HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  36“This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, 38into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. 39After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. 40And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything,b it shall crush and shatter all these. 41As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. 42As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage,c but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever; 45just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.”

  Daniel and His Friends Promoted

  46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that a grain offering and incense be offered to him. 47The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery!” 48Then the king promoted Daniel, gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.

  next chapter

  * * *

  a The text from this point to the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic

  b Gk Theodotion Syr Vg: Aram adds and like iron that crushes

  c Aram by human seed

  2.1–49 God’s superiority demonstrated through a contest to interpret a king’s dream; in this contest the wisdom skills of Daniel are pitted against those of the Babylonian wise men. The plot is similar to the Joseph story (Gen 41) and the Aramaic story of Ahikar. Duplications (e.g., vv. 16, 25) and inconsistencies (e.g., vv. 34–35, 45) suggest that an older story was expanded.

  2.1 Second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 603 BCE; this is inconsistent with 1.1, where Nebuchadnezzar is already king during the three years Daniel and his friends are in training. Dreams, believed to be important vehicles for divine-human communication; see chs. 4, 7; Gen 15.12; 20.3; 28.10–12; 37.5–10;41.1–32; 1 Sam 3.3–5; Mt 27.19; kings were regarded as favored recipients of divine oracles.

  2.2 Magicians…Chaldeans. See 1.4, 20. Originally these terms designated different religious specialists, but here they are used synonymously; see 4.7. To tell…his dreams, a difficult task (repeated in vv. 6, 9). Providing interpretations was a common practice, attested in numerous Mesopotamian divination tablets, but not the telling of the dream itself (v. 11).

  2.4 O king, live forever, a royal greeting used for Persian kings until the Islamic period (beginning in the mid-seventh century CE); see 3.9; 5.10; 6.6, 21.

  2.5 On the threat of punishment, see vv. 9, 12. Torn…laid in ruins. See 3.29; Ezra 6.11.

  2.6 On the promise of reward, see v. 48.

  2.9 This verse suggests the king has not forgotten his dreams but is testing the competence of the wise men.

  2.11 The task exceeds human ability.

  2.13–23 Widely regarded as a late addition to harmonize with ch. 1. Daniel has direct access to the king, in contrast to v. 24, where Arioch introduces him to the king as an exile.

  2.17 See 1.6–7; 2.49.

  2.18 The God of heaven, a Persian title for the God of the Jews, occurs frequently in texts from the beginning of the Persian period (539 BCE) onward; see vv. 19, 37, 44; Ezra 1.2; 5.11, 12; 6.9, 10; 7.12, 21, 23; Neh 1.4, 5; 2.4, 20; Jon 1.9; Tob 10.11; Jdt 5.8;6.19; 11.17. Mystery, a loanword from Old Persian meaning something secret, implying knowledge gained through divine revelation, not conventional wisdom. It is found only in Dan 2.19, 27, 28, 29, 30; 4.9 in the Bible but is frequent in the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran.

  2.19 Vision of the night. See 7.2; Gen 46.2; Zech 1.8.

  2.20–23 A doxology in the form of a short psalm of praise and thanksgiving; see Neh 9.5; Job 12.13, 22; Pss 36.9; 41.13; 106.48; 139.11–12; Prov 2.6; Isa 60.19–20; Hab 3.4; Rev 5.12.

  2.24–25 See vv. 13–16.

  2.28 End of days in biblical Hebrew means only “in the indefinite future.” In the Dead Sea Scrolls it comes to refer to a period at the end of history. See 10.14; Isa 2.2; Jer 23.20; Ezek 38.16; Hos 3.5.

  2.29–30 A repetition of the theme of v. 28; possibly an editorial expansion (see vv. 13–23).

  2.31–35 The difficult task successfully completed by Daniel (see note on 2.2).

  2.31 You…and lo, a formulaic introduction.

  2.32–33 The five parts of the statue are constructed from materials of decreasing value. The motif of four metals in order of descending value is also found in Greek (Hesiod), Roman (Ovid), and Persian (Bahman Yasht) sources.

