Daniel 4:13

13 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger,[a] coming down from heaven.

Daniel 4:13 in Other Translations

KJV
13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
ESV
13 "I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.
NLT
13 “‘Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven.
MSG
13 "'And this also is what I saw as I was stretched out on my bed. I saw a holy watchman descend from heaven,
CSB
13 As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind an observer, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

Daniel 4:13 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 4:13

I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed
The king goes on to relate what other things presented themselves to his imagination in his dream, concerning this tree which signified himself: and, behold, a watcher:
which Saadiah interprets of Bath Kol; but Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Jacchiades, and Ben Melech of an angel; so called because incorporeal, ever watches, and never sleeps, and is always attentive to, and observant of, the commands of God so the angels in the fragment of Enoch are called "egregori", watchers; and the same word is here used in the Alexandrian copy. Some F11 render it "an enemy", "an holy one": according to the sense of the word in ( 1 Samuel 28:16 ) , and produce it to show that angels are called enemies: and an Holy One;
one of the holy angels that never sinned, nor left their first estate, but continued in it; in which they are established by Christ, and are impeccable; are perfectly pure and holy in their nature and actions: such an one came down from heaven; the place of their abode, as it seemed to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 Lex. Kabalist. in voce (bwya) p. 54, 55.

Daniel 4:13 In-Context

11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
13 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven.
14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches.
15 But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. “ ‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth.

Cross References 2

  • 1. ver 10; Daniel 7:1
  • 2. S ver 23; S Deuteronomy 33:2; Daniel 8:13

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or "watchman" ; also in verses 17 and 23
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