Expository Readers Guide to Daniel 3 Loren Lineberry, 2014

Introduction to the Expository Readers Guide to Daniel 3

There are several purposes shaping the Expository Readers Guide. Pride of place goes to helping readers understand Daniel 3 as expositors of the text. Specifically, the guide to Daniel 3 is sent out in the hope that expository preaching and expository teaching of Daniel 3 will be enhanced. Moreover, the reader who wants to go more deeply into the structure and linguistics of Daniel should benefit from the Expository Readers Guide to Daniel 3.

Another purpose is to help the reader with some acquaintance with the original languages of Daniel, Hebrew and Aramaic in this case, derive maximum benefit from reading the original languages. To this end, the Expository Readers Guide offers lexical data from the major Hebrew and Aramaic lexicons, including Kohler-Baumgartner, Brown-Driver-Briggs, William Holladay, and David Clines. Moreover, the Expository Readers Guide cites relevant lexical data from the New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, the Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, and the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament.

Readers who know Hebrew and Aramaic should benefit from the Expository Readers Guides attention to the grammar and syntax of the text. To this end, the Guide will cite relevant information from the Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax by Waltke and OConnor, from Davidsons Introductory Hebrew Grammar-Syntax by Gibson, from the standard Hebrew syntax of Wilhelm Gesenius, from A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar by Van der Merwe, from Hebrew Syntax by Ronald Williams, from the Introduction to Biblical Hebrew by T. O. Lambdin, from Drivers Hebrew Tenses, from An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew by Allen Ross, and from A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew by Paul Joon. Four Aramaic guides to grammar and syntax are offered, one by Franz Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic, and the more comprehensive German grammar of Bauer and Leander, the Grammatik Des Biblisch-Aramischen, as well as An Introduction to Aramaic by Frederick Greenspan, and the Basics of Biblical Aramaic by Miles Van Pelt.

For the reader without knowledge of the original languages, the Expository Readers Guide will nuance this lexical and syntactical information so that it will be easily understood. More to the point, the expository preacher, the Bible school teacher, and the leader of a home Bible study should benefit from this data. Particular attention is given in syntax to verbal aspect and stem formation as elements of meaning.

The expositor of Daniel 3 will be helped to understand the paragraph sense of each paragraph in Daniel 3. This attention to paragraph sense is a way of appreciating the context in which each verse is set. For the expository preacher, teacher, or reader, the subject of each paragraph as well as the structure of each paragraph helps define the context of each line of the text. The delineation of paragraph sense in the Guide is intended to prime the pump for the development of expository preaching and teaching outlines of Daniel 3.

The Expository Readers Guide to Daniel 3 offers the reader guidance to the genre of the text. The paragraph units will be identified in terms of genre, which, in turn, helps the reader know what to expect content-wise from the paragraph. For example, it is useful to know that a paragraph contains history as opposed to, say, prophecy. For in either case, the rules of the reading game differ; we expect to hear different kinds of messages from different genres, and these must be preached, taught, and read accordingly.

Finally, the Expository Readers Guide to Daniel 3 will offer relevant reflections on some, but not each and every, paragraph in Daniel. The author of the Guide reads the Book of Daniel as apocalyptic discourse. This genre is revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality, which is both temporal, in that it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, in that it involves another, supernatural world.[footnoteRef:1] Of immediate relevance, the transcendent reality that the Book of Daniel discloses is the sovereignty of God over the national and international political power-players in this world. Accordingly, reflections will be offered at relevant points in the Guide to comport with the transcendent reality of the Book of Daniel as a whole. [1: Rolf Knierim and Eugene M. Tucker, The Forms of Old Testament Literature, volume XX, Daniel by John J. Collins (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 105. ]

Table of Contents

Introduction ..1-2

General Introduction to Daniel 3......3

Outline of Daniel 3...4Daniel 3:1-7 Prelude: The Idolatry of Politics Becomes the Norm.5-21

Daniel 3:8-12 Witness: Paying No Heed to the Idolatry of Politics...21-30

Daniel 3:13-18 Resistance: Defying the Idolatry of Politics..30-41

Daniel 3:19-23 Retaliation: Paying the Price for Resistance.42-51

Daniel 3:24-30 Deliverance: God Exercises Sovereignty..51-65

Concluding Reflections on Daniel 3.66-73

Reflections on Daniel 3:1-766-68

Reflections on Daniel 3:8-12..68-70

Reflections on Daniel 3:13-1870-71

Reflections on Daniel 3:19-23.72

Reflections on Daniel 3:24-30.73

General Introduction to Daniel 3

Daniel 3 is the narrative of the three Jews mentioned at the conclusion of Daniel 2 and their resistance to the imposition of political idolatry by Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel 3:1-7 sets up the challenge to be faced by the three monotheistic Jews. The challenge is Nebuchadnezzars attempt to unify his political realm through the imposition of idol worship. As we shall note, in this opening paragraph the issue at stake is the use of religion to bolster Nebuchadnezzars hold on power.

The challenge opens with the principle actor, Nebuchadnezzar, creating a statue [3:1]. Then, Nebuchadnezzar dedicates the statue [3:2-3]. At this point, the principle actor changes to an unnamed herald who proclaims the order to worship the statue [3:4-7]. The subject of Daniel 3:1-7 is the temptation of the idolatry of politics.

Daniel 3:8-12 is a report, what amounts to an indictment, of the three Jews who pay no heed to this idolatry of politics. This paragraph is demarcated by a change in subject: certain unnamed Chaldeans. These come forward to accuse the Jews [3:8]. The substance of the indictment is announced by these Chaldeans in a speech delivered to Nebuchadnezzar [3:9-12]. The subject of Daniel 3:8-12 is the indictment of the resisters: witnesses note that these three pay no heed to the political idol.

Daniel 3:13-18 is arguably the centerpiece of the account. Having been accused by Nebuchadnezzar of paying no heed to his idolatrous use of religion, the three Jews state, in no uncertain terms, their refusal to bow down to worship this politician.

This centerpiece is demarcated by the dialogue between Nebuchadnezzar [3:13-15] and the three Jews [3:16-18]. In the opening dialogue, Nebuchadnezzar interrogates the Jews concerning the charge leveled against them [3:13-15]. In the second part of the dialogue, the Jews respond, affirming their resistance to the demand that they worship this king via the idol [3:16-18]. The subject of Daniel 3:13-18 is resistance to the idolatry of a political power-player.

In Daniel 3:19-23, the resistance pays the price the sentence of death. The paragraph is demarcated by the return to Nebuchadnezzar as the principle actor. The paragraph reports Nebuchadnezzars response to the resistance of the three Jews [3:19], his command to execute the three Jews [3:20-21], the death of the Jews executioners [3:22], and the throwing of the victims into the furnace [3:23]. The subject of Daniel 3:19-23 is the inevitability of retaliation for those who resist the idolatry of politics.

Finally, in Daniel 3:24-30, these three are miraculously delivered from their fate and thoroughly untouched by the kings presumptuous sentence of death. Indeed, in a stunning turnaround, the would-be idol Nebuchadnezzar reverses himself and utters a doxology to Yahweh.

This paragraph is demarcated by the reemergence of Nebuchadnezzar as the principle actor, this time in his astonishment, especially at what Nebuchadnezzar sees in the furnace [3:24-25]. Nebuchadnezzar continues to dominate the paragraph, ordering the three Jews to step forth out of the furnace [3:26]. The writer then reports what the eyewitnesses saw when the three emerged from the furnace [3:27]. Then, Nebuchadnezzar has the final say in the paragraph, his doxology to Yahweh [3:28] and a decree concerning Yahweh [3:29]. The paragraph ends with a report of the successes enjoyed by the three Jews. The subject of Daniel 3:24-30 is deliverance. Yahweh exercises his sovereignty over the worst this power-politician has to offer.

Outline of Daniel 3

I.Run-up: The Idolatry of Politics Becomes the National Norm [3:1-7]A.Creation of a Golden Statue [3:1]B.Embracing the statue [3:2-3]C.Proclamation: Political Idolatry Becomes the National Norm [3:4-7]

II.Refusal: Paying No Heed to the Idolatry of Politics [3:8-12]A.Witness: the Indictment [3:8]B.The Substance of the Indictment: Refusal to Pay Heed [3:9-12]

III.Resistance: Defying the Idolatry of Politics [3:13-18]A.Interrogation [3:13-15]B.Resistance [3:16-18]

IV.Retaliation: Paying the Price for Resistance [3:19-23]A.Rage [3:19]B.Sentenced to Execution [3:20-21]C.Death of the Executioners [3:22]D.Execution of the Sentence upon the Resisters [3:23]

V.Release: Yahweh Exercises Sovereignty over this Political Power-Player [3:24-30]A.Astonishment Comes to Nebuchadnezzar [3:24-25]B.Deliverance Comes to the Accused [3:26-27]C.Doxology Comes to Yahweh [3:28-29]D.Success Comes to the Accused [3:30]

Daniel 3:1-7 The Idolatry of Politics Becomes the National Norm

Translation(3:1) King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold, its height 60 cubits, its width 6 cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

(3:2) Then, king Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the provincial governors, prefects, and district superintendents, counselors, treasurers, judges, police chiefs, and all the high officials of the province; to come to the dedication of the statue that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (3:3) So, then, provincial governors, prefects, and district superintendents, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates were assembled and all the high officials of the province, for the dedication of the statute that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up; so, they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

(3:4) Then, a herald proclaimed loudly: To you, it is commanded, people, nations, and tongues. (3:5) When you hear the sound of a horn, a flute, lyre, trigon, a harp, a panpipe and all sorts of music; you will fall and worship the statue of gold that king Nebuchadnezzar has set up. (3:6) But, whoever does not fall and worship; at that very moment he shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.

