The King wanted to make sure that the statue would be visible in all of the Babylonian kingdoms so that he placed it in a plain (Plains of Dura) where there would be lesser sight obstruction. The gold consisted in overlaid plates, for which we possess not only abundant Classical evidence but also that of the Bible.178 The golden altar (Ex 39:38) was actually wood overlaid with gold (Ex 37:25-26). Page of 11 Next Page. Answer (1 of 12): Daniel 3:1-25 ICB > Now King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made. You [Nebuchadnezzar] watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet . Nebuchadnezzar's Pride And Punishment. The worship of the image was intended to be an expression of political solidarity and loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar rather than an intended act of religious persecution. It is an amazing fact that Nebuchadnezzar adds the challenging question, Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? He is quite conscious of the demonstration of the superiority of the God of the Hebrews over Babylonian gods in interpreting his dream in chapter 2, but he cannot bring himself to believe that the God of the Jews would be able in these circumstances to deliver these three men from his hand. In view of his pride as dealt with in chapter 4, this becomes a plausible explanation. The Septuagint inserts the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Youths with some additional explanation. Nebuchadnezzar orders the furnace to be heated to maximum intensity. John F. Walvoord, long-time president of Dallas Theological Seminary, was one of the most prominent evangelical scholars of his generation. The fragment turned out to be part of a "ration list" indicating how much oil and foodstuffs were given to King Jehoiachin and his exiled Judean court in Babylon. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. Conservative scholarship is agreed that this is not part of the scriptural text, although it is possible that these men, godly as they were, might have expressed prayer in a similar way if time permitted. Was it really true that their purpose in nonconformity was to dishonor the gods of Babylon and to disobey Nebuchadnezzar. But it wasn't Nebuchadnezzar, says Frahm. 14 July 2020. The downfall of these nations is a foreshadowing of the end of the times of the Gentiles when the Lion of the tribe of Judah returns to reign. What does the example of Nebuchadnezzar teach us about the historicity of the Bible? Having given this preamble, Nebuchadnezzar now makes his decree. Nebuchadnezzar takes their determination not only as proof of the full accusation made by the Chaldeans but also as evidence of disloyalty to him personally. "Nebuchadnezzar is one of those characters in the Bible for whom we have an enormous amount of data from non-biblical sources," says Eckart Frahm, a professor of Near Eastern languages and civilizations at Yale University. Some of the king's servants saw that three Israelites - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - weren't bowing down. They saw in the fact that the Jews had not worshiped the image an occasion to bring accusation against them. It's been a long while since I've been in the book of Daniel. Idols overlaid with gold are mentioned in Isaiah 40:19 and Isaiah 41:7. Langles, 6, c. 18, end, p. 303).198 This would explain both the way in which the victims were put into the furnace and the circumstances which permitted the king to see what was happening inside the furnace.199. The text goes on to say that Nebuchadnezzar commanded all the leaders, magistrates and important . Daniel Chapter 3 Explained Verse by Verse - Fall Down and Worship, Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Statue - Part 1The past provides the pattern for the future. And in another unforgettable story in Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar is punished for his hubris and wanders the wilderness like a beast eating grass for seven years. Forged from exquisite glazed bricks ornamented in . onward.190 The Greek mercenaries, who served as soldiers for various countries, are found more than one hundred years before Daniel, as for instance in the Assyrian army of Esarhaddon (682 b.c.) This will reach its peak in the future great tribulation when once again the tension between obeying an earthly ruler and obeying God will result in many martyrs. The coinage confirms Aristophanes' account. It was quite clear to the Chaldeans also that the Jews did not worship the gods of Babylon and were actually a foreign element in the government. The assembled multitude led by the kings most important officials acted as witnesses of the delivering power of God. The golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. The story of Nebuchadnezzar's ascension to the throne is told on one of the clay tablets in the Babylonian Chronicles. First, let's recap the tale as told in Daniel 4. What I could never forget however, was that they were not harmed! Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. Leupold cites numerous ancient images such as that of Zeus in a temple at Babylon; the golden images on the top of the Belus temple, one of which was forty cubits high; and the Colossus at Rhodes which was seventy cubits high.177 While an image of this size was unusual, it was by no means unique; and there is no reason to question the historical accuracy of its dimensions. The cornet was obviously a horn instrument, the word coming originally from the horn of a beast which was sometimes used to make a musical instrument. 