דניאל, פרק ה׳, פסוק ט״ו

After attempting to flatter Daniel and elevate his standing, the king finally presents his actual request and explains why he needed to summon him [מלבי״ם]. He recounts that the royal wise men and enchanters were brought in to read the mysterious writing and reveal its meaning, but they completely failed to provide an interpretation [יוסף אבן יחיא, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Beneath this straightforward summary lies a carefully crafted deception. The king desperately wants to cover up the embarrassing failure of his own advisors. By stating that they could not provide the interpretation, he creates the false impression that they at least succeeded in reading the text. In truth, the royal advisors were entirely unable to even read the words, but the king alters the story to protect their dignity [מצודת דוד, אלשיך].

This deception reveals a calculated psychological and political maneuver. The king specifically mentions consulting the regular wise men and enchanters, deliberately leaving out his senior advisors. These elite scholars had previously declared that only beings with the spirit of the holy gods could possibly solve such a mystery. Earlier, the king had subtly downgraded Daniel's spiritual status by claiming he merely possessed the spirit of the gods, intentionally omitting the word "holy." If the king were to admit that his top advisors had failed, he would be trapped in a logical contradiction. He could not expect Daniel to solve a puzzle requiring supreme divine insight right after diminishing Daniel's spiritual rank. To avoid this trap, the king pretends that only the lower-level advisors were consulted and that their only struggle was with the meaning of the message, not the ability to read it [אלשיך].