What does Daniel 7:1 mean?

Since the second chapter, the book of Daniel has been recorded in Aramaic—the language of the Gentile world at that time—rather than in Hebrew. The stories and messages in those passages were meant, at least in part, to be heard and absorbed by the non-Israelite world. Chapter 7 marks an intersection: the last segment written in Aramaic and the first of the prophecies which take up the rest of the book. Starting in chapter 8, the text is recorded in Hebrew and the prophetic implications are mostly intended for Israel. At the same time, this chapter shifts from third person to first person perspective.

The king mentioned here (Daniel 5:1) is controversial, as some archaeologists suggest there was never a Babylonian king named "Belshazzar." This debate is complicated by vague and often contradictory ancient records. One possible explanation is that "Belshazzar" is a regional name given to Evil-merodach (2 Kings 25:27; Jeremiah 52:31), the briefly ruling son of Nebuchadnezzar. Another is that the historically accepted king, Nabonidus, left his son, Belshazzar, as co-regent of the territory while travelling.

Hebrews 1:1 observes: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets." This was most often by direct, personal revelation. Sometimes those revelations came in the less overt form of dreams and visions. With the completion of the writing of the inspired Scriptures, God primarily communicates by means of His Word. Nothing revealed through general revelation (creation), the indwelling Holy Spirit, or dreams will contradict what God has revealed in His Word. Generally, the Bible distinguishes between "dreams" and "visions" in that they occur during sleep and while awake, respectively.

The vision depicted in this chapter occurred during the first year of Belshazzar's brief reign (Daniel 5:30). This was probably 553 BC, fourteen years before Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:31).