Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Daniel 3:1

Clarke's Commentary

CHAPTER III

Nebuchadnezzar, having erected an image, whose height (including

probably a very high pedestal) was sixty cubits, and the

breadth six, ordered a numerous assembly, which he had

convened, to fall down and worship it; threatening, at the

same time, that whosoever refused should be cast into a fiery

furnace, 1-7;

a punishment not uncommon in that country, (see Jeremiah 29:22.)

Daniel's three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,

who were present, being observed to refrain from this

idolatrous worship, were accused before the king; who, in

great wrath, commanded them to comply with his orders on pain

of death, 8-15.

But these holy men, with the greatest composure and serenity,

expressed their firm resolution not to worship his gods or his

images, whatever might be the consequence, 16-18.

Upon which the king, unaccustomed to have his will opposed, in

the height of his wrath, ordered the furnace to be made seven

times hotter than usual, and these men to be cast into it,

bound by the most mighty of his army, who were killed by the

flame in the execution of this service, 19-23.

On this occasion God literally performed his promise by Isaiah,

(Isaiah 43:2:)

"When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt;

neither shall the flame kindle upon thee;" for an angel of

God, appearing in the furnace, protected these young men, and

counteracted the natural violence of the fire; which, only

consuming the cords with which they were bound, left them to

walk at liberty, and in perfect safety, in the midst of the

furnace. The king, astonished at this prodigy, called to them

to come out of the furnace, and blessed God for sending an

angel to deliver his servants; and commanded all his subjects,

upon pain of death, not to speak irreverently of the God of

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who were promoted to great

power and honour, 24-30.

A striking example of the interposition of Providence in favour

of true and inflexible piety.

NOTES ON CHAP. III

Verse Daniel 3:1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold — It is supposed that the history given here did not occur till the close, or near the end, of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. For it was after his insanity, as we see Daniel 4:33-36, and this happened near the close of his reign. The authorized version, which is followed in the margin, fixes the date of this event seventeen years earlier, and ten years before the king's insanity. A few observations on this image may be necessary:-

1. It is not likely that this image was in human form - the dimensions show the improbability of this; for what proportion is there between sixty cubits (ninety feet) in length, and six cubits (nine feet) in breadth?

2. It is not likely that this image was all of gold; for this would have required more of this precious metal than the whole province of Babylon could produce; for as I suppose the sixty cubits apply to the perpendicular altitude, so I take it for granted that the six cubits intend the diameter. Now a column of gold of this height in diameter, upon the supposition that the pillar was circular, contains five thousand seven hundred and twenty-five and a half cubic feet; and as there are nineteen thousand avoirdupois ounces in a cubic foot, the weight of the whole pillar would be eight million two hundred and sixty-two thousand eight hundred and six pounds, ten ounces of gold.

3. It might have been a pillar on which an image of the god Bel was erected. The image itself might be of gold, or more probably gilt, that is, covered with thin plates of gold, and on this account it might be called the golden image; and most probably the height of the image may be confounded with the height of the pillar. Or perhaps it was no more than a pillar, on the sides of which their gods and sacred emblems were engraven, surmounted with Bel on the top.

The plain of Dura — The situation of this place is not exactly known; there was a town or city called Dura, or Doura, in Mesopotamia, near the Tigris.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Saved from the fiery furnace (3:1-30)

Within Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom were people of many races, languages and religions. In a plan to create greater unity among these people, Nebuchadnezzar made a huge image as a national religious symbol, and demanded that all citizens, great and small, bow before it. He set up the image in open plain country where it could be seen from afar, then called all the leading officials from the country areas to a dedication ceremony (3:1-3). He gave instructions concerning the ritual to be followed in worshipping the image, and laid down the penalty for any who disobeyed (4-7).
Some Babylonian officials were jealous of the three Jews who had been recently appointed as provincial administrators. When they saw that the Jews refused to bow to the image, they were pleased to have an opportunity to bring accusations against them before Nebuchadnezzar (8-12). The king found it difficult to believe that people he had recently honoured would be so ungrateful and rebellious. Although he was furious with them, he gave them another chance, warning them that no God could save them once they were thrown into a fiery furnace (13-15).
The three men again refused to obey. They had no doubt that if the sentence against them was carried out, God could save them if he so chose. Whether he would save them, they were not sure. Either way, they were determined not to worship the king’s image and were prepared to accept the consequences (16-18).
Nebuchadnezzar, now in a rage, had the men bound and thrown into a fiery furnace (19-23). His rage quickly turned to fear when he saw that God sent his heavenly messenger to save them (24-25). The whole experience humbled Nebuchadnezzar. He praised the Jews’ God, and issued a decree that gave the Jews religious freedom and protected them from further persecution. He also gave the three men higher positions in his government (26-30).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon."

