What does Daniel 2:3 mean?

Babylon's king, Nebuchadnezzar, had an especially troublesome dream (Daniel 2:1). As the text points out later, the dream had major prophetic implications for the Gentile—non-Jewish—people (Daniel 2:36–45). So, he asks his spiritual advisors for their wisdom. However, the king adds a new facet to his command: he wants the conjurers and occultists (Daniel 2:2) to tell him the content of the dream, as well as the meaning (Daniel 2:5). This appears to be a test, probably tied to the intense nature of the dream.

Just as God worked to place Daniel in his position as a Babylonian advisor (Daniel 1:1–4; 17–19), He used Nebuchadnezzar to prove the divine nature of true prophecy. The king's astrologers and sorcerers will beg for the king to tell them what the dream was about, stalling for time (Daniel 2:4–9). He will refuse, threatening to kill them all if they cannot prove their spiritual insight by explaining the content of the dream. The Babylonian mediums admit that only a true god's knowledge could meet that challenge (Daniel 2:10–11), setting the stage for Daniel to demonstrate the power of the God of Israel (Daniel 2:27–30).