THE chapter professes to be an edict published by Nebuchadnezzar after his recovery from a long period of insanity which was brought upon him for his pride. The edict was promulgated with a view to lead men to acknowledge the true God. It states, in general, that the approach of his calamity was made known to him in a dream, which was interpreted by Daniel; that his own heart had been lifted up with pride in view of the splendid city which he had built; that the predicted malady came suddenly upon him, even while he was indulging in these proud reflections; that he was driven away from the abodes of men, a poor neglected maniac; that he again recovered his reason, and then his throne: and that the God who had thus humbled him, and again restored him. was the true God, and was worthy of universal adoration and praise. The edict, therefore, embraces the following parts:
I. The reason why it was promulgated — to show to all people, dwelling in all parts of tho earth, the great things which the high God had done towards him, vs. 1 — 3.
II. The statement of the fact that he had had a dream which greatly alarmed him, and which lone of the Chaldean soothsayers had been able to interpret, vs. 4 — 7.
III. The statement of the dream in full to Daniel, vs. 8 — 18.
IV. The interpretation of the dream by Daniel — predicting the fact that he would become t maniac, and would be driven from his throne and kingdom, and compelled to take up nil abode with the beasts of the field — a poor neglected outcast, vs. 19 — 20.
V. The solemn and faithful oounfel of Daniel to him to break off Li* fine, and to become a righteous man, if possibly the terrible calamity might be averted. \er. 'J7.
VI. The fulfilment of the prediction of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar was walking on his palnce, and, in the pride of his heart, surveying the great city which he had built, and suddenly a voice from heaven addressed him announcing that his kingdom had departed, and his reason left him, vs. 28—33.
VII. At the end of the appointed time, his reason was restored, and he gratefully acknow ledged the divine sovereignty, and was again reinstated on his throne, vs. 34 — 36.
VIII. for all this he says that he praised the God of heaven, for he had learned that all his works are truth, and his ways judgment, and that those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, a un to all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace b be multiplied unto you.
1. Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, Ac. The Syriac here has, 'Ne buchadnezzar the king wrote to all peo ple/ <fec. Many manuscripts in the Chaldce have rhv — sent, and some have 3ro — wrote, but neither of these readings are probably genuine, nor are they necessary. The passage is rather a part of the edict of the king than a narrative of tbe author of the book, and in such an edict the comparatively abrupt style of the present reading would be that which would be adopted. The Septuagint has inserted here a historical statement of the fact that Nebuchadnezzar did actually issue such an edict: " And Nebuchadnezzar, the king, wrote an encyclical epistle — «Tr«rroA»7i> eyKVK\iof — to all those nations in every place, and to the regions, and to all the tongues that dwell in all countries, generations and generations: ' Nebuchad nezzar the king,'" &c. But nothing of this is in the original, ^f Unto all people, na tions, and languages that dwell in all the earth. That is, people speaking all the languages of the earth. Many nations were under the sceptre of the king of Babylon, but it would seem that he designed this as a general proclamation, not only to those who were embraced in his empire, but to all the people of the world. Such a proclamation would be much in accordance with the Oriental style. Comp. Notes on ch. iii. 4. ^ Peace be multiplied unto you. This is in accor dance with the usual Oriental salutation. Comp. Gen. xliii. 23; Judges vi. 23; 1. Sain. xxv. 6; Ps. cxxii. 7; Luke x. 5 j
2 c I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high d God hath wrought toward me.
Eph. vi. 23; 1. Pet. i. 2. This is the salu tation with which one meets another now in the Oriental world — the same word still being retained, Shalom, or tialam. Tho idea seemed to be, that every blessing was found in peace, and every evil in conflict and war. The expression included the wish that they might be preserved from all that would disturb them; that they might be contented, quiet, prosperous, and happy. When it is said 'peace be multiplied,' the wish is that it might abound, or that they might be blessed with the numberless mercies which peace produces.
2. / thought it good. Marg., it wa» seemly before me. The marginal reading is more in accordance with the original — ^7i?. ">v^« The proper meaning of the Chaldee word — -\$ir — is to be fair or beautiful, and the sense here is that it seemed to him to be appropriate or be coming to make this public proclamation. It was fit and right that what God had done to him should be proclaimed to all nations. ^[ To show the signs and tconders. Signs and wonders as denoting mighty miracles, are not unfrequently connected in the Scriptures. See Ex. vii. 3; Deut. iv. 34, xii. 1, xxxiv. 11; Isa. viii. 18; Josh, xxxii. 20. The word rendered signs, Heb. nix, Chaldee PK, means properly a sign, as something significant, or some thing that points out or designates any thing, as Gen. i. 14, "Shall be for eiynt and for seasons;" that is, signs of sea sons. Then the word denotes an ensign, a military flag, Num. ii. 2; then a sign of
3 How great are his a signs! and how mighty are his b wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting cking-
something past, a token or remembrancer, and wonderful are the things by which Ex. xiii. 9, 16; Deut. vi. 8; then a sign he makes himself known in this manner! of something future, a portent, an omen, The allusion is doubtless to what had oc- Isa. viii. 18; then a sign or token of what curred to himself— the event by which a is visible, as circumcision, Gen. xvii. 7,: monarch of such state and power had or the rainbow in the cloud, as a token of the covenant which God made with man, Gen. ix. 12; then anything which serves as a sign or proof of the fulfilment of prophecy, Ex. iii. 12, 1 Sam. ii. 34; and then it refers to anything which is a sign or proof of divine power, Deut. iv. 34, vi. 2.2, vii. 19, et al The Hebrew word is commonly rendered signs, but it is also rendered token, ensign, miracles. As ap plied to what God does, it seems to be used in the sense of anything that is sig nificant of his presence and power; any thing that shall manifestly show that what been reduced to a condition so humble. With propriety he would regard this as a signal instance of the divine interpo sition, and as adapted to give him an exalted view of the supremacy of the true God. ^[ And how mighty are his won ders! The wonderful events which ho does; the things fitted to produce admi ration and astonishment. Comp. Ps. Ixxii. 18, Ixxxvi. 10; Isa. xxv. 1. ^ His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Nebu chadnezzar was doubtless led to this re flection by what had occurred to him. He, the most mighty monarch then on occurs is done by him; anything that is earth, had seen that his throne had no beyond human ability, and that makes! stability; he had seen that God had power known the being and the perfections of i at his will to bring him down from his God by a direct and extraordinary mani- i lofty seat, and to transfer his authority festation. Here the meaning is, that what j to other hands; and he was naturally led was clone in so remarkable a manner, was to reflect that the throne of God was the signijicant of the agency of God; it was that which demonstrated that he exists, and that showed his greatness. The word rendered iconders — npjji — means properly that which is fitted to produce astonish ment, or to lead one to wonder; and is applied to miracles as adapted to produce that effect. It refers to that state of mind which exists where anything occurs out of the ordinary course of nature, or which indicates supernatural power. The He brew word rendered wonders is often used to denote miracles, Ex. iii. 20, vii. 3, xi. 9; Deut. vi. 22, tt al. The meaning here is, that what had occurred was fitted to ex cite amazement, and to lead men to won only one that was stable and permanent. He could not but be convinced that God reigned over all, and that his kingdom was not subject to the vicissitudes which occur in the kingdoms of this world. There have been few occurrences on the earth better adapted to teach this lesson than this. ^[ And his dominion is from generation to generation. That is, it is perpetual. It is not liable to be arrested as that of man is, by death; it does not pass over from one family to another as an earthly sceptre often does. The same sceptre; the same system of laws; the same providential arrangements; the same methods of reward and punishment, have always existed under his govern ment, and will continue to do so to the or lifted up; that is, the God who is above cn* of time' ^here is PerhaPs no more all. See eh. iii. 26. T> - — -««-ii.»i— | sublime view that can be taken of the
It is an appellation \ which would be given to God as the Su preme Being. The Greek translation of this verse is, "And now I show unto you the deeds — jr/iufeij — which the great God has done unto me, for it seemed good to me to show to you and your wise men — "
government of God than this. All earthly princes die; all authority lodged in the hands of an earthly monarch is soon with drawn. No one is so mighty that he can prolong his own reign; and no one can make his own authority extend to the j next generation. Earthly governments, j therefore, however mighty, are of short 3. How great are his tigns! How great j duration; and history is made up of the
4 fl I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed
records of a great number of such ad ministrations, many of them exceedingly brief, and of very various character. The sceptre falls from the hand of the mon arch, never to be resumed by him again; another grasps it to retain it also but a little time, and then he passes away. But the dominion of God is in all generations the same. This generation is under the government of the same sovereign who reigned when Semiramis or Numa lived; and though the sceptre has long since fallen from the hands of Alexander and the Caesars, yet the same God, who ruled in their age, is still on the throne.
4. I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest. Some manuscripts in the Greek add here, " In the eighteenth year of his reign, Nebu chadnezzar said." These words, however, are not in the Hebrew, and are of no au thority. The word rendered 'at rest' — rhw — means to be secure; to be free from apprehension or alarm. He designs to describe a state of tranquillity and secu rity. Gr. at peace — tiprivsvwv. — enjoying peace, or in a condition to enjoy peace. His wars were over; his kingdom was tranquil; he had built a magnificent capi tal; he had gathered around him the wealth and the luxuries of the world, and he was now in a condition to pass away the remainder of his life in ease and happiness, f In mine house. In his royal residence. It is possible that the two words here — house and palace — may refer to somewhat different things: the for mer — house — more particularly to his own private family — his domestic relations as a man; and the latter— palace — to those connected with the government who re sided in his palace. If this is so, then the passage would mean that all around him was peaceful, and that from no source had he any cause of disquiet. In his own private family — embracing his wife and children; and in the arrangements of the palace — embracing those who bad charge of public affairs, he had no cause of un easiness. ^[ And flourishing in my palace. Or. tiSfji'to*' iiri TOV Spdrou ftov — literally, abundant upon my throne;' that is, he and the visions of my head troubled
6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Baby lon before me, that they might make
was tranquil, calm, prosperous, on his throne. The Chaldee word — UJn — means properly green, as, for example, of leaves or foliage. Comp. the Hebrew word in Jer. xvii. 8: " He shall be as a tree planted by the waters — her leaf shall be green." Deut. xii. 2. "Under every green tree," 2 Kings xvi. 4. A green and flourishing tree becomes thus the em blem of prosperity. See Ps. i. 3, xxxvii. 35, xcii. 12 — 14. The general meaning here is, that he was enjoying abundant prosperity. His kingdom was at peace, and in his own home he had every means of tranquil enjoyment.