  2.33 Clay, baked clay or terra-cotta.

  2.34 Not by human hands emphasizes the divine nature of the intervention; see 8.25; Ps 118.22; Isa 28.16. The feet are the weakest point because of the fragile clay, but a strategic point because they support the statue; see Jer 51.20–23.

  2.35 Here the stone became…a mountain, but in v. 45 it was cut from the mountain. Stones and mountains are frequently associated with the divine presence; see Gen 28.10–22; Deut 32.4, 15, 18, 30–31; Ps 36.6; Isa 8.14; 11.9–10; Ezek 17.22–24. The mountain brings to mind Mount Zion.

  2.36–45 Daniel interprets the dream symbolically or allegorically as a political oracle; many regard the interpretation as a later addition because it does not correspond completely to the dream. The four kingdoms are not named, but they can be identified as Neo-Babylonian, Median, Persian, and Greek, since these are the kingdoms mentioned elsewhere in Daniel; similar four-kingdom schemes are found in several ancient sources (the Fourth Sibylline Oracle, the Babylonian Dynastic Prophecy, the writings of Aemilius Sura).

  2.37 King of kings, a title for Persian monarchs; see Ezra 7.12; Ezek 26.7.

  2.37–38 God’s power extends even to foreign rulers; see Gen 1.26; Ps 8.5–8; Jer 27.5–7; 28.14.

  2.38 See 4.12. The king is flattered as the head of gold, even though the statue will ultimately be destroyed.

  2.41 After the death of Alexander the Great, the Greek empire was divided among four of his generals. Judea was controlled by the Ptolemies until 198 BCE, then by the Seleucids; see 8.8; 11.4. Toes are not mentioned in the dream itself (vv. 31–35).

  2.42 It is brittle because it is baked clay.

  2.43 The Ptolemies and Seleucids unsuccessfully sought peace and stability between themselves through intermarriage; see 11.6–7, 17.

  2.44 Those kings, the kings of the fourth kingdom.

  2.45 A stone symbolizes the everlasting kingdom of God. The destruction of the statue symbolizes not only the fall of the kingdoms but also the destruction of idols.

  2.46 See Gen 17.3; Ezek 3.23. Worshiped. The RSV translated this “did homage,” but more than civic honor is implied; the specifically religious sense of the word is reinforced by the strictly religious terms grain offering and incense; see 3.5–7, 10, 15; 8.17; Isa 44.15–19; 46.6.

  2.47 A very brief doxology like vv. 20–23, but here it is spoken by the king, not Daniel.

  2.48 The hero is rewarded, a favorite f
olk-tale motif; see Gen 41.37–45; Esth 8.1–2.

  2.49 A literary link to 3.12.

  DANIEL 3

  The Golden Image

  1King Nebuchadnezzar made a goldenstatue whose height was sixty cubits and whose width was six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent for the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to assemble and come to the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3So the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. When they were standing before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, 4the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.” 7Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

  8Accordingly, at this time certain Chaldeans came forward and denounced the Jews. 9They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10You, O king, have made a decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden statue, 11and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. 12There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These pay no heed to you, O king. They do not serve your gods and they do not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

  13Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in; so they brought those men before the king. 14Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? 15Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good.a But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?”

  16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. 17If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.b 18But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

  The Fiery Furnace

  19Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, 20and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics,c their trousers,d their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.

  24Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 25He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.”e 26Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunicsf were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. 28Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” 30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

  next chapter

  * * *

  a Aram lacks well and good

  b Or If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, he will deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king.

  c Meaning of Aram word uncertain

  d Meaning of Aram word uncertain

  e Aram a son of the gods

  f Meaning of Aram word uncertain

  3.1–30 A legend of conflict between three Jewish courtiers and rival Babylonian wise men over acknowledging the divine sovereignty of the Babylonian king. The issue is resolved in a wondrous way in favor of God by a mysterious figure who protects the Jews from harm in the fire. Extensive use of repetition and hyperbole adds to the story’s folktale quality. The unified structure and Daniel’s absence suggest the story originated independently of the others in chs. 1–6, possibly in the late Persian or early Hellenistic period.

