Daniel 2.35a-Not A Trace Of The Iron, Clay, Bronze, Silver And Gold Of The Statue Was Found As A Result Of The Rock Striking Its Feet
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday April 10, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 2:35a-Not A Trace Of The Iron, Clay, Bronze, Silver And Gold Of The Statue Was Found After The Rock Struck Its Feet
Lesson # 59
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 2:31.
This evening we will begin a study of Daniel 2:35, which records Daniel completing the description of the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
Daniel 2:31 “You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. 32 The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” (NASB95)
“Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beth), which is not translated and is followed by the temporal adverb ʾěḏǎ∙yin (אֱדַיִן) (ed-ah´-yin), “then” and then we have the third person masculine plural peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb deqǎq (דְּקַק) (dek-ak´), “were crushed” which is followed by the preposition k- (כְּ־) (kee), which is followed by the feminine singular cardinal number ḥǎḏ (חַד) (khad) and then we have the masculine singular noun pǎr∙zěl (פַּרְזֶל) (par-zel´), “iron” which is followed by the masculine singular noun ḥǎsǎp̄ (חֲסַף) (khas-af´), “clay” and then we have the masculine singular form of the noun neḥāš (נְחָשׁ) (nekh-awsh´), “bronze” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun kesǎp̄ (כְּסַף) (kes-af´), “silver” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine singular noun dehǎḇ (דְּהַב) (deh-hab´), “gold.”
The temporal adverb ʾěḏǎ∙yin is a temporal coordinator and introduces a statement that tells the reader the next event that took place after the rock cut out but not by human hands struck the statue on its iron and clay feet so that it crushed them.
The preposition bĕ means “when” since it functions as a temporal marker indicating that “when” the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold of the statue were crushed at the same time by the rock cut out without human hands, they became like chaff from the summer threshing floors.
The noun pǎr∙zěl, “iron” is used with reference to the Roman Empire.
Since the metals of the statue decrease in value but increase in strength, the iron lower legs of the statue indicate that the character of the authority and rule of Rome was inferior to Alexander’s Greece, Media-Persia and Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon.
However, its power or strength was superior to these three.
The noun pǎr∙zěl is also used to describe the yet future Revived Form of the Roman Empire under antichrist, which is represented by the feet of the statue.
The iron describes this yet future empire as possessing the same character of authority and rule of the Roman Empire, depicted by the lower legs on the statue.
Also, the iron describes this yet future empire as possessing some of the power or strength of the Roman Empire.
The noun ḥǎsǎp̄ here in Daniel 2:35 means “clay” and is used to describe the yet future Revived Form of the Roman Empire under antichrist, which is represented by the feet of the statue and will be destroyed by Jesus Christ at His Second Advent.
The clay describes this yet future empire as not possessing the same character of authority and rule of the Roman Empire, depicted by the lower legs on the statue.
Also, the clay describes this yet future empire as not possessing the same power or strength of the Roman Empire.
This would indicate that the power of this yet future Revived Form of the Roman Empire under antichrist will possess some of the strength and power of the Roman Empire but will be very fragile.
Therefore, the strong yet fragile composition of the feet of the statue indicates that the power and strength of the Revived Form of the Roman Empire is inferior to Rome.
The noun neḥāš here in Daniel 2:35 means “bronze,” and is used to describe Alexander the Great’s Greek Empire, which immediately followed the Media-Persian Empire.
Since the metals of the statue decrease in value but increase in strength, the belly and thighs of bronze of the statue indicate that the character of authority and rule of the Greek empire under Alexander the Great was superior to the fourth kingdom, the Roman Empire but inferior to the first two, Babylon and Media-Persia.
However, its power or strength was superior to Babylon and Media-Persia and inferior only to Rome.
The noun kesǎp̄ here in Daniel 2:35 means “silver,” and is used to describe Media-Persian Empire, which conquered the Babylonian Empire.
Since the metals of the statue decrease in value but increase in strength, the breast and arms of silver of the statue indicate that the character of authority and rule of this empire was superior to the third (Alexander’s Greece) and fourth (Roman Empire) kingdoms but inferior to the first (Babylon).
