Then the king promoted Daniel
Daniel's promotion by King Nebuchadnezzar follows his successful interpretation of the king's dream, which none of the Babylonian wise men could decipher. This event highlights God's sovereignty and the divine wisdom granted to Daniel. It also reflects the biblical theme of God elevating the faithful, as seen in Joseph's rise to power in Egypt (Genesis 41:39-41).

and gave him many generous gifts.
The giving of gifts was a common practice in ancient Near Eastern cultures to honor and reward individuals for their service or achievements. This act signifies the king's recognition of Daniel's unique abilities and the favor he found in the king's eyes. It parallels the rewards given to Joseph by Pharaoh, emphasizing the theme of divine favor and blessing.

He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon
Daniel's appointment as ruler over Babylon indicates a significant level of trust and authority granted by Nebuchadnezzar. This position would have involved administrative and governmental responsibilities, showcasing Daniel's leadership skills. It also foreshadows the role of believers in God's kingdom, as seen in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:21).

and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
As chief administrator, Daniel was placed in a position of influence over the wise men, who were previously unable to interpret the king's dream. This role underscores the superiority of divine wisdom over human knowledge. It also sets the stage for future interactions between Daniel and the Babylonian court, as seen in later chapters, and highlights the theme of God's wisdom prevailing over earthly wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:25).

Persons / Places / Events

1. Daniel
A Hebrew prophet and wise man who interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, leading to his promotion.

2. King Nebuchadnezzar
The Babylonian king who had a troubling dream that only Daniel could interpret.

3. Babylon
The empire where Daniel was in exile, known for its wealth and power.

4. Wise Men of Babylon
A group of advisors and magicians in the king's court, over whom Daniel was made chief administrator.

5. Promotion and Gifts
Daniel received a high position and many gifts as a reward for his service to the king.

Teaching Points

God's Sovereignty in Promotion
Daniel's rise to power illustrates that God is in control of who is elevated to positions of authority.

Faithfulness in Exile
Despite being in a foreign land, Daniel remained faithful to God, which led to his success and influence.

Wisdom and Understanding
Daniel's wisdom, granted by God, was key to his promotion. Seek divine wisdom in all endeavors.

Influence for God's Kingdom
Daniel used his position to influence the Babylonian empire for God. Consider how you can use your influence for God's purposes.

Humility and Service
Daniel's humility and service to the king, despite his high position, serve as a model for Christian leadership.

Bible Study Questions and Answers

1. What is the meaning of Daniel 2:48?2. How does Daniel 2:48 demonstrate God's sovereignty in elevating Daniel's position?3. What qualities in Daniel led to his promotion by King Nebuchadnezzar?4. How can we seek God's wisdom in our own leadership roles today?5. Compare Daniel's promotion to Joseph's in Genesis 41:41. What similarities exist?6. How can we apply Daniel's faithfulness to our daily work and responsibilities?7. How does Daniel 2:48 demonstrate God's sovereignty in appointing leaders?8. Why was Daniel given such high honors by King Nebuchadnezzar?9. What does Daniel 2:48 reveal about God's plan for His people in exile?10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Daniel 2?11. Why is Daniel, a prominent figure in the king’s court, conspicuously absent in the events of Daniel 3? 12. If the Magi witnessed the star “in the east” (Matthew 2:1–2), why did they travel west to Judea instead of looking elsewhere for its significance? 13. What is the story of the Three Wise Men?14. Where was Daniel during his friends' furnace ordeal?

What Does Daniel 2:48 Mean

Then the king promoted Daniel

“Then the king promoted Daniel” (Daniel 2:48)

• God’s favor in Daniel’s life moves from spiritual revelation (vv. 19–23) to tangible recognition before a pagan monarch, foreshadowing Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings.”

• As with Joseph before Pharaoh (Genesis 41:39–40), divine wisdom positions a faithful servant for high visibility and influence.

• The promotion validates James 4:10—“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you”—illustrating that exaltation ultimately comes from the Lord, not from human ambition (Psalm 75:6–7).

and gave him many generous gifts

“and gave him many generous gifts” (Daniel 2:48)

• The king’s lavish rewards echo the promised “honor and wealth” granted to wisdom’s followers (Proverbs 3:16).

• Such material blessing parallels Mordecai’s elevation in Esther 6:11, reminding believers that God can supply abundantly even in foreign settings (Philippians 4:19).

• The gifts authenticate Nebuchadnezzar’s public acknowledgment that “Surely your God is the God of gods” (Daniel 2:47), turning personal gratitude into royal generosity.

He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon

“He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48)

• This administrative authority places Daniel at the center of the empire, much like Joseph over Egypt (Genesis 41:41–43) and Nehemiah as cupbearer-turned-governor (Nehemiah 5:14).

