Daniel 4:10

10 'Now these were the ¹visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a ²tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great.

Daniel 4:10 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 4:10

Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed
So things appeared to my fancy thus; they ran in my head or brain in a dream in my bed, as if I saw them with my eyes, as follows; for so I thought, I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth;
an emblem of a powerful prince well settled, and strongly supported in his power and government; so the Assyrian monarch, ( Ezekiel 31:3-9 ) and here Nebuchadnezzar himself, as it is afterwards explained; who was well established in his monarchy, the metropolis of which was Babylon; and which stood pretty much in the midst of the then known world: and the height thereof was great;
taller than trees in common; denoting the superiority of the Babylonian monarch over all kings and kingdoms of the earth.

Daniel 4:10 In-Context

8 "But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying,

9 'O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

10 'Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great.

11 'The tree grew large and became strong And its height reached to the sky, And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

12 'Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, And all living creatures fed themselves from it.

Cross References

• 1. Daniel 4:5
• 2. Ezekiel 31:3, 6

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "of my head"
• [b]. Or "land," and so throughout the ch