5. / saic a dream. That is, he saw a representation made to him in a dream. There is something incongruous in our language in saying of one that he saw a dream. ^[ Which made me afraid. The fear evidently arose from the apprehen sion that it was designed to disclose some important and solemn event. This was in accordance with a prevalent belief then (comp. ch. ii. 1), and it may be added that it is in accordance with a prevalent be lief now. There are few persons, what ever may be their abstract belief, who are not more or less disturbed by fearful and solemn representations passing before the mind in the visions of the night. Comp. Job iv. 12—17, xxxiii. 14, 15. So Virgil (2En. iv. 9.)
^[ And the thoughts upon my bed. The thoughts which I had upon my bed; to wit, in my dream, ^f And the visions of m$ head. "What I seemed to see. The vision seemed to be floating around his head. ^f Troubled me. Disturbed me; produced apprehension of what was to come: of some great and important event.
6. Therefore made I a decree. The word here rendered decree — n>?K — means commonly taste, flavour, as of wine; then judgment, discernment, reason; and then a judgment of a king, a mandate, edict. Comp. ch. iii. 10. The primary notion seems to be that of a delicate tatte en*
known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
7 Then a came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the inter pretation thereof.
abling one to determine the qualities of wines, viands, <fec.; and then a delicate and nice discrimination in regard to the qualities of actions. The word thus ex presses a sound and accurate judgment, and is applied to a decree or edict, as de clared by one who had the qualifications to express such a judgment. Here it means that he issued a royal order to summon into his presence all who could be supposed to be qualified to explain the dream. The Greek (Cod. Chisian.) omits verses 6, 7, 8, and 9. ^[ To bring in all the wise men, &c. Particularly such as are enumerated in the following verse. Comp. ch. ii. 12. It was in accordance with his habit thus to call in the wise men who were retained at court to give counsel, and to explain those things which seemed to be an intimation of the divine will. See Notes on ch. ii. 2. Comp. also Gen. xli. 8.
7. Then came in the magicians, &c. All the words occurring here are found in ch. ii. 2, and are explained in the Notes on that verse, except the word rendered soothsayers. This occurs in ch. ii. 27. See it explained in the Notes on that verse. All these words refer to the same general class of persons — those who were regarded as endued with eminent wisdom; who were supposed to be qualified to ex plain remarkable occurrences, to foretel the future, and to declare the will of heaven from portents and wonders. At a time when there was yet a limited re velation; when the boundaries of science were not determined with accuracy; when it was not certain but that some way might be ascertained of lifting the myste rious veil from the future, and when it was an open question whether that might not be by dreams or by communication with departed spirits, or by some undis closed secrets of nature, it was not un natural that persons should be found who claimed that this knowledge was under their control. Such claimants to preter- 18*
8 1[ But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name b was Belteshazzar. according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit c of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,
natural knowledge are found indeed in every age; and though a large portion of them are undoubted deceivers, yet the existence of such an order of persons should be regarded as merely the eo-j-jonent of the deep and earnest desire exist ing in the human bosom to penetrate the mysterious future; to find something that shall disclose to man, all whose great in terests lie in the future, what is yet to be. Comp. the remarks at the close of ch. ii. 5J And I told the dream before them, &c. In their presence. In this instance he did not lay on them so hard a requisition as he did on a former occasion, when he required them not only to interpret the dream, but to tell him what it was. ch. ii. But their pretended power here was equally vain. Whether they attempted an interpretation of this dream does not appear; but if they did, it was wholly un satisfactory to the king himself. It would seem more probable that they supposed that the dream might have some reference to the proud monarch himself, and that, as it indicated some awful calamity, they did not dare to hazard a conjecture in regard to its meaning.
8. But at the last. After the others had shown that they could not interpret the dream. Why Daniel was not called with the others does not appear; nor is it said in what manner he was at last summoned into the presence of the king. It is pro bable that his skill on a former occasion (ch. ii.) was remembered, and that when all the others showed that they had no power to interpret the dream, he was called in by Nebuchadnezzar. The Latin Vulgate renders this, Donee collega ingressus est — " until a colleague entered." The Greek I'wf, until. Aquila and Syinmachus render it, 'until another entered before me, Daniel.' The common ver sion expresses the sense of the Chaldee, with sufficient accuracy, though a more literal translation would be, ' until after wards.' Whose name was JBelteshasxar*
9 0 Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth athee, tell
That is, this was the name which he bore at court, or which had been given him by the Chaldeans. See Notes on ch. i. 7. ^[ According to the name of my God. That is, the name of my God Bel, or Belus, is incorporated in the name given to him. This is referred to here, probably, to show the propriety of thus invoking his aid; because he bore the name of the God whom the monarch had adored. There would seem to be a special fitness in eutnmoninghim before him to explain what was supposed to be an intimation of the will of the God whom he worshipped. There is a singular, though not unnatural, mixture of the sentiments of heathenism and of the true religion in the expressions which this monarch uses in this chapter. He had been a heathen all his life. Yet he had had some knowledge of the true God, and had been made to feel that he was worthy of universal adoration and praise. ch. ii. That, in this state of mind, he should alternately express such senti ments as were originated by heathenism, and those which spring from just views of God, is not unnatural or improbable. ^ And in whom is the spirit of the holy (jods. It is not easy to determine who he meant by the holy gods. It would seem probable that this was such language as was dictated by the fact that he had been an idolater. He had been brought to feel that the God whom Daniel wor shipped, and by whose aid he had been enabled to interpret the dream, was a true God, and was worthy of universal ho mage; but perhaps his ideas were still much confused, and he only regarded him as superior to all others, though he did not intend to deny the real existence of others. It might be true, in his ap prehension, that there were other gods, though the God of Daniel was supreme, and perhaps he meant to say that the spirit of all the gods was in Daniel: — that in an eminent degree he was the favourite of heaven, and that he was able to interpret any communication which name from the invisible world. It is per haps unnecessary to observe here that the word spirit has no intended reference to the Holy Spirit. It is probably used with reference to the belief that the gods were accustomed to impart wisdom and knowledge to certain men, and may mean that the very spirit of wisdom and know ledge which dwelt in the gods themselves seemed to dwell in the bosom of Daniel. ^f And before him I told the dream. Not requiring him, as he did before (ch. ii.), to state both the dream and its meaning.
9. 0 Uclteshazzar, master of the magi cians. ' Master' in the sense that he was first among them, or was superior to them all. Or perhaps he still retained office at the head of this class of men — the office to which he had been appointed when he interpreted the former dream, ch. ii. 48. The word rendered master — Dn — Rab, is that which was applied to a teacher, a chief, or a great man among the Jews — from whence came the title Jiabbi. Comp. ch. ii. 48, v. 11. ^[ Because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. This he had learned by the skill which he had shown in interpreting his dream on a former occasion, ch. ii. ^ And no secret troubleth thee. That is, so troubles you that you cannot explain it; it is not be yond your power to disclose its significa tion. The word rendered secret — T^ — occurs in ch. ii. 18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 30, 47. It is not elsewhere found. It means that which is hidden, and has reference here to the concealed truth or intimation of the divine will couched under a dream. The word rendered ' troubleth the?' — D3N — means, to urge, to press, to compel; and the idea here is, that it did not so press upon him as to give him anxiety. It was an easy matter for him to disclose its meaning. Gr. " No mystery is be yond your power" — OIIK divvarzt at. ^ Tell me the visions of my dream. The nature of the vision, or the purport of what I have seen. He seems to have desired to know what sort of a vision he should regard this to be, as well as its interpretation — whether as an intimation of the divine will, or as an ordinary dream. The Greek and Arabic render this, "Hear the vision of my dream, and tell me the interpretation thereof." This accords better with the probable meaning of tuo
10 Thus were the visions of my 11 The tree grew, and was strong, head in ray bed; I a saw, and be- and the height thereof reached unto hold a btree in the midst of the j heaven, and the sight thereof to tho earth, and the height thereof icas end of all the earth.
10. Thus were the visions of my head in my bed. These are the things which I saw upon my bed. When he says that they were the 'visions of his head,' he states a doctrine which was then doubt less regarded as the truth, that the head is the seat of thought. ^ I saw. Marg., Was seeing. Chald. ' seeing I saw.' The phrase would imply attentive and calm contemplation. It was not a flitting vision; it was an object which he con templated deliberately so as to retain a distinct remembrance of its form and appearance, ^f And behold a tree in the midst of the earth. Occupying a central position on the earth. It seems to have been by itself — remote from any forest: to have stood alone. Its central position, no less than its size and proportions, attracted his attention. Such a tree, thus towering to the heavens, and send ing out its branches afar, and affording a shade to the beasts of the field, and a home to the fowls of heaven, (ver. 12,) was a striking emblem of a great and mighty monarch, and it undoubtedly occurred to Nebuchadnezzar at once that the vision had some reference to himself. Thus in Ezek. xxxi. 3, the Assyrian king is compared with a magnificent cedar: " Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature, and his top was among the thick boughs." Comp. also Ezek. xvii. 22 — 24, where " the high tree and the green tree" refer proba bly to Nebuchadnezzar. See Notes on Isa. ii. 13. Comp. Isa. x. 18, 19; Jer. xxii. 7, 23. Homer often compares his heroes to trees. Hector, felled by a stone, is compared with an oak overthrown by a thunderbolt. The fall of Simoisius is compared by him to that of a poplar, and that of Euphorbus to the fall of a beautiful olive. Nothing is more obvious than the comparison of a hero with a lofty tree of the forest, and hence it was natural for Nebuchadnezzar to suppose
12 The. leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it
that this vision had a reference to him self. ^ And the height thereof was great. In the next verse it is said to have reached to heaven.
