Who ruled Babylon when King Nebuchadnezzar ate grass with the cows?

Answer 1

According to Conservapedia, a Christian fundamentalist encyclopedia, "In 570 BC, Nebuchadnezzar, having completed his wars of conquest, returned to Babylon to concentrate on making it his showcase. At this time he dreamed of a tree destined to be cut down. Daniel tried to tell him that Nebuchadnezzar himself was that tree, but the king did not listen. Very soon thereafter, Nebuchadnezzar came to suffer the delusion that he was an animal, and to eat grass." This disease, known as Lycanthropy, involves a delusion that the affected person can or has transformed into an animal or that he or she is an animal. Michael Nisbett (2007) says a fragmentary cuneiform inscription in which an anonymous court official, possibly the king's own physician, could possibly testify to symptoms of depression in Nebuchadnezzar and therefore perhaps this depressive disorder.

Answer 2

During the period when King Nebuchadnezzar was believed to have eaten grass like the cows, he was still ruling Babylon himself. However, it is worth noting that this event is described in The Bible and historical sources do not provide concrete evidence of this occurrence.

Answer 3

The story of King Nebuchadnezzar eating grass with the cows is found in Daniel chapter 4. It must be remembered that the Book of Daniel is widely considered to have been written in the second century BCE, hundreds of years after the events it claims to describe. It can not be regarded as a genuine history of Babylon during the Exile. Some evidence of the date when it was written can be seen in that the Book contains serious historic errors in the time attributed to Daniel, but the supposed prophecies become increasingly more accurate later in time, towards the second century BCE. Nevertheless, Daniel 5:1 says that Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar's son and it can be implied that he ruled during his father's absence.

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 4

Daniel 4:31-33

Answer 5

Anyone have this answer?