Dr Paul Allen

 Daniel 4 stands out in the Old Testament as the only story in which a human being appears to be turned into an animal. It may remind you of the classical trope of metamorphosis—think of the sequence in Pinocchio when the boys morph into jackasses or the many tales from the Roman poet Ovid when the gods transform humans into creatures that represent their fatal flaws. Here’s how the text depicts Nebuchadnezzar’s fate: He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws. (Dan. 4:33) Victorian scholars, hoping to discover a plausible historical explanation for this description, suggested a diagnosis of clinical lycanthropy. It is hard to read this and not picture something like Beauty and the Beast. Is this the stuff of fairy tales? What happened to Nebuchadnezzar and what does it mean? Is this the stuff of fairy tales? What happened to Nebuchadnezzar and wh

Without a doubt, the account of the fiery furnace is the most famous and exciting story in the book of Daniel. In fact, when most people think of this Old Testament book, they think of this event, and yet Daniel himself isn’t even mentioned. The story’s focus is neither the furnace nor the faithfulness of the three, nor is it even the mysterious divine presence with the men in the fire. The focus of the story falls on a question—the blasphemous question that King Nebuchadnezzar asks: “And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” (Dan. 3:15).  In an act of delicious irony, when it comes to answering this query, God makes Nebuchadnezzar do most of the talking. Daniel’s three friends don’t even answer his question directly. You might have expected them to launch into an impressive doxology, waxing lyrical with Isaianic prose:  “Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who

“Give glory to the LORD your God , before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.” ( Jeremiah 13:16 ) The figurative representations of Christ as the foundation rock of the great spiritual house of God ( Matthew 16:18 ; Ephesians 2:20 ; 1 Peter 2:6 ) and also as the water-yielding rock of sustenance in the wilderness ( 1 Corinthians 10:4 ) are two of the great symbols of the Bible . But for those who reject Him, He becomes “a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense. . . . And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken” ( Isaiah 8:14-15 ). Not only will the stone cause such a one to stumble, but Jesus said, “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder” ( Matthew 21:44 ). This figure is taken from the fall of the great image in Nebuchadn

English: Angel smites the Assyrians (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” ( Daniel 4:17 ) Who are these mysterious “watchers” who are so concerned that we know that “the powers that be are ordained of God ” ( Romans 13:1 ), sometimes even including the “basest of men?” They are mentioned in the Bible only here in the fourth chapter of Daniel (see also vv. 13, 23), all three times evidently synonymous with “the holy ones,” beings who come down from heaven. Such phrases could apply only to angels, created to serve the Lord and the “heirs of salvation” ( Psalm 103:20 ; Hebrews 1:14 ). The word is used here in reference to Nebuchadnezzar ’s vision and period of insanity. Although it is used nowhere else in the Bible, it occurs frequently i

English: An image of Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream, as described in the Second Chapter of Daniel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Summary justice was to be meted out on the offender, declared the herald, v. 6. The king’s golden image was to be worshipped as soon as the music played; else ‘the same hour’ the burning fiery furnace would teach others a lesson few would forget. And ‘ Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury’ had reinforced the command, vv. 13–15. In uncontrollable fury the king had increased the degree of barbarity ‘seven times more than’ his previous requirements. The ‘exceeding hot’ flame—now almost as incandescent as Nebuchadnezzar’s fury—claimed the lives of the king’s guards, v. 22. Nevertheless, those three Hebrews testified resolutely that their God was able to deliver them, v. 17. The God they described to the infuriated monarch was ‘our God whom we serve’, v. 17. They may have served Him among their own people, certainly they had in the school in wh

English: An image of Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream, as described in the Second Chapter of Daniel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 2 Kings 24:1–20 .  Nebuchadnezzar II , one of the greatest and longest-reigning monarchs of Mesopotamia, ruled Babylon from 605 to 562 B.C. He is mentioned some 90 times in the Old Testament , more than any other foreign king. The Bible records his campaigns against Jerusalem in 605, 597 and 586 B.C., culminating in the captivity of Judah. The first four chapters of Daniel detail events in Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. Outside the Bible we have many contemporary records from Babylon, as well as later writings extolling Nebuchadnezzar’s accomplishments: hundreds of contracts, several inscriptions, detail from classical historians and the Babylonian Chronicle , which documents Nebuchadnezzar’s accomplishments from his first through his eleventh year. However, there are still large gaps in our knowledge about his reign. Nebuchadnezzar