¹sn The LXX introduces this chapter with the following chronological note: “in the eighteenth year of.” Such a date would place these events at about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (cf. 2 Kgs 25:8). However, there seems to be no real basis for associating the events of Daniel 3 with this date.
²sn There is no need to think of Nebuchadnezzar’s image as being solid gold. No doubt the sense is that it was overlaid with gold (cf. Isa 40:19; Jer 10:3-4), with the result that it presented a dazzling self-compliment to the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s achievements.
³sn According to a number of patristic authors, the image represented a deification of Nebuchadnezzar himself. This is not clear from the biblical text, however.
⁴tn Aram “sixty cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 90 feet (27.4 m) high.
⁵tn Aram “six cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 9 feet (2.74 m) wide.
sn The dimensions of the image (ninety feet high and nine feet wide) imply that it did not possess normal human proportions, unless a base for the image is included in the height dimension. The ancient world knew of other tall statues. For example, the Colossus of Rhodes—the huge statue of Helios which stood (ca. 280-224 B.C.) at the entrance to the harbor at Rhodes and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world—was said to be seventy cubits (105 ft or 32 m) in height, which would make it even taller than Nebuchadnezzar’s image.
⁶sn The specific duties of the seven types of officials listed here (cf. vv. 3, 27) are unclear. The Aramaic words that are used are transliterations of Akkadian or Persian technical terms whose exact meanings are uncertain. The translations given above follow suggestions set forth in BDB.
⁷tn Aram “Nebuchadnezzar the king.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the relative pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁸tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.”
⁹tn According to BDB 1097 (b) the Aramaic word used here is a Greek loanword, but other scholars have argued instead for a Persian derivation (HALOT 5:1902).
¹⁰tn Aram “in strength.”
¹¹tn Aram “they are saying.”
¹²sn The word zither (Aramaic qayteros), and the words for harp (Aramaic pesanterin) and pipes (Aramaic sumponyah), are of Greek derivation. Though much has been made of this in terms of suggesting a date in the hellenistic period for the writing of the book, it is not surprising that a few Greek cultural terms, all of them the names of musical instruments, should appear in this book. As a number of scholars have pointed out, the bigger surprise (if, in fact, the book is to be dated to the hellenistic period) may be that there are so few Greek loanwords in Daniel.
¹³tn The imperfect Aramaic verbs have here an injunctive nuance.
¹⁴tn Aram “in that hour.”
¹⁵tn Aram “all the peoples.”
¹⁶tc Though not in the Aramaic text of BHS, this word appears in many medieval Hebrew MSS, some LXX MSS, and Vg. Cf. vv. 5, 10, 15.
¹⁷tc This expression is absent in Theodotion.
¹⁸tn Aram “men.”
¹⁹tn Aram “ate the pieces of.” This is a rather vivid idiom for slander.
²⁰tn Aram “answered and said,” a common Aramaic idiom that occurs repeatedly in this chapter.
²¹sn O king, live forever! is a comment of typical court courtesy that is not necessarily indicative of the real sentiments of the speaker. Ancient oriental court protocol could sometimes require a certain amount of hypocrisy.
²²sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.
²³tn Aram “in anger and wrath.” The expression is a hendiadys.
²⁴tn The Aramaic infinitive is active.
²⁵tn Aram “these men.” The pronoun is used in the translation to avoid undue repetition.
²⁶tn Aram “hand.” So also in v. 17.
²⁷tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address. However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the athnach from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”
²⁸tn Aram “to return a word to you.”
²⁹tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.
³⁰tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of ’itay (“is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse (yakil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. Hans Bauer and Pontus Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, RSV). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see Franz Rosenthal, Grammar, §95. The translation adopted above maintains the sense of existence for the verb, even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.
³¹tn Aram “the appearance of his face was altered.”
³²tn Aram “he answered and said.”
³³tn This is sometimes taken as a comparative: “[some of the] strongest.”