• The appointment fulfills Proverbs 21:1—“A king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD”—demonstrating that God directs even imperial politics to advance His purposes.

• Daniel’s rule serves the preservation of God’s people during exile, prefiguring how Christ’s future reign will secure ultimate safety for the faithful (Revelation 11:15).

and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon

“and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48)

• Daniel’s leadership over the magi mirrors the authority Moses held over Egypt’s wise men in Exodus 7:11–12, reinforcing the supremacy of divine revelation over human occultism.

• By overseeing the wisdom schools, Daniel influences the intellectual climate of Babylon, setting the stage for later recognition of messianic prophecy (cf. Matthew 2:1–2, where Eastern magi seek the newborn King).

• His elevation safeguards his three friends (Daniel 2:49) and showcases the principle of Proverbs 13:17—“A trustworthy messenger brings healing”—as Daniel stewards truth among pagan advisors.

summary

Daniel 2:48 shows God instantly translating spiritual insight into worldly honor. Nebuchadnezzar’s promotion, gifts, and appointments affirm that the Lord rewards faithfulness, directs earthly rulers, and positions His servants for wide-reaching influence—even in exile—so that His wisdom and glory become unmistakable.

(48) The Province.--According to Daniel 3:2, the Babylonian empire consisted of several provinces, each of which had its own ruler or Shilton. Daniel became ruler of this one province of Babylon. What the other office was to which he was advanced may possibly be explained when further discoveries have been made. Hitherto it has been inexplicable.

Verses 48, 49. - Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. In the Greek versions there is not much to be observed. The Septuagint renders the last clause of ver. 48 "chief and ruler (ἄρχοντα καὶ ἡγούμενον) of all the wise men of Babylon," reading us gan instead of signeen. Theodotion's is a fairly accurate rendering of the Massoretic text, as is also Jerome. The Peshitta renders this clause, "He made Daniel head over all the mighty men (rabiheela), and over all the wise men of Babylon." The translator must have inserted, or found before him inserted, the preposition על ('el), "over," between tab and signeen, evidently a false reading, due to ignorance of the form Babylonianand Assyrian titles assumed. The word סָגָן, or סְגַן:, was originally maintained to be Persian. Hitzig connects it with an Arabic root, sajan, but the true derivation is now found to be shokun (Assyrian), "governor." It appears in Hebrew in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the deutero-Isaiah, as well as in Ezra and Nehemiah, showing the unlikelihood of any Persian derivation. Hitzig appears to regard Daniel as made the king's regent over the whole empire of Babylon; but this is not at all the meaning of the words. We must not be led away to believe that all this promotion befell Daniel at once; the statement here is summary, and includes many steps, and perhaps several years. Even at the utmost of his exaltation, he is not represented here as being made the regent of Nebuchadnezzar. as Hitzig would maintain. It is really only the province of Babylon, if we may not restrict the meaning of the word medeena even further, and regard it as equivalent to "city." We admit that this restriction of significance is not supported by the versions, but the fact that in so many cases we have traces of Syriac influences in Daniel, and that medeena means in Syriac "a city," renders this supposition not an impossible one. The precise limits of the province of Babylon in the days of Nebuchadnezzar cannot be settled. In later times it consisted mainly of the territory between the Tigris and the Euphrates, south of the murus Medius, with some territory between the latter river and the desert (Professor Rawlinson). It may be that the satrapy of Babylon was of considerably less extent. The word hashleet means "to cause to rule." This would be made true by making Daniel overseer in any department of the government of the province. It is not necessary to maintain that Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel satrap of Babylonia; at the same time, shalet is the title given to the satrap of Babylon. M. Lenormant thinks there must be an interpolation when Daniel is said to be set over all the governors of the wise men in Babylon. His arguments are founded mainly on the belief that the castes of astrologers, soothsayers, and magians - all that were included in the class of hakmeen - were hereditary, a thing which has not been proved. A difficulty has been urged by Lenormant that Daniel, as a zealous Jew, could not become head of a college of idolatrous priests. While there may be some force in this, one must beware of testing the actions of a Jew of the sixth century B.C. by criteria and principles applicable to one of later times. At all events, this militates strongly against the idea that the Book of Daniel was written in the age of the Maccabees. When we see Daniel thus, a youth of probably two or three and twenty, promoted ultimately to be over the province of Babylon, and to be one of the king's most trusted councillors, Ezekiel's saying, which places him between Noah and Job (Ezekiel 14:14), becomes natural. Daniel had already been some years in the king's privy council before Ezekiel was carried into captivity. We do not know how long after the beginning of his prophetic work we are to date the prophecy of the fourteenth chapter - it may have been eight or nine years after. But even if it were only six years, Daniel would by this time have been for eleven years a member of the privy council of the Babylonian monarch, and possibly for a considerable portion of that period governor of the province of Babylon. At any rate, Daniel would bulk very large in the eyes of the poor Jewish captives. Though contemporary, he was so far removed from his fellow-countrymen in social position, that his goodness and greatness would be subject to similar exaggeration to that which happens to heroes of a long-past age. A better argument may be drawn from the fact that sagan is always a civil title. The insertion of the word hakmeen might easily be due to some scribe who thought that as Daniel was one of the wise men, head of them would be more likely than head of the civil governors of the province, and placed it as a suggestion of what ought to take the place of signeen; a copyist following, inserted it in the text. If we compare this chapter with the sixth, we find Daniel one of three who were to receive the accounts of the various governors. Daniel was thus, if we may apply to his office a title drawn from our own political usage, secretary of state for Babylonia. It is characteristic of Daniel, that having been made rich and great by the king, and having received many gifts at the hand of the king, does not satisfy him; he entreats favour for his friends also. Hitzig's objection that Daniel would have the appointment of his subordinates, would only be valid if Daniel had been made satrap If his shaletship extended merely to some one department of governmental work - and that seems to follow from the last clause of this verse - it is unlikely that he would have this power. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are set over the "business" ('el,eedt,') of the province of Babylon. This word, in Targumic Aramaic, is very generally used of constructions where labour is employed. We may regard their position as one something like being members of a labour bureau. Nebuchadezzar was a very great builder, so much so that almost all the bricks that have been got in Babylon are stamped with his name. While his Ninevite predecessors record in their inscriptions their campaigns, the kings they conquered, and the cities they sacked, the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar are almost entirely occupied with the various structures - temples, palaces, ramparts, and canals - which he had caused to be made. These buildings would need perpetual surveying. Further, as a great military genius, roads and canals would also be. important objects, in the carrying out of which captives would be employed. And the products of this enforced labour would have to be surveyed carefully. This seems more probable than that Daniel got these three friends appointed to do the work he himself was appointed to. The only plausible suggestion against this would be that Daniel desired that his friends be set jointly over the province of Babylon instead of himself, and, for his own part, he preferred to remain in the gate of the king. We know that those who wished to undermine a favourite in an Eastern court, frequently intrigued to get him promoted to a governorship, and then poisoned the mind of the king against him. On the other hand. the fact that Daniel had his province in Babylon, and would always be near the king when he was in his capital, rendered the implied precaution needless. But Daniel sat in the gate of the king. The gate of the king was the gate of his palace or the entrance to the central court from which all the apartments branched off. In the gate the kings of the East acted as judges over their people; in the gate the king held councils. Hence to sit in the gate of the king conveyed the twofold idea of being the king's representative on the throne of judgment, and of being the counsellor of the king - member of the privy council, to employ a modern term.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Then
אֱדַ֨יִן (’ĕ·ḏa·yin)
Adverb
Strong's 116: Then, thereupon

