what would be the issue and event of these things.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I saw a dream - That is, he saw a representation made to him in a dream. There is something incongruous in our language in saying of one that he saw a dream.

Which made me afraid - The fear evidently arose from the apprehension that it was designed to disclose some important and solemn event. This was in accordance with a prevalent belief then (comp. Dan 2:1), and it may be added that it is in accordance with a prevalent belief now. There are few persons, whatever may be their abstract belief, who are not more or less disturbed by fearful and solemn representations passing before the mind in the visions of the night. Compare Job 4:12-17; Job 33:14-15. So Virgil (Aen. iv. 9):

“Anna soror, quae me suspensam insomnia terrent!”

And the thoughts upon my bed - The thoughts which I had upon my bed; to wit, in my dream.

And the visions of my head - What I seemed to see. The vision seemed to be floating around his head.

Troubled me - Disturbed me; produced apprehension of what was to come; of some great and important event.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Colleague. Chaldee also, "another, or afterwards, (Haydock) or at last." (Calmet) --- My god. He says this, because the name of Baltassar, or Belteshazzar, is derived from the name of Bel, the chief god of the Babylonians. (Challoner) --- Gods. He speaks conformably to his false opinion; (St. Jerome) or, being instructed by Daniel, he testifies that the Holy Spirit enlightens the prophet. (Theod. Greek has "god," which St. Jerome disapproves; though the plural is often used for the true God. Reason evinces that only the Deity can disclose the secrets of futurity. (Genesis xli. 38.) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

There is no felicity in this world lasting; a black cloud, big with storm and tempest, spoils the fairest sun-shine day. They that fear not God shall be frighted by him. God doth justly make epicures and tyrants uneasy in the midst of their fool’s paradise, where if the fool saith in his heart, There is no God, he shall soon find in his heart to think otherwise.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5-7. See notes Dan_2:1-2. In the coronation decree of Nabonidus recently found in the ruins of Babylon (see Babylonian and Oriental Record, September, 1896) this king, the father of Belshazzar, tells how Nebuchadnezzar appeared to him in a night vision accompanied by the Babylonian high priest carrying a drawn sword. Nabonidus tells Nebuchadnezzar a dream which had troubled him greatly, and Nebuchadnezzar interprets it for him, the high priest being, as it seems, the “medium” through which this conversation between the living and the dead king was carried on. In another night vision mentioned in the same decree the goddess “who can raise to life the dead” appears to him.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

While in this state of security and peace, he was alarmed by a dream. The abrupt manner in which the matter is here introduced well illustrates the unexpected suddenness of the even itself. הרהרין, thoughts, from הרהר, to think, to meditate; in the Mishna and in Syr. images of the imagination; here, images in a dream. The words משׁכּבי על הרהרין are more properly taken as a passage by themselves with the verb, I had (I saw), supplied, than connected with the following noun to יבהלנּני. Regarding ראשׁי חזוי see under Dan 2:28. On this matter Chr. B. Michaelis has well remarked: "Licet somnii interpretationem nondum intelligeret, tamen sensit, infortunium sibi isthoc somnio portendi."

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Until, at last, until, at last, Daniel was brought in before me.

like the name of my god The deity of Babylon was named Bel. Teshazzar is the name of an expression of wisdom in Aramaic.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.