John Calvin Commentary Daniel 2:11

"And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." — Daniel 2:11 (ASV)

They add that the subject of the king’s inquiry exceeded human ability. There is no doubt that they were reluctant to admit this because, as we said before, they had gained a reputation for such great wisdom that the common people thought nothing was unknown to them or hidden from them.

And they would have very willingly escaped the terrible necessity of confessing their ignorance in this matter, but in their desperate situation, they were forced to use this evasion. It might be asked why they thought the matter the king inquired about was precious; for since they did not know the king’s dream, how could they determine its value?

But it is not surprising that people, under extreme anxiety and fear, would say anything without careful thought. They say, therefore, “This matter is precious.” Thus, they mix flattery with their excuses to lessen the king’s anger, hoping to escape the unjust death that was imminent.

The matter the king is asking about is precious. And yet, it could probably be said, since the matter was uncommon, that the dream was divinely sent to the king and was afterwards suddenly completely forgotten.

There certainly was some mystery here. Consequently, the Chaldeans very reasonably considered the whole subject to be far beyond ordinary human ability. Therefore, they add, “There cannot be any other interpreters than gods or angels.” Some interpret this as referring to angels, but we know the Magi worshipped many gods.

Therefore, it is simpler to explain this as referring to the crowd of deities they imagined. They had, indeed, lesser gods, for among all nations a belief has existed concerning a supreme God who reigns alone. Afterwards, they imagined inferior deities, and each created a god for himself according to his own preference. Therefore, they are called “gods,” according to common opinion and custom, although they should rather be called genii or demons of the air.

For we know that all unbelievers held this opinion concerning the existence of intermediary deities. The Apostles argued strongly against this ancient error, and we know the books of Plato are full of the doctrine that demons or genii act as mediators between humans and the Heavenly Deity.

We may, then, properly understand these words to mean that the Chaldeans thought angels were the only interpreters. This was not because they imagined angels as the Scriptures describe them clearly and truthfully, but because the Platonic doctrine flourished among them, along with the superstition about the genii who dwell in heaven and have close communication with the supreme God.

Since humans are mortal, they cannot raise themselves to heaven in such a way as to perceive all secrets. From this it follows that the king acted unjustly in requiring them to perform a task that was either angelic or divine.

This excuse was indeed plausible, but the king’s ears were deaf because he was overcome by his passions. God also incited him with a furious agitation, which allowed him no rest. This explains the brutal behavior that Daniel records.