(3:7) Therefore, at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, harp, and every sound of music; all the people, nations, and tongues fell and worshiped the statue of gold that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Subject of the paragraph

The subject of Daniel 3:1-7 is the challenge for three monotheistic Jews of the idolization of political power in the nation of Babylon. The focal point of this paragraph is the proclamation in Daniel 3:4-6. The repetition of the command fall and worship the statue [3:5-6] signals the main topic of the unit. As far as the rest of Daniel 3 is concerned, this proclamation sets up the conflict, the resistance, and the punishment to follow. For now, the reader of Daniel 3 should focus on the directive.

Paragraph sense[footnoteRef:2] [2: The expository preacher/teacher/reader may use the paragraph sense to prime the pump for sermon outlines and lesson plans. ]

Creation of a Golden Statue [3:1]

(i)[Assertive, 3:1a] King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold,(ii)[Apposition/elaboration (i) 3:1b] its height 60 cubits,(iii)[Apposition/elaboration (i-ii), 3:1c] its width 6 cubits;(iv)[Apposition/elaboration (i-iii), 3:1d] he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Embracing the Statue [3:2-3]

(v)[Temporal succession (i-iv), 3:2a] Then, king Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the provincial governors, prefects,, and district superintendents, counselors, treasurers, judges,magistrates,(vi)[Addition to (v), 3:2b] and all the high officials of the province,(vi)[Reason for (v-vi), 3:2c] to come to the dedication of the statue,(vii)[Elaboration of (vi), 3:2d] that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up;(viii)[Consequence of (v-vii), 3:3a] So, then, assembled were provincial governors, prefects,district superintendents, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates,(ix)[Addition to (viii), 3:3b] and all the high officials of the province,(x)[Reason for (ix), 3:3c] for the dedication of the statue,(xi)[Elaboration of (x), 3:3d] that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up;(xii)[Consequence of (viii-xi), 3:3e] they stood before the statue king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.Proclamation: Political Idolatry Becomes the National Norm [3:4-7]

(xiii)[Succession to (i-iv, v-xii), 3:4a] Then, a herald proclaimed forcefully:(xiv)[Directive elaborating (xiii), 3:4b] To you, it is commanded, people, nations, and tongues.(xv)[Elaboration of directive in (xiv), 3:5a] When you hear the sound of a horn, a flute, lyre, trigon,a harp, a panpipe,(xvi)[Elaboration of (xv), 3:5b] and all sorts of music;(xvii)[Directive, 3:5c] you will fall and worship the statue of gold,(xviii)[Elaboration of (xvii), 3:5d] that king Nebuchadnezzar has set up. (xix)[Adversative to (xvii-xviii), 3:6a] But, whoever does not fall and worship;(xx)[Elaboration of (xix), 3:6b] at that very moment, he shall be cast into the midst of a furnaceof blazing fire.(xxi)[Consequence of (xv-xx), 3:7a] Therefore, at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, harp and every sound of music;(xxii)[Elaboration of (xxi), 3:7b] all the people, nations, and tongues fell and worshiped the statueof gold,(xxiii)[Elaboration of (xxii). 3:7c] that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Daniel 3:1Creation of a Golden StatueKing Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold, its height 60 cubits, its width 6 cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

3:1aKing Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold is punctuated after gold with a zqp qtn, indicating a slight pause in the reading of the line.

The main verb in the sentence, made [ (Peal, perfect, 3rd, ms)], holds no real surprises. The Aramaic verb is usually translated to make or create.[footnoteRef:3] The verb is used in Daniel with God, the gods, and people as the subject. [3: Ludwig Kohler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, revised by Walter Baumgartner and Johann Stamm, translated and edited by M.E.J. Richardson, vol. II, - (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 1942 [hereafter, vol. I, -, will be abbreviated KB1, and vol. II, -, will be abbreviated KB2]; see also Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1979; reprint), 1104 [hereafter BDB]. ]

There are three terms in this brief line that also appear in Daniel 2 king [2:31, 45], statue [2:31, 32], and gold [2:32, 38] in the same general context, a report of Daniels interpretation of the kings dream [Daniel 2:31-45]. The interpretation includes the fact that he, the king, was the head of gold that sat atop the colossal statue in his dream. This back reference in Daniel 3:1a to Daniel 2:31, 32, and 38 may be intentional. That is, having been told by Daniel that the king was the head of gold on the statue, what more personally advantageous move could he make that to create an entire statue of gold?[footnoteRef:4] [4: For this thought, see D.J. Wiseman, ed., Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Daniel by Joyce Baldwin (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 99; John D.W. Watts and James W. Watts, ed., The Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 30, Daniel by John Goldingay (Nashville: Nelson Publishers, 1989), 72; Terry Muck, ed., The NIV Application Commentary, Daniel by Tremper Longman III (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 97; and Edward J. Young, The Prophecy of Daniel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980; reprint), 84. ]

Evidently, Nebuchadnezzar creates an image as was often done in the Ancient Near East of the time. John Collins notes, There are numerous reports of huge statues from the ancient world.[footnoteRef:5] [5: John J. Collins, Daniel (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 180. ]

The term translated statue [] is surely of a three dimensional form, since we are told in the next line that it has height and width. Kohler-Baumgartner translate the noun with statue;[footnoteRef:6] BDB prefers image for the noun [];[footnoteRef:7] and Holladay opts for statue.[footnoteRef:8] The fact that the writer of Daniel uses this term [] to depict an image or a statue suggests that, in some way, the had a human resemblance.[footnoteRef:9] At the same time, one must take Daniel 3:14 into account where Nebuchadnezzar identifies the statue in terms of my god.[footnoteRef:10] [6: KB2, 1964. ] [7: BDB, 1109. ] [8: William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 418. ] [9: W.F. Albright and David Noel Freedman, ed., The Anchor Bible, vol. 23, The Book of Daniel by Louis Hartman and Alexander Di Lella (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), 160-61. ] [10: On this point, see Goldingay, 70; and James A. Montgomery, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1989; reprint), 193-95. ]

3:1bIts height 60 cubits, its width 6 cubits is a nominal line that is punctuated with an `atnach, indicating the major pause in the line.

The sentence unpacks the general physical dimensions of the statute. Based upon the Sumerian-Akkadian number system, the statue was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide.[footnoteRef:11] Overall, the reader will appreciate that this figure was oddly proportioned, to say the least. The commentators are more or less divided on what these grotesque proportions mean. Collins simply notes that, when all is said and done, the measurements cannot be taken realistically.[footnoteRef:12] Montgomery, on the other hand, affirms that these numbers depict a stele partly sculptured where the stone is decorated at the top with the relief of a bust of the human body.[footnoteRef:13] [11: Baldwin, 101. ] [12: Collins, Daniel, 181. ] [13: See Montgomery, 196, for details in support of this point. ]

Be all of this as it may, the reader is left with the text as we have it. In the final analysis, the writer of Daniel 3:1b may not have been excessively fixated on the physical dimensions of the statue, but rather on its spiritual and political influence.

3:1cHe set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon is the final sentence in Daniel 3:1.

He set it up [ (Haphel, perfect, 3rd, ms, with a 3rd, ms, suffix)] is written in the Haphel stem of the Aramaic root []. The Haphel stem of the verb underscores active causative action on Nebuchadnezzars part.[footnoteRef:14] Regardless of the physical appearance of the stele, the author intends to place responsibility for this foray into national political idolatry with the initiative of Nebuchadnezzar. [14: On this stem, see Miles Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Aramaic (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 150; see also Hans Bauer and Pontus Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramischen (Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1962), 36 a-e. ]

In the plain of Dura [ ] is a prepositional phrase, using the preposition [] to underscore location in space.[footnoteRef:15] The precise coordinates of Dura are not known. Montgomery cites sources that locate Dura about 12 miles south of Babylon.[footnoteRef:16] Slotki is close to this, noting, According to some authorities, it was near Tulul Dura on the river of the same name which flows into the Euphrates about six miles south of Babylon.[footnoteRef:17] As the next phrase tells us, the statute was in the vicinity of Babylon. [15: KB2, 1830; Bauer-Leander 69 b; and Franz Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1983), 77. ] [16: Montgomery, 197; see also Young, 85. ] [17: Judah J. Slotki, Daniel-Ezra-Nehemiah, revised by Rabbi Ephraim Oratz and Ravshalom Shahar, (New York: Soncino Press, 1993), 21; see also Baldwin, 101; Montgomery, 197; Collins, Daniel, 182. ]

Daniel 3:2-3Embracing the Statue(3:2) Then king Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble, to the provisional governors, prefects, and district superintendents, counselors, treasurers, judges, police chiefs, and all the high officials of the province; to come to the dedication of the statue that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (3:3) So, then, provincial governors, prefects, and district superintendents, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates were assembled and all the high officials of the province for the dedication of the statute that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up; so they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.3:2aThen, king Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble is a sentence that is punctuated with a legarmeh indicating a brief pause in the line. Daniel 3:2a includes the list of invitees.