THE IMAGE ERECTED

If one may take somewhat of a speculative glance at the probable psychology that controlled Nebuchadnezzar at this point, it is easy to see what this pagan egotist meant by this image. The previous chapter tells us of his dream of the great image which, according to Daniel's interpretation, represented Nebuchadnezzar as being "the head of gold!" This was not enough for this ruthless despot; he wanted to be the whole cheese! Therefore, he made a great image all of gold. Of course, when he commanded everyone to worship it, he might have identified it as an image of one or more pagan deities. That would have made it easier for the chief officers of the kingdom to comply with his request; but our own view is that the image here was clearly one of Nebuchadnezzar himself.

Some scholars, of course, say that it was an image of "one of Nebuchadnezzar's favorite deities.", We strongly prefer the older view that this image was of Nebuchadnezzar himself. Why? (1) There is the probable thinking on Nebuchadnezzar's part that this statute all of gold was a better symbol of his importance than the one of the dream that Daniel interpreted, in which he was only the head of gold. (2) Also, as Arthur Jeffery put it, "The tyrant ever seeks to make men bow down before something he has made… The egocentric man has idols before which he insists that other men bow. These usurp the place of God."Arthur Jeffery, The Interpreter's Bible, Daniel (New York: Abingdon Press, 1954), p. 395. (3) Also, as Young observed, "It was customary for the Assyrian kings to erect statues of themselves."Edward J. Young, The New Bible Commentary, Revised, Daniel (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, p. 692. There is nothing in the text which clearly settles the question.

"An image of gold" The sheer size of this colossus, 90 feet by 9 feet seems to indicate that it was not of solid gold, but that it was made of some other material and overlaid with the precious metal.

"On the plain of Dura" It is not certainly known where this was. Dummelow thought it was at the "mounds of Dura some 12 miles south-southeast of Babylon."J. R. Dummelow, op., cit., p. 535.

Andrews believed that, "The best suggestion is that it was connected with a small river, Dura, that entered the Euphrates some six miles south of Babylon."H. T. Andrews, op. cit., p. 526. The great likelihood is that it was somewhere not too far from Babylon.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold - The time when he did this is not mentioned; nor is it stated in whose honor, or for what design, this colossal image was erected. In the Greek and Arabic translationns, this is said to have occurred in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. This is not, however, in the original text, nor is it known on what authority it is asserted. Dean Prideaux (Consex. I. 222) supposes that it was at first some marginal comment on the Greek version that at last crept into the text, and that there was probably some good authority for it. If this is the correct account of the time, the event here recorded occurred 587 b.c., or, according to the chronology of Prideaux, about nineteen years after the transaction recorded in the previous chapter. Hales makes the chronology somewhat different, though not essentially. According to him, Daniel was carried to Babylon 586 b.c., and the image was set up 569 b.c., making an interval from the time that he was carried to Babylon of seventeen years; and if the dream Daniel 2:0 was explained within three or four years after Daniel was taken to Babylon, the interval between that and this occurrence would be some thirteen or fourteen years.

Calmet makes the captivity of Daniel 602 years before Christ; the interpretation of the dream 598; and the setting up of the image 556 - thus making an interval of more than forty years. It is impossible to determine the time with certainty; but allowing the shortest-mentioned period as the interval between the interpretation of the dream Daniel 2:0 and the erection of this statue, the time would be sufficient to account for the fact that the impression made by that event on the mind of Nebuchadnezzar, in favor of the claims of the true God Daniel 2:46-47, seems to have been entirely effaced. The two chapters, in order that the right impression may be received on this point, should be read with the recollection that such an interval had elapsed. At the time when the event here recorded is supposed by Prideaux to have occurred, Nebuchadnezzar had just returned from finishing the Jewish war.

From the spoils which he had taken in that expedition in Syria and Palestine, he had the means in abundance of rearing such a colossal statue; and at the close of these conquests, nothing would be more natural than that he should wish to rear in his capital some splendid work of art that would signalize his reign, record the memory of his conquests, and add to the magnificence of the city. The word which is here rendered “image” (Chaldee צלם ts^elēm - Greek εἰκόνα eikona), in the usual form in the Hebrew, means a shade, shadow; then what shadows forth anything; then an image of anything, and then an “idol,” as representing the deity worshipped. It is not necessary to suppose that it was of solid gold, for the amount required for such a structure would have been immense, and probably beyond the means even of Nebuchadnezzar. The presumption is, that it was merely covered over with plates of gold, for this was the usual manner in which statues erected in honor of the gods were made. See Isaiah 40:19.

It is not known in honor of whom this statue was erected. Grotius supposed that it was reared to the memory of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, and observes that it was customary to erect statues in this manner in honor of parents. Prideaux, Hales, the editor of the “Pict. Bible,” and most others, suppose that it was in honor of Bel, the principal deity worshipped in Babylon. See the notes at Isaiah 46:1. Some have supposed that it was in honor of Nebuchadnezzar himself, and that he purposed by it to be worshipped as a god. But this opinion has little probability in its favor. The opinion that it was in honor of Bel, the principal deity of the place, is every way the most probable, and this derives some confirmation from the well-known fact that a magnificent image of this kind was, at some period of his reign, erected by Nebuchadnezzar in honor of this god, in a style to correspond with the magnificence of the city.

