Daniel 4.36-Nebuchadnezzar's Sanity And Kingdom Are Restored To Him After He Repents
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday October 30, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 4:36-Nebuchadnezzar’s Sanity And Kingdom Are Restored To Him After He Repents
Lesson # 139
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 4:36.
This evening we will study Daniel 4:36, which records the Lord restoring Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity and kingdom to him after he repents.
Daniel 4:36 “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me.” (NASB95)
“At that time” is composed of the preposition b- (בְּ־) (beh) and its object is the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “that” and then we have the masculine singular form of the noun zemǎn (זְמַן) (zem-awn´), “time.”
The noun zemǎn means “the precise moment” referring to a specified point in time when Nebuchadnezzar was restored to power by God and is the object of the preposition b-, which is functioning as a temporal marker meaning “at” referring to the precise or exact moment when Nebuchadnezzar was restored to power by God.
The third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû(ʾ) means “that” and refers to the completion of the seven years when Nebuchadnezzar repented.
Therefore, these three words form an expression which literally mean “at that exact moment” or “at that precise moment” and answer the question when Nebuchadnezzar was restored to power by God.
Thus, this prepositional phrase refers to the completion of the seven years in which Nebuchadnezzar was disciplined by God and then humbled himself before God by lifting up his eyes towards the heavens.
He then showered the Most High with worshipful thanksgiving and also praised as well as honored the immanent eternal one because His governmental dominion is forever, i.e. His kingdom is from generation to generation.
“My reason” is composed of the masculine singular construct form of the noun mǎn∙dǎʿ (מַנְדַּע) (man-dah´), “reason” which is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “my.”
The noun mǎn∙dǎʿ means “sanity” and is used with reference of course to Nebuchadnezzar once again thinking rational thoughts in contrast to thinking like a cow or bull for seven years while under discipline from God.
“Returned” is the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb tûḇ (תּוּב) (toob), which means “to return” referring to Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity indicating that it was “returned” to him by God after seven years of discipline.
“And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom” presents the result of God restoring Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity to him.
“For the glory of my kingdom” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun yeqār (יְקָר) (yek-awr´), “the glory of” and this is followed by the feminine singular construct form of the noun mǎl∙ḵû (מַלְכוּ) (mal-koo´), “kingdom” which is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “my.”
The noun yeqār means “honor, praise” and denotes public recognition referring to the honor in the sense of public recognition or praise that Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian kingdom received from men as a result of the king being restored to power by God.
It is the object of the preposition lĕ, which functions as a marker of purpose indicating that the purpose of God restoring Nebuchadnezzar’s majesty and splendor was so that the inhabitants of the earth would praise the glory of his Babylonian kingdom.
The noun mǎl∙ḵû means “kingdom” and denotes the sphere of Nebuchadnezzar’s authority or control over various nations, ethnicities and language groups.
Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom consisted of the nations, cities, villages and farmland he controlled and was given to him by God according to Daniel 2:37-38 and Jeremiah 27.
“My majesty and splendor” is composed of the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “my” and then we have the masculine singular construct form of the noun hǎḏǎr (הֲדַר) (had-ar´), “majesty” which is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “my” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun zîw (זִיו) (zeev), “splendor” which also is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “my.”
The noun hǎḏǎr means “majesty” or “greatness” indicating that God restored Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity to him so that his greatness or majesty was restored to him in the sense he was once again the preeminent king over all the other kings of the earth.
The noun zîw means “splendor” in the sense of extraordinarily or transcendently impressive implying outshining the usual or customary and describes Nebuchadnezzar as extraordinarily or transcendently impressive as a king implying that he outshone the other kings of the earth.
The conjunction wa is used to join these two nouns in order to communicate one idea, which is called “hendiadys” which emphasizes the extraordinary or transcendent impressiveness of Nebuchadnezzar as a king, which distinguished him from the other kings of the earth.