Daniel 3:2a uses the connective waw on the first word of the line then Nebuchadnezzar indicating that the author is carrying forward the thread of the discourse, pointing to the next key event.[footnoteRef:18] [18: See Bauer-Leander 106 a; KB2, 1862. ]

Sent word [ (Peal, perfect, 3rd, ms)] is literally translated to send; the verb may be used absolutely to communicate to send an order.[footnoteRef:19] C. John Collins notes that this verb, when used with an infinitive, conveys a degree of authority on the part of the subject of the verb.[footnoteRef:20] F.-L. Hossfeld notes that when a direct object is omitted, as it is here, the meaning becomes send messages/messengers.[footnoteRef:21] Hossfeld further notes that this use of is understood as a process of communication taking place exclusively between the subject and the addressee, which serves to signal a goal- or result-oriented contact.[footnoteRef:22] The net effect is that the message that is sent is one thing; the crucial matter is who sent it. The reader should appreciate the implied authority and implicit threat in the construction. Indeed, the reader will note how the writer signals complete and immediate obedience via repetition of the invitees who dutifully attend in 3:3. [19: KB2, 1995; also Holladay, 423. ] [20: Willem VanGemeren, ed., New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001; C-D ROM], C. John Collins, [hereafter abbreviated NIDOTTE]. ] [21: F.-L. Hossfeld, , in TDOT, vol XV, 50. ] [22: Ibid., 51. ]

The two lists of officialdom in Daniel 3:2-3 are ranked by status, from the most powerful to the less powerful. Montgomery writes, To the festival are summoned all the grandees of the empire, and a list of these classes in order of precedence is given.[footnoteRef:23] [23: Montgomery, 197; see also Baldwin, 101; but note Goldingay, 65. ]

Provincial governors [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article] are listed first. Rosenthal lists this term as coming from the sphere of Persian political and legal administration.[footnoteRef:24] KB concurs, translating the noun in the sense of a protector of the empire.[footnoteRef:25] S.R. Driver notes that the provincial governor would be the chief ruler of a province.[footnoteRef:26] Pter-Contesse and Ellington note that this position identifies those who were in charge of the main divisions of the empire.[footnoteRef:27] The Septuagint translator uses a noun [] that means highest, uppermost and may be translated consul.[footnoteRef:28] Most of the English versions translate with satraps or princes. In any event, this man would have been the chief representative of the king within his province.[footnoteRef:29] [24: Rosenthal 189. ] [25: KB2, 1811. ] [26: S.R. Driver, The Book of Daniel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1901), 36. ] [27: Ren Pter-Contesse and John Ellington, A Handbook on The Book of Daniel (New York: United Bible Socities, 1993), 73. ] [28: H.G. Liddell, Robert Scott, and H.S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968), 1854 [hereafter abbreviated LSJ]. ] [29: Robert Johnson, , in NIDOTTE [H7068]. ]

Prefects [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article] refer to a deputy level administrative position in the empire. Rosenthal identifies this noun as an Akkadian loanword used in political and financial administration and means a prefect.[footnoteRef:30] KB translates the noun with prefect or governor;[footnoteRef:31] BDB simply goes with prefect.[footnoteRef:32] The Septuagint translator goes with a noun [] that means in general a leader, commander, or a governor.[footnoteRef:33] Gordon Johnson notes that these prefects were administrative officials governing vassal states.[footnoteRef:34] Most of the English versions translate with prefect. [30: Rosenthal 188. ] [31: KB2, 1937; also Holladay, 414. ] [32: BDB, 1104. ] [33: LSJ, 1652. ] [34: Johnson, , in NIDOTTE; see also Driver, Daniel, 32. ]

District superintendent [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article)] refers to an administrative position in which one is the superintendent or governor of a district.[footnoteRef:35] BDB simply goes with governor.[footnoteRef:36] The Septuagint translator uses a term [] that references a governor of a district.[footnoteRef:37] Once more, the term refers to administrative officials who were in charge of vassal states. However, if an annexed province proved to be overly resistant to Babylonian rule, the province was placed under the administration of a district superintendent who could utilize military actions as well as deportations to settle things down.[footnoteRef:38] Slotki refers to this position as a governor of a conquered province.[footnoteRef:39] Hartman and Di Lella point out that the district superintendents [] were heads of divisions within the overall governance of the empire.[footnoteRef:40] Most of the English versions go with governor. [35: KB2, 1955. ] [36: BDB, 1108; also Holladay, 417. ] [37: LSJ, 1805. ] [38: Johnson, , in NIDOTTE. ] [39: Slotki, 21; see also S.R. Driver, The Book of Daniel (Cambridge: The Cambridge University Press, 1901), 36. ] [40: Hartman and Di Lella, 156. ]

These first three positions are reasonably powerful. They are the political, administrative, and military leaders immediately under the king. They rule independently, while doing so at the behest of Nebuchadnezzar.

Counselors [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article)] were among the political and legal administrators of the era; [footnoteRef:41] they functioned as advisors or counselors within the royal court.[footnoteRef:42] Johnson identifies these as royal advisors.[footnoteRef:43] The Septuagint translator uses a participle [ (accusative, ms, pl, present participle)] to render the Aramaic noun. The meaning of this participle varies: [1] guide, [2] to be ones leader in some way defined by the context, [3] to conduct.[footnoteRef:44] The writer is silent on the specific area of counsel, if there was one, which these people provided. They are simply identified as counselors attached to the royal court. [41: Rosenthal 189. ] [42: KB2, 1807; so BDB, 1078; Holladay, 396; Bauer-Leander 15 d; Van Pelt, 222. ] [43: Johnson, , in NIDOTTE. ] [44: LSJ, 763. ]

Treasurer [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article)] is clear enough. As part of the legal and administrative leadership, the treasurer could refer to the chief treasurers from around provinces.[footnoteRef:45] Other lexicons translate the noun with treasurer.[footnoteRef:46] Johnson goes with royal treasurer.[footnoteRef:47] C.F. Keil notes that the noun means master of the treasury or superintendent of the public treasury.[footnoteRef:48] There is a Septuagint tradition that uses a noun [] that means a treasurer, or a chief financial officer [Egypt].[footnoteRef:49] [45: KB2, 1842. ] [46: BDB, 1086; Holladay, 401. ] [47: Johnson, , in NIDOTTE. ] [48: C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, vol. IX, Ezekiel, Daniel, Three Volumes in One, vol. 3, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, by C.F. Keil, translated by M.G. Easton (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids: 1991, reprint), 121. ] [49: LSJ, 432. ]

Judges [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article)] is also fairly straightforward. The noun depicts one who is well versed in the law, a lawyer, or a judge.[footnoteRef:50] BDB notes that the noun is a Persian loan word that represents a law-bearer or a judge.[footnoteRef:51] The Septuagint translator unites this noun, judge, with the next, police chief, into a single phrase; not much help. Johnson identifies these as judges.[footnoteRef:52] Most of the English versions render the noun as judges. [50: KB2, 1856. ] [51: BDB, 1089; similarly Holladay, 403. ] [52: Johnson, , in NIDOTTE. ]

Police chiefs [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article)] is a term that is a bit more dicey, admitting of two plausible translations. KB affirms that the noun [] may refer either to [1] a police officer or [2] a magistrate, thus setting the stage for the two options.[footnoteRef:53] Johnson opts for magistrate, as do several others.[footnoteRef:54] At the same time, others go with police chief,[footnoteRef:55] or sheriffs.[footnoteRef:56] As already noted, the Septuagint is not much help. The English versions oscillate between magistrate and officer; take your pick. The reader should not get too fussy here. We may conclude that these last two nouns, judges [] and police chiefs/magistrates [], represent what we might call the justice department of Babylon. [53: KB2, 2008; Holladay, 425, follows suit. ] [54: Johnson, , in NIDOTTE; Baldwin, 101; Keil, 121; Montgomery, 198. ] [55: Rosenthal 189. ] [56: Slotki, 22; Young, 86. ]

With these four terms, we come to the end of the formally identified political and legal power-players in Babylon. The next depiction, all the high officials of the province, rounds out the laundry list of the political and legal administrative functionaries in Babylon.

All the high officials of the province [ (noun, fm, sg, definite article) (noun, ms, pl, construct) (noun, ms, sg, construct)] top off the list of invitees. The operative term here is high official []. KB renders this term in the sense of an official of high standing or simply a provincial administrator.[footnoteRef:57] There are Ancient Near Eastern cognates to this term that shed some light. In Nabataean, the term depicts one who is in command; in Jewish Aramaic, the noun describes a ruler; in Christian Palestinian Aramaic, the term represents a prefect. Overall, in the Ancient Near East, the term is used for either [1] an official of high standing or [2] a provincial administrator.[footnoteRef:58] Rosenthal renders the noun [] with authority or official; Rosenthal further notes that the adjectival form of this noun [] depicts one who is in control, one who is authorized, or simply a powerful official.[footnoteRef:59] Philip Nel notes that this Aramaic noun [] denotes one who has power.[footnoteRef:60] While the noun does signal power over or control over, there is no necessarily negative connotation implicit in the term such as domineering.[footnoteRef:61] Slotki is surely correct when he translates the term in the sense of minor provincial administrators.[footnoteRef:62] Most of the English versions go with either [1] all the rulers of the province or [2] all the provincial officials. The upshot is that all the high officials of the province amount to what we would call the bureaucracy. [57: KB2, 1995; see also Holladay, 423, to the same effect. ] [58: Ibid. ] [59: Rosenthal, 98. ] [60: Philip J. Nel, , in NIDOTTE [H8948]. ] [61: Ibid. ] [62: Slotki, 22. ]

The net effect is that in Daniel 3:2 Nebuchadnezzar commands that the three layers of his own administrative outreach: the political, administrative, and military leaders immediately under the king [provincial governors, prefects, and district superintendents] and the lesser administrative and legal officials [counselors, treasurers, judges and police chiefs] and finally, the ubiquitous bureaucracy [all the high officials of the province] present themselves for the dedication of this statue. To anticipate a bit, Nebuchadnezzar will demand that all of these officials as well as people, nations and tongues will collectively fall and worship the statue of gold [3:5]. Accordingly, Daniel 3:2 is the opening gambit in this power-politicians attempt to use religion to bolster his own hold on power. This gambit will be resisted by three Jews who refuse to be a party to the subordination of their faith to the self-serving mandates of a power-hungry political-military leader.

