דניאל, פרק ד׳, פסוק ג׳

A powerful monarch publicly broadcasts his personal anxieties and the utter failure of his top advisors. This surprising admission serves a greater purpose, carefully setting the stage to highlight the unmatched wisdom of a Jewish sage. Driven by deep worry over a troubling dream, the king of Babylon issues a formal royal decree summoning all his expert wise men to provide an interpretation.

The decision to issue an official, formal decree rather than a simple summons carries significant weight. Ever since a previous incident involving a dream, the Babylonian wise men had been banished from the king's inner circle, falling so far out of favor that he considered them worthy of death. A standard invitation would not suffice; they needed a special royal mandate just to be permitted back into his presence [מלבי״ם].

Notably missing from this initial gathering is Daniel. The king's demand this time is much simpler than in the past: he only asks for the interpretation of the dream, having already remembered the dream itself. His failure to summon Daniel immediately does not stem from animosity or a fear that the Jewish sage might deliver a negative interpretation. Instead, the king assumes that because the task is relatively easy, his standard advisors should be capable of handling it. He simply does not want to bother Daniel unnecessarily. It is only after the Babylonian experts completely fail that the king is forced to call upon him [אלשיך].

The king goes out of his way to document this entire chain of events—from the humiliating failure of his own wise men to the eventual summons of Daniel—and sends the record to every province in his empire. His motivation for broadcasting this story is clear: to bestow tremendous honor upon Daniel and to bring great glory to the people of Israel [אבן עזרא].