The account of this given by Herodotus is the following: “The temple of Jupiter Belus, whose huge gates of brass may still be seen, is a square building, each side of which is two furlongs. In the midst rises a tower, of the solid depth and height of one furlong; upon which, resting as upon a base, seven other lesser towers are built in regular succession. The ascent is on the outside; which, winding from the ground, is continued to the highest tower; and in the middle of the whole structure there is a convenient resting place. In the last tower is a large chapel, in which is placed a couch, magnificently adorned, and near it a table of solid gold; but there is no statue in the place. In this temple there is also a small chapel, lower in the building, which contains a figure of Jupiter, in a sitting posture, with a large table before him; these, with the base of the table, and the seat of the throne, are all of the purest gold, and are estimated by the Chaldeans to be worth eight hundred talents.

On the outside of this chapel there are two altars; one is gold, the other is of immense size, and appropriated to the sacrifice of full-grown animals; those only which have not yet left their dams may be offered on the golden altar. On the larger altar, at the anniversary festival in honor of their god, the Chaldeans regularly consume incense to the amount of a thousand talents. There was formerly in this temple a statue of solid gold twelve cubits high; this, however, I mention from the information of the Chaldeans, and not from my own knowledge.” - Clio, 183. Diodorus Siculus, a much later writer, speaks to this effect: “Of the tower of Jupiter Belus, the historians who have spoken have given different descriptions; and this temple being now entirely destroyed, we cannot speak accurately respecting it. It was excessively high; constructed throughout with great care; built of brick and bitumen. Semiramis placed on the top of it three statues of massy gold, of Jupiter, Juno, and Rhea. Jupiter was erect, in the attitude of a man walking; he was forty feet in height; and weighed a thousand Babylonian talents: Rhea, who sat in a chariot of gold, was of the same weight. Juno, who stood upright, weighed eight hundred talents.” - B. ii.

The temple of Bel or Belus, in Babylon, stood until the time of Xerxes; but on his return from the Grecian expedition, he demolished the whole of it, and laid it in rubbish, having first plundered it of its immense riches. Among the spoils which he took from the temple, are mentioned several images and statues of massive gold, and among them the one mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, as being forty feet high. See Strabo, lib. 16, p. 738; Herodotus, lib. 1; Arrian “de Expe. Alex.” lib. 7, quoted by Prideaux I. 240. It is not very probable that the image which Xerxes removed was the same which Nebuchadnezzar reared in the plain of Dura - compare the Introduction to this chapter, Section I. VII. (a); but the fact that such a colossal statue was found in Babylon may be adduced as one incidental corroboration of the probability of the statement here. It is not impossible that Nebuchadnezzar was led, as the editor of Calmet’s “Dictionary” has remarked (Taylor, vol. iii. p. 194), to the construction of this image by what he had seen in Egypt. He had conquered and ravaged Egypt but a few years before this, and had doubtless been struck with the wonders of art which he had seen there.

Colossal statues in honor of the gods abounded, and nothing would be more natural than that Nebuchadnezzar should wish to make his capital rival everything which he had seen in Thebes. Nor is it improbable that, while he sought to make his image more magnificent and costly than even those in Egypt were, the views of sculpture would be about the same, and the “figure” of the statue might be borrowed from what had been seen in Egypt. See the statues of the two celebrated colossal figures of Amunoph III standing in the plains of Goorneh, Thebes, one of which is known as the Vocal Memnon. These colossi, exclusive of the pedestals (partially buried), are forty-seven feet high, and eighteen feet three inches wide across the shoulders, and according to Wilkinson are each of one single block, and contain about 11,500 cubic feet of stone. They are made of a stone not known within several days’ journey of the place where they are erected. Calmet refers to these statues, quoting from Norden.

Whose height was threescore cubits - Prideaux and others have been greatly perplexed at the “proportions” of the image here represented. Prideaux says on the subject (Connections, I. 240, 241), “Nebuchadnezzars golden image is said indeed in Scripture to have been sixty cubits, that is, ninety feet high; but this must be understood of the image and pedestal both together, for that image being said to be but six cubits broad or thick, it is impossible that the image would have been sixty cubits high; for that makes its height to be ten times its breadth or thickness, which exceeds all the proportions of a man, no man’s height being above six times his thickness, measuring the slenderest man living at the waist. But where the breadth of this image was measured is not said; perchance it was from shoulder to shoulder; and then the proportion of six cubits breadth will bring down the height exactly to the measure which Diodorus has mentioned; for the usual height of a man being four and a half of his breadth between the shoulders, if the image were six cubits broad between the shoulders, it must, according to this proportion, have been twenty-seven cubits high, which is forty and a half feet.”

The statue itself, therefore, according to Prideaux, was forty feet high; the pedestal fifty feet. But this, says Taylor, the editor of Calmet, is a disproportion of parts which, if not absolutely impossible, is utterly contradictory to every principle of art, even of the rudest sort. To meet the difficulty, Taylor himself supposes that the height referred to in the description was rather “proportional” than “actual” height; that is, if it had stood upright it would have been sixty cubits, though the actual elevation in a sitting posture may have been but little more than thirty cubits, or fifty feet. The breadth, he supposes, was rather the depth or thickness measured from the breast to the back, than the breadth measured from shoulder to shoulder. His argument and illustration may be seen in Calmet, vol. iii. Frag. 156. It is not absolutely certain, however, that the image was in a sitting posture, and the “natural” constructsion of the passage is, that the statue was actually sixty cubits in height.

No one can doubt that an image of that height could be erected; and when we remember the one at Rhodes, which was 105 Grecian feet in height (see art. “Colossus,” in Anthon’s “Class. Dict.”), and the desire of Nebuchadnezzar to adorn his capital in the most magnificent manner, it is not to be regarded as improbable that an image of this height was erected. What was the height of the pedestal, if it stood on any, as it probably did, it is impossible now to tell. The length of the “cubit” was not the same in every place. The length originally was the distance between the elbow and the extremity of the middle finger, about eighteen inches. The Hebrew cubit, according to Bishop Cumberland and M. Pelletier, was twenty-one inches; but others fix it at eighteen. - Calmet. The Talmudists say that the Hebrew cubit was larger by one quarter than the Roman. Herodotus says that the cubit in Babylon was three fingers longer than the usual one. - Clio, 178. Still, there is not absolute certainty on that subject. The usual and probable measurement of the cubit would make the image in Babylon about ninety feet high.

And the breadth thereof six cubits - About nine feet. This would, of course, make the height ten times the breadth, which Prideaux says is entirely contrary to the usual proportions of a man. It is not known on what “part” of the image this measurement was made, or whether it was the thickness from the breast to the back, or the width from shoulder to shoulder. If the “thickness” of the image here is referred to by the word “breadth,” the proportion would be well preserved. “The thickness of a well-proportioned man,” says Scheuchzer (Knupfer Bibel, in loc.), “measured from the breast to the back is one-tenth of his height.” This was understood to be the proportion by Augustine, Civi. Dei, 1. xv. c. 26. The word which is here rendered “breadth” (פתי p^ethay) occurs nowhere else in the Chaldean of the Scriptures, except in Ezra 6:3 : “Let the house be builded, the height thereof threescore cubits, and the “breadth” thereof threescore cubits.” Perhaps this refers rather to the “depth” of the temple from front to rear, as Taylor has remarked, than to the breadth from one side to another. If it does, it would correspond with the measurement of Solomon’s temple, and it is not probable that Cyrus would vary from that plan in his instructions to build a new temple. If that be the true construction, then the meaning here may be, as remarked above, that the image was of that “thickness,” and the breadth from shoulder to shoulder may not be referred to.

He set it up in the plain of Dura - It would seem from this that it was set up in an open plain, and not in a temple; perhaps not near a temple. It was not unusual to erect images in this manner, as the colossal figure at Rhodes shows. Where this plain was, it is of course impossible now to determine. The Greek translation of the word is Δεειρᾷ Deeira - “Deeira.” Jerome says that the translation of Theodotion is “Deira;” of Symmachus, Doraum; and of the Septuagint. περίβολον peribolon - which he says may be rendered “vivarium vel conclusum locum.” “Interpreters commonly,” says Gesenius, “compare Dura, a city mentioned by Ammian. Marcel. 25. 6, situated on the Tigris; and another of like name in Polyb. 5, 48, on the Euphrates, near the mouth of the Chaboras.” It is not necessary to suppose that this was in the “city” of Babylon; and, indeed, it is probable that it was not, as the “province of Babylon” doubtless embraced more than the city, and an extensive plain seems to have been selected, perhaps near the city, as a place where the monument would be more conspicuous, and where larger numbers could convene for the homage which was proposed to be shown to it.

In the province of Babylon - One of the provinces, or departments, embracing the capital, into which the empire was divided, Daniel 2:48.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

Very probably this statue was not erected by King Nebuchadnezzar within a short period, as the Prophet does not notice how many years had passed away; for it is not probable that it was erected within a short time after he had confessed the God of Israel to be the Supreme Deity. Yet as the Prophet is silent, we need not discuss the matter. Some of the rabbis think this statue to have been erected as an expiation; as if Nebuchadnezzar wished to avert the effect of his dream by this charm, as they say. But their guess is most frivolous. We may inquire, however, whether Nebuchadnezzar deified himself or really erected this statue to Bel the principal deity of the Chaldeans, or invented some new-fangled divinity? Many incline to the opinion that he wished to include himself in the number of the deities, but this is not certain — at least I do not think so. Nebuchadnezzar seems to me rather to have consecrated this statue to some of the deities; but, as superstition is always joined with ambition and pride, very likely Nebuchadnezzar was also induced by vain glory and luxury to erect this statue. As often as the superstitious incur expense in building temples and in fabricating idols, if any one asks them their object, they immediately reply — they do it in honor of God! At the same time they are all promoting their own fame and reputation. All the superstitious reckon God’s worship valueless, and rather wish to acquire for themselves favor and estimation among men. I readily admit this to have been Nebuchadnezzar’s intention, and indeed I am nearly certain of it. But at the same time some pretense to piety was joined with it; for he pretended that he wished to worship God. Hence, also, what I formerly mentioned appears more clear, namely, — King Nebuchadnezzar was not truly and heartily converted, but rather remained fixed in his own errors, when he was attributing glory to the God of Israel. As I have already said, that confession of his was limited, and he now betrays what he nourished in his heart; for when he erected the statue he did not return to his own natural disposition, but; rather his impiety, which was hidden for a time, was then detected. For that remarkable confession could not be received as a proof of change of mind. All therefore would have said he was a new man, if God had not wished it to be made plain that he was held bound and tied by the chains of Satan, and was still a slave to his own errors. God wished then to present this example to manifest Nebuchadnezzar to be always impious, although through compulsion he gave some glory to the God of Israel.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 3

Now in chapter 3 we find Nebuchadnezzar defying the revelation of God. Remember in his dream he saw the image with the head of gold, "thou art the head of gold," but it had a chest of silver for the Babylonian Empire was to be replaced by an inferior empire, the Medo-Persian Empire.

But Nebuchadnezzar [in defiance of God and the revelation of God] made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits [or sixty cubits], and the breath thereof was six cubits ( Daniel 3:1 ):

You're getting into the sixty-sixes here.

and he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all of the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, the captains, and all, gathered together. And a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That whatever time you hear the sound of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, the dulcimer, and all kinds of music, that you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up: And whoso will not fall down and worship the same hour will be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace ( Daniel 3:1-6 ).

So Nebuchadnezzar's not to be messed with. You have your choice; either bow down to it, or be cast into the burning fiery furnace.

Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, in the nations, and languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up ( Daniel 3:7 ).

Now, Nebuchadnezzar becomes in scripture what we call a type of the antichrist, who we read in Revelation, chapter 13, makes an image. And he gives power unto this beast or this image to speak. And he demands that the whole world worship this image that is been given power to speak.

We've been reading a lot about the advancement of our science and especially of the capacities of computers. There is even talk of creating computers that will be smarter than men and will perhaps one day rule over man because of their wisdom. Within computers there is already developed the capacity of chips, voice chips, so that they have little calculators that you can buy and as you punch the numbers it will give you the number, but then it will speak the answer as well as display it. Already in dialing wrong numbers, you get the operator that says, "What number did you dial?" And you tell them the number and then you hear, "The number 6 4 6 2 5 7 5 has been changed to... " and it gives you the new number and it's the computer that is a voice computer. Power to speak.

Now up until just, you know, the last few years it seemed to be a totally impossible thing to make some kind of an image and give that image the capacity to think and to speak. It could very well be, I don't say that it is, but it could very well be that the image that has been created by this man of sin that is going to arise, will be a highly sophisticated computer which will be used to govern the world.

Nebuchadnezzar made an image, sixty cubits high, six cubits broad, and demanded that everyone worshipped that image. And anyone who refuses to worship the image would be put to death. The man of sin, the beast, that arises out of the sea. In Revelation 13 , makes an image and demands that everyone worship the image, and if anyone refuses the image he has power to put to death.

We see an interesting parallel. There were three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who refused to bow to the image, but God miraculously preserved through the fire. In the book of Revelation we read of 144,000 that God is going to seal and take safely through the Great Tribulation, the fiery judgment of God that is coming upon the earth.

Now, the big question, here when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were reported to Nebuchadnezzar that they did not bow and worship the image, the question: what about Daniel? Do you think that Daniel bowed to the image? I think not. Daniel had purpose in his heart. He would not defile himself with the king's meat. His commitment to God was so complete. I am certain that Daniel did not bow. Then why wasn't Daniel reported with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego? Obviously, Daniel must not have been there. He was probably away on business of the affairs of state. For had he been there, he surely would not have bowed. That, of course, becomes extremely interesting in that Daniel is a type of the church. And when the Great Tribulation, the fiery judgment comes, when the antichrist is demanding that people bow down and worship the image that he has created, the church won't be there. It's gone; it won't go through the fiery furnace. It's been delivered, caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and forever with the Lord. And thus will not be here when the antichrist makes the scene and creates the image and demands that the image be worshipped. The church, Daniel is out of the picture. But it is the faithful remnant of the Jews who turned to Christ after the rapture of the church that God will seal as the three Hebrew children and take them through the fire. So a very beautiful typology in this story in Daniel.

Now, in verse Daniel 3:8 , chapter 3,

At the certain time the Chaldeans came near, and they accused the Jews. They spake and said unto the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, king, had made a decree, that every man when he hears the sound of the cornets, and the music and so forth, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso does not fall down and worship, that he would be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Now there are certain Jews whom thou has set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up. Then [old hothead] Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and in his fury he commanded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and they brought these men to the king ( Daniel 3:8-13 ).

This guy is always in a rage.

And Nebuchadnezzar spake unto them and said, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if you're ready that at the time you hear the sound of the music, you will fall down and worship the image which I have made; then all will be well: but if you do not worship, you will be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we're not even careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up ( Daniel 3:14-18 ).

