When standing before a powerful ruler with the answer to a deep mystery, the natural human instinct is to claim credit. Daniel takes the exact opposite approach, adopting a stance of complete humility and submission before God. He makes it clear that he is merely a channel for a divine message, completely removing himself from any personal glory before revealing the solution to the dream.
Daniel explains that this secret was not given to him because he possesses more natural intelligence than anyone else, nor because God has a special fondness for his wisdom [רש"י, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא]. The primary approach among commentators is that Daniel wants to highlight the revelation as a pure miracle. Without God's direct guidance, he is just an ordinary person who knows nothing [יוסף אבן יחיא, חומת אנך]. Expanding on this humility, some suggest that Daniel is specifically comparing himself to the righteous people of his time. He modestly claims that he is no greater than the other sages of his generation [אלשיך].
The true reason the dream was revealed was entirely for the sake and honor of King Nebuchadnezzar [מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא, חומת אנך]. God wanted the king to understand the mystery, and Daniel was simply chosen as the messenger because of his prayers. This careful framing also serves a practical purpose: to calm the king's anger toward the Babylonian wise men who failed to solve the puzzle. Daniel subtly suggests that their failure was not necessarily due to a lack of wisdom, but simply because God had selected one specific person for this task [מלבי"ם].
Daniel describes the delivery of the message as a collective effort rather than an individual achievement. This shared responsibility might refer to a general announcement from heaven [רש"י], or to God's angels who carry the message [אבן עזרא]. Another view suggests that it includes Daniel's friends, whose own prayers and merits helped uncover the secret [אלשיך]. Furthermore, the very fact that God made the king forget the dream in the first place was a deliberate act. It prevented the local wise men from inventing false interpretations, ensuring that only true representatives of God would provide the exact and authentic answer [אלשיך].
Ultimately, God's goal is to reveal to the king the deep thoughts of his own heart [רש"י]. Before falling asleep, the king had been consumed by constant worry, wondering who would rise to power and rule after him. God chose this moment to uncover those exact nighttime anxieties and provide the clarity the king so desperately sought [רש"י, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא].