The Meaning of Daniel 7:1 Explained

Daniel 7:1

KJV: In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

YLT: In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel hath seen a dream, and the visions of his head on his bed, then the dream he hath written, the chief of the things he hath said.

Darby: In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream; he told the sum of the matters.

ASV: In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In the first  year  of Belshazzar  king  of Babylon  Daniel  had  a dream  and visions  of his head  upon  his bed:  then  he wrote  the dream,  [and] told  the sum  of the matters. 

What does Daniel 7:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

We have already read of two dreams that Nebuchadnezzar had ( Daniel 2:1; Daniel 4:5). Now God gave one to Daniel. It too was a vision from God that came to Daniel as he slept.
"In referring to the experience as "a dream" (sing.) Daniel was emphasizing the unity of the revelation and in referring to it as "visions" (pl.) he emphasized the successive stages in which the revelation was given.... The dream refers to his being asleep, and the visions refer to what he saw while dreaming." [1]
This revelation came to Daniel in the first year of Belshazzar"s reign as co-regent with his father, Nabonidus, namely, in553 B.C. [2] It was fitting that this vision of the downfall of world empires should come to the prophet during the reign of the last king of Babylon. God gave it to him50 years after the similar revelation of the great image in chapter2 (cf. Genesis 41:25; Genesis 41:32). Daniel would have been about68 years old when he had this dream. Chronologically then we can place this chapter between chapters4,5.
"God does not reveal all His truths at once, even to the wise, but reserves much for age and experience." [3]
Upon waking, Daniel recorded what he had seen. What follows in this chapter, he wrote, is only a summary of what he saw.
"For the first time in the book, a vision is written down. Earlier OT prophecies were put into writing as a stage in implementing them and, when they were disbelieved, as an evidence that they had been given before the events of which they spoke, and thus were indeed words from God (see Isaiah 8:1; Isaiah 8:16; Isaiah 30:8; Jeremiah 36; Habakkuk 2:2)." [4]

Context Summary

Daniel 7:1-14 - God's Everlasting Dominion
This chapter enumerates the succession of world-empires and rulers which bridge the gulf of centuries from the Captivity to the Second Advent. The lion represents Babylon, whose cruel and mighty kingdom was animated by marvelous intelligence; the bear, Persia; the leopard, Greece under Alexander the Great; and the fourth beast, with great iron teeth, Rome. The ten horns are ten kings, and these probably represent great European kingdoms which have succeeded, or may yet succeed, to the heritage of the Roman empire. The Ancient of Days is sitting today upon His throne, His snow-white raiment betokening His purity, the fire of His throne bespeaking His antagonism to all things that offend and work iniquity. The government of the world is on shoulders which are well able to carry it, and He will cause all things to work out His purpose, which is to promote and assure the glory of Christ. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 7

1  Daniel's vision of the four beasts,
9  and of God's kingdom
15  The interpretation thereof

What do the individual words in Daniel 7:1 mean?

in the year first of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel a dream had and visions of his head [while] on his bed then dream the he wrote down the main facts telling
בִּשְׁנַ֣ת חֲדָ֗ה לְבֵלְאשַׁצַּר֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ בָּבֶ֔ל דָּנִיֵּאל֙ חֵ֣לֶם חֲזָ֔ה וְחֶזְוֵ֥י רֵאשֵׁ֖הּ עַֽל־ מִשְׁכְּבֵ֑הּ בֵּאדַ֙יִן֙ חֶלְמָ֣א כְתַ֔ב רֵ֥אשׁ מִלִּ֖ין אֲמַֽר

בִּשְׁנַ֣ת  in  the  year 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שְׁנָה  
Sense: year.
חֲדָ֗ה  first 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: חַד  
Sense: one (number).
לְבֵלְאשַׁצַּר֙  of  Belshazzar 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֵּלְאשַׁצַּר 
Sense: king of Babylon at the time of its fall; he to whom Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ  
Sense: king.
בָּבֶ֔ל  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
דָּנִיֵּאל֙  Daniel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּנִיֵּאל  
Sense: the 4th of the greater prophets, taken as hostage in the first deportation to Babylon, because of the gift of God of the interpretation of dreams, he became the 2nd in command of the Babylon empire and lasted through the end of the Babylonian empire and into the Persian empire. His prophecies are the key to the understanding of end time events. Noted for his purity and holiness by contemporary prophet, Ezekiel.
חֵ֣לֶם  a  dream 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֵלֶם  
Sense: dream.
וְחֶזְוֵ֥י  and  visions 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חֱזוּ  
Sense: vision, appearance.
רֵאשֵׁ֖הּ  of  his  head 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֵאשׁ  
Sense: chief, head.
עַֽל־  [while]  on 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל  
Sense: upon, over, on account of, above, to, against.
מִשְׁכְּבֵ֑הּ  his  bed 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁכַּב  
Sense: couch, bed.
חֶלְמָ֣א  dream  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: חֵלֶם  
Sense: dream.
כְתַ֔ב  he  wrote  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כְּתַב  
Sense: to write.
רֵ֥אשׁ  the  main 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֵאשׁ  
Sense: chief, head.
מִלִּ֖ין  facts 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: מִלָּה  
Sense: word, thing.
אֲמַֽר  telling 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֲמַר  
Sense: (P’al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate.