Daniel 3.9-11-Envious Babylonian Officials Remind Nebuchadnezzar Of His Order And Warning
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday June 13, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 3:9-11-Envious Babylonian Officials Remind Nebuchadnezzar Of His Order And Warning
Lesson # 86
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 3:1.
This evening we will study Daniel 3:9-11.
Daniel 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, 5 that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.” 7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 8 For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. 9 They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “O king, live forever!” (NASB95)
“They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king” is composed of the third person masculine plural peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb ʿǎnā(h) (עֲנָה) (an-aw´), “they responded” and this is followed by the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active participle form of the verb ʾǎmǎr (אֲמַר) (am-ar´), “said” and then we have the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) “to” and its object is the masculine singular form of the proper name neḇû∙ḵǎḏ∙ně(ʾ)ṣ∙ṣǎr (נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר) (neb-oo-kad-nets-tsar), “Nebuchadnezzar” which is modified by the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “king.”
The verb ʿǎnā(h) means “to make a statement” in response to a previous situation and its subject is certain unidentified Babylonian men who slanderously accused Daniel’s three friends.
This previous situation appears in Daniel 3:1-8, which records the dignitaries from the various provinces in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom obeying the king’s order to worship the gold statue which he made of himself.
This interpretation is supported by the fact that in context, verses 10-12 record certain Babylonian men among Nebuchadnezzar’s dignitaries who were more than likely from the province of the city of Babylon doing just that, making a statement to him, which was in response to the recent order by the king.
“O king, live forever!” is composed of the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “O king” and this is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh), “to” and its object is the masculine plural form of the noun ʿā∙lǎm (עָלַם) (aw-lam´), “forever” and then we have the feminine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperative form of the verb ḥǎyā(h) (חֲיָה) (khah-yaw´), “live.”
This expression is used in formal greeting by these unidentified dignitaries to give respect and good wishes to the king of Babylon and is hyperbole.
They don’t expect him to live forever but it simply denotes that these unidentified dignitaries wish that Nebuchadnezzar would live a long life.
Daniel 3:10 “You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image.” (NASB95)
“You, O king, have made a decree” is composed of the second person masculine singular form of the personal pronoun ʾǎnt (אַנְתְּ) (ant), “You” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “O king” and then we have the second person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb śîm (שִׂים) (soom), “have made” which is followed by the masculine singular noun ṭeʿēm (טְעֵם) (teh-ame´), “a decree.”
The personal pronoun ʾǎnt is an independent personal pronoun which means “you” referring of course to Nebuchadnezzar emphasizing his order, which these unidentified dignitaries repeat back to him in order to have Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego executed.
The verb śîm denotes Nebuchadnezzar “issuing” a command or an order to his officials throughout the various provinces of his kingdom to bow down and worship the gold statue he made of himself when they heard the orchestra play and those who fail to comply were to be executed.
The noun ṭeʿēm means “a command” and refers of course to the command Nebuchadnezzar issued to the various dignitaries throughout his kingdom to bow down and worship the gold statue which he constructed of himself and failure to do so will result in the death penalty.
“That every man” is composed of the particle dî (דִּי) (dee), “that” which is followed by the construct form of the singular noun kōl (כֹּל) (kole), “every” which is modifying the masculine singular form of the noun ʾěnāš (אֱנָשׁ) (en-awsh´), “man.”
The particle dî is used in an epexegetical sense meaning “namely that” since the word is introducing a statement that explains the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s command.
The noun ʾěnāš means “person’ without reference to gender and is modified by the noun kōl, which denotes totality and is used in a distributive meaning “each and every.”
This indicates that Nebuchadnezzar issued a command, namely that “each and every” person assembled at the dedication of the state erected of himself was to fall down and worship it the moment the orchestra played.
“Who hears” is composed of the particle dî (דִּי) (dee), “who” and this is followed by the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb šemǎʿ (שְׁמַע) (shem-ah´), “hears.”
“The sound” is the masculine singular construct form of the noun qāl (קָל) (kawl), which is used in relation to the musical instruments listed here in verse 10 and thus, it refers to the “sound” made by these instruments when they are played.