"Now God is able, the God that we serve can deliver us out of your burning fiery furnace. He will deliver us out of your hand. And even if He doesn't, we're still not going to serve your gods; we're still not going to bow down to your image. Now we're not even careful how we answer you in this. This is a set matter with us. We're just not going to do it." These guys had such commitment. Such commitment to God that, "God is able if He wants to deliver us, if He doesn't want we're still not going to bow. Our lives are in God's hands. He can do with us whatever He wants, but we're going to be faithful to God and true to God and God will be faithful to us. And whatever God does with us is fine. We're not worried, we're not concerned, Nebuchadnezzar, about your decrees or your threats and all. You don't scare us Nebuchadnezzar. You don't move us because our trust is in God, the God that we serve is able to deliver us. And if He doesn't, we're still not going to bow."

Then [old] Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed ( Daniel 3:19 )

I mean, his whole attitude towards these three fellows was changed completed. And he spoke and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was ever heated before.

And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. And these men were bound in their coats, their hose, their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the burning fiery furnace ( Daniel 3:20-21 ).

In Israel today you see these various orthodox Jews. And there are some of them that have these little black hats, and their black coats and black hosiery. They wear sort of knickers with black hosiery, and they have long curls. They're the Hasidics, and they have these long curls down the sides of their heads here. And when he describes binding them with their hats, and their coats, and their hosiery and all, I get a picture of some of these Hasidic Jews that you see over in Israel. Probably didn't look like that, but that's the mental picture that I get. As he binds them with their hats, and their hose, and their coats and cast them into the midst of the burning-fiery furnace.

Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace was exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men fell down in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and he rose up in haste, and he spoke, and he said to his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? And they said unto the king, True. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, and they're walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God ( Daniel 3:22-25 ).

What a marvelous exciting experience. "The hand of God, the God that we serve is able to deliver us out of your burning fiery furnace." And so here they are, walking around in the midst of the fire.

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and he spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, come on out. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth from the midst of the fire. And the princes, and the governors, and the captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their heads singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire have passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and has changed the king's word, and yielded the bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God ( Daniel 3:26-28 ).

You see Nebuchadnezzar making another proclamation here.

Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, language, would speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon ( Daniel 3:29-30 ).

So old Nebuchadnezzar, quite an interesting character, in his wrath and in his decrees. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The whole image that the king built was gold. The head of the image that Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream was also gold.

"Daniel had told him that he was the head of gold (Daniel 2:38) but that he would be followed by ’another kingdom inferior to you’ (Daniel 2:39) made of silver (Daniel 2:32). Rejecting now the idea that any kingdom could follow his own, he may have determined to show the permanence of his golden kingdom by having the entire image covered with gold." [Note: Ibid.]

This image stood about 99 feet high and nine feet wide. This is the height of a ten-story building and the width of a 9-feet by 12-feet room. The famous Colossus of Rhodes stood 70 cubits (105 feet) high astride the entrance to that ancient port. It is interesting that the dimensions of this statue, 60 cubits and 6 cubits, contain the number 6, which also appears in the mark of the Beast, 666, a latter day equivalent. [Note: See Ironside, p. 47.]

We do not know what the image represented. If it was a figure of a human, it probably stood on a substantial base since it was quite narrow for such a tall statue. However, it may have represented an animal, or a combination of human and animal. Archaeologists have discovered Babylonian images of all these types. [Note: See Leupold, p. 137; Young, pp. 83-85; or Keil, pp. 118-19.] These images are also sometimes quite narrow in proportion to their height. Customarily these were wooden statues overlaid with gold (cf. Isaiah 40:19; Isaiah 41:7; Jeremiah 10:3-9). [Note: Montgomery, p. 195.] Herodotus described a statue of Bel made of 800 talents (22 tons) of gold, but Nebuchadnezzar’s image would have been much heavier and more costly. [Note: Herodotus, History of the Persian Wars, 1:183.]

In view of Nebuchadnezzar’s extraordinary ego (cf. ch. 4), the image may have been a likeness of him. [Note: Feinberg, p. 44.] However, there is no evidence that the Mesopotamians ever worshiped statues of their rulers as divine during the ruler’s lifetime. [Note: Archer, "Daniel," p. 50.] Some writers have suggested that the image may have resembled an obelisk similar to those found in Egypt. [Note: E.g., Pentecost, p. 1337; Young, p. 84; and Baldwin, p. 99.] It is likely that the image represented Nebuchadnezzar’s patron god, Nebo. [Note: Dyer, p. 706.]

