spake = answered. great Babylon . The German Orient Society's excavations during recent years have shown how "great" it was. See Records of the Past, vol. i, p, &c. that I have built . Everywhere this is repeated by Nebuchadnezzar on bricks, pavements, walls, &c. house of the kingdom = the royal palace. read more
Daniel 4:30. Is not this great Babylon that I have built— The circuit of this city is said to have been 360 stadia at least, or more than 45 miles, and Pliny extends it to 60 miles. Herodotus describes it as a square, each side of which was 120 stadia, or 480 in circumference: the height of its walls was 50 cubits according to the lowest reckoning, and the breadth of them such that six chariots a-breast, according to Diodorus, might drive along them. It was beautifully situated on the... read more
30. Babylon, that I have built—HERODOTUS ascribes the building of Babylon to Semiramis and Nitocris, his informant under the Persian dynasty giving him the Assyrian and Persian account. BEROSUS and ABYDENUS give the Babylonian account, namely, that Nebuchadnezzar added much to the old city, built a splendid palace and city walls. HERODOTUS, the so-called "father of history," does not even mention Nebuchadnezzar. (Nitocris, to whom he attributes the beautifying of Babylon, seems to have been... read more
31. While, c.—in the very act of speaking, so that there could be no doubt as to the connection between the crime and the punishment. So Luke 12:19 Luke 12:20. O king . . . to thee it is spoken—Notwithstanding thy kingly power, to thee thy doom is now spoken, there is to be no further respite. read more
5. The fulfillment of threatened discipline 4:28-33 read more
Archaeologists have discovered ancient documents in which Nebuchadnezzar boasted of the glory and splendor of Babylon. [Note: See Montgomery, pp. 243-44; and Archer, "Daniel," p. 65.] "The palace from which he surveyed Babylon was one of the citadels on the north side of the city. It had large courts, reception rooms, throne room, residences, and the famous hanging gardens, a vaulted, terraced structure with an elaborate water supply for its trees and plants, apparently built by Nebuchadnezzar... read more
No sooner had the king articulated his pride, than he heard a voice from heaven pronouncing the punishment that Daniel had warned might come upon him. Immediately something snapped in his mind and he became like an animal. "Hair as eagle feathers" pictures hair that is neglected and matted as well as long. He did not think to trim his fingernails and toenails, either. His judgment is a sobering reminder that we are all but a breath or a heartbeat from insanity, or death, but for God’s grace. It... read more
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream and its fulfilmentIn the form of a proclamation Nebuchadnezzar records his experience of the power of the Most high God (Daniel 4:1-3). He had a dream which none of his wise men could interpret (Daniel 4:4-7). He then called Daniel, and told him the dream, in which he had seen a lofty and spreading tree, which at the bidding of an angel had been cut down, its stump being bound among the grass for seven ’times’ (Daniel 4:8-18). Daniel explained that the tree was... read more
(30) Great Babylon.—The area of Babylon is said to have been 200 square miles. It was surrounded by walls 85 feet in width, 335 feet high. In these were brazen gates leading to various terraces which faced the river Euphrates. Within the walls the city was laid out in smaller towns, separated from each other by parks and plantations and gardens; in fact, it is stated that corn sufficient for the whole population could be grown within the walls. There were also magnificent public buildings.... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Daniel 4:1-37
Nebuchadnezzar’s madness (4:1-37)In this chapter Nebuchadnezzar recounts, for the benefit of his subjects, an experience that humbled his pride and brought him to acknowledge Yahweh as the one and only true God (4:1-3). It all began when Nebuchadnezzar had a puzzling dream. After getting no help from his Babylonian wise men, he told it to Daniel in the hope of discovering its meaning (4-9).The first thing that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream was a giant tree. It towered over the world and... read more