“The horn” is the feminine singular noun qě∙rěn (קֶרֶן) (keh´-ren), which means “trumpet” and was a wind musical instrument made of an animal horn, or horn-shaped wood or metal.
“Flute” is the feminine singular noun mǎš∙rô∙qî (מַשְׁרֹוקִי) (mash-ro-kee´), which refers to a reed flute which was made of several reeds of varying thicknesses and lengths bound together.
“Lyre” is the masculine singular noun qî∙ṯerōs (קִיתְרֹס) (kee-the-rosh), which is correctly translated and is referring to a stringed musical instrument of the harp class.
“Trigon” is the feminine singular noun śǎb∙beḵā(ʾ) (שַׂבְּכָא) (shah-beh-kah), which means “harp” which was also a stringed musical instrument consisting of a resonator, an arched back or angled neck that may be supported by a post, and strings of graded strength that are perpendicular to the soundboard.
“Psaltery” is the masculine singular noun pesǎn∙tē∙rîn (פְּסַנְתֵּרִין) (pes-an-tay-reen´), which means “dulcimer” which was another musical stringed instrument of trapezoidal shape which was played by either plucking or with plectra.
“Bagpipe” is the feminine singular noun sûmep∙pō∙neyā(h) (סוּמְפֹּנְיָה) (soom-po-neh-yaw´), which means “drum” referring a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow shell or cylinder with a drumhead stretched over one or both ends that is beaten with the hands or with some implement such a stick or wire brush.
“And all kinds of music” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the singular construct form of the noun kōl (כֹּל) (kole), “all” which is modifying the masculine plural construct form of the noun zǎn (זַן) (zan), “kinds of” and then we have the masculine singular noun zemār (זְמָר) (zem-awr´), “music.”
The noun zemār means “musical instrument” and is referring to unidentified musical instruments and is modified by the noun zǎn, which means “kind, type, sort” describing these unidentified musical instruments as being of different categories or classification.
Also, modifying the noun zemār is the noun kōl, which denotes each one of a totality and is used in a distributive sense meaning “each and every.”
Thus, these three words denote that the dignitaries were to fall down and worship the image Nebuchadnezzar erected of himself when they hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, dulcimer, drum as well as “each and every type of musical instrument.”
“Is to fall down” is the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb nep̄ǎl (נְפַל) (nef-al´), which means “to fall down, to be prostrate oneself before someone” in order to express one’s humble submission to someone or something and to honor them and show them respect.
Here it refers to the act of the satraps, military commanders, governors, advisers, treasurers, lawyers and judges from the provinces in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom prostrating themselves before the statue which the king erected of himself in order to express their humble submission to him and to honor him and show him respect.
“And worship” is a purpose clause since the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw) functions as a marker of purpose meaning that it is introducing a statement which presents the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar’s order that the dignitaries from the various provinces throughout his kingdom fall down before the gold statue he erected of himself.
“Worship” is the third person masculine plural peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb seḡiḏ (סְגִד) (seg-eed´), which means “to worship” referring to the act of committing idolatry indicating that Nebuchadnezzar was ordering that these dignitaries “worship” the image of himself when they heard the sound of the music.
“The golden image” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) which is not translated and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun ṣelēm (צְלֵם) (tseh´-lem), “the image” which is modified by the masculine singular noun dehǎḇ (דְּהַב) (deh-hab´), “gold.”
The noun ṣelēm means “statue, a sculpted image to be worshipped as a god” indicating that Nebuchadnezzar ordered all of his dignitaries throughout the various provinces in his kingdom to worship the gold “statue” he erected on the plain of Dura in the province of the city of Babylon.
The noun dehǎḇ means “gold” indicating that Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of himself was made of this material.
Daniel 3:11 “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.” (NASB95)
This verse is an adversative clause since the conjunction wa, “but” is introducing a statement which stands in contrast to the previous statement and is thus marking a contrast between obedience to the king’s order to worship the gold statue and disobedience to this order.
“Whoever” is composed of the indefinite pronoun mǎn (מַן) (mawn), “whoever” and the particle dî (דִּי) (dee) which are speaking of an unidentified individual in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom who refuses to worship the gold image he erected of himself on the plain of Dura in the province of the city of Babylon.
