Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

DANIEL 4:7KJV
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Daniel 4:7 (KJV)

What does Daniel 4:7 mean?

Daniel 4:7 describes King Nebuchadnezzar’s failed attempt to get an explanation of a troubling dream. He tells the dream to several groups of people known for their special skills, but none gives him its meaning. Their arrival fulfills his order in the previous verse.

Nebuchadnezzar speaks in the first person: “I told the dream.” The list brings together several kinds of court specialists, showing how widely the king sought an answer.

The Aramaic behind Daniel 4:7

  • “Chaldeans” — כַּשְׂדָּאֵי (kasdaʾe): The word can refer to Chaldean people, but here it names a group of specialists alongside the other experts. The setting points to their role at the king’s court.
  • “soothsayers” — גָּזְרִין (gazrin): The word refers to people who claimed to discern hidden things. The KJV places them among those called to explain the dream’s meaning.

Why Daniel 4:7 matters

  • The king gives these specialists the dream itself. He says, “I told the dream before them,” so their task here is to explain what they have heard.
  • The list sets the stage for Daniel’s separate arrival. Verse 8 introduces Daniel after the other specialists, making the contrast in the account clear.
  • The king’s request concerns the dream’s meaning, not merely its details. The verse focuses on the missing “interpretation,” while the dream’s contents follow later in his account.

Where else these words appear

“magicians” Hebrew H2749 · used in 5 verses

  • Daniel 2:10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
  • Daniel 2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
  • Daniel 4:9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.

“astrologers” Hebrew H826 · used in 6 verses

  • Daniel 2:10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
  • Daniel 2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
  • Daniel 5:11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;

“soothsayers” Hebrew H1505 · used in 6 verses

  • Daniel 2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
  • Daniel 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
  • Daniel 5:7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

“Chaldeans” Hebrew H3779 · used in 7 verses

  • Daniel 2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
  • Daniel 3:8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
  • Daniel 5:11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;