3:2bTo come to the dedication of the statute that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up is the last sentence in Daniel 3:2. There is a slight pause in the reading of the line after to come to the dedication [pause is indicated by zqp qtn].Syntactically, the sentence tells us that the invitees knew why they were summoned. Daniel 3:2b uses the infinitive construct [to come to ()] to clarify the purpose of the command performance.[footnoteRef:63] [63: On this function of the infinitive, see Bauer-Leander 85 a; Van Pelt, 108. ]

Dedication [ (noun, fm, sg, construct)] is the operative term in the sentence. The noun [] is a loan word from Hebrew [] and means dedication.[footnoteRef:64] In Aramaic, the noun is used to signify the inauguration of a religious structure.[footnoteRef:65] The noun appears four times in the Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible. In Ezra 6:16, 17, the noun [] is used in reference to the dedication of the house of God; while here in Daniel 3:2, the noun [] is used in reference to the dedication of the statute that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Both are used to signify the inauguration of a religious structure, as noted above. W. Dommershausen notes that Daniel 3:2ff describes the dedication of a divine image. The ceremony includes the presence of numerous invited guests, the playing of various music instruments, and prostration in worship.[footnoteRef:66] [64: KB2, 1878; also BDB, 1093; Holladay, 406. ] [65: Jackie A. Naud, , in NIDOTTE [H2852]. ] [66: Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, ed., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, 15 volumes; vol. V, translated by David Green (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1968), 21 [hereafter abbreviated TDOT]. ]

The use of the term in Daniel 3:2c points to a religious ceremony. The participants would have understood that they were assembling to celebrate the inauguration of the worship of this statue.[footnoteRef:67] Montgomery attests the widespread use of liturgies connected with these religious rites of dedication.[footnoteRef:68] Collins concurs, writing, Obeisance to the idol at the kings command would, no doubt, imply an affirmation of loyalty to the king.[footnoteRef:69] With loyalty to the king being expressed by means of worship of this statue, Nebuchadnezzar would have been solidifying his hold on power. The upshot is this: Daniel 3:2 depicts the humanistic use of religion to boost the power of the rulers of this world.[footnoteRef:70] Nebuchadnezzar was not the first, nor would he be the last, to make religion the handmaiden of politics. He has had many successors. [67: See Pter-Contesse and Ellington, 73. ] [68: Montgomery, 197; see also Hartman and Di Lella, 161. ] [69: Collins, Daniel, 183. ] [70: Baldwin, 99. ]

3:3a-bThese lines essentially repeat the thrust of 3:2. The reader may consult above for the gory details of this more or less identical line. At the same time, the line is valuable for noting the immediacy and the thoroughness of the obedience to the command of the political sovereign. This obedience is in marked contrast to the three Jews.

At the same time, the rank and file of the politically powerful depicted in 3:2-3 represent the sum total of the political power against which the three resisters will respond. In spite of the odds, they listen to their consciences.

Daniel 3:4-7Proclamation: Political Idolatry Becomes the National Norm(3:4) Then, a herald proclaimed loudly, To you a commandment people, nations, and tongues: (3:5) At the time that you hear the sound of a horn, a flute, lyre, trigon, a harp, panpipe and all sorts of music, you are to fall down and worship the statue of gold that king Nebuchadnezzar has set up. (3:6) But, whoever does not fall and worship, at the same moment, shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.

(3:7) Therefore, at the time, when all the people heard the sound of a horn, a flute, a lyre, a trigon, harp and every sound of music, all the people, nations, and tongues fell and worshiped the statue of gold that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

3:4aThen, a herald proclaimed loudly is punctuated with an `atnach, indicating the major pause in the sentence.

A herald [ (noun, ms, sg, definite article)] is a noun that is used only here in the Aramaic section of the Hebrew Bible. The noun is not a Greek loan word from kryx [preacher, announcer],[footnoteRef:71] but rather is a Persian loan word for one who is a caller or simply a herald.[footnoteRef:72] Collins notes that this term [] may also include couriers spreading the news.[footnoteRef:73] [71: Bauer-Leander 51 z. ] [72: KB2, 1902r. ] [73: Collins, Daniel, 183. ]

Proclaimed loudly is actually written as a participle [ (Peal, participle, ms, sg)] followed by a prepositional phrase [ + (noun, ms, sg)]. The preposition [] may be read here instrumentally in the sense of with force, with strength, or with power.[footnoteRef:74] The noun translated loudly [] means strength or better yet for this phrase power or might.[footnoteRef:75] H. Eising notes, concerning Daniel 3:4, that is merely used adverbially in the sense of crying strongly, i.e., aloud.[footnoteRef:76] The modifier tells the reader that the herald made his point clearly and unambiguously; everyone will know what is expected of them. [74: For this use of this preposition, see Rosenthal 77. ] [75: KB2, 1875. ] [76: H. Eising, , in TDOT, vol. IV, 349. ]

The author now reproduces the edict making political idolatry the national norm [Daniel 3:4b-6b]. The reader of this proclamation can appreciate its four parts: [1] the order (3:4b), [2] the scope of the order (3:4b), [3] the signal (3:5a), [4] the edict (3:5b-c), and [5] the penalty for ignoring the edict (3:6a-b).[footnoteRef:77] [77: Hopefully, this break down will help the expository preacher and the teacher. ]

3:4bThe OrderTo you it is commanded

The order front loads those impacted by the demand. The syntactical function of this front loading is to clearly identify those to whom this proclamation applies. The prepositional phrase that opens the line to you [plural] is fleshed out more fully via the vocative of address people, nations and tongues.

It is commanded [ (Peal, participle, ms, pl)] is written with a participle. The syntactical function of the participial form of the main verb is to signal present aspect to you, it is herewith commanded.[footnoteRef:78] The listeners would pick up on the import: Obedience is expected immediately. [78: See Bauer-Leander 81 a. ]

Command [] is normal use for this root [].[footnoteRef:79] Obviously, the command element in this word is dependent upon the authority figure that stands behind it king Nebuchadnezzar. The listeners would know that the force of this public announcement is law; it is an ultimatum. S. Wagner notes that when is used in the sense of command, a person forces his own will on someone else with the expectation that the person will do what he wills.[footnoteRef:80] [79: KB2, 1816; BDB, 1081; Holladay, 397. ] [80: S. Wagner, , in TDOT, vol. I, 333. ]

3:4bThe Scope of the Orderpeople, nations, and tongues

People [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article)] is a term that is used of both Israelites and non-Israelites in the Aramaic OT.[footnoteRef:81] Holladay understands the term as an ethnic designation.[footnoteRef:82] Daniel Block notes that the term, people [], designates a sense of ethnic community based upon blood relationships.[footnoteRef:83] E. Lipiski demurs, noting, that frequently suggests the notion of totality, of the people as a whole, like the Arabic mma. It is used in connection with political, civil, and religious institutions: levy of troops, popular assembly, populace, congregation of the faithful, and religious community. [footnoteRef:84] At the same time, Montgomery identifies people [] as the political unit within the empire.[footnoteRef:85] [81: KB2, 1950. ] [82: Holladay, 416. ] [83: Daniel I. Block, Nations/National Theology in NIDOTTE. ] [84: E. Lipiski, , in TDOT, vol. XI, 174. ] [85: Montgomery, 202. ]

Nations [ (noun, fm, pl)] is a term that signifies a community of people, a nation.[footnoteRef:86] Block claims that nation [] signifies a clan or a nation descended from a common ancestry.[footnoteRef:87]The corresponding term used in the Hebrew Bible [] does have tribal connotations.[footnoteRef:88] [86: KB2, 1815. ] [87: Block, Nations/National Theology in NIDOTTE. ] [88: KB1, 62. ]

Tongues [ (noun, ms, pl, definite article)] indicates linguistic distinctions within the empire. The practice of identifying national identity on the basis of language was alive and well in the Ancient Near East.

It seems obvious that the master politician, Nebuchadnezzar, intended to cast the net of his power and worship over a wide area. Ethnicity, ancestry, and language coalesce into a collective designation for the residents of this leaders empire. Longman summarizes the scope of this order, The various categories of people in the list are the political officials from around the empire, which may signal that this was Nebuchadnezzars attempt to solidify control over the diverse elements of his vast empire [emphasis mine].[footnoteRef:89] [89: Longman, 98. ]

3:5aThe SignalAt the time that you hear the sound of a horn, a flute, lyre, trigon, a harp, panpipe and all sorts of music

The sentence announces the signal for the worship of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar demands of his political leadership and the population. The general drift of the line is that worship is signaled by musical fanfare, wherever and whenever that may be.