11. The tree grew. Or the tree was great — n:n. It does not mean that tho tree grew while he was looking at it so as to reach to the heaven, but that it stood before him in all its glory, its top reach ing to the sky, and its branches extend ing afar. ^[ And was strong. It was well proportioned, with a trunk adapted to its height, and to the mass of boughs and foliage which it bore. The strength here refers to its trunk, and to the fact that it seemed fixed firmly in the earth. ^[ And the height thereof reached unto hea ven. To the sky; to the region of the clouds. The comparison of trees reach ing to heaven, is common in Greek and Latin authors. Grotius. Comp. Virgil's description of Fame.
Mox sesc attollit in auras, Ingreditur solo, et caput inter nubila condit. <3Zn. iv. 176.
1[ And the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. It could be seen, or was visi ble in all parts of the earth. The Greek here for sight is Kvro$, breadth, capacious ness. Herodotus (Polymnia) describes a vision remarkably similar to this, as in dicative of a wide and universal mon archy, respecting Xerxes: " After these things there was a third vision in his sleep, which the magicians — payoi — hear ing of, said that it pertained to all the earth, and denoted that all men would be subject to him. The vision was this: Xerxes seemed to be crowned with a branch of laurel, and the branches of laurel seemed to extend through all the earth." The vision which Nebuchadnez zar had here of a tree so conspicuous as to be seen from any part of the world, was one that would be naturally applied to a sovereign having a universal sway.
was meat for all: the beasts a of the 13 I saw in the visions of my head field had i> shadow under it, and the upon my bed, and, behold, a c watcher fowls of the heaven dwelt in the j and a dholy one came down from
boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
and green, and there wore no signs of decay. Every thing indicated a vigorous and healthy growth — a tree in its full beauty and majesty — a striking emblem of a monarch in his glory. ^T And the fruit thereof much. It was loaded with fruit — showing that the tree was in its full vigour. <H And in it was meat for all. Food for all — for so the word meat was formerly used. This would indicate the dependence of the multitudes on him whom the tree represented, and would also denote that he was a liberal dis penser of his favours. ^[ The beasts of the field had shadow under it. Found a grateful shade under it in the burning heat of noon — a striking emblem of the blessings of a monarchy affording protec tion, and giving peace to all under it. 5[ And the folds of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof. The fowls of the air. They built their nests and reared their young there undisturbed — another strik ing emblem of the protection afforded under the great monarchy designed to be represented. <[ And all Jlesh was fed of it. All animals; all that lived. It fur nished protection, a home, and food for all. Bertholdt renders this "all men." In the Greek Codex (Chisian.) there is the following version or paraphrase given of this passage: ' Its vision was great, its top reached to the heaven, and its breadth — KVTOS — to the clouds — they filled the things — TO. — under the heaven — there was a sun and moon, they dwelt in it, and enlightened all the earth.'
13. / saw in the visions of my head upon my bed. In the visions that passed before me as I lay upon my bed. ver. 10. ^[ And behold a watcher and a holy one. Or ra ther, perhaps, 'even a holy one/ or, 'who was a holy one.' He evidently does not intend to refer to **"« beings — a 'watcher,' and ' one who was holy,' but he means to designate the character of the watcher, that he was holy, or that he was one of 'he class of 'watchers' who were ranked as holy — as if there were others to whom Ihe name ' watcher' might be applied who were not holy. So Bertholdt, 'not two, but only one, who was both a watcher, and was holy; one of those known as watchers and as holy ones.' The copulative (i) and may be so used as to denote not an additional one or thing, but to specify something in addition to, or in explanation of, what the name ap plied would indicate. Cornp. 1 Sam. xxviii. 3; "In Raman, even (^) in hia own city." 1 Sam. xvii. 40: " And put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even (•)) in a scrip." Comp. Ps. Ixviii. 10; Amos Hi. 11, iv. 10; Jer. xv. 13; Isa. ii. 13, 14; Ivii. 11; Ecc. viii. 2. Gesenius, Lex. The word rendered watcher — *vjj — is rendered in the Vulgate, vigil; in the Greek of Theodotion the word is re tained without an attempt to translate it — tip', the Codex Chisianus has ayyeAoj — ' an angel was sent in his strength from heaven.' The original word — n^ — means properly a watcher, from Tip, to be hot and ardent; then to be lively, or ac tive, and then to awake, to be awake, to be awake at night, to watch. Comp. Cant. v. 2: Mai. ii. 12. The word used here is employed to denote one who watches, only in this chapter of Daniel, vs. 13, 17, 23. It is in these places evidently applied to the angels, but why this term is used is unknown. Gesenius (Lex.) supposes that it is given to them as watch ing over the souls of men. Jerome (in loc.) says that the reason why the name is given, is, because they always watch, and are prepared to do the will of God. According to Jerome, the Greek tpta — Iris — as applied to the rainbow, and which seems to be a heavenly being sent down to the earth, is derived from this word. Comp. the Iliad, ii. 27. Theodoret says that the name is given to an angel, to denote that the angel is without a body — aawparov — ' for he that is encom passed with a body is the servant of sleep, but he that is free from a body is superior to the necessity of sleep.' The term watchers, as applied to the celestial
14 He cried a aloud, and said thus, | away from under it, and the fowls Hew b down the tree, and cut off his from his branches:
beings, is of Eastern origin, and not improbably was derived from Persia. "The seven Amhaspands received their name on account of their great, holy
15 Nevertheless, leave the c stump of his roots in the earth, even with
possibly the command may be understood as addressed to his fellow-watchers (ver. 17), or to orders of angels over whom this one presided. IT And cut off his
/yes, and so, generally, all the heavenly j branches, &c. The idea here, and in the Izeds watch in the high heaven over j subsequent part of the verse, is, that the the world, and the souls of men, and | tree was to be utterly cut up, and all its on this account are called the watchers j glory and beauty destroyed. It was first of the world." Zendavesta, as quoted by j to be felled, and then its limbs chopped Bertholdt, in loc. " The Bun-Dehesh, a | off, and then these were to be stripped of commentary on the Zendavesta, contains i their foliage, and then the fruit which it an extract from it, which shows clearly j bore was to be scattered. All this was the name and object of the icatchers in \ strikingly significant, as applied to the the ancient system of Zoroaster. It runs! monarch, of some awful calamity that was thus: ' Ormuzd has set four watchers in! to occur to him after he should have been the four parts of the heavens, to keep j brought down from his throne. A process their eye upon the host of the stars, of humiliation and desolation was to con- They are bound to keep watch over the | tinue, as if the tree when cut down were hosts of the celestial stars. One stands i not suffered to lie quietly in its grandeur here, as the watcher of his circle; the other there. He has placed them at such and such posts, as watchers over such and upon the earth. ^ Let the leasts get away, &c. That is, it shall cease to afford a shade to the beasts and a home to the fowls.
such a circle of the heavenly regions; i The purposes which it had answered in and this by his own power and might, the days of its glory will come to an end. Tashter guards the east, Satevis watches 15. Nevertheless, leave the stump of Ms the west, Venant the south, and Haftorang i roots in the earth. As of a tree that is the north.' " Rhode, Die heilige Sage! not wholly dead, hut which may send up des Zendvolks, p. 267, as quoted by Prof.! suckers and shoots again. See Notes on Stuart, in loc. " The epithet good is pro- | Isa. xi. 1. In Theodotion this is, rfiv bably added here to distinguish this class j ^v r&v fns-uv — the nature, germ. Schleusof watchers from the bad ones; for Ahri- j ner renders the Greek, 'the trunk of its man, the evil genius, had Archdeva and j roots.» The Vulgate is, germen radicum Dews, who corresponded in rank with the, ejus, 'the germ of his roots.' The Codex Amhaspands and Izeds of the Zendavesta,; Chis. has pi^av plat* a^sre aiirof, ev r>7 yn:
terms, as applicable to celestial beings, would be known in the kingdom of Ba bylon, and nothing is more natural than that it should be so used in this book. It is not found in any of the books of pure Hebrew.
'leave one of his roots in the earth.' The original Chaldee word — ~\$% — means a stump, trunk (Gesenius); the Hebrew — "TO — tne same word with different pointing, means a shrub, or shoot. It occurs only once in Hebrew, (Lev. xxv. 47,) where it is applied to the stock of a family, or to a person sprung from a for eign family resident in the Hebrew ter ritory: "the stock of the stranger's
Chaldee, with might. That is, he cried with a strong Voice, f Hew down the tree, family." The Chaldee form of the word This command does not appear to have j °ccurs only in Ban. iv. 15, 23, 26, renbeen addressed to any particular ones dered in each Place 8tlimP> Jet not meanwho were to execute the commission, but I ing stump in the sense in which that it is a strong and significant way of say- j word is now commonly employed. The ing that it would certainly be done. Or | word ttump now means the stub of a
a band of iron and brass, in the ten der grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let
tree; the part of the tree remaining in the earth, or projecting above it, after the tree is cut down, without any reference to the question whether it be alive or dead. The word here used im plies that it was still alive, or that there was a germ which would send up a new shoot so that the tree would live again. The idea is, that though the mighty tree would fall, yet there would remain vitality in the root, or the portion that would re main in the earth after the tree was cut down, and that this would spring up again — a most striking image of what would occur to Nebuchadnezzar after he should be cast down from his lofty throne, and be again restored to his reason and to power. ^[ Even with a band of iron and brass. This expression may be regarded as applicable either to the cut-down tree, or to the humbled monarch. If applied to the former, it would seem that the idea is, that the stump or root of a tree, deemed so valuable, would be carefully secured by an enclosure of iron or brass, either in the form of a hoop placed round the top of the stump, to preserve it from be ing opened or cracked by the heat of the sun, so as to admit moisture, which would rot it; or around the roots, to bind it to gether, with the hope that it would grow again; or it may refer to a railing or en closure of iron or brass, to keep it from being ploughed or dug up as worth less. In either case, it would be guarded with the hope that a tree so valuable might spring up again. If applied to the monarch — an explanation not inconsistent with the proper interpretation of the pas sage — it would seem to refer to some me thod of securing the royal maniac in bonds of iron and brass, as with the hope that his reason might still be restored, or with a view to keeping him from inflicting fatal injury on himself. That the thing here re ferred to might be practised in regard to a valuable tree cut down, or broken down, is by no means improbable; that it might be practised in reference to the monarch is in accordance with the manner in which the insane have been treated in all ages and countries. ^[ In the tender grass of the field. Out of doors; under no shelter; exposed to dews and rains. The stump his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: would remain in the open field where the grass grew, until it should shoot up again; and in a condition strongly resembling that, the monarch would be excluded from his palace and from the abodes of men. For the meaning of this, as ap plied to Nebuchadnezzar, see Notes on ver. 25. The word which is rendered tender grass, means simply young grass or herbage. No emphasis should be put on the word tender. It simply means that he would be abroad, where the grass springs up and grows, ^ And let it be wet tvith the dew of heaven. As applied to the tree, meaning that the dew would fall on it and continually moisten it. The falling of the dew upon it would contri bute to preserve it alive and secure its growth again.. In a dry soil, or if there were no rain or dew, the germ would die. It cannot Le supposed that in regard to the monarch it could be meant that his remaining under the dew of heaven would in any way contribute to restore his rea son, but all that is implied in regard to him is the fact that he would thus be an outcast. The word rendered 'let it be we? —)?3$9^. from J?JX — means to dip in; to immerse; to tinge; to dye; though the word is not found in the latter senses in the Chaldec. In the Targuns it is often used for 'to dye, to colour.' The word occurs only in this chapter of Daniel (vs. 15, 25, 33), and is in each place rendered in the same way. It is not used in the Hebrew scripture in the sense of to dye or tinge, except in the form of a noun — yrnf — in Judges v. 20: "to Sisera a prey of divers colors, a prey of divers co lors of needle-work, of divers colors of needle-work." In the passage before us, of course, there is no allusion of this kind, but the word means merely that the stump of the tree would be kept moist with the dew; as applicable to the tree that it might be more likely to sprout up again. ^[ And let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of tJie earth. Here is a change evidently from the tree to some thing represented by the tree. We could not say of a tree that its < portion was with the beasts in the grass,' though in the confused and incongruous images of a be given unto him; and let seven times b pass over him.
