The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 136

from Esth. i. l. In rcgnrd to this im:tgc, honour. Bishop Wordsworth ('Com. Dn.niel ') t.he statement th&t it is "golden" does thinks the statue we.s of Nebuchnduozzn.r not me&n t!J&t it was solid gold, &ny more himself, and quotes Lenormant (' llfonucl than the gold<'n altar (Numb. iv. 11) was d'Histoire Anciennc,' i. 287, tra.ns, i. 486). entirely of gold (Exod. xxx. 1-8; xxxvii. Lcnormant, in the pa.ss11ge referred to, quotes 25, 26); that it wae an "image" (fzelem) an inscription in which Nebuchadnezzar do<'s not n<'cessarily imply that it was a calls himself "the begotten of Marduk." l'tatne in the form of a human being. In From this Lenormant comes to the con- Ezek. xvi. I 7 there are references to tzalmee clusion that, like Caligula in later times, ecrkar, which seem naturally to be phalliu Ncbuch1tdnczzar demanded worship to be iruages. Hege I's opinion (' 1Esthetik ') was given to himself e.s a. god. Dut when we that t.he obelisk was really a modified turn back in this so.me book (' Manuel 7,hnllm image. If that is so, then the pro- d'Histoire Ancienne,' vol. i. p. 484, Engl. portions of this tulem are not extravagant tre.ns.), we find a number of statements for an obelisk. Moreover, those numbers, of a similar kind which invalidate the "sixty" 11nd "six," are evidently round emphasis which Lenorma.nt would give to numbers, their mnemonic character main- this. He c-,a,lls Bilit Larpanit, "the mother taining their place. The real nnmbers who bore me;" Sin, "who inspires me with might he anything near the number given; judgment;" Shamas1,, "who inspires my inst.cad of ''sixty," the rnnl number might body with the sentiment of justice ; " e.nd be not much over "fifty" cubits, and the so on. In saying he was begotten of Ma.r- "six" cubits, the number given as the duk, it is not as claiming the personal breadth, might be, without intentional de- possession of the characteristics of divinity ception, seven or eight cubits. The pro- that Nebuchadnezzar made this statement, portion, at all events, in the extreme case but as regarding himself to be the special of fifty and eight cubits, would not be instrument and favourite of the gods-a. extraordinary, even for a statue. It might posture of mind quite compatible with the be a gilded statue on a lofty column. One deepest and most real humility. Hippoly- other note may be added: 6 and 60, mul- tus e.nd Jerome maintain the same view as tiplied together, give 360, the number of Lenorma.nt on a priori evidence. There is the days in the Babylonian year. The no contradiction between N ebucha.dnezzar's division of the circle into 860 degrees is e.scription of praise to J ehove.h e.s e. God of probably due to this Babylonian division gods and a. Revealer of secrets, in eh. ii. 47, of the yea.r. In the pl,ain of Dura. There e.nd his erection of this image to Meroda.ch. are several places in Babylonia. which may That Jehovah we.s a. God of gods did not be identified with this (Schrader, 'Keilin- prevent Meroda.ch being that also, and even schriften,' 430). While it may be outside gre.ster. the wall of the city, this Dura may also Vers. 2, 8.-i'hen Nebuohe.dnezzar the have been within it; the Septue.gint render- king sent to go. ther together the princes, ing favours thie-ev ,reo,q, -roii 1r,p,f3&>.ov, the governors, and the captains, the judges, It is remarked by Professor Fuller that the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheri1Fs, districts within the city of Babylon have and all the rulers of the provinces, to oome at times " Dur" as pa.rt of the name. to the dedication of the image which Nebu- Thus, "in Esa.rhe.ddon's inscriptions, Duru- chadnezzar the king he.d set up. Then the l!UB.DIIJl,-ki is that pa.rt of Babylon which princes, the governors, and captains, the is elsewhere ea.lied Imgnr-Bel, or wall of judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the Babylon." This would confirw the view 1heri1fs, and all the rulers of the provinces, -Quatremere'e-the.t Duru was within the were gathered together unto the dedication city wa.lL Archdeacon Bose (' Speaker's of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king Commentary,' ad loc.) refers to Oppert e.s had set up ; e.nd the:, stood before the image having found near a. spot named Dna.ir the that Nebuchadnezzar he.d set up. The pedesta.l of e. colossal statue, but gives no Septue.gint is greatly interpolated, "And reference. On the fiat plains of Mesopo- Nebuchadnezzar, king of kings e.nd ruler tamia, this obelisk of a. hundred feet high (,cup,.b.,,v) of the whole inhabited earth would be seen for nearly thirteen miles in ( .,.~, oi1eovµ.•117J• li>,,71s ), sent to gather together every direction, e.nd the gleam from its e.11 nations, peoples, and tongues, gove!'Dors gilded top would be visiLle even further. and genera.ls, rulers e.nd overseers, exeoutors What was the occe.sion of this image being and those in authority, according to their set up? "'e have no means of even con- provinces, and e.11 in the whole inhabited jecturing. Certainly it was not merely to earth to come to the dedication of the golden seduce the Jews a.go.in into idolatry. From imag; which Nebuchadnezzar the king had thl'o way Mardu.k (ll1erode.ch) is glorified in set up." The word denoting the" inhabited the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar, the world " is one useil first of the Greek world pru1,11Lility ie that it wns erected ui his (Funeral Ora.tiop of Demosthcne~, 'l'~f oi1eov- oe. m. 1-30.] THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 97