At the time [ (preposition + noun, ms, sg, definite article)] is a prepositional phrase. This temporal indication of the signal stresses immediacy as soon as the music sounds. The temporal marker at the time[footnoteRef:90] indicates that the response is to be virtually instantaneous, thus verifying ones sincere devotion to the king and his statue. [90: The noun [] may be rendered as soon as [KB, 1944r]; Holladay, 415r, at the time when; Bauer-Leander 109 s opts for as soon as. All in all, the temporal construction communicates immediacy. ]

Concerning the musical instruments, this may be noted: The various instruments are both winds and strings. The horn [ (noun, fm, sg, definite article)] probably points to the curved rams horn, used as a musical instrument.[footnoteRef:91] The flute or pipe [ (noun, fm, sg, definite article)] is a wind instrument of some sort,[footnoteRef:92] perhaps a whistle or shepherds pipe.[footnoteRef:93] The lyre [ (noun, ms, sg)] is probably a stringed instrument, something like a zither.[footnoteRef:94] The trigon [ (noun, fm, sg)] amounts to a harp, a four stringed musical instrument in a triangular shape.[footnoteRef:95] Finally, the panpipe [ (noun, fm, sg)] may refer to a musical instrument, perhaps a double-flute,[footnoteRef:96] or it may be a more general term, referring not to an instrument per se, but to harmonious playing.[footnoteRef:97] The point to be gleaned from this laundry list of wind and string instruments is this: The general picture in the list is accentuates the fanfare attached to the royal worship. As Longman notes, the list emphasizes the flourish surrounding the ceremony and heightens the tension, focusing on the moment of obedience or disobedience.[footnoteRef:98] [91: KB, 1973r; see also Montgomery, 202; Michael L. Brown, , in NIDOTTE.] [92: See Rosenthal 57; KB, 1924r.] [93: Goldingay, 65; see also Montgomery, 202.] [94: KB, 1970r.] [95: Ibid., 1984r.] [96: Ibid., 1938r; Goldingay, 65.] [97: Goldingay, 65; Baldwin, 102.] [98: Longman, 99. ]

3:5b-cDemand to WorshipYou will fall down and worship the statue of gold, that king Nebuchadnezzar has set up

The immediate response to the musical fanfare is spelled out you will fall and worship. Syntactically, Daniel 3:5b is a directive, even though both verbs, fall [ (Peal, imperfect, 2nd, ms, pl)] and worship [ (Peal, imperfect, 2nd, ms, pl)] are written in the imperfect aspect. Strictly speaking these verbs are not imperatives. However, the imperfect aspect of the Aramaic verb, like the imperfect of the Hebrew verb, may have a jussive sense.[footnoteRef:99] The jussive communicates Nebuchadnezzars will in this matter;[footnoteRef:100] the call for worship is not an invitation; it is a demand. Yet, as noted, the edict is communicated in moderated directive forms, the jussive, possibly to retain the sense of demand but in more politely diplomatic language. [99: See Bauer-Leander 78 r; see also Van Pelt, 96. ] [100: Paul Joon, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew, translated and revised by T. Muraoka, 2 vols., (Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 1966), 114 g-h [hereafter abbreviated J-M]. ]

This collocation of verbs, fall and worship, appears in Daniel 3:5, 15 in the Aramaic OT. No similar collocation with these roots appears in the Hebrew Bible.

There is a syntactical-semantic matter in this collocation. That is, Hebrew utilizes a construction called hendiadys; verbal hendiadys uses two verbs connected by a simple waw to express a single but complex idea. In many cases, the first verb, fall in this case, serves to qualify the second, worship.[footnoteRef:101] Indeed, the first may be translated as an adverb modifying the second verb.[footnoteRef:102] The point syntactically is that these are not two separate actions, but rather fall and worship is part and parcel of the same package. We shall have to leave the translation until the senses of the verbs are teased out. [101: Thomas O. Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (Charles Scribners Sons: New York, 1971), 238. ] [102: Ibid. ]

Fall [] in a worship context stresses the falling on ones face as an indication of self-humiliation.[footnoteRef:103] Allan Harman notes that this verb [] is used to communicate an act of self-humiliation when one falls on his or her face before a superior.[footnoteRef:104] H. Seebass concurs with the humility theme, noting that is used to express humility. Indeed, one falls [] before one of higher rank or status.[footnoteRef:105] In other words, vis--vis the one who falls there is admission of deference; and vis--vis the one before whom one falls there is an admission of superiority. The net effect is this: communicates deference, submissiveness, servility. Moreover, if we translate this opening term in the hendiadys as an adverb, then we may render: submissively worship, compliantly worship, or subserviently worship. The act of falling [] is a visible sign of capitulation, of compliance, of surrender, and of assent to what the statute represents. [103: Holladay, 414; see also BDB, 1103. ] [104: Allan Harman, , in NIDOTTE [H5877]. ] [105: H. Seebass, , in TDOT, vol. IX, 491. ]

Worship [] is a term that means to pay homage to.[footnoteRef:106] BDB adds do homage (by prostration).[footnoteRef:107] Terence Fretheim observes that this verb reinforces the idea of obeisance.[footnoteRef:108] There is, therefore, a psychological sense of veneration, of profound honor, attached to paying homage to; it seems to connote devotion to an admitted superior. [106: KB2, 1937; see also Holladay, 414. ] [107: BDB, 1104. ] [108: Terence Fretheim, , in NIDOTTE [H6032]. ]

The Septuagint translator uses a Greek verb [] that means to make obeisance to the gods or their images, especially in reference to the Oriental custom of prostrating oneself before kings and superiors.[footnoteRef:109] In the Hebrew Bible, the root [] is used exclusively in Isaiah and exclusively of idol worship. [109: LSJ, 1518. ]

Later in this section, Nebuchadnezzar will use this root [] in parallel with another root []. This latter root may shed light on the former. Basically, in Aramaic implies to serve and is so used in parallel with in Daniel 3:12, 14, 18, and 28.[footnoteRef:110] The verb is used of Daniels serving Yahweh in 6:17, 21; 7:14, 27. Accordingly, the parallelism suggests that submissively showing veneration [] also takes concrete form in actively serving or doing the bidding of []. It is noteworthy that this additional nuance comes out later via Nebuchadnezzar. More than likely veneration demonstrated in servitude was the intent all along, but it might be politically expedient to divulge the full intent of the edict a bit at a time. [110: KB2, 1957; see also BDB, 1108 and Holladay, 417 for the sense of serve. ]

So, the net effect of fall and worship is this: first, this act symbolizes loyalty, devoutness, consecration and commitment to the object of worship. Second, the psychological dimension discloses compliance, subservience, submission. The translation may reflect the hendiadys, therefore, with compliantly pay homage to or submissively show veneration for the statute. Third, this veneration is considerably more than an intellectual belief state; indeed, veneration issues forth in servitude and obedience to the crown, as will be made clear later. The upshot is that the king intends to determine once and for all that his subjects, leaders and followers alike, acknowledge a concentrated regard for what is truly ultimate in their lives and show the same with unquestioned obedience.

The statue of gold has already been considered in Daniel 3:1. Provisionally, we concluded that the statue of gold as an effigy of one of Nebuchadnezzars gods [see Nebuchadnezzars statement in 3:14].

3:6a-bPenalty: On Threat of DeathBut, whoever does not fall and worship; at the same moment shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.

Daniel 3:6a-b concludes the proclamation of the herald with the proclamation of the penalty.

Whoever [] is a relative pronoun that may be translated whoever.[footnoteRef:111] Kohler-Baumgartner translate with whomsoever.[footnoteRef:112] The indefinite relative pronoun[footnoteRef:113] seems to be used to make the sanction inclusive; Nebuchadnezzar will brook no rivals to his acknowledgment of unquestioned obeisance. [111: Holladay, 412. ] [112: KB2, 1918; see also Bauer-Leander 108 n. ] [113: Rosenthal 37. ]

Does not fall and worship[footnoteRef:114] is the gist of the infraction; resisting the masters demand for submissive veneration, for compliant commitment, for concentrated regard for what is truly ultimate invites summary execution. [114: The language used here for fall and worship is the same in 3:5; see the notes there to fill in the gaps on the infraction. ]

At that same moment [] clearly indicates immediate execution. The phrase uses a prepositional phrase [] followed by a definite noun in apposition []; literally, we have: in it [], the very moment []. Holladay notes that the noun [] references a short space of time, at the same moment, or at once in Daniel 3:6b.[footnoteRef:115] Rosenthal goes with at this very time or at this very moment or at this very hour.[footnoteRef:116] Driver notes that the collocation denotes any small interval of time.[footnoteRef:117] [115: Holladay, 424; see also BDB, 1116; KB2, 1006. ] [116: Rosenthal 89. ] [117: Driver, Daniel, 40. ]

Shall be cast [ (Hithpeel imperfect, 3rd, ms)] applies to whomsoever does not show their submissive regard for the statue. The Hithpeel stem is passive in nuance;[footnoteRef:118] resisters have no choices. [118: Van Pelt, 125. ]

Into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire is a phrase that depicts execution by cremation. Specifically, into the midst of [ (preposition, , + noun, ms, sg, construct)] is a prepositional phrase that begins a construct chain. That is, the prepositional phrase is followed by a furnace of fire [ (noun, ms, sg, construct) (noun, common, sg, definite article)], which is further clarified as blazing [ (Peal, participle, fm, sg, definite article)].

Into the midst [] is obviously a locational use of the preposition.[footnoteRef:119] Into the midst of a furnace is where they are headed. Kohler-Baumgartner and Holladay translate the noun [] in the sense of interior or inner part.[footnoteRef:120] Rosenthal goes both ways, translating midst and inside.[footnoteRef:121] Either way, not much in the way of meaning is lost; resisters wound up inside a blazing furnace. [119: Rosenthal 79; BDB, 1098. ] [120: KB2, 1843. ] [121: Rosenthal, 81. ]

Furnace [] is a noun that develops from an Akkadian term [utnu] that describes a brick furnace; the term has cognates that go back to Sumerian [udun] and even pre-Sumerian.[footnoteRef:122] The burning of victims in furnaces as a means of punishment was known in the Ancient Near East of this time.[footnoteRef:123] Indeed, the practice was known in the Greek period prior to the time of Christ.[footnoteRef:124] [122: KB2, 1829. ] [123: See the following discussions: Collins, Daniel, 184-85; Goldingay, 70; Montgomery, 202.] [124: See 2 Maccabees 7; 13. ]

The precise shape of these furnaces cannot be pinned down with any exactitude. A good guess, based upon archeological data, is that the furnace would have resembled a lime kiln, with a vertical shaft and an opening at the bottom.[footnoteRef:125] Joyce Baldwin, citing the work of R. J. Forbes offers a description of such a kiln discovered in Mesopotamia and dated to 2000 B. C.:[footnoteRef:126] [125: Slotki, 23; see also on this point Goldingay, 70; Baldwin, 103; Montgomery, 202.] [126: Baldwin, 103 n 3. ]

The furnace resembles a railway tunnel blocked at one end but with an entrance at the other. Uprights at frequent intervals support the domeand serve as ventilation shafts also. Charcoal provides the heat, and itis estimated that the temperature would have been 900-1000.

