What does Daniel chapter 2 mean?

The early part of this chapter transitions from Hebrew to Aramaic. The book of Daniel will remain in that language until chapter 8 (Daniel 2:4—7:28). This emphasizes that those stories are messages to and about the Gentile people.

The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1:1–3), is disturbed by a dream. Rather than simply asking his court occultists to explain it, he devises a test. It's possible the king inherited these magicians from his father and did not trust them. His claim is simple: if they cannot tell him what the dream was, it means their claims of spiritual insight have been lies. Anyone can invent an interpretation, but only real power can tell someone their own dream. After stalling for time, the conjurers claim the king's request is impossible and unreasonable. So, Nebuchadnezzar orders his wise men—all of them—to be executed. Daniel (Daniel 1:17–20) hears of this and appeals to the king. Though Daniel has no such knowledge yet, he is confident the Lord will provide it (Daniel 2:1–16).

Rather than panic, Daniel appeals to his fellow Hebrew captives and asks for prayers. The men seek God, who responds by giving Daniel a vision explaining both the king's dream and its meaning. In response, Daniel praises God's perfect wisdom and absolute authority (Daniel 2:17–23).

When he meets with the king, Daniel begins by agreeing with the magicians: no human being could know what the king has asked. However, Daniel knows the "God in heaven who reveals mysteries." He credits all his knowledge to the Lord and His purposes. God has chosen to reveal the meaning of the dream, through Daniel, because it predicts what will happen in what, to Daniel and the king, was the future (Daniel 2:24–30).

The king's dream depicted a massive, terrifying statue. This figure had a head made of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a midsection of bronze, legs of iron, and feet made of mixed iron and clay. A supernatural stone strikes the statue on its fragile feet. The image collapses and disintegrates into powder, and the remains disappear. The stone, however, grows until it covers the entire world. Notably, the materials in the statue become lighter, stronger, and less valuable as they go from top to bottom. The exception is clay, which is extremely brittle and cannot be fully fused with iron (Daniel 2:31–35).

Daniel explains that these images represent the future, in the form of kingdoms yet to come. History demonstrates the accuracy of this explanation and fills in information which would not be known until later. The golden head symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon and its absolute monarchy. The silver chest and arms represents the partly independent nature of the Medo-Persian Empire. Next, the bronze midsection predicts the Greek Empire. Finally, the iron legs depict the Roman Empire, which is sharply divided and falls into division and corruption. The stone which shatters this line depicts a kingdom formed by God which will conquer the world and never be challenged (Daniel 2:36–45).

In response to this display of supernatural wisdom, Nebuchadnezzar honors Daniel. Rather than worshipping Daniel, the king seems to accept that Daniel acts as a conduit for divine power. And yet, the king refers to Daniel's God as the greatest of many—retaining and adjusting his pagan religious views. Nebuchadnezzar appoints Daniel to a position of high leadership. On Daniel's request, the king also installs Daniel's three faithful Hebrew friends in prestigious roles (Daniel 2:46–49).

The three friends are most famously known by their Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 1:6–7). They will be severely tested when the king commands them to worship an idol or be burned alive in a furnace (Daniel 3).