172 S. P. Tregelles, Remarks on the Prophetic Visions in the Book of Daniel. Verse 23 of the text has also been challenged by Charles who claims it is an interpolation and needless duplication of verse 21, and that part of the passage has been lost.206 Actually the narrative reads very well as it is, and the objections are without proper ground. Antiochus was attempting to destroy the Jewish religion, but this was not Nebuchadnezzars objective. The contrast of the God of Israel to the idols of Babylon is a reminder that the god of this world, behind Gentile dominion, is doomed to judgment at the hands of the sovereign God. The personal loyalty of such officers should be beyond question; but, as the Chaldeans point out, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego had not shown any regard for the king himself. It is time to rehearse our understanding of this key prophecy of Daniel 2:32-35: This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. > Similar Trivia Questions 3:21) What did the king see when he peered into the furnace? His furnace was hot, but he himself got hotter! But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Third, they do not worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up. That statue was 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. He handed over the kingdom to his son who later had him murdered. King Nebuchadnezzar II ordered his workers to build temples and other buildings using tough kiln-fired bricks to protect Babylon from intruders and make the city magnificent.. His hope and goal was that palaces, temples, and walls would last longer if they were constructed with such building . (Wikipedia) King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue whose height was . In this chapter we see for the last time Daniels three companions, and no further reference is made to their subsequent experiences. Nebuchadnezzar attempted the invasion of Egypt but was repulsed with heavy losses. He calls upon all the people in his realm not to say anything amiss concerning this God at the threat of being cut to pieces and their houses made a dunghill. "This sojourn of Nabonidus in Arabia for 10 years is clearly the background of the story of Nebuchadnezzar in the wilderness," says Frahm. 3 So Normally criminals are stripped before execution; but in view of the form of the execution and the haste of the whole operation, there was no particular point in stripping off their clothes. The Septuagint versions (Old Greek and The-odotion)184 are hopelessly inexact and are merely guesswork in their rendering of drgzr, counsellor; gdbr, treasurer; dtbr, law-officer; t(y)pt, magistrate, police chief. Kitchen points out, If the first important Greek translation of Daniel was made some time within c. 100 BC-AD 100, roughly speaking, and the translator could not (or took no trouble to) reproduce the proper meanings of these terms, then one conclusion imposes itself: their meaning was already lost and forgotten or, at least, drastically changed long before he set to work. 6438. Addressing the three faithful men in the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. It was immediately apparent to Nebuchadnezzar, as well as the others who watched, that the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego was greater than the gods of Babylon. 3:1-7 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. The word for herald ( karoz), because it closely resembles the Greek word kerux, introduces the interesting problem of Greek words in Daniel. KINGDOMS OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S IMAGE. The governors were commanders or military chiefs. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. lwjas0025 options. At the sound of the music, all those gathered were to fall down and worship the golden image, that is, they were to fall prostrate to the ground and do homage. pointing was not only impossible in etiquette but also in the spirit of the writer.203. And most of us know who those kingdoms are, because in Daniel 2:38 God revealed that Nebuchadnezzar, representing Babylon, was that head of gold. 3:8-12 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar the king made a . Noe Falk Nielsen/NurPhoto via Getty Images, Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty? The Medes took the city of Babylon in one day without a fight. 188 Concerning Greek loan words, see Kitchen, pp. The bitterness of the Babylonian exile for the Judeans is captured in the famous opening lines of Psalm 137: By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept / when we remembered Zion. The erection of the golden image by Nebuchadnezzar is clearly subsequent to the events of chapter 2 since Daniel 3:12, referring to the appointment of Daniels companions over the affairs of the province of Babylon, and Daniel 3:30 imply that the event was subsequent to Daniel 2:49. Their explanation leaves no question as to the answer. Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2016. what happened to nebuchadnezzar's golden statue; what happened to nebuchadnezzar's golden statue. Just as the reign of Nebuchadnezzar is symbolic of the entire period of the times of the Gentiles, so the deliverance of Daniels three companions is typical of the deliverance of Israel during the period of Gentile domination. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. That statue was 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Statue (Daniel's Prophecies) Artwork Illustration. Threescore cubits is 60 cubits which is equivalent to 90 feets. Dave Roos Therefore because the kings commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Even if God does not deliver them, however, this will not change their decision in which they refuse to worship the gods of Babylon as well as the golden image. The four empires referred to are: 1. In Babylonian texts, the "mad king" was Nabonidus, a king who ruled two decades after Nebuchadnezzar and ended up losing the Babylonian Empire to the Persians. I was afflicted [with an evil ulcer] for seven yearsand an exorcist pardoned my sins. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. what happened to the statue of nebuchadnezzar. The account of the golden image which was erected on the plain of Dura records Nebuchadnezzars reaction to the revelation of chapter 2 in which he was symbolized by the head of gold. Although obviously all the great throng could not get close enough to see precisely what had happened, Scripture records that the princes, governors, and captains, and the kings counsellors witnessed the event. 24, 84. T. C. Mitchell and R. Joyce provide a table for all six instruments with their corresponding translations in nine different translations. and even in the Babylonian army of Nebuchadnezzar.191 Not only did the Greeks affect the Semitic world but also influences of Assyria and Babylonia appear in the Greek language as well.192, Recent studies on the musical instruments mentioned in Daniel 3 conducted by T. C. Mitchell and R. 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