2:1–13 · The king and his astrologers:In Nebuchadnezzar’s second year (2:1; 604 BC), he has a dream that disturbs him greatly. He turns to the traditional wisdom of his time by calling on his sages—“the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers” (2:2)—to tell him what his dream means. They are all too ready to please the king, and ask for the particulars of the dream. Their request is “in Aramaic” (2:4), the official language of the Babylonian Empire. (Here begins the Aramaic section of Daniel, which continues until 7:28.)The wise men are called to explain and interpret a dream but are unable to reconstruct the elements of it. The king repeatedly insists that they tell him both the dream and its interpretation (2:5–7). When the king refuses to ch…