In a tense standoff with the Babylonian king, the royal wise men find themselves backed into a corner by an impossible demand. Ordered to reveal a dream the king himself has kept hidden, they are forced to answer a second time, pleading to hear the dream so they can provide its interpretation. Although their core request remains unchanged from their first attempt, their manner of speaking shifts dramatically. Initially, they addressed the monarch directly. Now, gripped by fear of his growing anger, they adopt a much more cautious tone, speaking indirectly and suggesting that the king should simply tell his servants [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד].
Commentators offer several explanations for this repeated request. Some suggest the wise men suspected the king actually remembered his dream and was merely testing their credibility. By insisting he reveal it first, they hoped to gain the opportunity to prove their genuine wisdom [חומת אנך]. Alternatively, realizing the king had completely forgotten the dream yet remained stubbornly demanding, they may have been trying to buy time. By suggesting he tell the dream, they hoped he would wait, eventually remember it, and whisper it to his servants, at which point they could step in with an interpretation [מלבי״ם]. Another perspective is that this second plea did not come from the original speakers at all, but rather from the rest of the magicians and conjurers who now joined their voices to the initial response [יוסף אבן יחיא].
A unique viewpoint sheds light on why they specifically asked the king to tell his personal servants rather than themselves. This request was actually a calculated strategy based on the limitations of their sorcery. Impure and idolatrous forces cannot read a person's private thoughts; they can only access information once it is spoken aloud into the physical world. Therefore, the wise men reasoned that if the king whispered the dream even to his closest attendants, the words would enter the air. Once spoken, their magical forces could intercept the information and relay it back to them, allowing them to solve the mystery without the king ever telling them directly [אלשיך].
The deep anxiety of the wise men is subtly reflected in the exact type of solution they offer. In their first attempt to appease the king, they promised to find a general interpretation. Now, desperate to project confidence and calm the monarch, they adjust their claim, promising the specific, true meaning of the dream. Yet, they deliberately stop short of guaranteeing an absolute, flawless resolution. Even in their attempt to sound assured, they are held back by the fear of making a mistake in the fine details, knowing well that even the most skilled astrologers are prone to errors [אלשיך, מנחת שי].