Bible Commentaries
Daniel 4

Verse 1

Dan 4:1. Chronologically, the first 3 verses of this chapter should he the last 3, yet it was proper to place them where they are as an explanation of why the king is going to tell his story. The message is addressed to all the people of the earth, and is accompanied with his best wishes for their peace.

Verse 2

Dan 4:2. I thought it good gives the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar in sending the proclamation to the nations of the world. The subject of the message is the great things the nigh God had done toward him.

Verse 3

Dan 4:3. This verse expresses the opinion the king had of God after the events that are recorded in the rest of the chapter. He was convinced that the wonders of Him were great, and that His kingdom was destined to be an everlasting one.

Verse 4

Dan 4:4. With this verse begins the report of Nebuchadnezzar’s experience that is referred to in the preceding verses. The icing was at rest which is defined In the lexicon, "to be secure,” and flourishing means to be prosperous. He seems to have been lulled into a feeling of assurance that nothing could ever happen to endanger his independence as a monarch over the whole civilized world.

Verse 5

Dan 4:5. It was the appearance of the things Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream that frightened him, not what it meant, for he did not know what that was.

Verse 6

Dan 4:6. We do not know why the king did not call Daniel at first, since he had previously shown his superiority over the wise men. Perhaps the force of habit, or his natural attachment to his own kind had its influence with him. At any rate the usual result followed the call of the Chaldeans, for they could not interpret the dream.

Verse 7

Dan 4:7-8. It could be that the king did not specify by his decree just who of the wise men should he called in, and that Daniel might have responded to the call to “bring in all the wise men,” since he was thus classified by the men of the empire according to Dan 2:13. But whatever was the situation, we are not to think of it as being on the principle of “the last resort” for the king to call Daniel. Nothing is said about any specific call for him at all, only that at the last Daniel came. Spirit of the holy gods was Nebuchadnezzar’s way of describing Daniel to the people of his dominions. He had formed that opinion of him at the time he explained the prob-lem of the giant man recorded in the 2nd chapter.

Verse 9

Dan 4:9. The king remembered this dream, not because it wras any more impressive, for it could not have been more important than the one of the giant man. But in that case the Lord wished to convince him that Daniel had superhuman knowledge, which would not have been done merely by offering an interpretation of a dream, for any man might do that and nobody could know whether it was correct. But when he recalled the king’s dream tt proved his divine standing. That evidence was not needed in the present case, hence the Lord enabled Nebuchadnezzar to relate his dream.

Verse 10

Dan 4:10. Bee and behold is thought of as being the same, but the idea is that Nebuchadnezzar directed his attention to something that seemed to call for it, and what he beheld was as follows. A tree in the midst of the earth. Being situated in that way would indicate that the tree was the center of attraction amidst a vast territory.

Verse 11

Dan 4:11. Tree grew denotes that it became larger and therefore stronger, until it was so high that It reached into heaven, meaning It reached up Into the sky or higher air zone. The height Of the tree was so great that its top was visible to all the people of the civilized world. That denotes that the curvature of the earth was overcome and it could have harmonized with some scientific discoveries of our day.

Verse 12

Dan 4:12. This verse gives a descrip-tion of a fruit tree which, if taken literally, would present one that is beautiful to the sight, affords shelter from the heat by its shadow, a resting place In its boughs for the birds, a gathering place for the beasts, and food for all living creatures. We shall learn, however, that it is a figurative description of something else.

Verse 13

Dan 4:13, Watcher and an holy one does not mean there were two persons. The first word is from iyr which Strong defines, “A watcher, i,e„ an angel (as guardian)." Holy one is added as an adjective for watcher, Moffatt's version renders this place, "One of the angel-guard," and this also agrees with the singular pronoun with which the next verse begins.

Verse 14

Dan 4:14. The king heard the watcher shout with a loud voice that the tree must be shorn of its leaves (its beauty), its branches (place of resting) cut off, its fruit (food) be scattered, be forsaken by the beasts and birds, and the body Of the tree be cut down. This would seem to be the end of the tree, but we shall see that the condition was not to be permanent.

