In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign,
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed such dreams that his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. So the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams.
Daniel 2:1-2 [NRSV]
In the ornate bedroom of the mighty palace in the capitol city of the most powerful kingdom on earth, King Nebuchadnezzar had a startling dream – one which robbed him of his sleep, but was mysteriously lost from his memory. Something stirred within his heart that this dream was of great importance, but he could not summon a single detail. When the dawn slipped over the palace walls, the king was already in his throne room, determined to discover the meaning of the message in the night.
The Bible says, “A wise man has many counselors” [Proverbs 11:14]. Nebuchadnezzar was wise as well as powerful, and called in an eclectic group of his greatest advisors to provide the information he desired:
- Magicians: soothsayers; priests; readers of horoscope; drawing lines on the ground
- Enchanters: conjurers practicing enchantment; users of sacred names to get information from the gods; practitioners of white magic
- Sorcerers: users of spells and enchantments; practitioners of black magic
- Chaldeans: intellectuals; rationalists, the Ph.D’s of the group.
The summons came to these men a bit early in the day, and they may have been a tad groggy as they stood before their monarch, waiting to discover his pleasure. The first few words out of his mouth, however, snapped them wide-awake, their minds frantically scrambling for a way out, their very lives now on a very thin line.
…for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Isaiah 29:14 [KJV]
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