Daniel 3:2

"Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, 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 which Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 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 which Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up; and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a 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 peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up."

THE DEDICATION OF THE IMAGE

Of very great interest in this passage is the prominence of instrumental music in the ceremonies of pagan religious rites. It has ever been thus, and there can be no doubt whatever that this longtime association of instrumental music with paganism was one of the prime reasons why Jesus Christ did not include it in the New Testament worship which Our Lord established. This association of instruments of music with pagan religion continued unto the times of the apostles, when, for example, the Temple of Aphrodite Pan Demos, located atop the Acro Corinthus, encouraged the patronage of their one thousand sacred prostitutes by a cacophonous blast of instrumental music five times a day, signaling that, the prostitutes had changed their clothes and that another feast on the sacrifices had been made ready. In our own times, with the continued degeneration of the whole science of instrumental music into the vulgar rhythms and noisy cacophony of the current era, such later styles of instrumental music are impossible of reconciliation with any conception whatever of holy worship.

Another feature of this passage is the repeated list of the satraps, deputies, governors, etc. who were called to the dedication of the image. There are eight of the officers mentioned here, and "half of the names given here are Persian."[12] "It is argued that these words were used anachronously; but this does not follow, since Daniel published his book in the Persian period."[13] It would be an absurdity to suppose that some forger during the Greek period would have inserted all of these old Babylonian words. As Leupold stated, "These Persian names make it impossible to assume that this was written during the times of the Exile."[14] It is a characteristic of the Biblical style that the lists of the musical instruments are repeated in Daniel 3:5,7,15, and that the list of officers is repeated in Daniel 3:2,3,27.

In their diligent efforts to discover some evidence that Daniel was composed in the Greek period, some of the critics note that some of the musical instruments mentioned here had Greek names. So what? There were Greeks in Nebuchadnezzar's service; and there is ample evidence that Greek culture had penetrated the Babylonian culture. Those musical instruments with Greek names, "simply carried their Greek names with them, as in the case of similar cultural exchanges today, as in the instances of piano, viola, guitar, zither, etc."[15] There is additional comment on this in the Introduction.

In Daniel 3:5, the word "worship" is sometimes rendered "do homage to"; and from this, it has been alleged that this image was being dedicated to some god or goddess; but, as Leupold noted, "It is not required that such words should be so construed."[16] We believe that the image was the conceited expression of Nebuchadnezzar's boundless egotism.

The harsh penalty announced as punishment for any who refused to honor the king's edict was announced in Daniel 3:6; and in Daniel 3:7, it is revealed that all of the invited government officers indeed did as they had been commanded, that is, all except the three Hebrew companions! Apparently, this command to worship Nebuchadnezzar's image did not extend to all of the Jews, or to all of the people, but only to those who held positions of trust under Nebuchadnezzar's government.