However, its power or strength was superior to Babylon but inferior to Alexander’s Greece and Rome.
The noun dehǎḇ here in Daniel 2:35 means “gold” and is used to describe the head of the statue, which represents Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire according to Daniel 2:36-38.
Since the metals of the statue decrease in value but increase in strength, the gold head of the statue indicates that the character of the authority and rule of this empire was superior to the second (Media-Persia), third (Greece) and fourth (Rome) kingdoms.
However, its power or strength was inferior to Media-Persia, Alexander’s Greece and Rome.
Fruchtenbaum writes “Babylon was an absolute monarchy with the monarch above the law; with Medo-Persia the monarch was not above the law and he did not have the authority to change his own decrees; the Hellenic kings had no dynastic or royal right to rule, and ruled by force of conquest and personal gifts; and Roman imperialism was a republic which degenerated into mob rule merging with the imperial form of government.” (Fruchtenbaum, A. G. The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events. 2003. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries)
The verb deqǎq means “to crush” something into small pieces and refers to the rock in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream “crushing” the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold of the great statue as a result of striking the statue on its feet.
This represents Jesus Christ destroying the Revived Form of the Roman Empire under antichrist at His Second Advent, which the iron and clay feet represent.
Also, it represents Christ’s millennial kingdom will replace completely any reminder of these four kingdoms.
It indicates Jesus Christ’s victory over the Revived Form of the Roman Empire will be total and complete but also His victory over all these previous Gentile kingdoms will be as well in the sense that Christ’s millennial government will cause these other forms of government to be totally and completely forgotten.
The cardinal number ḥǎḏ means “one” marking the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold which composed the statue as a single unit and is the object of the preposition k-, which is a marker of comparison meaning that it is comparing the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold of the statue to a single unit.
Thus, it indicates that when the rock struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, the other parts of the statue were crushed simultaneously.
The head of gold, the silver chest and arms, the bronze belly and thighs of the statue and its iron lower legs were all crushed at the same time as the iron and clay feet.
“And became like chaff from the summer threshing floors” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the third person person masculine plural peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb hǎwā(h) (הֲוָה) (hav-aw´), “became” and then we have the preposition k- (כְּ־) (kee), “like,” which is followed by the masculine singular noun ʿûr (עוּר) (oor), “chaff” and then we have the preposition min (מִן) (min), “from” and its object is the masculine plural construct form of the noun ʾid∙dǎr (אִדַּר) (id-dar´), “the threshing floors,” which is modified by the masculine singular noun qǎ∙yiṭ (קַיִט) (kah´-yit), “summer.”
The verb hǎwā(h) means “to become” since it denotes the change of state or condition of the gold head of the statue, its silver arms and chest, its bronze belly and thighs, its iron lower legs and iron and clay feet.
The word denotes that they went from composing the body of the statue to becoming like chaff from the summer threshing floors.
The noun ʿûr means “chaff” which refers to the husks of the grain stalk, separated from the kernel by threshing and considered worthless and was allowed be blown away by the wind.
It is the object of the preposition k-, which functions once again as a marker of comparison meaning that it is comparing the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay of the statue after it was crushed by the rock to chaff.
Thus, we can see that this prepositional phrase is comparing the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay of the statue as being like chaff, which is worthless.
Consequently, it is describing the empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and the yet future Revived Form of the Roman Empire under Antichrist during Daniel’s seventieth week, represented by these elements, as worthless from God’s perspective.
The noun ʾid∙dǎr means “threshing floor,” which was an outdoor floor of stone or packed dirt, used for the trampling or beating grain.
In the ancient world, the harvested sheaves were trodden upon by oxen to loosen the grain from the stalk.
Threshing refers to the act of separating grain from husks of plants by being tread on by oxen.
Threshing floors were both privately and community owned places.
The floor area was round and made of hard, packed dirt or stone and was generally surrounded by stones to keep the grain inside.
The threshing floors were located outside the cities in an open air area where the wind could catch the chaff and carry it away.
The noun ʾid∙dǎr is modified by the noun qǎ∙yiṭ, which means “summer” referring to the hot season of the harvest and is describing these threshing floors, which are used in the summer.
