Daniel 2: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Daniel 2 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, he has a troubling dream that he cannot remember (vv. 1-3). The king summons magicians and Chaldeans to reveal the dream and its interpretation, threatening death if they fail (vv.

Key verse

“but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:”
Daniel 2:28 (WEB)

Outline

Daniel 2:1–3 Nebuchadnezzar's Troubling Dream
Daniel 2:4–13 The King's Demand for Interpretation
Daniel 2:14–23 Daniel's Prayer for Revelation
Daniel 2:24–30 Daniel Before the King
Daniel 2:31–45 The Dream of the Statue
Daniel 2:46–49 Nebuchadnezzar Honors Daniel

Discussion questions

In v4, what do the Chaldeans ask the king to tell them before interpreting the dream?
In v12, why is the king so angry with the wise men of Babylon?
Daniel's response in v30: why does he clarify that his insight is not due to his own wisdom?
The stone in v34: what does its being 'cut out without hands' suggest about its origin?
When have you relied on prayer, like Daniel did in v18, in a difficult situation?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Daniel 2: Daniel 4, Daniel 7, Daniel 5.

Before next time: read Daniel 3.