Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 2:16

"And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation." — Daniel 2:16 (ASV)

Daniel went in. Two characteristics of the prophet strike us, which distinguish the one who trusts in God’s help from those who relied entirely on their secular wisdom:

1. The courage of Daniel, which led him to venture into the king’s presence on a humane errand.
2. His humility, in asking the king to give him time.

The wise men regarded the whole matter as an impossibility and treated it as such, not even asking for any extension of time. But the faith of Daniel inspired him with this courageous humility and was amply rewarded.

We are not told in so many words that this extension of time was granted, or that Daniel undertook to show more than the interpretation of the dream. A true account of what happened can only be gathered by reading Daniel 2:18 and Daniel 2:28 alongside this verse. It should be remembered that many narratives in Scripture are related in a very condensed form, fuller details being added afterwards. (See Daniel 2:24, Note.)