The men would have been dropped into the furnace from the top of the vertical shafts; there would have been doors or openings on the side through which the executions could be watched. Under normal circumstances, death would have been instantaneous.

Blazing [ (Peal, participle, fm, sg)] fire almost seems to be a redundancy. The participle may be translated burning.[footnoteRef:127] The same root is used in the Hebrew Bible to symbolize the wrath of God.[footnoteRef:128] Joyce Baldwin speculates that the apparent redundancy may be a way of expressing a superlative.[footnoteRef:129] [127: KB2, 1893; also BDB, 1096; Holladay, 408. ] [128: For this use of the root [] in the Hebrew Bible, see Robin Wakely, , in NIDOTTE [H3678]. ] [129: Baldwin, 103; for the superlative expressed via synonyms in Hebrew, see Christo H.J. van der Merwe, Jackie A. Naud and Jan H. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), 236. ]

3:7a-bImmediate ComplianceTherefore, at the time, when all the people heard the sound of a horn, a flute, a lyre, a trigon, harp and every sound of music; all the people, nations, and tongues fell and worshiped the statue of gold that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

The sentence records the immediate consequence among the populace. Human nature being what it is and the power of fear doing what it does; the masses fall in line. What is more, we may assume that Daniel and his friends were fully aware of the edict and the universal conformity. At this point, the stage is set for what comes next.

Genre of the paragraph

The demarcation between the first paragraph [Dan 3:1-7] and the next [Dan 3:8-12] is the shift in key players between the two paragraphs. In paragraph one [3:1-7], Nebuchadnezzar and his minions are the key players: Nebuchadnezzar creates a statue [3:1]; king Nebuchadnezzar assembles his minions [3:2-3]; then, one of his minions, a herald, relays Nebuchadnezzars edict [3:4-6], which all the people dutifully obey [3:7].

The next paragraph [Dan 3:8-12] has new players: astrologers [3:8a] who witness to the fact that the Jews resist the edict of paragraph one [3:8b]. These astrological snitches unveil the charge against the resisting Jews [3:9-12].

Obviously, there is a plot line beginning to develop here. Daniel 3:1-7 serves to launch the problem soon to confront the heroes of Daniel 3. Accordingly, this opening gambit in the plot is an introductory narrative: report of the veneration of a statue.[footnoteRef:130] As a report, the reader may assume that the writer intends that 3:1-7 be read as a narrative concerning this single event that occurred at some time in the past. [130: Collins, FOTL, 53. ]

The function of this report is to unleash the challenge soon to be faced by the three heroic Jews in the narrative. This challenge, initiated by the political leader of the nation and acknowledged by his administration and population, is idolatry, specifically, the idolatry of politics. Clearly, the idolatry of the political-military leader of Babylon was intended to be and in fact had become the national norm.

Daniel 3:8-12 Witness: Paying No Heed to the Idolatry of Politics

Translation(3:8)Because of this, at that time, certain Chaldeans drew near; and maliciously accused the Jews. (3:9) They spoke and said to king Nebuchadnezzar: O King, live forever! (3:10) You, O King, made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of a horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp and bagpipe, and all kinds of music; is to fall and worship the statue of gold. (3:11) And, whoever does not fall and worship; is to be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. (3:12) Now, there are certain Jews whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men do not show proper respect to you O king, your god they do not serve, nor the statue of gold that you set up, they do not worship.

Subject of the paragraph

The subject of Daniel 3:8-12 is the witness against the three resistant Jews. The first paragraph launched the challenge to their faith: The national demand for and favorable response to the idolatry of politics. Nebuchadnezzar was intent on solidifying his hold on power via wedding religion fall and worship the statue with his regime. Between the event reported in that paragraph and the events narrated in 3:8-12, the three Jews resisted. Naturally, there were those who noticed and witnessed to their resistance. In the course of witnessing to the Jewish resistance, the Chaldeans make explicit what was surely implicit in the decree to begin with: Worshiping the statue really is the idolatry of political power; the witnesses affirm: Your god they do not serve. One must conform to the idolatrous use of religion to boost political power or resist it.

Paragraph sense

The Witnesses

(i)[Back reference to paragraph one, 3:8a] Because of this, at that time, certain Chaldeans drew near(ii)[effect of (i), 3:8b] and maliciously accused the Jews

The Witness: Paying No Heed

(iii)[clarification of (ii), 3:9a] They spoke and said to king Nebuchadnezzar:(iv)[hortatory honorific] O King, live forever!

Witness: The National Obsession with Political Idolatry

(v)[assertive, 3:10a] You, O king, made a decree(vi)[elaboration of (v), 3:10] that every man who hears the sound of a horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp and bagpipe, and all kinds of music is to fall and worship the statue of gold(vii)[Contrast to (vi), 3:11] But, whoever does not fall and worship is to be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire

Witness: Paying No Heed

(viii)[assertive: naming the resisters, 3:12a] Now, there are certain Jews whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego(ix)[elaboration of (viii): the charge, 3:12b] these men do not show proper deference to you, O king(x)[further elaboration of (ix), 3:12c] your god they do not serve nor the statue of gold that you set up they do not worship.

Exposition

Daniel 3:8The Witnesses(3:8) Because of this, at that time, certain Chaldeans drew near; and maliciously accused the Jews.

3:8aBecause of this, at that time, certain Chaldeans drew near is a sentence that carries the report forward. Dan 3:8a links the current paragraph with the preceding paragraph that reports the legalization of political idolatry, thus setting up the conflict for those who would resist.

Because of this [ ] pinpoints the reason behind that these witnesses to resistance are about to say.[footnoteRef:131] The narrator wants the reader to understand that the basis for what the witnesses more or less accurately report is based in the law of the land as decreed by executive order in Daniel 3:1-7. [131: For this phrase as causative, see Bauer-Leander 69 q; BDB, 1110. ]

At that time [] is a prepositional phrase that may indicate that these witnesses wasted no time in communicating with Nebuchadnezzar. Indeed, Rosenthal translates this phrase: at this very moment.[footnoteRef:132] At the very moment when these men determined that the Jews had not done their duty, the Chaldean informants were off to the authorities. It might be well to note that it took informants to make the king aware of this resistance to the law of the land. The three Jewish lads did not draw attention to themselves, nor did they make a public issue of their defiance. They simply and quietly followed the dictates of their consciences informed by their faith in Yahweh. [132: Rosenthal 89. ]

Certain Chaldeans uses a noun [] that is translated in the English versions with either Chaldeans or astrologers. Kohler-Baumgartner goes with Chaldeans in 3:8a,[footnoteRef:133] as does Holladay.[footnoteRef:134] BDB adds the interesting note here that the noun [] points to Chaldeans, by race.[footnoteRef:135] Malcolm Horsnell notes that this term [] mainly depicts Chaldeans as dwellers in Babylon.[footnoteRef:136] There may be a deeper point here. If we take Youngs suggestion to the effect that Chaldeans in contrast to Jews[footnoteRef:137] is in view, then some level of ethnic tension may well be in play. These foreign upstarts[footnoteRef:138] were outsiders who were already in positions of considerable power in distinction to the insiders. [133: KB2, 1903. ] [134: Holladay, 409. ] [135: BDB, 1098. ] [136: Malcolm Horsnell, , in NIDOTTE [H4169]. ] [137: Young, 88.] [138: Slotkis designation, 23. ]

Maliciously accused the Jews teases out what they did in drawing near to Nebuchadnezzar. The main verb, maliciously accused [ (noun, ms, pl, construct with a 3rd, ms, pl, suffix) (Peal, perfect, 3rd, ms, pl)], is interesting. Literally, the idiom is: eat the pieces of, which amounts to slander or backbiting in Dan 3:8b.[footnoteRef:139] [139: Holladay, 420. ]

Kohler-Baumgartner takes a different point of view. Drawing upon an Akkadian cognate, the noun [] points to an accusation or possibly an unfounded accusation; in Imperial Aramaic as well as Egyptian Aramaic, a similar cognate [] also describes an accusation; in Syriac, a qarts is an accuser.[footnoteRef:140] Moreover, analyzing the collocation we have here [ ], KB affirms that the idiom in Dan 3:8b means: to take legal proceedings against or simply to accuse.[footnoteRef:141] BDB opts for to accuse maliciously.[footnoteRef:142] [140: KB2, 1974. ] [141: Ibid. ] [142: BDB, 1111. ]

The Septuagint translator uses a verb [] that is employed in Classical Greek in the sense of [1] to create quarrels among people, and then [2] to accuse, attack [a persons character], slander; the Septuagint sense of this verb suggests to denounce.[footnoteRef:143] This is the only occurrence of this phrase in the Aramaic OT. [143: Moiss Silva, ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, 5 vols., vol. 1, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2014), 691 [hereafter abbreviated NIDNTTE]. ]

Montgomery goes with the denunciation notion, rendering the phrase with calumniate.[footnoteRef:144] Driver and Porteous note that the phrase denotes to accuse maliciously; Porteous notes, The accusation was not a false one, since the men had undoubtedly refused to conform to the kings order, but it was definitely malicious.[footnoteRef:145] [144: Montgomery, 204; similarly Young, 88; Keil, 125; Slotki, 23; Pter-Contesse and Ellington, 79; Baldwin, 103. ] [145: Norman W. Porteous, Daniel: A Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1965), 59; see also Driver, Daniel, 40. ]

The upshot is that the phrase does signify denunciation, an attack on the character of these Jews.