It is the object of the preposition min, which is a marker of source indicating that this chaff is “from” or “originates from” the summer threshing floors.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase and the previous one are employed together to describe the judgment of the Babylonian, Medo-Persia, Greek, Roman and Revived Roman empires at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
They both are describing the empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and the yet future Revived Form of the Roman Empire under Antichrist during Daniel’s seventieth week as worthless from God’s perspective like the chaff from the summer threshing floors.
“And the wind carried them away” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb neśā(ʾ) (נְשָׂא) (nes-aw´), “carried away” and then we have the third person masculine plural pronomial suffix him∙mô (הִמֹּו) (him-mo´), “them” which is followed by the feminine singular noun rûaḥ (רוּחַ) (roo´-akh), “the wind.”
This time the conjunction wa is a marker of result meaning that the word is introducing a statement which presents the result of the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay of the statue becoming like chaff from the summer threshing floors.
The noun rûaḥ means “wind” and describes a meteorological phenomenon that involves the movement of air of any velocity in the earth’s atmosphere.
Here in Daniel 2:35, the word refers to the wind in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which swept away the chaff like residue from the statue which was composed of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay.
The word represents the judgment of God in which through the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, God the Father removes all remembrance of the empires, which reigned during the times of the Gentiles.
The verb neśā(ʾ) means “to blow away, to carry away” and is used here of the wind in the king’s dream “blowing away” the chaff like residue which remained of the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay of the statue as a result of the rock cut out without hands striking its iron and clay feet.
This verb speaks of the act of God judging the five Gentile powers which reigned during the times of the Gentiles and removing all remembrances of their forms of government as a result of sending His Son to planet earth to establish His kingdom on earth.
“So that not a trace of them was found” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “so that” which is followed by the singular construct form of the noun kōl (כֹּל) (kole), which is not translated and is modifying the masculine singular noun ʾǎṯǎr (אֲתַר) (a-tar), “a trace” and then we have the negative particle lā(ʾ) (לָא) (law), “not” which is negating the meaning of the third person masculine singular hitpeʿel (Hebrew: qal) passive perfect form of the verb šeḵǎḥ (שְׁכַח) (shek-akh´), “was found” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed), “of” and its object is the third person masculine plural pronomial suffix him∙mô (הִמֹּו) (him-mo´), “them.”
Once again, the conjunction wa is a marker of result meaning that the word is introducing a statement which presents the result of the previous statement.
The noun ʾǎṯǎr means “trace” referring to a sign or evidence of some past thing.
Here it refers to the fact that not a “trace” of the chaff like residue remained on the earth after the wind blew it away.
Thus, this word represents evidence or a sign of the forms of government employed by the empires during the times of the Gentiles.
The adjective kōl is modifying the noun ʾǎṯǎr and means “absolutely” since it pertains to a degree of totality as well as a high degree of completeness.
Therefore, these two words denote that the wind blew away the chaff like residue from the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay of the statue so that “absolutely” no “trace” of these elements were found on the earth.
These two words represent that the removal of all remembrance of the forms of government employed by the empires which reigned during the times of the Gentiles will be “total” and “complete.”
The verb šeḵǎḥ means “to find” in the sense of encountering through experience and its meaning is negated by the negative particle lā(ʾ).
Together, they denote that absolutely “no” trace of the chaff like residue from the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay of the statue “was found” after the wind blew them away.
They represent the fact that absolutely “no” trace of the forms of government employed by the empires which were represented by the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay of the statue and reigned during the times of the Gentiles will be “found” or “encountered” by any member of the human race or angels for that matter.
All these Gentile empires which reigned during the times of the Gentiles were driven by the sin nature of men and the deception of Satan who is the god of this world temporarily at the present time.
Christ’s millennial kingdom will be conducted according to His divine nature and power thus making it superior to all these Gentiles empires.
Thus, the reign of sin and Satan on the earth will come to an end on planet earth and the reign of God on the earth will begin as the direct result of Jesus Christ’s Second Advent and subsequent millennial reign.