17 This matter is by the decree
16 Let his heart be changed •from man's, and let a beast's heart
dream, nothing would be more natural a year, or any other measure of duration, than such a change from a tree to some What measurement or portion is inobject represented by it, or having some tended in any particular case, must be resemblance to it. It is probable that it j determined from the connection in which was this circumstance that particularly; the word is found. The word used here attracted the attention of the monarch; j,joes not occur in the Hebrew scripture, for though the dream began with a tree, \ and js found only in the book of Daniel, it ended with reference to a person, and: WQere it is uniformly rendered time and evidently some one whose station would times. It is found only in the following be well represented by such a magnificent j places, Dan. ii. 8, " that ye would gain and solitary tree. The sense here is, 'let ihe time;" ii. 9, "till the time bo him share the lot of beasts; let him live as they do;' that is, let him live on grass. Coinp. ver. 25.
16. Let his heart be changed from man' 's, pass over him;" 25, 32, "seven times and let a Least's heart be given unto him. j shall pass over him;" vii. 12, "for a sea- Here the same thing occurs in a more j S0n and time;" vii. 28, "until a fi'me, marked form, showing that some was represented by the vision, and indi cating some change which was fitted to attract the deepest attention — as if the and times, and the dividing of time." In the place before us, so far as the meaning of the word is concerned, it might mean a day, a week, a month, or a year. The person referred to should cease to be I more common interpretation is that which a man, and become a beast. The word supposes that it was a year, and this will agree better with all the circumstances of his nature or propensity cease to be that j the case than any other period. The of a man, and become like that of a beast;
let him cease to act as a man. and act as the beasts do — evincing as little mind, and living in the same manner.' ^ And In this condition, or until he is restored. It is
Greek of Theodotion here is, *al icaipol aXXayrjaoirai iir avrbv — 'And seven times shall change upon him;' that is, until seven seasons revolve over him. The most natural construction of this not indeed said that he would be restored,
Greek phrase would be to refer it to years. The Latin Vulgate interprets it but this is implied (a) in the very expres- | in a s;raiiar way_et septem tempora sion 'until seven times shall pass over I mutentur super eum— 'And let seven
~ j times be changed' or revolve 'over him.' In the Cod. Chis. it is, Kal irrra srrj /?oa<f^3)7, j avf avrois — ' and let him feed with them! seven years.' Luther renders it times.
him,' as if he would then be restored in some way, or as if this condition would then terminate; and (b) in the state ment that ' the stump of the roots' would be left up in the earth as if it might still germinate again. Everything, however, j in the dream was fitted to produce per- j ££ word ig itldete-rminate in respecfc to plexity as to what it could mean. The; the length of time> the mosfc natun|1 and word rendered times — W\y. — sing, fiy, i obvious construction here and elsewhere, is an important word in the interpreta- j in the use of the word, is to refer it tion of Daniel. It is of the same class \ to years. Days or weeks would be of words as the Hebrew -|J?;, to point out, j obviously too short, and though in this to appoint, to fix; and would refer pro- j Placo the word months would perhaps emperlv to time considered as appointed or \ brace a11 tbat would be necessary, yet in designated; then it may mean any stated i the other places where the word occurs or designated period, as a year. The i in Daniel, it undoubtedly refers to years, idea is that of time considered as desig- i and there is> therefore, a propriety in naled or fixed by periods, and the word understanding it in the same manner here.
17. This matter is by the decree of the watchert. Noteg on ver. 13. They ar« of the watchers, and the demand kingdom of men, and giveth it to by the word of the holy ones: to whomsoever dhe will, and setteth the intent that the living may b know up over it the basest eof men. that the Most High c ruleth in the I described here not only as watching over the Most High over such a monarch as the affairs of men, but as entrusted with Nebuchadnezzar, f That the Most High.
signs of God. The representation is, angels; all that pretend to be gods. The that one of these heavenly beings was phrase here is designed to refer to the true and that this one stated to him that he hftd absolute control over al]. ^ KMl had come to execute what had been de-! ^ ^ U dom of ment Whoever reigns, termined on by his associates, or in coun- he reign/over them. « And (iceth it to gel with others. The idea would seem to wllomfoever he wilL That j » he ives be, that the affairs of the^kingdom of dominion over men to whomsoever he Nebuchadnezzar had been in important chooges> Ifc is not b human ordering, respects placed under the administration of b arrangements am0ng men. It fs of these beings, and that in solemn coun- nofc, hereditary rjgbt; not by a succil they had resolved on this measure.; cesgio; not b conquest; not by usur It is not said that this was not m accord- ion, ^ by election, that this matter ance with, and under the direction of, a g fina]1 determined it is by the decree higher power— that of God; and that is Qnd u of GocL He can remove the rather implied when it is said that the hereditary prince by death. he can cause great design of this was to show to the; M t b t gide b granting succesg living that < the Most Ugh ruleth in the | Qr ^ ^ Qf kingdom of men/ In itself considered, b con ^est'. he can cut off the conthere is no improbability m supposing, * jj death and transfcr the crown that the affairs of this lower world, are in * ^.^^ Qfficer he ^ ^^ ^ gome respects placed under the adminis- j who wag the united choice Qf a le b tration ot beings superior to man, nor that | death Rnd t another in hig jj^J g events may occur as the result of their, the le Paul „ There ig no deliberation, or, as it is here expressed,; /butof God. the powers that be are by their 'decree/ If, in any respect the, ^rdained of God>« Rom xiii- L f And affairs of the world are subject to *h™ \ setteth up over it the latest of men. That jurisdiction, there is every reason to suppose that there would be harmony here is not to Nebuchadnezzar as if he were the basest, or the vilest of men, but the statement is a general truth, that God, at his pleasure, sets aside those of exalted rank, and elevates those of the lowest '
Here it means, that this matter, or this rank' in theh. ]ace> There.g &Q idea ^2?'!^^-5?°!*r8t.TS-J2! U«r attached commonly to the word and referring to the same. See Notes on the word used here by means conveys. It does not denote the mean, the vile, the worthless, the illiberal,
With the design that those who; ig the r meaning 0/the Chaldee word — SD»;, and so it is rendered in the that it more of this, so impressive and striking, could not be doubted by any. No effectual way of doing this could occur than by showing the absolute power of
Greek of Theodotion, however, is, ' that which is disesteemed among men' — i£ov- In the latter part of the
18 This dream I king Nebuchad nezzar have seen. Now them, 0 Belteshazzar, declare the interpre tation thereof, forasmuch a as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the in terpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
dream (vs. 15, 16), we have an illustra tion of what often occurs in dreams — their singular incongruity. In the early part of the dream, the vision is that of a tree, and the idea is consistently car ried out for a considerable part of it — the height of the tree, the branches, the leaves, the fruit, the shade, the stump; then suddenly there is a change to some thing that is living and human — the change of the heart to that of a beast; the being exposed to the dew of heaven; the portion with the beasts of the earth, &c. Such changes and incongruities, as every one knows, are common in dreams. So Shakespeare:
True, I talk of dreams. Which are the children of an idle brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy; Which is as thin of substance as the air, And more inconstant than the wind, who woos Even now the frozen bosom of the North, And, being angered, puffs away from them, Turning his face to the dew-dropping South. Romeo and Juliet.
18. This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. This is the dream which I saw. He had detailed it at length as it appeared to him, without pretending to be was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled bhim. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them c that hate thee, and the interpreta tion thereof to thine enemies.