Daniel 3:9-12The Charge: Paying No Heed(3:9) Then, they spoke and said to king Nebuchadnezzar: O King, live forever! (3:10) You, O king, made a decree that every man who hears the sound of a horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp and bagpipe, and all kinds of music is to fall and worship the statue of gold. (3:11) But, whoever does not fall and worship is to be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. (3:12) Now, there are certain Jews whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, (namely) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men do not show proper deference to you; your god they do not serve, nor the statue of gold that you set up, they do not worship.

Daniel 3:9-12 carries forward the denunciation reported in Dan 3:8. Daniel 3:9-12 teases out the gory details of the denunciation, including its basis in the law of the land [Dan 3:10-11] and the indictment [Dan 3:12].

Daniel 3:10-11 has already been discussed and the reader is referred to those notes; the language is the same. We pick the report up at the point of the indictment of the Jews by the Chaldean witnesses.

3:12The Indictment: Resistance Paying No HeedNow, there are certain Jews whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, (namely) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men do not show proper deference to you; your god they do not serve, nor the statue of gold that you set up, they do not worship.

Daniel 3:12 consists of two elements: [1] the publication of those who are named in the indictment [3:12a] and [2] the charges contained in the indictment [3:12b]. The reader will appreciate that it takes these Chaldean witnesses to denounce the resistant Jews. The three heroes of the story quite clearly resist in solitude; they do nothing to protest legally or publically; they do nothing to call attention to the affront that results from Nebuchadnezzars use of executive privilege. They simply resist.

3:12aNow, there are certain Jews whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon is a sentence that is punctuated with a zqp qtn after the proper noun, Babylon. This punctuation mark indicates a slight pause in the reading of the line.

There are certain Jews [ ] is an assertive line, opening with a nominal predicator of existence: there are []. The term simply means existence and takes on the sense of there is.[footnoteRef:146] Bauer-Leander notes that the particle means is existing and underlines the reality or the actuality of the assertion in the context.[footnoteRef:147] [146: KB2, 1812. ] [147: Bauer-Leander 98 t-u; see also Rosenthal 96. ]

Certain Jews [ ] is very interesting, especially the noun, certain [ (noun, common, ms, pl)]. First, the noun [] may be translated male or adult.[footnoteRef:148] At the same time, it may be used more idiomatically in the sense of certain[footnoteRef:149], or some[footnoteRef:150], as it is here. Second, the same noun, certain [], is used of the Chaldeans who bring the indictment in Dan 3:8. The repetition of the noun is suggestive: certain Chaldeans [3:8] certain Jews [3:12]. At the very least, the repetition heightens the tension of all parties to this episode. What is more, and this is speculative, there may be a hint here of ethnic tension as well: certain Chaldeans certain Jews. Finally, since the repetition of certain serves the purpose of heightening tension, it is unwise for the reader to draw further conclusions. Specifically, it is unwarranted to speculate one way or another as to whether other Jews worshiped the statue. The fact is that we simply do not know. The focus of the account is on those who did not worship. [148: KB2, 1841. ] [149: BDB, 1086. ] [150: Bauer-Leander 93 h. ]

Whom you appointed [ ] is a relative clause, designed to give more complex background information on those who are named in the indictment.

You appointed [ (Pael, perfect, 2nd, ms)] is written in the Pael stem of the verb, which is a causative stem.[footnoteRef:151] These Jews are where they are because Nebuchadnezzar installed them. The verbal root [] means to appoint or install.[footnoteRef:152] [151: Van Pelt, 131; Rosenthal 99; Bauer-Leander 76 i. ] [152: KB2, 1920; BDB, 1101. ]

Over the administration of the province of Babylon is the task to which these resisters were appointed. The noun translated administration [ (noun, fm, sg, construct] points to service or administration.[footnoteRef:153] The upshot is this: The task for which these men were appointed indicates a high office in the ranks of political and governmental administration. So far, there is nothing particularly remarkable here; the Chaldeans are simply rehearsing what everyone in the room knows. [153: KB2, 1942; see also Rosenthal, 92; BDB, 1105. ]

The interesting point is that this sentence in Dan 3:12 appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon is almost word-for-word for what we read in Dan 2:49. In 2:49, Nebuchadnezzar appoints the three Jews to their post at Daniels request. We have speculated, and speculation is all that it is, that these certain Chaldeans were racially incensed at certain Jews being appointed to such elevated administrative positions. Baldwin notes that the Chaldean accusers are well aware of the circumstances in which these Jews were appointed and they resent the kings promotion of foreigners over their heads.[footnoteRef:154] Tremper Longman also sees professional jealousy at work.[footnoteRef:155] There is nothing in these speculations that is denied by the context; they may well be true. [154: Baldwin, 103-04.] [155: Longman, 100.]

3:12a(namely) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego rounds out the naming of those charged in the following indictment.

3:12bThese men do not show proper deference to you is the first charge in the indictment of the witnesses; 3:12b is the second: Your god they do not serve, nor the statue of gold that you set up, they do not worship. The first charge is political in nature: They do not show proper deference; the second charge is more religious in nature: Your god, they do not serve the statue they do not worship. Both charges are opposite sides of the same coin: The union of politics with religion; the net effect is intended to be the idolatry of politics, which these three Jews resist on penalty of death.

3:12bThese men do not show proper deference to you is the opening charge in the indictment; the substance of the indictment is surely true; these Jews actually did resist the idolatry of politics.

Do not show proper deference [ ] is both the heart of the charge vis--vis the military-political leader of Babylon, and at the same time, the witness as to how these monotheistic Jews resisted this idolatry. The charge is a collocation of a negated verb, do not show [ (Peal, perfect, 3rd, ms, pl)], followed by the noun that completes the thought of the verb, proper deference [ (noun, common, ms, sg)].

Do not show proper deference is written in the perfective aspect. The action is viewed as a whole and probably signifies a state of being:[footnoteRef:156] The context supports reading this perfect aspect verb as a perfect of persistent situation; these three Jews at some point in the immediate past began to resist showing proper deference to the king and they are still doing so.[footnoteRef:157] [156: Van Pelt, 82. ] [157: Comrie, 60. ]

Do not show proper deference [ ] means: that these Jews [1] are not concerned about the decree or [2] they have no regard for it in Daniel 3:12.[footnoteRef:158] BDB goes with pay due regard to.[footnoteRef:159] Holladay opts for: take into consideration.[footnoteRef:160] Robert OConnell notes that this collocation means that these three Jews paid no attention to what the king had decreed.[footnoteRef:161] J. Schpphaus notes that this collocation denotes careful perception or the lack of it in Daniel 3:12 in the sense of direct attention to or pay heed to.[footnoteRef:162] [158: KB2, 1986. ] [159: BDB, 1113.] [160: Holladay, 407. ] [161: Robert H. OConnell, , in NIDOTTE [H3247]. ] [162: J. Schpphaus, , in TDOT, vol. V, 346. ]

The Septuagint tradition varies. One Septuagint tradition has: they do not stand in awe of your decree. Another Septuagint tradition has: they do not obey [or possibly attend to or give an ear to] your public decree.

As far as the commentaries go, there is variability here too. Pter-Contesse and Ellington suggest: [1] pay no heed to, [2] have disobeyed, [3] have paid to respect to, [4] have disregarded, and [5] have ignored.[footnoteRef:163] Collins opts for: have paid no attention to you.[footnoteRef:164] Goldingay translates: they have not taken any notice of you.[footnoteRef:165] [163: Pter-Contesse and Ellington, 81. ] [164: Collins, Daniel, 186. ] [165: Goldingay, 65. ]

So, what exactly have these three Jews done? What is the charge being leveled by those who witnessed their behavior? For openers, the charge deciphers the Jews attitude toward the king [ (to you)] and this has a bearing on how the collocation [ ] may be read. That is, we could go with [1] have no regard for you, [2] do not pay due regard to you, [3] do not pay heed to you, or possibly [4] do not stand in awe of you.

Accordingly, the indictment is this: the Jews are resistant to the imperial authority as he oversteps his boundaries, at least from their theologically informed point of view. The decree, forcing idolatry upon them, leaves them unaffected, unreceptive, defiant, resistant. Do not show proper deference to is another way of saying there are limits to the demands the king can make upon us. As far as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are concerned, this royal power-player, like any tyrant, has reached his cutoff point, his threshold; there is a stage beyond which blind obedience to an idolatrous demand collides with Biblically informed conviction and spiritually vigilant conscience. Assent to a decree, no matter how widespread and fashionable, how majestic and stately, how authoritative and controlling, any decree that prompts violation of the first commandment forces these three to quietly but firmly resist. Consequently, the charge is that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego discount the power and authority of Nebuchadnezzar, and thus refuse to abide by his decree. At the political and governmental level, the authority of the state of Babylon is restricted in terms of its influence over them. They know where and when to draw a line.

3:12b Your god they do not serve, nor the statue of gold that you set up, they do not worship is the second half of the indictment as brought by the witnesses.

