דניאל, פרק ז׳, פסוק א׳

The narrative shifts from recounting historical events to detailing prophetic visions. The timing of this transition is highly significant, occurring during the first year of Belshazzar's reign. Belshazzar was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, and according to earlier prophecy, the Babylonian empire was destined to fall during the era of the grandson. Because this pivotal moment had arrived, God chose this exact time to show how quickly Babylonian rule would end and to reveal the future kingdoms that would rise in its place [מלבי״ם].

At this point, the narrative perspective shifts to the first person, reflecting that the prophet himself recorded these events exactly as he experienced them [מלבי״ם, אבן עזרא]. The prophetic experience occurred at night while he was asleep in bed, rather than during a waking daytime state [יוסף אבן יחיא]. It was a deeply prophetic dream centered on a visual revelation [מלבי״ם]. Rather than stemming from natural physiological causes, such as blood flow, this experience was driven by a high spiritual and intellectual influence originating from angels, which manifested directly in his mind [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].

Upon waking, he immediately wrote down the vision to ensure no detail would be forgotten [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. This careful documentation was intended to preserve the prophecy for future generations. By witnessing the fulfillment of the vision's early stages, later readers would be inspired to believe in the ultimate realization of its conclusion [יוסף אבן יחיא, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

There are varying perspectives on how exactly the prophecy was recorded and shared. The primary approach among commentators is that while the complete dream was written down for personal memory, only the main points and general outlines were shared with others [מצודת דוד, רש״י, אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Others view the phrasing simply as an introductory remark signaling the start of the prophet's words [אבן עזרא]. Alternatively, it is suggested that he first spoke the entire dream aloud before committing it to writing, a necessary step when drafting sacred texts under divine inspiration. Another perspective notes that the core themes of this vision—specifically the succession of four kingdoms—had already been shared in the past when interpreting a previous royal dream, and were now being revealed in much greater detail [מלבי״ם].