Chaldean government, he would undoubt edly be mentioned only by that name, yet in a proclamation like this both the names by which he was known would be used — the one to identify him among his own countrymen; the other among the Chal deans. This proclamation was designed for people of all classes, and ranks, and tongues (ver. 1.); it was intended to make known the supremacy of the God wor shipped by the Hebrews; Nebuchadnez zar had derived the knowledge of the meaning of his dream from one who was a Hebrew, and it was natural, therefore, in order that it might be known by whom the dream had been interpreted, that he should so designate him that it would be understood by all. ^ Was astonied. Was astonished. The word astonied, now gone out of use, several times occurs in the common version: Ezra ix. 3; Job xvii. 8, xviii.20; Ezek.iv.17; Dan. iii. 24, iv. 19, v. 9. Daniel was amazed and overwhelmed at what was manifestly the fearful import of the dream. ^ For one hour. It is not possible to designate the exact time de noted by the word hour —
19. Then Daniel, whose name was Bel- and an hour. In Dan. iii. 6, 15, it eviteshazzar. ver. 8. It has been objected dently means immediately. Here it would that the mention in this edict of both the! seem to mean a short time. That is, Dannames by which Daniel was known is an iel was fixed in thought, and maintained improbable circumstance; that a heathen \ a profound silence, until the king admonarch would only have -referred to him i dressed him. We are not to suppose thai by the name by which he was known in j this continued during the space of time Babylon — the name which he had him- which we call an hour, but he was silent
§od (Bclus), after whom he was called, ee Notes on ch. i. 7. To this it may be replied, that although in ordinary inter- until Nebuchadnezzar addressed him. He would not seem to be willing even tc speak of so fearful calamities as he saw were coming upon the king. <j[ And hit course with him in Babylon; in address-! thoughts troubled him. The thoughts ing him as an officer of state under tho | which passed through his mind respect-
20 The tree *that thou sawest, which grew, arid was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose
22 It is bthou, 0 king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth
23 And whereas •» the king saw a
ing the fearful import of the dream. <l The king spake, and said, &c. Per ceiving that the dream had, as he had pro bably apprehended, a fearful significance', and that Daniel hesitated about explain ing its meaning. Perhaps he supposed that he hesitated because he appre hended danger to himself if he should express his thoughts, and the king, there fore, assured him of safety, and encour aged him to declare the full meaning of the vision, whatever that might be. ^[ Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee. Let such things as are foreboded by the dream happen to your enemies rather than to you. This merely implies that he did not desire that these things should come upon him. It was the language of courtesy and of respect; it showed that he had no desire that any calamity should befal the monarch, and that he had no wish for the success of his enemies. There is not, in this, anything necessarily im plying a hatred of the enemies of the king, or any wish that calamity should come upon them; it is the expression of an earnest desire that such an affliction might not come upon him. If it must come on any, such was his respect for the sovereign, and such his desire for his welfare and prosperity, that he preferred that it should fall upon those who were his enemies, and who hated him. This language, however, should not be rigidly interpreted. It is the language of an Oriental; language uttered at a court where only the words of respect were heard. Expressions similar to this occur not unfrequently in ancient writings. Thus Horace, B. iii. Ode 27:
Hostium uxores puerique caecos Sentiant motus oricntis austri. And Virgil, Georg. iii. 513.
Di meliora piis, erroremque hostibus ilium. *' Such rhetorical embellishments are pointed at no individuals, have nothing in them of malice or ill-will, are used as marks of respect to the ruling powers, and maybe presumed to be free from any imputation of a want of charity." Win kle, in loc.
20, 21. "The tree that thou sawest, <fcc. In these two verses Daniel refers to the leading circumstances respecting the tree as it appeared in the dream, without any allusion as yet to the order to cut it down. He probably designed to show that he had clearly understood what had been said, or that he had attended to the most minute circumstances as narrated. It was im portant to do this in order to show clearly that it referred to the king; a fact which probably Nebuchadnezzar himself appre hended, but still it was important that this should be so firmly fixed in his mind; that he would not revolt from it when I Daniel came to disclose the fearful import I of the remainder of the dream.
22. It is tliou, 0 king. It is a repre sentation of thyself. (Jomp. ch. ii. 38. ^[ That art grown and become strong. Re ferring to the limited extent of his domi nion when he came to the throne, and the increase of his power by a wise adminis tration and by conquest. f For thy great ness is grown. The majesty and glory of the monarch had increased by all his con quests, and by the magnificence which ho had thrown around his court. H And reacheth unto heaven. An expression merely denoting the greatness of his au thority. The tree is said to have reached unto heaven (ver. 11), and the stateliness and grandeur of so great a monarch might be represented by language which seemed to imply that he had control over all things. 1[ And thy dominion to the end of the earth. To the extent of the world as then known. This was almost literally true.
23. And whereas Hie king saio a watcher. See Notes on ver. 13. The recapitula tion in this verse is slightly varied from watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the 2arth, 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 statement in vs. 14 — 16, still so as not materially to affect the sense. Daniel seems to have designed to recall the prin cipal circumstances in the dream, so as to identify it in the king's mind, and so as to prepare him for the statement of the fearful events which were to happen to
24. This is the decree of the Most High. Daniel here designs evidently to direct the attention of the monarch to the one living and true God, and to show him that he presides over all. The purpose of the vision was, in a most impressive way, to convince the king of his exist ence and sovereignty. Hence, Daniel says that all this was in accordance with his 'decree.' It was not a thing of chance; it was not ordered by idol gods; it was not an event that occurred by the mere force of circumstances, or as the result of the operation of secondary laws; it was a direct divine interposition — the solemn purpose of the living God that it should be so. Nebuchadnezzar had represented this, in accordance with the prevailing views of religion in his land, as a 'decree of the Watchers' (ver. 17); Daniel, in ac cordance with his views of religion, and with truth, represents it as the decree of the true God. *| Which is come upon my lord the king. The decree had been pre viously formed; its execution had now come upon the king.
25. They shall drive thee from men. That is, thou shalt be driven from the habitations of men; from the place which thou hast occupied among men. The prophet does not say who would do this, but he says that it would be done. The language is such as would be used of one who should become a maniac, and be thrust out of the ordinary society in which he had moved. The Greek of Theodotion here is, icai al £*(5tw£ou<n v. The Co dex Chisian. has, 'And the Most High and his angels shall run upon thee —
the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; *
24 This is the interpretation, 0 king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
25 That they shall drive athee from men, and thy dwelling shall
Kararpixo^aLv — leading thee into prison/ or into detention — uj ^uXaxiji/ — 'and shall thrust thee into a desert place.' The general sense is, that he would be in such a state as to be treated like a beast rather than a man; that he would be removed from his ordinary abodes, and be a miser able and neglected outcast. This com mences the account of the calamity that was to come upon Nebuchadnezzar, and as there have been many opinions enter tained as to the nature of this malady, it may be proper to notice some of them. Comp. Bertholdt, pp. 286-292. Some have held that there was a real metamorphosis into some form of an animal, though his rational soul remained, so that he was able to acknowledge God and give praise to him. Cedrenus held that he was trans formed into a beast, half lion and half ox. An unknown author, mentioned by Justin, maintains that the transformation was into an animal resembling what was seen in the visions of Ezekiel — the Cheru-! bim — composed of an eagle, a lion, an ox, and a man. In support of the opinion that there was a real transformation, an appeal has been made to the common be lief among ancient nations, that such me tamorphoses had actually occurred, and especially to what Herodotus (iv. 105) says of the Neuri (Nenpoi): — "It is said by the Scythians, as well as by the Greeks \vho dwell in Scythia, that once in every year they are all of them changed into wolves, and that after remaining in that state for the space of a few days, they resume their former shape." Herodotus adds, however, " This I do not believe, although they swear that it is true." An appeal is also made to an assertion of Apuleius, who says of himself that he was changed into an ass; and also to the metamorphoses of Ovid. This supposed transformation of Nebuchadnezzar some have ascribed to Satan. Job. Wier de prsestigiis daemonum, I. 26, iv. 1. Other* be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make*thee to eat grass a as have attributed it to the arts of magic or incantation,;md suppose that it was a change in appearance only. Augustine (de Uivit. Dei, lib. xviii. cap. 17), refer ring to what is said of Dioined and his oxen, and they shall wet thee witfc the dew of heaven, and seven times another revolution, he was restored again to the throne. It is not necessary to ex amine these various opinions, and tc show their absurdity, their puerility, or their falsehood. Some of them are sim- followers on their return from Troy, that I ply ridiculous, and none of them are they were changed into birds, says that i demanded by any fair interpretation of Varro, in proof of the truth of this, ap- 1 the chapter. It may seem, perhaps, to peals to the fact that Circe changed! be undignified even to refer to such opi- Ulysses and his companions into beasts;! nions now; but this may serve to illustrate and to the Arcadians, who, by swimming j the method in which the Bible has been over a certain lake, were changed into i interpreted in former times, and the steps wolves, and that " if they are no man's flesh, at the end of nine years they swam which have been taken before men at a clear and rational interpre- over the same lake and became men tation of the sacred volume. It is indeed again." Varro farther mentions the case; painful to reflect that such absurdities of a man by the name of Daemonetus, who, tasting of the sacrifices which the Ar cadians offered (a child), was turned into a wolf, and became a man again at the end of two years. Augustine himself says, that when he was in Italy he heard a report that there were women there, who, by giving one a little drug in cheese, had the power of turning him into an ass. Sec the curious discussion of Augus tine how far this could be true, in his work de Civit. Dei, lib. xviii. cap. 18. He sup poses that under the influence of drugs men might be made to suppose they were thus transformed, or to have a recollection of what passed in such a state as if it were so. Cornelius «a Lapide supposes that the transformation in the case of Nebuchad nezzar went only so far that his knees were bent in the other direction, like those of animals, and that he walked like animals. Origen, and many of those who have coincided with him in his allegorial mode of interpreting the Scriptures, supposed that the whole of this account is an allegory, designed to represent the fall of Satan, and his restoration again to the favour of God — in accordance with his belief of the doctrine of universal salva tion. Others suppose that the statement here means merely that there was a for midable conspiracy against him; that he was dethroned and bound with fetters; that he was then expelled from the court, and puerilities have been in any way connected with the interpretation of the word of God; sad to reflect that so many persons, in consequence of them, have discarded the Bible and the interpreta tions together as equally ridiculous and absurd. The true account in regard to the Ccilamity of Nebuchadnezzar, is un doubtedly the following: (1.) He was a maniac — made such by a direct divine judgment on account of his pride, vs. 30, 31. The essential thing in the state ment is, that he was deprived of his rea son, and that he was treated as a maniac. Comp. Intro, to the chapter, II. (1). — (2.) The particular form of the insanity with which he was afflicted, seems to have been that he imagined himself to be a beast; and, this idea having taken pos session of his mind, he acted accordingly. It may be remarked in regard to this, (a) that such a fancjr is no uncommon thing among maniacs. Numerous in stances of this may be seen in the various works on insanity — or indeed may bo seen by merely visiting a lunatic asy lum. One imagines that he is a king, and decks himself out with a sceptre and a diadem; another that he is glass, and is filled with excessive anxiety lest he should be broken; others have regarded themselves as deprived of their proper nature as human beings; others as hav ing been once dead, and restored to life and driven into exile; and that, as such, again; others as having been dead and he lived a miserable life, finding a pre- sent back into life without a heart; carious subsistence in woods and wilds, others as existing in a manner unlike among the beasts of the forest, until, by | any other mortals; others as having no
