Texts in Conversation
In Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar speaks language that mirrors Psalm 145, affirming that God’s kingdom is eternal and endures through all generations. The use of this phrasing is likely anachronistic, since a Babylonian king would not have known Israel’s liturgical traditions.
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Psalm 145:13
Hebrew Bible
11 They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;they will tell about your power, 12 so that mankind might acknowledge your mighty acts and the majestic splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. 14 The Lord supports all who fall and lifts up all who are bent over. 15 Everything looks to you in anticipation, and you provide them with food on a regular basis.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Daniel 4:34
Hebrew Bible
33 Now in that very moment this pronouncement about Nebuchadnezzar came true. He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers and his nails like a bird’s claws. 34 But at the end of the appointed time I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me. I extolled the Most High, and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever. For his authority is an everlasting authority, and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps his hand and says to him, “What have you done?”
Date: 2nd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... [Daniel] chapter 3 leaves us with a king impressed by the God of Israel, but whose personal attitude to him is ambiguous. His last word to the peoples of his empire in 3:29 had been that they should not speak anything against this God. He neither states that his own allegiance has changed, nor does he command his subjects to worship this God. As chapter 4 opens, however, we find him writing again with quite a different tone, even alluding to Scripture (compare verse 3 with Psalm 145:13). It seems clear, taking the chapter as a whole, that what is in view here is nothing less than the conversion of Nebuchadnezzar to the Jewish faith. What has led to this amazing state of affairs? He has had another dream (verse 4). We receive a hint already in this verse of what this dream is about, and what its interpretation will be. For the king is “prospering” (Aram, ra'anan) — a word almost always used in the Old Testament of plants that flourish. When we go on to read of a mighty tree cut down to size, we already guess that the tree is this king who flourishes in his palace, apparently without a care in the world ..."
Dunn, James D. G., and J. W. Rogerson
Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible
(pp. 668-669) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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