Daniel 3 Footnotes

3:1 Ancient rulers commonly constructed large statues (e.g., the Great Sphinx in Egypt), and Herodotus wrote that a solid gold statue of Bel (Marduk) in Babylon stood eighteen feet high.

3:2 Some commentators claim that Persian loan words (including some titles for officials listed in chap. 3) indicate a late date for the book. But Daniel completed his book after the Persian conquest of Babylon and even served in the new administration, so the presence of Persian loan words is not surprising. The Persian expressions are, in fact, strong evidence for a date of composition not long after the Babylonian exile, since they are old Persian words that ceased to be used by about 300 BC.

3:6 Burning, as a form of execution, was a practice of Babylonian rulers. According to Jr 29:22, Nebuchadnezzar burned to death two men named Zedekiah and Ahab. Burning as a penalty for certain crimes appears twice in the Code of Hammurabi, the system of law set forth by that Babylonian king (eighteenth century BC). Another early Babylonian monarch, Rim-Sin, also punished in this manner.

3:12 Critics who question the authenticity of the book of Daniel point to the omission of his name here as evidence that the story of the three Judean youths was a legend that had circulated independently of the other narratives in the book. They assert that the author conflated older tales into one story to inspire faithfulness during the persecutions of Antiochus IV. Such a conjecture has no objective support. Daniel’s responsibilities as “ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon” likely required his presence at the palace (2:48).

3:29 Nebuchadnezzar’s decree shows that he, unlike modern skeptics, accepted the truth that God can miraculously deliver his people. In this he was in agreement with the biblical view that God can override what is seemingly a closed system of cause and effect in the physical world. The angel Gabriel told Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37); Jesus himself affirmed, “With God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26).