Daniel 4:4

Nebuchadnezzar Dreams of a Tree Chopped Down

4:4 (4:1) ¹  I, Nebuchadnezzar, was relaxing in my home, ²  living luxuriously ³  in my palace.

Daniel 7:21

7:21 While I was watching, that horn began to wage war against the holy ones and was defeating ⁴  them,

Daniel 7:11

7:11 “Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching ⁵  until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into ⁶  the flaming fire.

Daniel 2:31

2:31 “You, O king, were watching as a great statue – one ⁷  of impressive size and extraordinary brightness – was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm.

Daniel 2:34

2:34 You were watching as ⁸  a stone was cut out, ⁹  but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces.

Daniel 4:10

4:10 Here are the visions of my mind ¹⁰  while I was on my bed.

While I was watching,

there was a tree in the middle of the land. ¹¹ 

It was enormously tall. ¹² 

Daniel 4:13

4:13 While I was watching in my mind’s visions ¹³  on my bed,

a holy sentinel ¹⁴  came down from heaven.

Daniel 7:2

7:2 Daniel explained: ¹⁵  “I was watching in my vision during the night as ¹⁶  the four winds of the sky ¹⁷  were stirring up the great sea. ¹⁸ 

Daniel 7:13

7:13 I was watching in the night visions,

“And with ¹⁹  the clouds of the sky ²⁰ 

one like a son of man ²¹  was approaching.

He went up to the Ancient of Days

and was escorted ²²  before him.

Daniel 7:4

7:4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind ²³  was given to it. ²⁴ 

Daniel 7:6

7:6 “After these things, ²⁵  as I was watching, another beast ²⁶  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ²⁷  This beast had four heads, ²⁸  and ruling authority was given to it.

Daniel 7:8-9

7:8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. ²⁹  This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant ³⁰  things.

7:9 “While I was watching,

thrones were set up,

and the Ancient of Days ³¹  took his seat.

His attire was white like snow;

the hair of his head was like lamb’s ³²  wool.

His throne was ablaze with fire

and its wheels were all aflame. ³³ 

Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ³⁴  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ³⁵  It had two large rows ³⁶  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

[4:4]  ¹ sn 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.

[4:4]  ² tn Aram “my house.”

[4:4]  ³ tn Aram “happy.”

[7:21]  ⁴ tn Aram “prevailing against” (KJV and ASV both similar); NASB “overpowering them”; TEV “conquered them.”

[7:11]  ⁵ tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “I was watching” here. It is possible that these words in the MT are a dittography from the first part of the verse.

[7:11]  ⁶ tn Aram “and given over to” (so NRSV).

[2:31]  ⁷ tn Aram “an image.”

[2:34]  ⁸ tn Aram “until.”

[2:34]  ⁹ tc The LXX, Theodotion, and the Vulgate have “from a mountain,” though this is probably a harmonization with v. 45.

[4:10]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX lacks the first two words (Aram “the visions of my head”) of the Aramaic text.

[4:10]  ¹¹ tn Instead of “in the middle of the land,” some English versions render this phrase “a tree at the center of the earth” (NRSV); NAB, CEV “of the world”; NLT “in the middle of the earth.” The Hebrew phrase can have either meaning.

[4:10]  ¹² tn Aram “its height was great.”

[4:13]  ¹³ tn Aram “the visions of my head.”

[4:13]  ¹⁴ tn 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 ἄγγελος (angelo", “angel”) here. Theodotion simply transliterates the Aramaic word (’ir). The term is sometimes rendered “sentinel” (NAB) or “messenger” (NIV, NLT).

[7:2]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[7:2]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “and behold.”

[7:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[7:2]  ¹⁸ sn The referent of the great sea is unclear. The common view that the expression refers to the Mediterranean Sea is conjectural.

[7:13]  ¹⁹ tc The LXX has ἐπί (epi, “upon”) here (cf. Matt 24:30; 26:64). Theodotion has μετά (meta, “with”) here (cf. Mark 14:62; Rev 1:7).

[7:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[7:13]  ²¹ sn This text is probably the main OT background for Jesus’ use of the term “son of man.” In both Jewish and Christian circles the reference in the book of Daniel has traditionally been understood to refer to an individual, usually in a messianic sense. Many modern scholars, however, understand the reference to have a corporate identity. In this view, the “son of man” is to be equated with the “holy ones” (vv. 18, 21, 22, 25) or the “people of the holy ones” (v. 27) and understood as a reference to the Jewish people. Others understand Daniel’s reference to be to the angel Michael.

[7:13]  ²² tn Aram “they brought him near.”

[7:4]  ²³ tn Aram “heart of a man.”

[7:4]  ²⁴ sn The identity of the first animal, derived from v. 17 and the parallels in chap. 2, is Babylon. The reference to the plucking of its wings is probably a reference to the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (cf. chap. 4). The latter part of v. 4 then describes the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. The other animals have traditionally been understood to represent respectively Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, although most of modern scholarship identifies them as Media, Persia, and Greece. For a biblical parallel to the mention of lion, bear, and leopard together, see Hos 13:7-8.

[7:6]  ²⁵ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

[7:6]  ²⁶ tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

[7:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “sides.”

[7:6]  ²⁸ sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.

[7:8]  ²⁹ tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”

[7:8]  ³⁰ tn Aram “great.” So also in vv. 11, 20.

[7:9]  ³¹ tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”

[7:9]  ³² tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.

[7:9]  ³³ tn Aram “a flaming fire.”

[7:7]  ³⁴ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ³⁵ sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ³⁶ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.