Daniel 4:8

"But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of the dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it there was found food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches. Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. The sentence is by decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men. This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee."

THE DREAM TOLD TO DANIEL

The fact of Daniel's hearing in these verses the dream told for the first time surely indicates that he had not been present earlier when the king told his dream to the magicians, etc. There are several guesses as to why Daniel was not then present; but, as far as we have been able to determine, the sacred text has no hint of the reason.

Owens complained that the connection between the names Belteshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar's god "is unsupportable."[9] However, such an opinion is altogether presumptuous because of our total ignorance of which god the name is supposed to suggest. "My god in Daniel 4:8 is of uncertain identity. It may mean Bel as in Belteshazzar, or Nabu as in Nebuchadnezzar, or Marduk, chief patron god of Babylon and of the whole Babylonian pantheon."[10] On this account, we reject the speculative allegations such as that of Jeffery, who ascribed ignorance of the Babylonian language to some "later compiler!"[11] It is sufficient to note that Nebuchadnezzar who gave the name considered the connection genuine. Our ability to understand that connection is immaterial.

The suggestion of some commentators that Daniel was brought in last here in order to heighten the effect of his superior wisdom; but this explanation could hardly be correct. "It suggests the shaping of material to produce certain effects rather than the truthful reporting of exactly what happened,"[12] that latter alternative being, as we believe, what Daniel actually did.

Barnes discussed the singular mixture of monotheistic and polytheistic language in Nebuchadnezzar's words in this chapter, pointed out that Nebuchadnezzar had been a heathen all of his life, despite his also having some knowledge of the true God, and concluded that this unusual mixture of heathenism and true religion in the language of Nebuchadnezzar was "neither unnatural nor improbable."[13]

The reference to a great tree (Daniel 4:10) is in keeping with the fact that, "Great men and princes are often represented in the language of the prophets under the similitude of trees."[14]; Ezekiel 17:5,6; 31:3; Jeremiah 22:15; Psalms 1:3; and Psalms 37:35 are examples of this.

"Let seven times pass over him ..." (Daniel 4:16). The personal pronoun "him" indicates that the words passed over the vehicle (the tree) and focused upon the meaning of the symbol as applied to Nebuchadnezzar. There is a similar transition in Daniel 4:15, where, "The language passes from the type to the person represented by it."[15] It is a fact, of course, that "seven times" here has "a variety of possible meanings."[16] The expression appears to be idiomatic and could possibly refer to days, months, weeks, or years. However, there can be little doubt that the expression, as used here, means "seven years." The Septuagint (LXX) thus renders it.[17] Dummelow gave that as the meaning,[18] as did Jamieson[19] also, and many of the older expositors. Josephus also stated that the expression meant "seven years."[20] Certainly, neither days, weeks, or months would have allowed enough time for the developments that followed.

Some critics have a field day declaiming how this dream that came allegedly from God falls into terminology in Daniel 4:17a which appears to ascribe the decisions regarding the fate of men, not to God Almighty, but to certain ranks of angels said to characterize Babylonian mythology. Even Dummelow thought that the passage teaches that, "Angels are entrusted with the power of deciding the destinies of men."[21] Nothing like that is here. Keil's explanation of this is perfect:

"The heavenly information imparted to the king in this passage regarding the judgement that was to fall upon him from God to humble him for his pride was presented as "the resolution of the watchers," that it might be announced to him in the way most easily understood by him as a divine judgment."[22]

Daniel most certainly corrected any false notion the king might have had about the source of the decision against him in Daniel 4:24,25, where he clearly indicated that the decree came from the Most High.

"That the living may know ..." (Daniel 4:17). The purpose of God is seen in this, that purpose being to spread the true knowledge of Himself throughout the whole Gentile world of that era. This has a definite bearing upon the need for just such a wonder as is here recorded. The king, of course, cooperated with this by giving the decree the widest possible circulation. The purpose of the king's dream and the decree that circulated the knowledge of it was that of, "making known the supremacy of the God worshipped by the Hebrews."[23]

Translators have had difficulty with "stump of the roots" from the earliest times. Martin Luther's rendition has been followed by many, making it, "the stump with its roots."[24] Actually, the meaning is clear either way.

"The sentence is ... to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men ..." (Daniel 4:17b). "This verse which solemnly declares God's sovereign providential control over the course of human history is the core of the Book of Daniel (Compare: Isaiah 40:15ff; Proverbs 21:1; Romans 13:1; and Acts 17:24-26)."[25] Nebuchadnezzar indeed could repeat this message even before the interpretation; but, "He was blinded to the fact that he was one of the lowliest of men who acted upon the consent of the Most High."[26] It was only after the "seven times" had passed over him that the king could appreciate the full meaning of the dream.

The expression "King Nebuchadnezzar" appears a number of times in this chapter, which is a slight variation from "Nebuchadnezzar the king." Of course, Biblical enemies would like to make a big issue out of this and postulate various sources, or interpolations, or anything else that might be construed as discrediting the sacred text. Leupold discussed such efforts, concluding that, "Efforts of this sort to cast doubt upon the Biblical text must be branded as what they are, unscientific."[27]