Verse 15

Dan 4:15. As a rule if a tree is cut down it means the death of the plant, but that Is chiefly because the stump is exposed as a flat surface to the sun which will cause it to crack open, ad-mitting the rain and other weather conditions to penetrate further until it reaches the roots. But this stump was to be bound with a ring of brass and iron which would hold it from opening. In the tender grass indicates this stump was in a field that had plenty of moisture, and that would be favorable for the roots of the tree and tend to sustain the life until they could sprout up into new growth. This very thought is expressed in Job 14:7-9 and Isa 11:1. Then the spokesman switches from the stump to the person represented by the tree that had grown on it and uses a personal pronoun. This person is destined to have his portion with the beasts that feed upon this “grass of the field."

Verse 16

Dan 4:16. The heart or mind of this unfortunate person was to be changed or deranged so that he would have an intellect no better than a beast. And being thus he will eat grass as they do (verse 25). This condition was to continue until seven times pass over him. Times is from sdpan which Strong defines, "a set time; technically a year.” Moffatt renders the place “seven years," so the meaning is clear that a period of 7 years (complete number; see definition at chapter 3: 19) was to pass with above conditions.

Verse 17

Verse 17. Watchers is plural because it refers to the “angel-guard" mentioned in verse 13, of which the one was a member and a representative when he came down from, heaven (verse 13) to deliver the decree. Demand is from SHELA which Strong’s lexicon defines, “Properly a question (at law), i.e., judicial decision or mandate.” The passage gives us an interesting and beautiful thought. Everything and all creatures in existence are subject to the will of God, but it is wonderful when that subjection is conducted in the spirit of willing cooperation. As long as the angels are permitted to reside in heaven they will he thus in harmony with the wishes of their Commander-in-Chief. Knowing that He willed to demonstrate a certain great truth, this "angel-guard" (the imtchers) agreed on a demand (“judicial decision") that one of their number (the one in verse 13) should go down to earth and carry out the decree upon the king of Babylon. That decree is so fundamental that I shall here copy It in full in order to make the connection the more impressive: “To the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest, of men.”

Verse 18

Dan 4:18. With the preceding verse the king completed the telling of his dream, and now be requests Daniel to give him the interpretation of it. He expresses his confidence in Daniel's ability to do what all the wise men could not do. The grounds of that confidence are that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

Verse 19

Dan 4:19. Troubled is from baiivj, which Strong defines, "To tremble inwardly (or palpitate), i.e. (figuratively) be alarmed or agitated; by implication to hasten anxiously." As- tonied is from siiamem and Strong defines it, “To stun (or intransitively grow numb), i.e., devastate or (figuratively) stupefy." Hour is from shaah and the same lexicon defines it, “Properly to look, i,e., a moment." With these definitions of key words the meaning of the passage is clear. The story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was so unusual that for a moment Daniel was stunned with amazement. However, he soon recovered himself and spoke to the king. Let not , . . trouble thee was said to reassure the king, since Daniel had recovered from his own surprise. Dream be to them that hate thee. The enemies of Nebuchadnezzar were the ones to worry, for the dream will reveal that the king will yet be victorious over his foes.

Verse 20

Dan 4:20-21. This paragraph merely repeats the description of the tree as the king gave it to Daniel, and does not call for any additional com-ments.

Verse 22

Dan 4:22. It is thou, 0 king, la a similar expression to the one Daniel made to this same king in connection with the dream of the giant man (Dan 2:33). But the application is somewhat different, for that included the king and his kingdom, while this pertains to the king personally. That is, his connection with the kingdom was to be affected by the events indicated in the dream.

Verse 23

Dan 4:23. This verse repeats the statements in verses 13-15, and watch-ers and holy one is explained with the comments on verse 17.

Verse 24

Dan 4:24. The description of the dream having been repeated, Daniel will next give the interpretation, which he says will be by the decree of the Most High.

Verse 25

Dan 4:25. They shall drive thee means the same as if it said “thou shalt be driven," for it is worded he was driven in verse 33, This also corresponds with mine understanding returned in verse 34 which indicates that the driving was done by some condition within the king’s own being. The conclusion is clear, that Nebuchadnezzar was driven from his throne by the strange mental affliction that God sent upon him. That was what the angel meant in verse 16 when he said, “let a beast’s heart be given unto him." The rest of the verse has been explained at verse 16.

Verse 26

Dan 4:26. They commanded has the meaning of “it was commanded." Thy kingdom shall he sure unto thee is ex-plained by the comments at verse 22.