³⁴sn There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the specific nature of these items of clothing.
³⁵tn Aram “caused to go up.”
³⁶tn The Aramaic verb is active.
³⁷sn The deuterocanonical writings known as The Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three present at this point a confession and petition for God’s forgiveness and a celebration of God’s grace for the three Jewish youths in the fiery furnace. Though not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, these compositions do appear in the ancient Greek versions.
³⁸tn Aram “we threw…bound.”
³⁹tn Aram “into the midst of.”
⁴⁰sn The phrase like that of a god is in Aramaic “like that of a son of the gods.” Many patristic writers understood this phrase in a christological sense (i.e., “the Son of God”). But it should be remembered that these are words spoken by a pagan who is seeking to explain things from his own polytheistic frame of reference; the phrase “like a son of the gods” is equivalent to “like a divine being.”
⁴¹tn Aram “answered and said.”
⁴²tn Aram “in their bodies.”
⁴³tn Aram “the fire did not have power.”
⁴⁴tn Aram “answered and said.”
⁴⁵sn The king identifies the “son of the gods” (v. 25) as an angel. Comparable Hebrew expressions are used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the members of God’s angelic assembly (see Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6). An angel later comes to rescue Daniel from the lions (Dan 6:22).
⁴⁶tn Aram “they changed” or “violated.”
⁴⁷tn Aram “so that they might not.”
⁴⁸tn Aram “from me is placed an edict.”
⁴⁹tn Aram “speaks negligence.”
⁵⁰tn Aram “and the king.” The proper name has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁵¹sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:37 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:31 AT, 4:2 ET = 3:32 AT, 4:3 ET = 3:33 AT, 4:4 ET = 4:1 AT, etc., through 4:37 ET = 4:34 AT. Thus Dan 3:31-33 of the Aramaic text appears as Dan 4:1-3 in the English Bible, and the corresponding verses of ch. 4 differ accordingly. In spite of the division of the Aramaic text, a good case can be made that verses 3:31-33 AT (= 4:1-3 ET) are actually the introduction to ch. 4.
⁵²tn Aram “May your peace increase!”
⁵³tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”
⁵⁴sn This verse marks the beginning of chap. 4 in the Aramaic text of Daniel (see the note on 4:1). The Greek OT (LXX) has the following addition: “In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign he said.” This date would suggest a link to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. In general, the LXX of chapters 4-6 is very different from the MT, so much so that the following notes will call attention only to selected readings. In Daniel 4 the LXX lacks sizable portions of material in the MT (e.g., vv. 3-6, 31-32), includes sizable portions of material not in the MT (e.g., v. 14a, parts of vv. 16, 28), has a different order of some material (e.g., v. 8 after v. 9), and in some instances is vastly different from the MT (e.g., vv. 30, 34). Whether these differences are due to an excessively paraphrastic translation technique adopted for these chapters in the LXX, or are due to differences in the underlying Vorlage of the LXX, is a disputed matter. The latter seems more likely. There is a growing trend in modern scholarship to take the LXX of chapters 4-6 much more seriously than was the case in most earlier text-critical studies that considered this issue.
⁵⁵tn Aram “my house.”
⁵⁶tn Aram “happy.”
⁵⁷tn Aram “and it.”
⁵⁸tn Aram “from me there was placed a decree.”
⁵⁹tn The Aramaic infinitive here is active.
⁶⁰sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.
⁶¹tc The present translation assumes the reading hazi (“consider”) rather than the MT hezwe (“visions”). The MT implies that the king required Daniel to disclose both the dream and its interpretation, as in chapter 2. But in the following verses Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream, while Daniel presents only its interpretation.
⁶²tc The LXX lacks the first two words (Aram “the visions of my head”) of the Aramaic text.
⁶³tn Some translations render this phrase “a tree at the center of the earth” (cf. NRSV) or “of the world” (NAB). The Hebrew phrase can have either meaning.
