Daniel knew Nebuchadnezzar's dream by divine revelation — the secret was revealed to him in a night vision by the sovereign God of heaven (Daniel 2:19).
The Bible's own testimony is that God revealed the dream to Daniel while he slept (Daniel 2:19). Les Feldick emphasizes that this was the almighty sovereign God at work, not human happenstance (Clip 1). Daniel himself told the king that Babylon's wise men could not show the secret, but the God Nebuchadnezzar did not know could and did (Clip 2). He also insisted the secret was not revealed for any wisdom of his own (Clip 6).
Daniel 2:19 — This verse directly answers the question — the dream was revealed to Daniel in a night vision.
Daniel 2:28 — Daniel declares that there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets — the source of his knowledge.
When Nebuchadnezzar awoke from a troubling dream that had already slipped from his memory, he demanded that his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans show him the dream itself along with its interpretation (Daniel 2:2-5). When they could not, the king issued a decree to destroy all the wise men of Babylon — and Daniel and his companions were numbered among them (Daniel 2:12-13). Daniel went before the king and asked for time, promising that he would show the interpretation (Daniel 2:16). Then he and his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah asked the God of heaven for mercy concerning this secret (Daniel 2:18). That night the answer came: "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision" (Daniel 2:19). Standing before the king, Daniel gave God the credit: "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets" (Daniel 2:28), and "this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living" (Daniel 2:30). The Scripture's answer is plain — Daniel knew the dream because the God of heaven revealed it to him.
Les Feldick presents the entire episode as the almighty, sovereign God at work. When the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision, Les says, "this is the almighty sovereign God at work. This isn't just human happenstance" (Clip 1). He notes that Daniel was just a young man with no gray hairs, yet he answered Ariok with counsel and wisdom, asked why the decree was so hasty, and went in to request time from the king (Clip 1). Les also emphasizes Daniel's testimony in the throne room: the wise men, astrologers, magicians, and soothsayers could not show the king the secret, but there was a God — the God that Nebuchadnezzar knew nothing of — who could (Clip 2). And Les reads Daniel 2:30 as Daniel's disclaimer of personal wisdom: the secret was not revealed to him for any wisdom he had (Clip 6). Finally, Les places the story in its larger context. Daniel was a young Jewish captive being trained by the Babylonians, brought to preeminence by interpreting this dream (Clip 4), and was elevated to the second man in the kingdom (Clip 7). The dream itself, which Daniel recovered and interpreted, was a terrifying image of a human man — head of gold, chest of silver, belly of brass, legs of iron, and feet/toes of iron and clay (Clips 3, 7).
Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed something so troubling that he was "all shook up" (Clip 0), yet he had forgotten the dream itself. Les says the dream "must have been a nightmare of all nightmares, otherwise he wouldn't have been so belligerently and antagonistically against all his magicians trying to get them to recover the dream" (Clip 0). The king's demand was not for an interpretation only — he required his wise men to tell him the dream as well (Daniel 2:5).
When Ariok, the captain of the king's guard, went out to slay the wise men of Babylon, Daniel — still a young man — "answered with counsel and wisdom," asking why the king's decree was so hasty (Clip 1). After Ariok explained, Daniel went before Nebuchadnezzar and requested time so that he could show the king the interpretation (Clip 1; Daniel 2:16). It was in this same context, Les notes, that the night vision came: "the secret was revealed unto Daniel in a night vision" (Clip 1; Daniel 2:19).
Daniel's answer to the king was unambiguous: "The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king" (Daniel 2:27). Les highlights the follow-up — "there is a God, the God that Nebuchadnezzar knew nothing of" — and reminds his class that since the tower of Babel the whole human race had been saturated with idolatry (Clip 2). The true God, not Babylon's gods, was the revealer of the secret.
No. Daniel told the king plainly, "this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have" (Clip 6; Daniel 2:30). Les stresses that this revelation was the almighty sovereign God at work, revealing to Daniel the dream that Nebuchadnezzar himself had forgotten (Clips 1, 6).
Nebuchadnezzar's Distress Over His Dream
Les sets the scene: the king was all shook up over a dream that was a nightmare of all nightmares, and he belligerently demanded his magicians recover it — a demand that set the stage for Daniel's divine revelation.
The Night Vision From the Sovereign God
Les teaches that Daniel's knowledge came through a night vision — "the secret was revealed unto Daniel in a night vision" — and stresses that this was the almighty sovereign God at work, not human happenstance.
Daniel's Testimony of the God Who Reveals Secrets
Les highlights Daniel's testimony to Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon's wise men could not reveal the secret, but the God the king knew nothing of could and did.
The Terrifying Image of the Dream
Les describes the dream Daniel recovered — a great, humongous image whose brightness was excellent and whose form was terrible and frightening.
Daniel Brought to Preeminence
Les explains that Daniel, a young Jew being trained by the Babylonians, was brought to preeminence by interpreting the dream the magicians could not recover.
Why Is Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Still Relevant Today? Daniel 2
But now back, if you will, to Daniel chapter 2, and we're going to drop right down again to verse 31, where Daniel begins to interpret this dream, recovers it and interprets it, and he says that you saw a great image. And he said, "...this image, whose brightness was excellent.
Not for Any Wisdom Daniel Had
Les reads Daniel 2:30 to make clear the secret was not revealed to Daniel for any wisdom he had — the revelation came from God for the sake of those who would hear the interpretation.
Daniel Recovered and Interpreted the Dream
Les summarizes the outcome of the episode: Daniel recovered and interpreted the dream of the great human image and was elevated to the second man in the kingdom.
Daniel 2:16: Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.
Daniel's request for time preceded the revelation of the secret in a night vision.
Daniel 2:18: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel and his companions prayed for God's mercy before the dream was revealed.
Daniel 2:19: Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
This is the Bible's direct answer — the dream came to Daniel by night vision from God.
Daniel 2:27: Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
Daniel testifies that no human wise man could supply what the king demanded.
Daniel 2:28: But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
Daniel credits the God of heaven as the revealer of secrets.
Daniel 2:30: But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Daniel disclaims any personal wisdom in knowing the dream.
Daniel 2:19 says, "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision." Daniel did not figure it out from his own knowledge — God showed him the dream in the night (Clip 1).
No. Daniel told the king, "this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have" (Daniel 2:30). Les Feldick agrees and emphasizes that the revelation was the almighty sovereign God at work, not human ability (Clips 1, 6).
Because the king had forgotten the dream and was "all shook up" by it (Clip 0). He demanded that his wise men recover the dream as well as interpret it — which they could not do (Daniel 2:5).
Daniel went to the king and asked for time (Daniel 2:16; Clip 1). He and his companions then asked the God of heaven for mercy concerning the secret (Daniel 2:18). After that, the secret was revealed in a night vision (Daniel 2:19).
Watch the Teaching: Daniel's Dream, the Antichrist & the Mark of the Beast