Verse 27

Dan 4:27. Having interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel con-cluded his speech with some advice regarding his conduct. Break off thy sins by righteousness is like the advice that Isaiah gave Judah in his book, chapter 1: 16, 17, “Cease to do evil; learn to do well.” Both phrases of the passage must work together, for it is certain that nobody will learn to do well while continuing in his evil doing. Tranquility is from a word that means security and prosperity. It also has about the same sense as "rest” In verse 4. At the time Daniel stood before Nebuchadnezzar the king was in the midst of great power and peace and royal success. The prophet suggested that if he would make the reformation in hiB life as just advised, it might mean the prolonging of his tranquility.

Verse 28

Dan 4:28. This verse merely intro-duces the seciuei of the story.

Verse 29

Dan 4:29. God was very lenient and gave Nebuchadnezzar a year to change his ways but to no avail. Therefore it was time to bring the fulfillment of the dream upon the king, and the Lord chose a time th.it was especially ap-propriate. Nebuchadnezzar gave a demonstration of his chief fault (pride) as he was walking around the palace.

Verse 30

Dan 4:30. The greatness of Babylon was not to he questioned, for the prophet had already declared it to be so. If the king had expressed his ap-preciation for the good fortune that was his and given proper credit for it, there would have been no objetion to his admiration. The fault lay In Ilia pride and claiming that he had accomplished the great work, and that it was done in honor of his majesty.

Verse 31

Dan 4:31, While the word was in the king's mouth is very significant. It is a recognized principle of discipline, boih as to human beings and dumb creatures, that an act of punishment is the more eifactive if administered as near as possible to the evil for which it is a chastisement. Hence, just as the king was uttering his boastful sentence, he was interrupted by a voice from heaven with the announcement, The kingdom is departed from thee.

Verse 32

Dan 4:32. Beginning with verse 28 the language lias been in the third person, because the king is composing the account of his own experiences ac-cording to the announcement in the beginning of the chapter. They shall drive thee means "thou Shalt be driven,” and the announcement was repeated that was shown in the dream.

Verse 33

Dan 4:33. Without further delay the Lord smote Nebuchadnezzar with the strange mental derangement with the result that he was driven from men, which means that he forsook his throne and fled out into the field. He was exposed to the outdoor conditions of the weather. In course of this pe¬riod and in such a state of mind, all care of the body would naturally be neglected. This resulted in a sort of wild development which made his nails and hair become coarse.

Verse 34

Dan 4:34. End of the days . . . lifted up mine eyes . . . understanding returned. These phrases are written in reverse of the order in which the events occurred. It is certain that Nebuchadnezzar would not look toward heaven while the mental derangement still possessed him, And it is equally certain that God would not end the days of the punishment of the king if he were in his right mind but refused to recognize heaven; hence the order of events is as follows. When the Lord considered that Nebuchadnezzar had been punished enough He replaced the beast's heart with the normal one. Then the king was convinced of the truth by his condition of body and his remembrance of Hie past. Being thus convinced, he was penitent and looked respectfully toward heaven, when the Lord ended the period of exile from the throne. It is not necessary for the text to state that the Lord also changed the debased condition of the king's body; that is taken for granted here, but will be implied in the 36th verse.

Verse 35

Dan 4:35. Continuing his praise of the Most BiflA, Nebuchadnezzar de¬clared that He doeth whatsoever is according to His will, and that the inhabitants of the earth are as noth¬ing.

Verse 36

Dan 4:36. Reason is from the same original word as understanding in verse 34, so this is merely a repetition of that statement. However, another thought is added which is that his honor and brightness returned, and the reason for it is stated namely, for the glory of my Kingdom. Verses 15 and 26 had assured the king that his throne would be reserved for him after he had learned that “the heavens do rule." God would not return a man to the throne of such a glorious kingdom as Babylon who was not worthy of it. Therefore Nebuchadnezzar was placed back on his til rone a changed man, both 1n body and mind and one fitted to rule over his former dominions.

Verse 37

Dan 4:37, The king concluded the proclamation that was made to “all people, nations, and languages" (verse 1), and in this verse expresses the final impression that his experience left on his mind. It caused him to praise the King of heaven and to acknowledge that He is able to abase every man who is guilty of pride. This is all we will hear of the actual reign and life of Nebuchadnezzar in this book, except what will be said of him historically, referring to his reign as a thing of the past.