As noted, the first element of the charge [Dan 3: 12b] is directed toward defiance of the political leader of the state of Babylon; now, this second component of the indictment [3:12b] is more religious in its nature, focusing as it does on resistance to serving and worshiping the kings god. When put together, Daniel 3: 12b and 3:12b is an attempt to put religion [3:12b] in the service of politics [3: 12b]. Indeed, the reader will observe the subtle intermingling of your god [the deity, religion] and the statue of gold [Nebuchadnezzar, the politician]. Nebuchadnezzar has had many successors. The parallelism between these lines is telling:

(participles) (front-loaded) (front-loaded) (participles) your god, they do not serve

the statue of gold they do not worship

that you set up

In the Hebrew lines, the objects of the verbs are both front-loaded and introduced with a preposition [], which functions to mark off the accusative case or the direct object of the two verbs. Accordingly, in the first line your god is parallel to the statue of gold that you set up. Then, the verbs in both lines are Peal participles. Accordingly, they do not serve [Peal participle] is parallel to they do not worship [Peal participle].

The function of this parallelism is to emphatically second the statement in the first line with the statement in the second line. The net effect is that the first line your god they do not serve is defined or carried further or clarified by the second line the statue of gold they do not worship.[footnoteRef:166] The import of this parallelism is to forge a close unity between the deity and the statue, between religion and politics. [166: For the concept of emphatic seconding, see James L Kugel, The Idea of Biblical Poetry (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981), 51-52. ]

3:12cYour god they do not serve is part of the witnesss indictment; they begin with the Jews dismissive attitude to the deity. What is more, in 3:12c the connection between religion and politics is made explicit, since the correlation is made between a deity - your god - and the king himself - the statue of gold that you set up.

Your god [] uses a term for the deity [] in Biblical Aramaic that is used of [1] Yahweh, or [2] heathen deities, as it is here.[footnoteRef:167] In particular, the deity [] in question is a Babylonian deity.[footnoteRef:168] [167: BDB, 1080. ] [168: KB2, 1813. ]

The Old Testament does mention some of these Babylonian gods. In Jeremiah 50:2, the prophet mentions two of them: Bel [] and Marduk []. Of these two, pride of place goes to Marduk [] who the god of the city of Babylon and the chief god of the empire.[footnoteRef:169] To be sure, Marduk [] was considered to be the active head of the pantheon.[footnoteRef:170] Indeed, the other name Jeremiah mentions, Bel [], became a second name for Marduk [], originally a term that meant Lord.[footnoteRef:171] [169: KB1, 632. ] [170: William Foxwell Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1990), 125. ] [171: KB1, 132; see also BDB, 1078. ]

Isaiah 46:1 mentions another Babylonian god, Nebo []. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament tells us this about Nebo:[footnoteRef:172] [172: The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed., R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 1279 [hereafter abbreviated TWOT]. ]

Nabu was the protector of the sciences (which were in the realm of Enki-Ea), the patron of the scribal art, and a god of wisdom (as was Ea and Marduk). His spouse was Tashmeturn ("hearing") and he was known to be "wide of hearing" (ready to hear). His popularity grew steadily until ezidas (his temples) could be found in every major city of Babylon and Assyria.

Finally, regarding Nebo [], this name is contained within the name of the king, Nebuchadnezzar. Kohler-Baumgartner translate the name, Nebuchadnezzar [] with Nabu has protected the son who will inherit.[footnoteRef:173] Nabu as protector is significant for the king, since in the Babylonian pantheon, Nabu presided over the records of fate [emphasis mine], of which he is the announcer.[footnoteRef:174] If the statue contained some image of Nebuchadnezzars god, then one might give serious consideration to Nabu. TWOT notes that Nebos symbol was a wedge on a pole, representing either the cuneiform script or a sighting instrument used in astronomy.[footnoteRef:175] This symbol would not appear to be very difficult to reproduce. [173: KB1, 660. ] [174: Alfred S. Geden, Studies in the Religions of the East (London: Charles Kelly, 1913), 173.] [175: TWOT, 1279. ]

2 Kings 17:30 mentions two Babylonian deities: Succoth-benoth [ ] and Nergal []. The former, Succoth-benoth [ ], refers to a Babylonian deity. Evidently, the name develops from Tsarpanitu, a name that means the shining one and then develops into Zer-bnitu, which means the creator of seed.[footnoteRef:176] The latter name, Nergal [], refers to a god of the city of Cuth. Nergal [] was a god who was a personification of death, and became lord of the world below.[footnoteRef:177] [176: KB1, 753. ] [177: Geden, 173; see also Albright, 139. ]

The net effect is that Daniel 3:12c references a god, unidentified, of the Babylonian pantheon. Just as the writer of Daniel was sparing in his details of the statue in Dan 3:1, so here, he is economical in his depiction of the god. The point is less with the details and more with the theology, unpacked in the two main verbs of Dan 3:12 serve and worship.

Serve [ (Peal, participle, ms, pl)] comes from a root [] that means either [1] to venerate, fear, respect, or [2] to serve.[footnoteRef:178] The Septuagint traditions translate with the Greek verb . In Classical Greek, the verb means [1] to be in the servitude of, [2] to be subject to or enslaved to, [3] to serve, [4] to obey, [5] to be devoted to.[footnoteRef:179] [178: KB2, 1957; BDB, 1108. ] [179: LSJ, 1032. ]

This verb is used elsewhere in Daniel to describe Daniels unswerving and uncompromising devotion to God [Dan 6:17, 21]. The verb is also used in reference to One like a son of man [Dan 7:14] as well as the kingdom of the saints of the Most High [Dan 7:26]. In the first passage [Dan 7:14], has the sense of submission to the dominion, glory, and kingship of this Son of Man figure. To be sure, there is veneration here, but, at the same time, veneration would seem to issue forth in across-the-board devotion of ones life to this Son of Man figure.

So, the sum of the matter is this: service [] implies unquestioned and supreme commitment to this god and none other. Service [] includes loyalty that is undivided and devoutness that is obvious and animated. When the witnesses charge, in the indictment, that these three Jews do not serve [] Nebuchadnezzars god, they are indicting them for indifference to this god, for disdain for this god, for defiance of this god, and for ungodly irreverence for this god; these Jews neither revere nor fear nor respect nor work for this proxy for one mans unquenchable thirst for power.

3:12cNor the statue of gold that you set up, they do not worship is the clarification, the emphatic seconding of the statement in the first line. The net effect is that 3:12c your god they do not serve is defined or carried further or clarified by 3:12c nor the statue of gold that you set up, they do not worship.

The striking point about these two lines is the elaboration of your god [3:12c] via the statue of gold [3:12c ]. The challenge for the Jews rested in identifying this statue of gold as a deity, a god. The ordeal represents the conflict between worship of the true God and the humanistic use of religion to boost the power of the rulers of this world.[footnoteRef:180] The statue of gold was to be worshiped. [180: Baldwin, 99. ]

Worship [ (Peal, participle, ms, pl] has already been used in Daniel 3:5 and points to paying homage to.[footnoteRef:181] BDB adds do homage (by prostration).[footnoteRef:182] Terence Fretheim observes that this verb reinforces the idea of obeisance.[footnoteRef:183] There is, therefore, a psychological sense of veneration, of profound honor, attached to paying homage to; it seems to connote devotion to an admitted superior. The net effect is that worship [] is directed toward what is ultimate in ones life. [181: KB2, 1937; see also Holladay, 414. ] [182: BDB, 1104. ] [183: Terence Fretheim, , in NIDOTTE [H6032]. ]

Accordingly, the elaboration of 3:12c your god they do not serve is defined or carried further or clarified by the three Jews refusal to nominate Nebuchadnezzar and his god and his kingdom as an object of worship []; these three resisted appointing this god as that which was decisive or definitive; they resisted designating this god as final and absolute; they resisted taking this god for what was supreme, uppermost or dominate to them. In a nutshell, this charge in the indictment is the accusation, true on the face of it, that these three monotheistic Jews resisted embracing this god, and, by implication, this political power-player and the kingdom for which he stood, as ultimate.

Genre of the paragraph

The demarcation of this paragraph [Dan 3:8-12] is signaled by the change in key players. In Dan 3:1-7, the key players are Nebuchadnezzar and his henchmen who publish his decree. Then, in the following paragraph, Dan 3:13-18, Nebuchadnezzar once more is front and center. What is more, the three heroes in the account make their first appearance and deliver their monumental statement of resistance [Dan 3:16-18]. Accordingly, Daniel 3:8-12 is a discreet paragraph in the plot line of Daniel 3.

Overall, Daniel 3:8-12 is a narrative, a report, on events that occurred in the wake of the state decree in Dan 3:1-7. Beginning with Dan 3:9-12 the report discloses an accusation against the Jews. That is, Dan 3:9-12 is a speech alleging that someone has broken the law or otherwise done wrong.[footnoteRef:184] The net effect is that Daniel 3:8-12 may be read as an historical report of an accusation or indictment that was actually published. [184: Collins, FOTL, 105. ]

The function of the report of the indictment is to advance the plot line, building tension as the resisters confront the legal authority of their nation state [Dan 3:16-18]. The challenge of idolatry [Dan 3:1-7] is resisted head on by pure resistance of the law of the land.

Daniel 3:13-18 Resistance: Defying the Idolatry of Politics

Translation(3:13) Then, Nebuchadnezzar, in raging fury, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego be brought; immediately, these men were brought into the presence of the king. (3:14) Then, Nebuchadnezzar spoke to them: Is it true Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego that my god you do not serve nor the statue of gold that I set up, you do not worship? (3:15) Now, if you are ready, at the time when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every sort of music, you will fall and worship the statue that I made (it is well and good); but, if you do not worship, at this very moment, you will be cast into the midst of a furnace blazing with fire, and who is the god who can rescue you from my hand? (3:16) So, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered the king: O, Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. (3:17) If our God whom we serve decides to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, then from your hand, O