shall pass ever thee, till thou know that the Most Hi^h « ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he wil
rational soul. See Arnold on Insanity, I. pp. 176 — 195. In all these cases, when such a fancy takes possession of the mind, there will be an effort on the part of the patient to act in exact conformity to this view of himself, and his whole conduct will be adapted to it. Nothing can convince him that it is not so; and there is no absurdity in supposing that, if the thought had taken possession of the mind of Nebuchadnezzar that he was a beast, he would live and act as a wild beast — just as it is said that he did. (6) In itself considered, if Nebuchad nezzar was deprived of his reason, and for the cause assigned — his pride, no thing is more probable than that he would be left to imagine himself a beast, and to act like a beast. This would furnish the most striking contrast to his former state; would do most to bring down his pride; and would most effectually show the supremacy of the Most High. (3) In this state of mind, fancying himself a wild beast, and endeavouring to act in conformity with this view, it is probable that he would be indulged as far as was consistent with his safety. Perhaps the regency would bo induced to allow this partly from their long habits of deference to the will of an arbitrary monarch; partly because by this indulgence he would be less troublesome; and partly because a painful spectacle would thus be removed from the palace. We are not to suppose that he was permitted to roam in forests at large without any restraint, and without any supervision whatever. In Babylon, attached to the palace, there were doubtless, as there are all over the East, royal parks or gardens; there is every probability that in these parks there may have been assembled rare and strange animals as a royal menagerie; and it was doubtless in these parks, and among these animals, that he was allowed to range. Painful as such a spectacle would be, yet it is not improbable that to such a maniac this would be allowed as contributing to his gratification, or as a means of restoring him to his right mind. (4) A king, however wide his empire, or magnificent his court, would be as likely to be subject to mental derangement as any other man. No situation in life can 19* save the human mind from the liability to so overwhelming a calamity, nor should wo deem it strange that it should come on a king as well as other men. The condition of Nebuchadnezzar, as repre sented by himself in this edict, was scarcely more pitiable than that of George III. of England — though it is not surprising that in the eighteenth century of the Christian era, and in a Christian land, the treatment of the sovereign in such circumstances was different from that which a monarch received in hea then Babylon. (5) It cannot be shown that this did not come upon Nebuchad nezzar, as stated in this chapter, (vs. 30, 31,) on account of his pride. That he was a proud and haughty monarch, is apparent from all his history; that God would take some effectual means to hum ble him, is in accordance with his deal ings with mankind; that this would be a most effectual means of doing it, cannot be doubted. No one can prove, in re spect to any judgment that comes upon mankind, that it is not on account of some I sin reigning in the heart; and when it is! affirmed in a book claiming to be inspired, | that a particular calamity is brought upon men on account of their trans gressions, it cannot be demonstrated that the statement is not true. If these re marks are correct, then no well-founded objection can lie against the account i here respecting the calamity that came upon this monarch in Babylon. This opinion in regard to the nature of the affliction which came upon Nebuchadj nezzar, is probably that which is now! generally entertained, and it certainly meets all the circumstances of the case, 1 and frees the narrative from material ob jection. As a confirmation of its truth,! I will copy here the opinion of Dr. Mead, j as it is found in his ' Medica Sacra:'
" All the circumstances of Nebuchad nezzar's case agree so well with an hypochondriacal madness, that to me it ap pears evident that Nebuchadnezzar was seized with this distemper, and under its influence ran wild into the fields; and that, fancying himself transformed into an ox, he fed on grass after the manner of cattle. For every sort of madness is the result of a disturbed imagination;
which this unhappy man laboured under for full seven years. And through ne glect of taking proper care of himself, his hair and nails grew to an uncommon length; whereby the latter, growing thicker and crooked, resembled the claws of birds. Now the ancients called peo ple affected with this kind of madness, \VKav$pt.i)Troi — wolf-men, or Kwav$p(tmoi — dog-men, because they went abroad in the night imitating wolves or dogs; particu larly intent upon opening the sepulchres of the dead, and had their legs much ulcerated, either from frequent falls, or the bites of dogs. In like manner are the daughters of Proetus related to have been mad, who, as Virgil says, JEn. vi. 48,
implerunt fnlsis mugitibus agros.
' With mimic bowlings filled the fields.'
For, as Servius observes, Juno possessed their minds with such a species of fury, that, fancying themselves cows, they ran into the fields, bellowed often, and dreaded the plough. Nor was this dis order unknown to the moderns, for Schneckius records a remarkahle instance of a husbandman in Padua, who, imag ining himself a wolf, attacked and even killed several people in the fields; and when at length he was taken, he perse vered in declaring himself a real wolf, and that the only difference consisted in the inversion of his skin and hair." The
same opinion as to the nature of the dis ease is expressed by Dr. J. M. Good, in his " Study of Medicine." So also Bur ton (Anatomy of Melancholy, Part I. $ 1. Memb. i. Subs. 4). Burton refers to sev eral cases which would illustrate the opinion. " Wierus," says he, "tells a story of such a one in Padua, 1541, that would not believe the contrary but that he was a wolf. He hath another instance of a Spaniard who thought himself a bear. Such, belike, or little better, were king Proetus' daughters, that thought themselves kine" — an instance strikingly resembling this case of Nebuchadnezzar, who seems to have imagined himself some kind of beast. Pliny, perhaps referring to diseases of this kind, says, " Some men were turned into wolves in my time, and from wolves to men again." Lib. viii. c. 22. See Burton as above. ^ And thy dwelling shall be with the leasts of the field. That is, as above explained, thou wilt imagine thyself to be a beast, and wilt act like a beast. Indulgence will be given to this propensity so as to allow you to range with the beasts in the park, or the royal menagerie. *[f And they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen. That is, this shall be thy propensity, and thou i shalt be indulged in it. Fancying him self a benst of some kind — probably, as I appears from this expression, an ox — • ' nothing would be more natural than that | he should attempt to live as oxen do, i on grass, that he should be so far in- | dulged that his food would consist of vegetables. Nothing is more common among maniacs than some such freak about food; and it is just as likely that a king I would manifest this as any other man. The word grass here — N^P'? — Heb. 2i?'# — means properly herbs; green herbs; vegeta bles, represented, commonly, as furnish ing food for man. Gen. i. 11, 12, ii. 5, iii. 18; Ex. x. 12, 15; Ps. civ. 14. The word grass, in our language, conveys an idea which is not strictly in accordance with the original. That word would de note only the vegetable productions which cattle eat; the Hebrew word is of a more general signification, embracing all kinds of vegetables — those which man eats, ag well as those which animals eat, and the meaning here is, that he would live on vegetable food; — a propensity in which they would doubtless indulge a man in such circumstances — painful and humili ating as it would be. The phrase * they shall make thee eat grass/ rather means, ' they shall permit thee to do it/ or they shall treat thee so that thou wilt do it. It would be his inclination, and they would allow him to be gratified in it. ^[ And they shall wet thee icith the dew of heaven. Or, shall suffer you to be wet with the dew of heaven; that is, to be out in the open air — no improbable treat ment of a maniac, and especially likely i to occur in a climate where it was no uncommon thing for all classes of per-! sons to pass the night under the sky. j ^f And seven times shall pass over thee. Notes on ver 16. ^[ Till thou know, &c. Until thou shalt effectually learn that the true God rules; that he gives authority to whom he pleases; and that he takes it away when he pleases. Notes on ver. 17. j Nothing could be better fitted to teach this I lesson than to deprive, by a manifest j judgment of heaven, such a monarch I of the exercise of reason, and reduce him to the pitiable condition here de scribed.
26 And whereas they commanded after that thou shalt have known to leave the stump of the tree roots; that the a heavens do rule, thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, j 27 Wherefore, 0 king, let my > Matt. 5. 34; LU. is. is, 21. I counsel be acceptable unto thee, and
26. And whereas they commanded. The j qualities as a man, but he was proud; he watchers, ver. 15. Comp. ver. 17. f To \ was ambitious j he was arbitrary in his leave the stump of the tree roots. Or, to government; he was passionate and releaye roots to the stump of the tree; that vengeful. and he was doubtless, addicted is it was not to be dug up or wholly de- guch leasureg of life ag were com.
,,1, r v • lie had a certain kind oi respect for reh-
**TL?.S! gion, whatever was the objecLf worship, thee. That is, thou shalt not die under bl?fc. t,hlSr,WaS"° inconsistent with a this calamity, but after it has passed i ™cked hfe' The Word translated*™* away shalt be restored to authority. It | °ff— P!>?> 1S rendered in the Vulgate remight have been supposed that this meant dime, 'redeem,' and so in the Greek of that the authority would survive in his Theodotion, \vrpuaat, and in the Codex family, and that those who were to sue- Chis. From this use of the word in some ceed him would reign — as shoots spring of the versions, and from the fact that the up after the parent tree has fallen; but word rendered righteousness is often em- Daniel was directed to an interpretation \ ployed in the later Hebrew to denote almswhich is not less in accordance with the I giving, (comp. the margin in Matt. vi. 1, fair meaning of the dream than this would j and the Greek text in Tittmann and Hahn have been, f After that thou shalt have where the word fnKaioavvnv is used to de- known that the heavens do rule. That God rules. This was the great lesson which the event was designed to teach, and when that should have been learned, there would be a propriety that he should be restored to his throne, and should proclaim this to the world.