“My counselors” is the masculine plural construct form of the noun hǎd∙dā∙ḇǎr (הַדָּבַר) (had-daw-bawr´), which is referring to those individuals who gave Nebuchadnezzar counsel or advised him with regards to various matters of state.
“My nobles” is composed of the masculine plural construct form of the noun rǎḇ∙reḇā∙nîn (רַבְרְבָנִין) (rab-reb-awn´), “nobles” which is modified by first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “my.”
The noun rǎḇ∙reḇā∙nîn means “nobles” referring to the various dignitaries mentioned in Daniel chapter three, which were ordered to attend the dedication of the gold statue Nebuchadnezzar made of himself.
These would include the satraps, military commanders, governors, advisers, treasurers, lawyers, judges from the provinces of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
“Began seeking me out” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) and its object is the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “me” and then we have the third person masculine plural paʿʿel (Hebrew: piel) active imperfect form of the verb beʿā(h) (בְּעָה) (beh-aw´), “began seeking.”
The verb beʿā(h) means “to seek” indicating that Nebuchadnezzar’s counselors and nobles sought to have an audience with the king to discuss matters of state and to seek and give him advice with regards to these matters.
The paʿʿel (Hebrew: piel) stem of this verb is iterative and denotes Nebuchadnezzar’s counselors and nobles “making it their habit” once again to seek out the king for his advice and to give him advice with regards to matters of state.
“So I was reestablished in my sovereignty” presents the result of God restoring Nebuchadnezzar’s’ majesty and splendor and his counselors and nobles once again seeking him out as a result of God giving him back his sanity.
“And surpassing greatness was added to me” expresses the shock that God would bless Nebuchadnezzar even more after having to discipline him for seven years and denotes that this is out of the ordinary or not what an unregenerate human being would expect God to do, however, God is gracious.
“Surpassing greatness” is composed of the feminine singular construct form of the noun reḇû (רְבוּ) (reb-oo´), “greatness” which is followed by the feminine singular form of the noun yǎt∙tîr (יַתִּיר) (yat-teer´), “surpassing.”
The noun reḇû means “greatness” in the sense that Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom had became even more distinguished and eminent throughout the earth so that it stood above all the other kingdoms of the earth than it did before Nebuchadnezzar was deposed from power.
The noun yǎt∙tîr means “extraordinary” and is describing this greatness as being extraordinary in the sense that this greatness was exceptional or unusual.
This adjective denotes that this greatness that was added to Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom deviated from the norm in the sense that no king or kingdom up to that point in history could be compared to Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom.
“Was added to me” is composed of the third person feminine singular hofʿal (Hebrew: hophal) passive perfect form of the verb yesǎp̄ (יְסַף) (yes-af´), “was added” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) and its object is the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “me.”
The verb yesǎp̄ means “to add, to increase” and referring to God “adding” extraordinary greatness to Nebuchadnezzar and denotes that Nebuchadnezzar increased in extraordinary greatness.
Daniel 4:36 “At that precise moment my sanity was restored to me so that for the praise of my kingdom, my majesty, yes my splendor was for my benefit restored to me. Also, my counselors as well as my nobles were making it their habit of seeking me out. Therefore, I was reinstated over my kingdom. I even increased in extraordinary greatness.” (My translation)
In Daniel 4:36, Nebuchadnezzar is emphasizing with the reader that God treated him in grace or according to His grace policy meaning that he did not earn or deserve to be restored to power and blessed even more than he was before being deposed from power.
Grace is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross.
It is God treating us in a manner that we don’t deserve and excludes any human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God.
Grace means that God saved us and blessed us despite ourselves and not according to anything that we do but rather saved us and blessed us because of the merits of Christ and His work on the Cross.
It excludes any human merit in salvation and blessing (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and gives the Creator all the credit and the creature none.
By means of faith, we accept the grace of God, which is a non-meritorious system of perception, which is in total accord with the grace of God.