NOTES for Dan 4:1-34
Today's reading contains a description of one of Daniel's prophecies. This prophecy, as one can see, is an interpretation of the meaning of a dream seen by Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 4-18). This somewhat unusual form of prophecy was apparently connected with the fact that God wanted to reveal something important directly to the one whom it concerned; Nebuchadnezzar, however, was not a visionary, and he was able to perceive the vision revealed to him only in a dream. But perception alone is not enough; understanding the meaning of what was seen is also necessary, and for that mystical receptivity alone is not sufficient. Understanding the meaning requires precisely a prophetic gift, the gift of direct and conscious perception of revelation from the One who sends visions. That is why Nebuchadnezzar needed a prophet who would explain to him the meaning of what he had seen. And this meaning, as one can see, turned out to be so terrifying that Daniel did not at once dare to tell the king everything (vv. 19-26). Still, he had to speak, and then Daniel, as is characteristic of prophets, drew the king's attention to what could avert the threat hanging over him (v. 27).
Here too, as one can see, Daniel remains precisely a prophet and does not turn into a pagan seer or fortune-teller: he knows that in human life nothing is rigidly predetermined, that each person's future depends on his choice, and that if the choice is made rightly, it can prevent even a disaster that appears unavoidable. But Nebuchadnezzar, as one can see, was unable to draw the conclusion from what Daniel had said, and then he had to live through everything about which God had warned him through His servant (vv. 28-36). Outwardly, apparently, this looked like a severe mental disorder lasting seven years ("seven times" in Hebrew and Aramaic usage means "seven years"). Vague hints of Nebuchadnezzar's illness have survived in the Babylonian chronicles. But the author of the Book of Daniel undoubtedly also had contemporary events in mind: the hint at the pride of rulers leading them to madness was quite transparent in the context of Antiochus Epiphanes' claims not only to royal but also to divine dignity. Nebuchadnezzar, who drew the right conclusions from his illness (v. 37), was intended by the author of the book to become an example for the rulers of his own age.