The most probable site of the Dura Plain seems to be six miles southeast of Babylon. [Note: Montgomery, p. 197.] The Aramaic word dura ("fortification") is common and refers to a place enclosed by a wall or perhaps mountains. [Note: Leupold, p. 137; Keil, p. 119; Pentecost, p. 1337.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The worship of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue 3:1-7

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold,.... Not of solid gold; but either of a plate of gold, and hollow within; or of wood overlaid with gold; for otherwise it must have took up a prodigious quantity of gold to make an image of such dimensions as follow; this be ordered his statuaries or workmen to make for him; whether this image was for himself, or his father Nabopolassar, or for his chief god Bel, or as a new deity, is not easy to say; however, it was made for religious worship: the reasons that moved him to it cannot be ascertained; it might be out of pride and vanity, and to set forth the glory and stability of his monarchy, as if be was not only the head of gold, but as an image all of gold; and to contradict the interpretation of his dream, and avert the fate of his empire signified by it; or to purge himself from the jealousies his subjects had entertained of him, of relinquishing the religion of his country, and embracing the Jewish religion, by his praise of the God of Israel, and the promotion of Jews to places of trust and honour; or this might be done by the advice of his nobles, to establish an uniformity of religion in his kingdom, and to prevent the growth of Judaism; and it may be to lay a snare for Daniel and his companions; of which we have an instance of the like kind in chapter six. When this image was made is not certain; some think in a short time after his dream before related; if so, he soon forgot it, and the God that had revealed it. The Septuagint and Arabic versions place it in the eighteenth year of his reign; and some are of opinion that it was after his victories over the Jews, Tyre, Egypt, and others; and that being flushed therewith, in the pride of his heart, ordered this image to be made; and out of the spoils he brought with him from the various countries he had conquered. Mr. Whiston u places this fact in the year of the world 3417 A.M., and before Christ 587; and so Dr. Prideaux w, who makes it to be in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, agreeably to the above versions. Mr. Bedford x puts it in the year before Christ 585:

whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; a common cubit being half a yard, it was thirty yards high, and three yards broad; but Herodotus y says the king's cubit in Babylon was three fingers larger than the usual one; and, according to that, this image must be thirty five yards high, and three yards and a half broad; but since there is so great a disproportion between the height and breadth, some have thought that the height includes the pedestal on which it stood; and, allowing twelve cubits for that, the height of the image was forty six cubits. Diodorus Siculus z makes mention of a statue of gold in the temple of Belus, which Xerxes demolished, which was forty feet high, and contained a thousand Babylonish talents of gold, which, at the lowest computation, amounts to three millions and a half of our money; which image Doctor Prideaux a conjectures was this image of Nebuchadnezzar's; but this seems not likely, since the one was between thirty and forty yards high, the other but thirteen or fourteen; the one in the plain of Dura, the other in the temple of Bel:

he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon; that so it might be seen of all, and there might be room enough for a vast number of worshippers together. The Septuagint version calls this place the plain of Deeira, which some take to be the Deera of Ptolemy b; but that is in the province of Susiana; rather this is Duraba c, which he places near the river Euphrates, in the province of Babylon. Aben Ezra says, this is the place where the children of Ephraim fell, and where the Chaldeans slew the Jews when they came into captivity. In the Talmud d it is said,

"from the river Eshal unto Rabbath is the valley of Dura;''

in Arabic , "dauro" signifies "round"; it was a round valley. The Jews have a notion that this was the valley in the land of Shinar where the tower of Babel was built; and observe, that

"although the design of that generation was not accomplished, yet after their times their punishment was made manifest, in that they said, "let us make us a name", Genesis 11:4 for Nebuchadnezzar having wasted and subverted many kingdoms, and destroyed the sanctuary, thought it possible to put in execution the wicked design of the age of the dispersion; hence it is said, Daniel 3:1, "King Nebuchadnezzar made an image, c. and set it up", בבקעת דורא, "in the valley of generation", in the province of Babylon, which is the valley spoken of in

Genesis 11:2 what therefore they could not do, he attempted to do hence he gathered all the people to worship the image, which agrees with Genesis 11:4, for he put a certain vessel of the vessels of the temple on the mouth of it (the image), on which was engraven the divine name, that he might render ineffectual the intention of the dispersed generation but the Scripture says, Jeremiah 51:44, "and I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up, and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him"; for Daniel came and caused that vessel that was swallowed to be taken out of the mouth of the image, whence it fell, and was broke to pieces, which is the same as that in Genesis 11:4 e.''

u Chronological Tables, cent. 10. w Connexion, &c. par 1. B. 2. p. 87. x Scripture Chronology, p. 709. y Clio, sive l. 1. c. 178. z Bibliothec. Hist. I. 2. p. 98. Ed. Rhod. a Connexion, &c. par. 1. B. 2. p. 103. b Geograph. l. 6. c. 3. c lbid. l. 5. c. 20. d T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 92. 2. e Kabala Denudata, par. 1. p. 671.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.   2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.   3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.   4 Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,   5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:   6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.   7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

      We have no certainty concerning the date of this story, only that if this image, which Nebuchadnezzar dedicated, had any relation to that which he dreamed of, it is probable that it happened not long after that; some reckon it to be about the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, a year before Jehoiachin's captivity, in which Ezekiel was carried away. Observe,