27. Wherefore, 0 Icing, let iny counsel be acceptable unto thee. Daniel was per mitted to see not only the fact that this calamity impended over the king, but the cause of it, and as that cause was his note alms,) the passage here has been adduced in favour of the doctrine of ex piatory merits, and the purchase of abso lution by almsgiving — a favourite doc trine in the Roman Catholic communion. But the ordinary and common meaning of the word is not to redeem, but to break, to break off, to abandon. It is the word from which our English word break is derived, Germ, brecken. Comp. Gen.
40, " that thou shalt break his yoke;" Ex. xxxii. 2, " Bre ak off the proud and sinful heart, he supposed that j golden ear-rings;" Ex. xxxii. 3, "And the judgment might be averted if the all the people brake off the golden earking would reform his life. If the cause I rings;" Ex. xxxii. 24, "Whosoever hath were removed, he inferred, not unreason- j any gold let them break it off;" 1 Kings ably, that there was a hope that the cala- j xix. 11, "A great and strong wind mity might be avoided. We cannot but I rent the mountains;" Zech. xi. 16, "And admire here the boldness and fidelity of tear their claws in pieces;" Ezek. xix. Daniel, who not only gave a fair inter- 12, "his strong holds were broken" pretation of the dream, in the case sub- j The word is rendered in our com mitted to him, but who went beyond that | mon version, redeem once, (Ps. cxxxvi. 4,) in a faithful representation to the most j" And hath redeemed us from our enemighty monarch of the age, that this was mies." It is translated rending in Ps.
in consequence of his wicked life. break off thy sins by righteousness. By acts of righteousness or justice; by abandoning a wicked course of life.
VH. 2, and deliver in Lam. v. 8. It does not elsewhere occur in the Scrip tures. The fair meaning of the word, is, as in our version, to break off, and the is fairly to be inferred from this that the j idea of redeeming the soul by acts of life of the monarch had been wicked — a J charity or almsgiving is not in the pasfact which is confirmed every where in I sage, "and cannot be derived from it. his history. He had, indeed, some good | This passage, therefore, cannot be ad-
break aoff thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing
duced to defend the doctrine that the soul may be redeemed, or that sins may be expiated by acts of charity and almsgiv ing. It means that the king was to break otf his sins by acts of righteousness; or, in other words, he was to show by a right eous life that he had abandoned his evil course. The exhortation is, that he would practice those great duties of justice and charity towards mankind in which he had been so deficient, if, perhaps, God might show mercy, and avert the im pending calamity. ^[ And thine iniqui ties by showing mercy to the poor. The peculiar ' iniquity' of Nebuchadnezzar may have consisted in his oppressing the poor of his realm in the exorbitant exac tions imposed on them in carrying on his public works, and building and beauti fying his capital. Life, under an Oriental despot, is regarded as of little value. Sixty thousand men were employed by Mohammed Ali in digging the canal from Cairo to Alexandria, in which work almost no tools 'were furnished them but their hands. A large portion of them died, and were buried by their fellowlabourers in the earth excavated in dig ging the canal. Who can estimate the number of men that were uselessly em ployed under the arbitrary monarch of Egypt on the useless work of building the pyramids? Those structures, doubtless, cost millions of lives, and there is no im probability in supposing that Nebuchad nezzar had employed hundreds of thou sands of persons without any adequate compensation, and in a hard and oppres sive service, in rearing the walls and the palaces of Babylon, and in excavating the canals to water the city and the ad jacent country. No counsel, therefore, could be more appropriate than that he should relieve the poor from those bur dens, and do justice to them. There is no intimation that he was to attempt to purchase release from the judgments of God by such acts; but the meaning is, that if he would cease from his acts of oppression, it might be hoped that God would avert the threatened cala mity. The duty here enjoined of show ing mercy to the poor, is one that is mercy to the poor; if b it may be c a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
everywhere commanded in the Scrip tures. Ps. xli. 1; Matt. xix. 21; Gal. ii. 10, et scepe. Its influence in obtain ing the divine favour, or in averting calamity, is also elsewhere stated. Comp. Ps. xli. 1, " Blessed is he that considereth | the poor; the Lord will deliver him in I time of trouble." It is a sentiment which occurs frequently in the books of the Apocrypha, and in these books there can be found the progress of the opinion to the point which it reached in the later periods of the Jewish history, and which it has obtained in the Roman Catholic communion, that almsgiving or charity to the poor would be an expiation for sin, I and would commend men to God as a | ground of righteousness; or, in other words, the progress of the doctrine to wards that which teaches that works of supererogation may be performed. Thus in the Book of Tobit (iv. 8—10), "If thou hast abundance, give alms accord ingly j if thou have little, be not afrnid to give according to that little: for thou layest up a good treasure for thyself against the day of necessity. Because that alms do deliver from death, and suffereth not to come into darkness." Tobit xii. 9, 10, "For alms doth deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise righteousness and alms shall be filled with life; but they that sin are enemies to their own life." Tobit xiv. 10, 11, " Manasses gave alms, and escaped the snares of death which they had set for him; but Amam fell into the snare and perished. Wherefore now, mj son, consider what alms doeth, and how righteousness doth deliver." Ecclesiasticus xxix. 12, 13, "Shut up alms in thy storehouses; it shall deliver thee from all affliction. It shall fight for thee against thine enemies better than a mighty shield and a strong spear." Ecclesiasticus xl. 24. " Brethren and help are against time of trouble; but alms shall de liver more than them both." In these pas sages there is evidence of the progress of the sentiment towards the doctrines of supererogation; but there is none what ever that Dviniel attributed any such efficacy to alms, or that he meant to teach anything more than the common doctrine
28 If All this came upon the king f he walked a in the palace of the Nebuchadnezzar. kingdom of Babylon.
29 At the end of twelve months! *or,wpo».
of religion, that when a man breaks off j he would not break off from it, even while from his sins it may be hoped that the > he admitted the fact that he was exposed judgments which impended over him i on account of it to so awful a judgment — may be averted, and that doing good will j as multitudes do who pursue a course of meet the smiles and approbation of God. j iniquity, even while they admit that it Compare in reference to this sentiment | will be followed by poverty, disgrace, the case of the Ninevites, when the | disease and death here, and by the wrath threatening against them was averted by j of God hereafter; or, it may be, that he their repentance and humiliation, Jonah | did not credit the representation which iii. 10; the case of Hezekiah, when his j Daniel made, and refused to follow his predicted death was averted by his tears! counsel on that account; or, it may be, and prayers, Isa. xxxviii. 1—5; and Jer. | that, though he purposed to repent, yet, xviii. 7, 8, where this principle of the as thousands of others do, he suffered the divine government is fully asserted. *[//" it may be a lengthening of tliy tranquillity.
time to pass on until the forbearance of God was exhausted, and the calamity came suddenly upon him. A full year,
Marg., 'or, an healing of tliy error.' The
Greek of Theodotion here is, " Perhaps it would seem (ver. 29), was given him to
God will be long-suffering toward thy see what the effect of the admonition offences." The Greek of the Codex would be, and then all that had been pre-
Chis. is, 'And thou mayest remain a dieted was fulfilled. His conduct furnishes long time— -»roXw»;/jepof yivn— upon the J a remarkable illustration of the conduct of throne of thy kingdom.' The Vulgate, sinners under threatened wrath: of the
' Perhaps he wDl pardon thy faults.' The fact that they continue to live in sin when
Syriac, ' Until he may remove from thee thy follies.' The original word ren dered lengthening — SO")!* — means pro perly, as translated here, a prolongation; a drawing out; a lengthening; and th< exposed to certain destruction, and when warned in the plainest manner of what will come upon them.
29. At the end of twelve months. After the dream, and the interpretation — giv ing him ample opportunity to repent and word is here correctly rendered. It has, to reform hig lif d to avoid the ca_ not the meaning assigned to it in the | lamit * Hc walked {n th& la^ margin—of AcaJtHflr.It would apply pro- 1 M • Tfae in.g thf more per y to a prolongation of anytbing-w corr?ct /endering. The roofs of houses of hfe, peace, health, prosperity. The! in the eagt are made flafcj and furnish a word rendered frangrMtttity— niSp'— means | common piace Of promenade, especially properly security, safety, quiet; and the j in the cool of the evening. See Notes on reference here is to his calm possession! Matt. ix. 2. The Codex Chis. has here, of the throne; to his quietness in his j ' The king walked upon the walls of the
Ealace, and peace in his kingdom. There | city with all his glory, and went around 5 nothing in the text to justify the ver- j the towers, and answering, said.' The sion in the margin. | place, however, upon which he walked,
28. All this came upon the Icing Nebu- appears to have been the roof of his own chadnezz.ir. That is, the threatened judg- palace — doubtless reared so high that he rnent came upon him in the form in which! could have a good view of the city from it was predicted. He did not repent j it. *[ Of the kingdom of Babylon. Apand reform his life as he was exhorted i pertaining to that kingdom; the royal to, and, having given him sufficient time to show whether he was disposed to follow the counsel of Daniel, God sud- residence. As it is to be supposed that this 'palace of the kingdom' on the roof of which the king walked, was that which ienly brought the heavy judgment upon I he had himself reared, and as this conhim. Vfhy he did not follow the counsel tributed much to the splendour of the of Daniel is not stated, and cannot be! capital of his empire, and doubtless known. It may have been that he was I was the occasion in a considerable deso addicted to a life of wickedness that { gree of his vainglorious boasting when
30 The king a spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom
the judgment of heaven fell upon him by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
trees, prodigious hollow piers were built
(vs. 30, 31), a brief description of that and filled with mould. From the Eupalaee seems to be not inappropriate. I phrates, which flowed close to the foun-
The description is copied from an article on Babylon in Kitto's Cyclopaedia of Bibli cal Literature, vol. i. pp. 270, 271: " The new palace built by Nebuchadnezzar was prodigious in size, and superb in einbel dation, water was drawn up by machinery. The whole, Says Q. Curtius (v. 5.), had, to those who saw it from a distance, the appearance of woods overhanging moun tains. The remains of this palace are lishments. Its outer wall embraced six j found in the vast mound or hill called by miles; within that circumference were the natives kasr. It is of irregular form, two other embattled walls, besides a great tower. Three brazen gates led into the grand area, and every gate of conse quence throughout the city was of brass. The palace was beautifully decorated with statues of men and animals, with vessels of gold and silver, and furnished with luxuries of all kinds brought thither from conquests in Egypt, Palestine, and Tyre. Its greatest boast were the hang ing gardens, which acquired, even from the Grecian writers, the appellation of one of the wonders of the world. They are attributed to the gallantry of Nebu chadnezzar, who compliance with
Amytis to possess elevated groves, such as she had enjoyed on the hills around eight hundred yards in length, and six hundred yards in breadth. Its appear ance is constantly undergoing change from the continual digging which takes place in its inexhaustible quarries for brick of the strongest and finest material. Hence the mass is furrowed into deep ra vines, crossing and recrossing each other in every direction."