the king
מַלְכָּ֜א (mal·kā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

promoted
רַבִּ֗י (rab·bî)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7236: To grow great

Daniel
לְדָנִיֵּ֣אל (lə·ḏā·nî·yêl)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1841: Daniel -- 'God is my judge', an Israelite leader in Babylon

and gave
יְהַב־ (yə·haḇ-)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3052: To give, to put, imperatively, come

him many
שַׂגִּיאָן֙ (śag·gî·’ān)
Adjective - feminine plural
Strong's 7690: Great, much

generous
וְרַב־ (wə·raḇ-)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7229: Abundant

gifts.
וּמַתְּנָ֨ן (ū·mat·tə·nān)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4978: A present, a sacrificial offering, a bribe

He made him ruler
וְהַ֨שְׁלְטֵ֔הּ (wə·haš·lə·ṭêh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7981: To dominate, govern, to permit

over
עַ֖ל (‘al)
Preposition
Strong's 5922: Above, over, upon, against

the entire
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3606: The whole, all, any, every

province
מְדִינַ֣ת (mə·ḏî·naṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4083: A judgeship, jurisdiction, a district, a region

of Babylon
בָּבֶ֑ל (bā·ḇel)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 895: Babylon -- an eastern Mediterranean empire and its capital city

and administrator
סִגְנִ֔ין (siḡ·nîn)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5460: A prefect of a, province

over
עַ֖ל (‘al)
Preposition
Strong's 5922: Above, over, upon, against

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3606: The whole, all, any, every

the wise men
חַכִּימֵ֥י (ḥak·kî·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2445: Wise, a Magian

of Babylon.
בָבֶֽל׃ (ḇā·ḇel)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 895: Babylon -- an eastern Mediterranean empire and its capital city

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