What is the story of Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel?

Answer 1

Nebuchadnezzar was a mighty king of Babylon and in the Book of Daniel had a dream, which Daniel interpreted as meaning that the mighty king would eat grass like an ox, and this is just what happened soon afterwards. This story was apparently based on a Jewish Propaganda scroll, a portion of which was discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls and is now known as 4Q242 or the Prayer of Nabonidus.

The text of 4Q242 is intermediate between Babylonian texts and the Book of Daniel, and shows how the story evolved from the historical original through an intermediate, semi-historical stage to the entirely fictional story in Daniel.

Answer 2

The Book of Daniel is placed in the time of the Babylonian Exile and concerns a person called Daniel, who was portrayed as growing up in the Babylonian court and rising to become the second most important person in the entire Babylonian empire, then after the fall of Babylon, the second most important person in the Persian empire.

The Book of Daniel is rich in parallels to the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. Like Joseph, he is taken as a slave to Babylon, where he becomes renowned as an interpreter of dreams. It is that ability that brings him to the attention of the king, who soon gives him responsibility for the empire, just as Joseph was.

There are several famous and imaginative passages in the Book of Daniel. In one, because they worship God, the friends of Daniel are thrown into a furnace so hot that their guards are killed in the intense heat, but they survive unscathed. In another, a literary parallel, the king is tricked into throwing Daniel into a den of lions because he prayed to God, but Daniel survived untouched.

Writing in the second century BCE, the author knew that the Babylonian kingdom would soon be overthrown. With a limited understanding of history, he believed that Babylon was overthrown by the Medes, who were then conquered by the Persians. In fact, the Medes were conquered by the Persians before the conquest of Babylon. He also knew that Persia would be conquered by Alexander, whose empire would break into the Hellenistic pieces after his death. The Book of Daniel describes a dream in which there was a statue with a golden head, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet partly of iron and clay. In the book, Daniel said that the head represented the Babylonian empire and that each part of the statue represented another empire to follow.

Answer 3

In the Book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylon who has a dream about a giant statue made of different materials. Daniel interprets the dream, explaining that the statue represents kingdoms that will rise and fall, with a rock (symbolizing God's kingdom) destroying them all. Nebuchadnezzar later becomes arrogant and is punished by God, living as a wild animal until he acknowledges God's sovereignty.

Answer 4

Daniel worked for king Nebuchadnezzar he also told the king what the hand at written on the wall, and also had interpreted his dream.

Answer 5

Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2 reveals the coming world kingdoms and their rise and eventual end, and what caused each. Today, there are many different beliefs over what the dream meant.

Answer 6

He was his most knowledgeable adviser.