Diving into Daniel: The King Builds a Gold Statue
Daniel 3:1-7 - The king responds to the dream and thinks that he can be worshipped like a god.
“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.” Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.”
Daniel 3:1-7 NASB1995
Well, ol’ Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t listening very well when Daniel interpreted his dream (or maybe he was listening too well). It’s not certain when in time this action occurs, but the reader might assume that this is not long after Daniel interprets the dream and he and his friends are rewarded by the king. Interestingly, Precept Austin talks about the time frame as a notation in the Septuagint:
While not stated in the Aramaic, in the Septuagint the Jewish translators of this verse added a notation that may help us understand Nebuchadnezzar's actions, this notation suggesting that the events of Daniel 3 may be some 15 years after the events of Daniel 2. The Septuagint reads…
In his eighteenth year Nabuchodonosor the king made a golden image, its height was sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits: and he set it up in the plain of Deira, in the province of Babylon (Brenton's English Translation of the Septuagint of Theodoret)
Nebuchadnezzar assumed the throne of Babylon in about 605BC which (if one accepts the the Septuagint dating as accurate) would place the events in Daniel 3 in about 587 or 586BC [or] very near the final destruction of Jerusalem (2Ki 25:8). The Net Bible note alludes to the Septuagint but then makes the comment that "there seems to be no real basis for associating the events of Daniel 3 with this date."
Clearly, one has to be careful not to be dogmatic in dating Daniel 3 and in so doing miss the point that these events are clearly related to the "single great statue" of Daniel 2. The upshot is that since the time is not specified in the original Aramaic text, it is not critical for one's understanding of Daniel 3 (or God would have given it)! The statement in Da 3:12 that "There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon" support the fact that there was little time lapse between Daniel 2 and Daniel 3.
I agree with the last paragraph - the timeframe is irrelevant or God would have provided the dates. It seems like the king is eager to prove that he was the indispensable absolute monarch by making a huge statue completely out of gold. By doing this he is hoping for an eternal rule or, at least eternity as a worshipped figurehead. Of course, since that ancient time the statue disappeared completely; no conquering army would be able to resist that much gold! An aside: One commentary noted that a French Archaeologist found a large pedestal structure six miles outside of Babylon while doing investigations in that area in 1863 that would conceivably fit the size of the statue.
The dimensions of the statue have some importance, Biblically, and as a substantiation of the timeframe of the Book of Daniel. From Precept Austin (the link to Six: Man’s Incompleteness, Human Will goes to a comprehensive study of eschatology by Spirit and Truth):
As an aside the dimensions of the statue are another substantiation that Daniel was written in the 6th Century BC, because the Babylonian system of mathematics was based upon 6’s (See discussion of sexagesimal [base sixty]) whereas the Greek system was somewhat similar to our decimal system which uses 10's (See discussion of Greek numerals). It is intriguing that the Babylonian legacy of sexagesimal still survives in our day in the form of degrees (360° in a circle or 60° in an angle of an equilateral triangle), minutes (60 in an hour), and seconds (60 in a minute) in trigonometry and the measurement of time, although both of these systems are actually mixed radix. Recall how the statue of Daniel 2 was a "unit" composed of successive kingdoms, implying that various facets of each of these kingdoms endured to the "foot and toe stage" but which will be totally obliterated by the victorious return of Christ to defeat all Gentile powers and influence in new Messianic age.
It is also worth noting that the statue was 60 and 6 cubits, since most authorities agree that from a Biblical perspective 6 is the number of man who was created on the 6th day (Ge 1:26, 27) (see Six: Man’s Incompleteness, Human Will), whereas 7 is the number of perfection or completion, leaving man always one integer short. And so it is not surprising that the last "world leader" of the Gentile kingdoms, the Antichrist, is identified in Revelation 13 by a series of "6's"…
Nebuchadnezzar demands that all of his officials must be at the dedication for the statue. This includes the following groups, as identified in the passage:
Satraps - a Persian word meaning “protector of the realm”
Prefects - another word for governors
Governors
Counselors
Treasurers
Judges
Magistrates
Rulers of Provinces
Looks like the king’s realm is a bit top-heavy with all sorts of bureaucrats and strap-hangars (a feeble word play by yours truly on the word satraps)! The herald at this gathering announces a command from the king that when they and everyone else in the kingdom hear music from a variety of instruments, they are to immediately stop what they are doing and bow down and worship the golden image. Failure to comply will be punishable by death in a fiery furnace. So much for freedom of religion in Babylon!
Here is what Enduring Word says about the musical instruments and the command by the king:
a. Horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery: Some of these musical instruments are difficult to define precisely but the idea is still clear. This was an impressive orchestra.
i. The use of the Aramaic words for lyre, psaltery and symphony has led some critics to say that the Book of Daniel was written hundreds of years after the time of Daniel. They say this because these particular words are Aramaic words borrowed from Greek words and supposedly Daniel did not have these words at his disposal in the sixth century B.C., and they supposedly did not come into the Hebrew vocabulary until the third century B.C.
ii. Nevertheless, ancient records tell us there were Greeks in the region of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia as far back as the eighth century B.C. Archaeology also proves beyond a doubt that Greek mercenaries fought and made military settlements in and around Judea before the time of Daniel.
b. Whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace: The command was backed up by a powerful threat. Nebuchadnezzar regarded the refusal to worship the image as treason, not only as a religious offense.
i. In this, Nebuchadnezzar was just like many politicians who often seem willing to use religion to strengthen their grip on political power. Politicians are happy to blend together spiritual allegiance and national allegiance. An example of this was displayed in 1936 when Herr Baldur von Schirach, head of the youth program for Nazi Germany, said: “If we act as true Germans we act according to the laws of God. Whoever serves Adolf Hitler, the führer, serves Germany, and whoever serves Germany serves God.”
ii. Another example comes from 1960 when the President of Ghana had a slightly larger than life-size statue of himself erected in front of the national house of Parliament. An inscription on the side of the statue read, “Seek ye first the political kingdom and all other things shall be added unto you.” The statue was destroyed after a bloodless coup in 1966.
c. A burning fiery furnace: Nebuchadnezzar was not a man who allowed lawbreakers to go unpunished. In an ancient cuneiform writing, Nebuchadnezzar was described as so devoted to justice that “he did not rest night or day.” The document also tells of a criminal guilty of a second offense who was decapitated, and afterwards a stone image of his head was displayed as a warning.
Idolatry and worship of false gods are not legitimate reasons to obey a governmental leader, although we are told that our leaders are put in place by God for His purposes (even the most pagan or unbelieving ones). As we will see in the next passage and devotional (Daniel 3:8-18), three young men from Judah that everyone should be familiar with from Sunday School Bible stories (and previous devotionals) are brought before the king because they refuse to worship the golden image or the gods of Babylon. It is quite intriguing to note that Daniel is not part of the action in Chapter 3. I’ll try to dig into that a little bit, too.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Once again, the power of Your Word is revealed by studying it and gaining knowledge and wisdom. Help me to never worship any modern false gods but only worship You. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Precept Austin was accessed on 3/29/2025 to review commentary for Daniel 3:1-7
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used by written permission.