Daniel 2:3

he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Nebuchadnezzar addresses the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers immediately after summoning them to stand before him. He speaks at the precise moment they have assembled, prior to their request that he first state the dream itself.

The words — תִּפָּעֶם (ti.Pa.'em) literally means “it was troubled” or “pained,” describing the king’s internal state. לָדַעַת (la.Da.'at) means “to know,” indicating his urgent desire for comprehension rather than mere disclosure.

The thread — The pattern of a ruler’s dream troubling his spirit and lacking a human interpreter appears in Genesis 40:8 and Genesis 41:15. Daniel 2:1 establishes the same sequence, noting the dream first troubled Nebuchadnezzar’s spirit and then removed his sleep.

Why it lands — The text states a factual dilemma: the king possesses a dream that his gathered experts cannot yet resolve. It requires the reader to note that human knowledge stops where divine revelation must begin.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיֹּ֧אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he saidלָהֶ֛םla./Hemto/ themהַמֶּ֖לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ king חֲל֣וֹםcha.Loma dream חָלָ֑מְתִּיcha.La.me.tiI have dreamed וַתִּפָּ֣עֶםva./ti.Pa.'emand/ it was troubled רוּחִ֔יru.Ch/ispirit/ my לָדַ֖עַתla./Da.'atto/ know אֶֽת־'et-<obj.>הַחֲלֽוֹם׃ha./cha.Lomthe/ dream

King James Version

And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

Cross-references

Genesis 40:8 “We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
Genesis 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
Daniel 2:1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
Daniel 4:5 I had a dream, and it frightened me; while I was in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.