The Second Dream of Nebuchadnezzar Daniel 4

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Setting of Daniel 4 Though the time of the events of chapter 4 is not given in the text, there are clues that what is described took place near the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s 43 year rule. It appears that his building operations in the capital were complete (cf. 4:30). Possible historical references to an illness that Nebuchadnezzar experienced place it later in his life. We know that the period of insanity that this chapter describes lasted for 7 years, so it could not have come any later than the 35th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, since he was restored to the throne for at least a short time after his recovery. All these factors point to a time period of somewhere between the 30th and 35th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, some 25 to 30 years after the events of chapter 3. Daniel and his friends would have been between 45 and 50 years old.

Outline of Daniel 4 Introduction by Nebuchadnezzar (4:1-3) The Circumstances of the Dream (4:4-8) The Content of the Dream (4:9-18) The Interpretation of the Dream (4:19-27) The Fulfillment of the Dream (4:28-33) The Effect of the Dream’s Fulfillment on Nebuchadnezzar (4:34-37)

Next Time: The Debauch and Doom of Belshazzar Daniel 5