30. The king spake, and said. The Chaldee, and the Greek of Theodotion and of the Codex Chis., here is, 'the king answered and said:' — perhaps he replied made by his attendants in regard to the magnitude of the city; or perhaps the word answered is used, as it often seems to be in the Scriptures, to denote a reply to something passing in her native Ecbatana. Babylon was all the mind that is not uttered; to some flat, and to accomplish so extravagant a question or inquiry that the mind starts, desire, an artificial mountain was reared, I He might merely have been thinking of four hundred feet on each side, while ter- i the magnitude of this city, and he gave races one above another rose to a height! response to those thoughts in the language which follows. ^ la not this great Baby lon, that I haw built. In regard to the situation and the magnitude of Babylon, and the agency of Nebuchadnezzar in beautifying and enlarging it, see the 'Analysis' prefixed to the Notes on the that overtopped the walls of the city, that is, above three hundred feet in elevation. The ascent from terrace to terrace was made by corresponding flights of steps, while the terraces themselves were reared to their various stages or ranges of regu lar piers, which, forming a kind of vaulting, xiiith chapter of Isaiah. He greatly rose in succession one over the other to the I enlarged the city; built a new city on the required height of each terrace, the whole west side of the river; reared a magnifibeing bound together by a wa}l twenty- i cent palace: and constructed the celetwo feet in thickness. The level of each | brated hanging gardens, and, in fact, terrace or garden was then formed in the \ made the city so different from what it following manner: the tops of the piers j was, and so greatly increased its splenwere first laid over with flat stones, six- j dour, that he could say without imteen feet in length, and four in width; i propriety that he had 'built' it. f For on these stones were spread beds of mat-! the house of the kingdom. To be conting, then a thick layer of bitumen, after i sidered altogether — embracing the whole which came two courses of bricks, which j city — as a sort of palace of the kingdom, were covered with sheets of solid lead, i He seems to have looked upon the whole The earth was heaped on this platform, i city as one vast palace fitted to be an and in order to admit the roots of large j appropriate residence of the sovereign of
31 While »the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, 0 king Nebuchad nezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32 And bthey shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall
be with the beasts of the field: thej shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and
so vast an empire. ^[ And for the honour of my majesty. To ennoble or glorify iny reign; or where one of so much majesty as I am may find an appropriate home.
31. While the word was in the king's mouth. In the very act of his speaking — thus showing that there could be no doubt as to the connection between the crime and the punishment. ^[ There fell a voice from heaven. There came a voice; or, perhaps, it seemed to fall as a thunder bolt. It was uttered above him, and ap peared to come from heaven. There was an important sense in which it did fall from heaven; for it was the voice of God. ^[ Saying, 0 king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken. For you it is particularly intended; or what is predicted is now spoken to thee. *[ The kingdom is de parted from thee. Thou art about to cease to reign. Up to this time he re tained his reason that he might distinctly understand the source from whence the judgment was to come, and why it was brought upon him, and that he might be prepared, when he should be recovered from his insanity, to testify clearly to the origin and the nature of the judg ment. The Codex Chis. has an impor tant addition to what is said here, which, though of no authority, as having no thing corresponding to it in the original text, yet states what is in itself not im probable. It is as follows: * And at the
end of what he was saying, he heard a voice from heaven, To thee it is spoken, 0 king Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom of Babylon shall be taken away from thee, and shall be given to another, a man de spised or of no rank — ££ovS£i/>?//£i>« dj/Spwrrw — in thy house. Behold, I will place him over thy kingdom, and thy power, and thy glory, and thy luxury — r»)i/ rpvtyfiv — he shall receive, until thou shalt know that the God of heaven has authority over the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomgoever he will: but until the rising of the aun another king shall rejoice in thy house, and shall possess thy power, and thy strength, and thine authority, and the angels shall drive thee away for seven years, and thou shalt not be seen, and shalt not speak with any man, but they shall feed thee with grass as oxen, and from the herb of the field shall be thy support.'
32. And they shall drive thee from men, <fcc. See Notes on ver 25.
33. The same hour was the thing ful filled. On the word hour, see Notes on ver. 19. The use of the word here would seem to confirm the suggestion there made that it means a brief period of time. The idea is clearly, that it was done instantly. The event came suddenly upon him, without any interval, as he was speaking. ^[ Till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers. By long ne glect and inattention. The Greek ver sion of Theodotion has in this place the word lions instead of eagles: ' till his hairs were grown long like that of lions;' and the passage is paraphrased by Jack son thus, ' till his hair was grown long and shagged like the main of a lion.' This would make good sense, but it is not the reading of the Chaldee. The Codex Chis. reads it, 'and my hairs were like the wings of an eagle, and my nails like those of a lion.' The correct idea is, that his hair was neglected until in appearance it resembled the feathers of a bird. ^[ And his nails like birds' claws. No unnatural thing, if he was driven out and negtecteJ as the insane have been in much later times, and in much more civilized parts of the world. In regard to the probability of the state ment here made respecting the treatment of Nebuchadnezzar, and the objection derived from it against the authenticity of the book of Daniel, see Intro, to the Chapter, II. (1.) In addition to what is said there, the following cases may be re ferred to as showing that there is no im probability in supposing that what is bore
he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' fea thers, and his nails like birds' claws.
stated actually occurred. The extracts are taken from the second annual Keport of the Prison Discipline Society, and they describe the condition of some of the patients before they were admitted into the insane asylum at Worcester. If these things occurred in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and in the nineteenth century of the Christian era, there is no thing incredible in supposing that a similar thing may have occurred in an cient heathen Babylon. " No. 1. Had been in prison twenty-eight years when he was brought to the Institution. Dur ing seven years he had not felt the influ ence of fire, and many nights he had not lain down for fear of freezing. He had not been shaved for twenty-eight years, and had been provoked and excited by the introduction of hundreds to see the exhibition of his raving. No. 2. Had been in one prison fourteen years: he was naked — his hair and beard grown long — and his skin so entirely filled with the dust of charcoal as to render it impossi ble, from its appearance, to discover what nation he was of. He was in the habit of screaming so loud as to annoy the whole neighbourhood, and was considered a most dangerous and desperate man. No. 3. An old man of seventy years of age or more; had been chafiwdfor twenty- Jive years, and had his chain taken off but once in that time. No. 4. A female: had so long been confined with a short chain as wholly to lose the use of her lower limbs. Her health had been materially impaired by confinement, and she was unable to stand, and had not walked for years. No. 8. Had been ten years without clothes: a most inconceivably filthy and degraded be ing: exceedingly violent and outrageous. No. 9. Another female, exceedingly filthy in her habits, had not worn clothes for two years, during which time she had been confined in a filthy cell, destitute of everything like comfort, tearing every thing in pieces that was given her. No. 10. Has been insane eight years: almost the whole of the time in jail and ia a cage."
34 And at the end of the days 1 Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understand ing returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and
34. And at the end of the days. That is, the time designated, to wit: the * seven times' that were to pass over him. *[[ 2 Nebuchadnezzar lifted tip mine eyes unto heaven. Probably the first thing that in dicated returning reason. It would not be unnatural, on the supposition that he was deprived of reason at the very instant that a voice seemed to speak to him from heaven, and that he continued wholly in sane or idiotic during the long interval of seven years, that the first indication of returning reason would be his looking up to the place from whence that voice seemed to come, as if it were still speaking to him. In some forms of men tal derangement, when it comes suddenly upon a man, the effect is wholly to annihilate the interval, so that, when rea son is restored, the individual connects in his recollection the last thing which occurred when reason ceased with the moment when it is restored. A patient had been long an inmate of an insane apartment in Providence, Rhode Island. He was a seaman, and had been in jured on the head when his vessel was in a naval engagement, and it was supposed that his brain had been permanently affected. For many years he was idiotic, and no hopes were en tertained of his recovery. It was at length suggested that the operation of trepanning should be performed, and the very instant that the bone was raised from its pressure on the brain, he exclaimed, 'Has she struck?' The whole interval of time was obliterated from his memory. Similar instances are mentioned by Dr, Abercrombie (Intellectual Powers, pp. 252, 253). A man had been employed for a day with beetle and wedges in split ting pieces of wood for erecting a fence. j At night, before going home, he put the beetle and wedges into the hollow of an old tree, and directed his sons, who had been at work in an adjoining field, to ac company him next morning to assist in making the fence. In the night he be came maniacal, and continued in a state of insanity for several years, during wbi^b
honoured him a that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an b everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation cto generation.
time his mind was not occupied with any of the subjects with which he had been conversant when in health. After several years his reason returned suddenly, and the first question he asked was, whether his sons had brought home the beetle and wedges. A lady had been intensely en gaged for some time in a piece of needle work. Before she had completed it she became insane, and continued in that state for seven years, after which her rea son returned suddenly. ^One of the first questions she asked related to her needle work, though she had never alluded to it, so far as was recollected, during her illness. Another lady was liable to peri odical paroxysms of delirium, which often attacked her so suddenly, that in conver sation she would stop in the middle of a
35 And d all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he e doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the
recollecting the prediction, he could not doubt that this was the way in which he had been treated during the period of his dis tressing malady. ^[ And I blessed the Moat High. For his recovery, and in an hum ble acknowledgment of his dependence. "The acts of praise here referred to, are the suitable returns of a mind truly peni tent, and deeply sensible of its faults and of its mercies." Winkle. ^ And I praised and honoured him. That is, I honoured him by rendering thanks for his restoring mercy; by recognizing him as the true God; and by the acknowledging of the truth that he has a right to reign, and that his kingdom