Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 4:32
And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling [shall be] with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
32. And thou shalt be driven shalt be made to eat grass as oxen ] The passives, as Dan 4:25, with which, indeed, except that one clause is omitted, the present verse agrees almost verbally.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And they shall drive thee from men … – See the note at Dan 4:25.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 32. They shall make thee, c.] Thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen. The madness that fell upon him induced him to forsake society, and to run to the woods and deserts, where he lived like a wild beast, his hairs growing long and thick, so as to be a substitute for clothing and his nails strong and hooked, that he might the better climb trees and grub up the ground, in order to get roots and earth-nuts. It was the mercy of God that thus clothed and accoutred him. His case seems much like that of the maniac in the Gospel, whose dwelling was among the tombs and in the mountains, and who shunned the society of men.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
From men; from the society and conversation of men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And they shall drive thee from men,…. According to the interpretation of the dream given by Daniel, which this voice from heaven confirms; [See comments on Da 4:25], where the same things are said as here.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
It follows, — They shall expel thee from among men, and thy habitation shall be with the beasts of the field — or of the country, — they shall make thee eat grass like oxen! Some think Nebuchadnezzar to have been changed into a beast; but this is too harsh and absurd. We need not fancy any change of nature; but he was cut off from all intercourse with men, and with the exception of a human form, he did not differ from the brutes, — nay, such was his deformity in his exile that, as we shall afterwards see, he became a horrid spectacle; — all the hairs of his body stood up and grew like eagles’ feathers; his claws were like those of birds. In these points he was like the beasts, in others like the rest of mankind. It is uncertain whether God struck this king with madness, causing him to escape and he hid for a length of time, or whether he was cast forth by a tumult and conspiracy of nobles, or even the consent of the whole people. All this is doubtful, since the history of those times is unknown to us. Whether, then, Nebuchadnezzar was snatched away by madness, and while he continued a maniac was separated from the society of men, or was cast forth as many tyrants have been, his dwelling with beasts for a time, becomes a memorable example to us. He was probably rendered stupid, by God’s leaving him a human form while be deprived him of reason, as the context will make evident to us. They shall cast thee out from human society; thy dwelling shall be with wild beasts; they shall make thee eat grass like an ox! that is, when deprived of all delight, nay, of the commonest and plainest food, thou wilt find no other sustenance than that of oxen. Thou shalt eat the grass like an animal, and seven times shall pass over thee. Of the “seven times” we have spoken before. Some restrict this to days, but this is contrary not only to every reason, but to every pretext. Nor do I explain it of months; the space of time would have been much too short. Hence the opinion of those who extend it to seven years is more probable. If Nebuchadnezzar had been cast out by a tumult, he would not have been so quickly recalled: then, since God wished to make an example of him for all generations, I suppose him to have been driven out from common society for a length of time. For if the penalty had been for seven months only, we see how coolly God’s judgments would be received in the world. Hence, with the view of engraving this penalty more deeply in the hearts of all, he wished to protract it longer — I will not say to seven years, since I have previously expounded the certain number as put for an uncertain one, implying a long space of time.
Seven years, then, shall pass away, says he, until thou shalt know that there is a lofty ruler in the kingdoms of men. This is the end of the punishment, as we have previously said, for I need not repeat my former remarks. But we must remember this — God mitigates the bitterness of the penalty by making it temporary. Then he proposed this end to induce Nebuchadnezzar to repent, as he required many blows for this purpose, according to the old proverb about the fool who can never be recalled to a sound mind without suffering calamity. Thus King Nebuchadnezzar ought to be beaten with stripes, to render him submissive to God, as he never profited by any holy admonition or any heavenly oracle. God does not treat; all in this way. Hence we have here a special example of his clemency, which provides for the punishment inflicted on King Nebuchadnezzar, being both useful and profitable. For the reprobate are more and more hardened against God, and are ever stirred up and excited to madness. It was an act, then, of special grace, when Nebuchadnezzar was chastised for the time by the hand of God, to cause his repentance and his owning God’s entire sway over the whole world.
He says, that God may be Lord in the kingdom of men; because nothing is more difficult than to persuade tyrants to submit to the power of God. On the one side they confess themselves to reign by his grace; but at the same time, they suppose their own sway to be obtained by either valor or good fortune, and to be retained by their own guards, counsels, and wealth. Hence, as far as they can, they shut God out from the government of the world, while they are puffed up with a false conceit of themselves, as if all things were maintained in their present state by their valor or advice. This, then, was an ordinary effect when Nebuchadnezzar began to feel God to be the ruler in the kingdom of men, since kings wish to place him somewhere between themselves and the multitude. They confess the people to be subject to God’s power, but think themselves exempt from the common order of events, and in possession of a privilege in favor of their lusts, relieving them from the hand and empire of God. Hence, as I have said, it was no common thing for Nebuchadnezzar to acknowledge God to reign in the earth; for tyrants usually enclose God in heaven, and think him content with his own happiness, and careless about mingling in the concerns of men. Hence thou mayest know him to be the ruler. He afterwards adds the kind of dominion, because God raises up whomsoever he pleases, and casts down others: God is not only supreme in the sense of sustaining’ all things by his universal providence, but because no one without his will obtains empire at all. He binds some with a belt, and looseth the bonds of others, as it is said in the book of Job. (Job 12:18.) We ought not, therefore, to imagine God’s power to be at rest, but we should join it with present action, as the phrase is. Whether tyrants obtain power, or sovereigns are pious and just, all are governed by God’s secret counsel, since otherwise there could be no king of the world. It follows:
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(32) They shall drive thee.This verse is only slightly abridged from Dan. 4:25 by the omission of the clause they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Dan 4:32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling [shall be] with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
Ver. 32. And they shall drive thee. ] See on Dan 4:25 , See Trapp on “ Dan 4:25 “ that new impieties work out old threatened curses, which seldom rot in the air, as we use to say of winter.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
they shall drive: Dan 4:14-16, Dan 4:25, Dan 4:26, Dan 5:21, Job 30:5-7
until: Dan 4:17, Dan 4:25, Exo 8:10, Exo 9:14, Exo 9:29, Jos 4:24, Job 12:18-21, Pro 8:15, Pro 8:16, Isa 37:20, Isa 45:3, Jer 27:5
Reciprocal: Exo 7:17 – thou shalt Num 22:9 – God Num 33:53 – General Deu 2:5 – because 1Sa 15:28 – hath given 1Ki 3:7 – thou hast 2Ki 9:6 – I have anointed 1Ch 29:11 – all that 2Ch 20:6 – rulest not Ezr 1:2 – hath given Job 12:21 – poureth Job 36:22 – God Psa 83:18 – the most Psa 93:1 – Lord Isa 51:13 – where is Isa 64:2 – to make Eze 22:16 – thou shalt know Eze 28:9 – say Eze 31:14 – the end Eze 38:16 – that the Dan 2:21 – he removeth Dan 2:37 – the God Dan 2:47 – a Lord Dan 4:16 – be changed Dan 4:33 – and he was Dan 4:34 – at the end Dan 4:36 – mine Dan 5:18 – the most Dan 7:4 – and a Dan 7:25 – a time Hos 2:7 – for Mat 4:9 – I give Mar 5:3 – General Joh 19:11 – Thou Rom 13:1 – there Jam 4:7 – Submit
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 4:32. Beginning with verse 28 the language lias been in the third person, because the king is composing the account of his own experiences ac-cording to the announcement in the beginning of the chapter. They shall drive thee means “thou Shalt be driven, and the announcement was repeated that was shown in the dream.