      I. A golden image set up to be worshipped. Babylon was full of idols already, yet nothing will serve this imperious prince but they must have one more; for those who have forsaken the one only living God, and begin to set up many gods, will find the gods they set up so unsatisfying, and their desire after them so insatiable, that they will multiply them without measure, wander after them endlessly, and never know when they have sufficient. Idolaters are fond of novelty and variety. They choose new gods. Those that have many will wish to have more. Nebuchadnezzar the king, that he might exert the prerogative of his crown, to make what god he thought fit, set up this image, Daniel 3:1; Daniel 3:1. Observe, 1. The valuableness of it; it was an image of gold, not all gold surely; rich as he was, it is probable that he could not afford that, but overlaid with gold. Note, The worshippers of false gods are not wont to mind charges in setting up images and worshipping them; they lavish gold out of the bag for that purpose (Isaiah 46:6), which shames our niggardliness in the worship of the true God. 2. The vastness of it; it was threescore cubits high and six cubits broad. It exceeded the ordinary stature of a man fifteen times (for that is reckoned but four cubits, or six feet), as if its being monstrous would make amends for its being lifeless. But why did Nebuchadnezzar set up this image? Some suggest that it was to clear himself from the imputation of having turned a Jew, because he had lately spoken with great honour of the God of Israel and had preferred some of his worshippers. Or perhaps he set it up as an image of himself, and designed to be himself worshipped in it. Proud princes affected to have divine honours paid them; Alexander did so, pretending himself to be the son of Jupiter Olympius. He was told that in the image he had seen in his dream he was represented by the head of gold, which was to be succeeded by kingdoms of baser metal; but here he sets up to be himself the whole image, for he makes it all of gold. See here, (1.) How the good impressions that were then made upon him were quite lost, and quickly. He then acknowledged that the God of Israel is of a truth a God of gods and a Lord of kings; and yet now, in defiance of the express law of that God, he sets up an image to be worshipped, not only continues in his former idolatries, but contrives new ones. Note, Strong convictions often come short of a sound conversion. Many a pang have owned the absurdity and dangerousness of sin, and yet have gone on in it. (2.) How that very dream and the interpretation of it, which then made such good impressions upon him, now had a quite contrary effect. Then it made him fall down as a humble worshipper of God; now it made him set up for a bold competitor with God. Then he thought it a great thing to be the golden head of the image, and owned himself obliged to God for it; but, his mind rising with his condition, now he thinks that too little, and, in contradiction to God himself and his oracle, he will be all in all.

      II. A general convention of the states summoned to attend the solemnity of the dedication of this image, Daniel 3:2; Daniel 3:3. Messengers are despatched to all parts of the kingdom to gather together the princes, dukes, and lords, all the peers of the realm, with all officers civil and military, the captains and commanders of the forces, the judges, the treasurers or general receivers, the counsellors, and the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces; they must all come to the dedication of this image upon pain and peril of what shall fall thereon. He summons the great men, for the great honour of his idol; it is therefore mentioned to the glory of Christ that kings shall bring presents unto him. If he can bring them to pay homage to his golden image, he doubts not but the inferior people will follow of course. In obedience to the king's summons all the magistrates and officers of that vast kingdom leave the services of their particular countries, and come to Babylon, to the dedication of this golden image; long journeys many of them took, and expensive ones, upon a very foolish errand; but, as the idols are senseless things, such are the worshippers.

      III. A proclamation made, commanding all manner of persons present before the image, upon the signal given, to fall down prostrate, and worship the image, under the style and title of The golden image which Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. A herald proclaims this aloud throughout this vast assembly of grandees, with their numerous train of servants and attendants, and a great crowd of people, no doubt, that were not sent for; let them all take notice, 1. That the king does strictly charge and command all manner of persons to fall down and worship the golden image; whatever other gods they worship at other times, now they must worship this. 2. That they must all do this just at the same time, in token of their communion with each other in this idolatrous service, and that, in order hereunto, notice shall be given by a concert of music, which would likewise serve to adorn the solemnity and to sweeten and soften the minds of those that were loth to yield and bring them to comply with the king's command. This mirth and gaiety in the worship would be very agreeable to carnal sensual minds, that are strangers to that spiritual worship which is due to God who is a spirit.

      IV. The general compliance of the assembly with this command, Daniel 3:7; Daniel 3:7. They heard the sound of the musical instruments, both wind-instruments and hand-instruments, the cornet and flute, with the harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, the melody of which they thought was ravishing (and fit enough it was to excite such a devotion as they were then to pay), and immediately they all, as one man, as soldiers that are wont to be exercised by beat of drum, all the people, nations, and languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image. And no marvel when it was proclaimed, That whosoever would not worship this golden image should be immediately thrown into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, ready prepared for that purpose, Daniel 3:6; Daniel 3:6. Here were the charms of music to allure them into a compliance and the terrors of the fiery furnace to frighten them into a compliance. Thus beset with temptation, they all yielded. Note, That way that sense directs the most will go; there is nothing so bad which the careless world will not be drawn to by a concert of music, or driven to by a fiery furnace. And by such methods as these false worship has been set up and maintained.