5 I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
I saw a dream - That is, he saw a representation made to him in a dream. There is something incongruous in our language in saying of one that he saw a dream.
Which made me afraid - The fear evidently arose from the apprehension that it was designed to disclose some important and solemn event. This was in accordance with a prevalent belief then (comp. Daniel 2:1), and it may be added that it is in accordance with a prevalent belief now. There are few persons, whatever may be their abstract belief, who are not more or less disturbed by fearful and solemn representations passing before the mind in the visions of the night. Compare Job 4:12-17; Job 33:14-15. So Virgil (Aen. iv. 9):
"Anna soror, quae me suspensam insomnia terrent!"
And the thoughts upon my bed - The thoughts which I had upon my bed; to wit, in my dream.
And the visions of my head - What I seemed to see. The vision seemed to be floating around his head.
Troubled me - Disturbed me; produced apprehension of what was to come; of some great and important event.
I saw a dream - See this dream circumstantially explained in the following verses.
I saw a (b) dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
(b) This was another dream besides that which he saw of the four empires, for Daniel both declared what that dream was, and what it meant, and here he expounds this dream.
I saw a dream which made me afraid,.... Things were represented to his fancy in a dream, as if he saw them with his eyes, as the tree, its leaves and fruit; the shaking and cutting it down to the stump, &c.; and though he did not understand the meaning of it, yet he thought it portended some evil, which threw him into a panic; he was afraid that something bad would befall him, though he knew not what: thus God can make the minds of the greatest men uneasy amidst all their glory, pride, and pleasure:
and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me; the thoughts that came into his mind while he was upon his bed dreaming, and the things which were represented to his fancy in his brain, he remembered when awake, gave him a great deal of trouble and uneasiness, what should be the meaning of them, and what would be the issue and event of these things.
(4:2)
While in this state of security and peace, he was alarmed by a dream. The abrupt manner in which the matter is here introduced well illustrates the unexpected suddenness of the even itself. הרהרין, thoughts, from הרהר, to think, to meditate; in the Mishna and in Syr. images of the imagination; here, images in a dream. The words משׁכּבי על הרהרין are more properly taken as a passage by themselves with the verb, I had (I saw), supplied, than connected with the following noun to יבהלנּני. Regarding ראשׁי חזוי see under Daniel 2:28. On this matter Chr. B. Michaelis has well remarked: "Licet somnii interpretationem nondum intelligeret, tamen sensit, infortunium sibi isthoc somnio portendi."
*More commentary available at chapter level.