Daniel 4.23-25-Daniel Interprets The Second Part Of The Vision
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday October 3, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 4:23-25-Daniel Interprets The Second Part Of The Vision
Lesson # 128
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 4:23.
This evening we will study Daniel 4:23-25, which records Daniel interpreting for Nebuchadnezzar the second part of the vision the king received from God.
Daniel 4:23 ‘In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him. 24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 25 that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ (NASB95)
Daniel 4:23-25 is presenting an additional reason why the tree which appeared in a vision to Nebuchadnezzar represented or symbolized him.
In Daniel 4:22, Daniel presented to the king the reason why the first part of the vision is symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar.
In Daniel 4:13-17, the king tells Daniel the second part of the vision, which he repeats back to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:23.
Now, in Daniel 4:25-26, Daniel presents the reason why the second part of the vision is symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel’s statement to the king in Daniel 4:24 denotes that the interpretation of the second part of his vision is found in Daniel 4:25-26 or in other words, he is telling him that he is now going to interpret for the king the second part of the vision.
In this verse, Daniel informs Nebuchadnezzar that this interpretation that he is about to give the king is a decree from the Most High which has been issued by the Most High against the king.
Since Nebuchadnezzar is a believer at this point indicates that this decree is an order to discipline him and which discipline is a manifestation of God’s love for the king.
“This is the interpretation, O king” is kataphoric meaning that this statement is pointing forward to Daniel 4:25, which records Daniel communicating to Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of the second part of the vision.
“And this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king” is epexegetical meaning that it explains specifically what Daniel meant when he told the king that this (Daniel 4:25) is the interpretation of the second part of the vision.
“The decree of the Most High” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the feminine singular construct form of the noun gezē∙rā(h) (גְּזֵרָה) (ghez-ay-raw´), “the decree of” and then we have the masculine singular adjective ʿil∙lāy (עִלָּי) (il-lah´ee), “the Most High.”
The noun gezē∙rā(h) means “decree” or “order” in the sense of an authoritative announced judicial decision.
The adjective ʿil∙lāy is used as a substantive and means “the Most High” which denotes the one true God with the very highest status and power.
“Has come upon my lord the king” is composed of the third person feminine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb meṭā(ʾ) (מְטָא) (met-aw´), “has come” which is followed by preposition ʿǎl (עַל) (al), “upon” and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun mā∙rē(ʾ) (מָרֵא) (maw-ray´), “lord” which is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “my” and then we have the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “the king.”
The verb meṭā(ʾ) means “to issue” and is used of the decree from the Most High indicating that this decree was “issued” against Nebuchadnezzar.
The noun mā∙rē(ʾ) means “lord” in the sense of one who has authority to rule over others and here the word is used by Daniel to describe the king’s authority over him.
It is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix –î, which means “my” since it functions as a possessive personal pronoun and refers of course to Daniel’s subservient relationship with Nebuchadnezzar.
The noun mā∙rē(ʾ) is the object of the preposition ʿǎl which means “against” since it functions as a marker of opposition meaning that the decree from the Most High was “against” Nebuchadnezzar.
It expresses the hostility of the Most High towards Nebuchadnezzar since the king as a believer has not been living according to His holy standards of conduct.
“That you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field” is epexegetical meaning that it defines for the reader what Daniel meant when he said to the king that “this is the interpretation as follows O king and that specifically, the decree is from the Most High which has been issued against my lord, the king.”
“You be driven away from mankind” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh), “to” and its object is the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ (־ךְ), “you” which is followed by the masculine plural passive participle form of the verb ṭerǎḏ (טְרַד) (ter-ad´), “be driven away” and then we have the preposition min (מִן) (min), “from” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun ʾěnāš (אֱנָשׁ) (en-awsh´), “mankind.”
The verb ṭerǎḏ means “to drive away” and is used of Nebuchadnezzar as its subject indicating that Daniel is telling the king that he will be “driven away” from human society.
The noun ʾěnāš means “mankind” in contrast to the animal and angelic kingdoms and refers to human society and is the object of the preposition min, which is a marker of separation meaning that Nebuchadnezzar will be driven “away from” mankind, i.e. human society.
“And your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field” presents the result of Nebuchadnezzar being driven away from human society.
Thus, he will be driven away from human society “so that” or “with the result that” he will live with the wild animals.
“And you be given grass to eat like cattle” is an ascensive clause expressing the shock that Nebuchadnezzar, a world-ruler would be fed grass like cattle and denotes that this is out of the ordinary or not what we would expect a human being to do.
“Like cattle” is composed of the preposition k- (כְּ־) (kee) “like” and its object is the masculine plural noun tôr (תֹּור) (tore), “cattle.”
The noun tôr refers to “cattle” with emphasis upon a generic domestic grazing animal with no focus upon the gender of the animal.
Thus, the word refers to a cow, i.e. a mature female of cattle as well as male adult bovine and those which are castrated males.
This noun is the object of the preposition k, which is a marker of comparison indicating the manner in which Nebuchadnezzar would be fed grass, namely like cattle.
“And be drenched with the dew of heaven” means that for seven years Nebuchadnezzar would be exposed to the elements as an animal.
“And seven periods of time will pass over you” is emphatic meaning that it is advancing upon and intensifying the previous statement Daniel made to Nebuchadnezzar that he would be fed grass like cattle and would be drenched with the dew from heaven.
Therefore, the advancement upon the previous statement and intensification is that the king would be fed grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from heaven like cattle to telling him that he will suffer this experience for seven years.
This emphatic clause refers to seven years, which is clearly indicated by the context since Daniel 7:33 says that Nebuchadnezzar’s hair had grown like eagle’s feathers and his nails like the claws of a bird, which would take years to occur rather than days.
“Until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind” indicates that Nebuchadnezzar would be deposed from power for seven years until he acknowledged that the Most High is sovereign over him and implies reluctance of Nebuchadnezzar to concede this.
“And bestows it on whomever He wishes” presents the result of the Most High being sovereign over the realm of mankind and is used with reference to the function of the sovereign will of the Most High and denotes that He gives the realm of mankind to whomever He sovereignly chooses.
Daniel 4:23 ‘Moreover, in view of the fact that the king saw a watchman, yes a holy one descending out from the heavens and saying “Cut down the tree! In other words, destroy it however leave intact in the ground, the taproot which produces its roots but with a band composed of iron as well as bronze in the midst of the wild grass produced by the open field. Also, let it be drenched with the dew from heaven as well as its dwelling place among the beasts in the grass produced by the field until seven times pass by for him,” 24 this is the interpretation to follow O king. Specifically, the decree is from the Most High which has been issued against my lord the king. 25 Namely that you will be driven away from mankind so that your dwelling place will be among the beasts of the field. You will even be fed grass like cattle. Furthermore, you will be drenched with the dew from heaven. Indeed, for your benefit, seven years will pass by until you acknowledge that the Most High is the sovereign authority over mankind’s realm so that He can give it to whomever He desires.’ (My translation)
This decree from God is an authoritative judicial decision handed down by the Supreme Court of Heaven to humble the king.
The description of the king’s punishment makes clear that this is the king’s discipline from God.
Boanthropy is a psychological disorder in which a human being believes himself to be a Bovine or in other words, a cow.
From His attribute of love, God gave Nebuchadnezzar this mental disorder in order to break him from his pagan lifestyle and was designed to teach Nebuchadnezzar to submit to God’s authority over his life.