  3.1 Golden statue, of a Babylonian god or of the king; see Jdt 3.8; 6.2. The motif of the statue provides continuity with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in ch. 2. Colossal statues were widely used free-standing art forms in Egypt and Mesopotamia; Diodorus Siculus (first century BCE) and Herodotus (fifth century BCE) report a gold statue of Zeus (Bel?) in Babylon; see Isa 40.19; Jer 10.3–10. Sixty…six cubits, about 30 by 3 meters, obelisk-shaped; the proportions reflect the Babylonian sexagesimal number system. Dura in Aramaic or dûru in Babylonian, meaning “fortress” or “city wall,” is usually the first part of a place-name and is not to be identified with any specific place.

  3.2 The list of officials is given in order of precedence; the terms for prefects and governors derive from Akkadian, all others from Old Persian; see vv. 3, 27. Dedication. See 1 Kings 8.63; 2 Chr 7.9; Neh 12.27.

  3.4–6 The order to worship the statue creates a problem for the Jews, who cannot obey without breaching a basic tenet of their faith.

  3.4 Peoples, nations, and languages, a stereotyped phrase used as a rhetorical device to create hyperbole; e.g., vv. 7, 29; 4.1; 5.19; 7.14; Esth 1.22; 3.12; 8.9; Rev 5.9; 7.9.

  3.5 The list of instruments, used as hyperbole, is repeated in vv. 7, 10, 15; see 1 Chr 25.1. Lyre, a Greek loanword; an Asiatic variant of an instrument with three to twelve strings. Trigon, a triangular fourstringed instrument. Harp, a Greek loanword; an instrument with ten strings across a sound board. Drum. The Greek loanword symphonia usually means “harmony,” but it is attested as an instrument from 200 BCE; the RSV translated “bagpipe.” Fall down and worship, repeated in vv. 6, 11, 15; see 2.46.

  3.6 A known, but not common, form of execution; see Gen 38.24 (probably in an open fire, not in a furnace); Jer 29.21–22; 2 Macc 6.11; 7.5; 13.4–6.

  3.8 Chaldeans. See note on 1.4. Denounced, lit. “ate pieces of,” an idiom indicating maliciousness. This is not a false accusation, but one motivated by envy; see v. 12; 2.49; Esth 3.

  3.9 O king, live forever! See note on 2.4.

  3.12 See 2.49.
/>
  3.13–18 The interrogation repeats much of the accusation.

  3.13 Furious rage, a stock motif; see Esth 1.12; 7.7; 2 Macc 7.3.

  3.15 Who…hands. See 2 Kings 18.20–22, 29–35; Isa 36.13–20; 37.8–12.

  3.19 Seven times. An ordinary fire would have been sufficient; the extreme heat is stressed for hyperbole and to heighten drama.

  3.20 Strongest guards, hyperbole.

  3.21 Tunics…garments. The listing of clothing, similar to the listing of officials (v. 2) and musical instruments (v. 5), delays the plot and increases tension. Clothing would intensify the burning, thereby heightening the marvelous effect of the deliverance; see v. 27.

  3.22 The death of the other men confirms the peril facing the three Jews.

  3.23 Fell down…fire. The furnace has an opening in the top and a door (v. 26) near the bottom, like a kiln.

  3.25 A god, one of a class of beings associated with the divine council as attendants to the deity; see Gen 6.2; Job 1.6; 2.1; 38.7; Ps 29.1. The fourth figure is described as an angel in v. 28.

  3.26 Most High God, a title used by both Jews and non-Jews; see 4.2; Gen 14.19–20; Num 24.16; Deut 32.8; Isa 14.14; 1 Esd 6.31; 2 Macc 3.31; Mk 5.7; Acts 16.17.

  3.28 A doxology in the form of a short hymn of praise.