“Does not fall down” is composed of the negative particle lā(ʾ) (לָא) (law), “not” which is negating the meaning of the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb nep̄ǎl (נְפַל) (nef-al´), “does fall down.”
The verb nep̄ǎl means “to fall down, to be prostrate oneself before someone” in order to express one’s humble submission to someone or something and to honor them and show them respect.
The word’s meaning is emphatically negated by the negative particle lā(ʾ), which is a marker of emphatic negation.
Therefore, these two words refer to the refusal of any of the satraps, military commanders, governors, advisers, treasurers, lawyers and judges from the provinces in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom to prostate themselves before the statue which the king erected of himself in order to worship this gold statue.
“And worship” is a purpose clause since the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), functions as a marker of purpose introducing a statement which presents the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar’s order that the dignitaries from the various provinces throughout his kingdom fall down before the gold statue he erected of himself.
“Worship” is the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb seḡiḏ (סְגִד) (seg-eed´), which indicates that Nebuchadnezzar warned these dignitaries that if any of them refused to fall down in order to “worship” the image of himself when they heard the sound of the music, they would be executed.
“Shall be cast” is the third person feminine singular hitpeʿel (Hebrew: qal) passive imperfect form of the verb remā(h) (רְמָה) (rem-aw´), means “to be deposited unceremoniously” into the midst of a furnace blazing with fire. It does not mean “to be thrown.”
“Into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) “into” and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun gǎw (גַּו) (gav), “the midst of” which is modified by the singular construct form of the noun ʾǎt∙tûn (אַתּוּן) (at-toon´), “a furnace of” which is modified by the masculine singular noun nûr (נוּר) (noor), “fire” and the feminine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active participle form of the verb yeqǎḏ (יְקַד) (yek-ad´), “blazing.”
The noun gǎw means “the midst of” and is the object of the preposition lĕ, which means “in” since it functions as a marker of location indicating the exact location in which the individual will be immediately and unceremoniously deposited who refuses to comply with Nebuchadnezzar’s order.
The noun gǎw is in the construct state meaning that it is governing the noun which follows it, which is ʾǎt∙tûn which means “furnace.”
The verb yeqǎḏ means “blazing” since it refers to a blazing fire which produces a relatively very high degree of heat.
Daniel 3:9 They made a statement to the king and said, 10 “O King live forever! You O king issued a command, namely that each and every person who hears the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, dulcimer as well as drum and in addition every type of musical instrument, is to fall down in order to worship the gold statue 11 However, whoever refuses to fall down in order to worship, they will be deposited unceremoniously in the midst of a blazing, fiery furnace.” (Interpretative translation)
In Daniel 3:9, we have the envious dignitaries approaching Nebuchadnezzar in order to speak with him regarding the disobedience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to his command to worship the gold statue of himself.
This order created a problem for Daniel’s three friends since the Law prohibited the worship of idols (Exodus 20:1-3, 23).
As we noted in Daniel 3:8, certain unidentified Babylonian men slanderously accused Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego of a crime because they disobeyed Nebuchadnezzar’s command in order to obey God.
These individuals not only accused Daniel’s three friends of a crime but rather that they did so by slandering them.
The fact that these certain Babylonian men slandered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was the direct result of jealousy and envy since Daniel 2:49 records that Nebuchadnezzar granted Daniel’s request that they would be assigned the administration over the province of the city of Babylon.
Thus, the individuals that Daniel’s friends displaced would be angry and envious and jealous towards them.
In Daniel 3:10-11, we read that these unidentified dignitaries repeat verbatim Nebuchadnezzar’s order.
They remind him of this order and warning in order to provoke him to anger with regards to Daniel’s three friends.
All the while they were concealing their jealousy and envy of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and their true motivation from the king which was to kill these three.
Thus, they are involved in hypocrisy since they were not concerned about the citizens of Babylon obeying the king’s decree but rather they were determined to have these three executed out of their jealous and envy of them.
They were pretending to be zealous for the king so as to get him to condemn Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to death.
So they are manipulating the king for their own purposes.