⁶⁴tn Aram “its height was great.”
⁶⁵tn Aram “its sight.” So also v. 17.
⁶⁶tn Or “to the end of all the earth.”
⁶⁷tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”
⁶⁸tn Aram “all flesh.”
⁶⁹tn Aram “the visions of my head.”
⁷⁰tn Aram “a watcher and a holy one.” The expression is a hendiadys; so also in v. 23. This “watcher” is apparently an angel. The Greek OT (LXX) in fact has angelos (“angel”) here. Theodotion simply transliterates the Aramaic word (`ir). The term is sometimes rendered “sentinel” (NAB) or “messenger” (NIV, NLT).
⁷¹tn Aram “in strength.”
⁷²tn Aram “and thus he was saying.”
⁷³tn Aram “the stock of its root.” So also v. 23. The implication here is that although the tree is chopped down, it is not killed. Its life-giving root is spared. The application to Nebuchadnezzar is obvious.
⁷⁴sn The function of the band of iron and bronze is not entirely clear, but it may have had to do with preventing the splitting or further deterioration of the portion of the tree that was left after being chopped down. By application it would then refer to the preservation of Nebuchadnezzar’s life during the time of his insanity.
⁷⁵tn Aram “its lot be.”
⁷⁶tn Aram “its heart.” The metaphor of the tree begins to fade here and the reality behind the symbol (the king) begins to emerge.
⁷⁷sn The seven periods of time probably refer to seven years.
⁷⁸tn Aram “over” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).
⁷⁹tc The translation follows an underlying reading of ‘al dibrat (“so that”) rather than MT ‘ad dibrat (“until”).
⁸⁰tn Aram “the kingdom of man.”
⁸¹tc The present translation reads pisreh, “its interpretation,” with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS; the Kethib is pisra’, “the interpretation.” So also v. 16.
⁸²tn Aram “of.”
⁸³tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.
⁸⁴tn Aram “my lord.”
⁸⁵tn Aram “its sight.”
⁸⁶tn Aram “the beasts of the field” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).
⁸⁷sn Much of modern scholarship views this chapter as a distortion of traditions that were originally associated with Nabonidus rather than with Nebuchadnezzar. A Qumran text, the Prayer of Nabonidus, is often looked to for parallels to these events.
⁸⁸tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.
⁸⁹tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.
⁹⁰tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.
⁹¹tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”
⁹²sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder known as boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.
⁹³tn Aram “until.”
⁹⁴sn The reference to heaven is a circumlocution for God. There was a tendency in Jewish contexts to avoid direct reference to God. Cf. the expression “kingdom of heaven” in the NT and such statements as “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight” (Luke 15:21).
⁹⁵tn Aram “if there may be a lengthening to your prosperity.”
⁹⁶tn Aram “reached.”
⁹⁷tn The word “walls” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from context. Some supply “roof” here.
⁹⁸tn Aram “house.”
⁹⁹tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”
¹⁰⁰tn Aram “in the mouth of the king.”
¹⁰¹tn Aram “to you they say.”
¹⁰²tn Aram “until.”
¹⁰³tn Aram “hour.”
¹⁰⁴tn Or “on.”
¹⁰⁵tn Aram “was fulfilled.”
¹⁰⁶tn The words “feathers” and “claws” are not present in the Aramaic text, but have been added in the translation for clarity.
¹⁰⁷tn Aram “days.”
¹⁰⁸tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”
¹⁰⁹tc The present translation reads kela’, with many medieval Hebrew MSS, rather than kelah of BHS.
¹¹⁰tn Aram “strikes against.”
¹¹¹tc The translation reads haderet (“I returned”) rather than the MT hadri (“my honor”); cf. Theodotion.
¹¹²tc The translation reads hotqenet (“I was established”) rather than the MT hotqenat (“it was established”). As it stands, the MT makes no sense here.
¹¹³tn Aram “walk.”