Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 4:20
The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
20 21. The description repeated from Dan 4:11-12.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The tree that thou sawest … – In these two verses Daniel refers to the leading circumstances respecting the tree as it appeared in the dream, without any allusion as yet to the order to cut it down. He probably designed to show that he had clearly understood what had been said, or that he had attended to the most minute circumstances as narrated. It was important to do this in order to show clearly that it referred to the king; a fact which probably Nebuchadnezzar himself apprehended, but still it was important that this should be so firmly fixed in his mind that he would not revolt from it when Daniel came to disclose the fearful import of the remainder of the dream.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 20. The tree that thou sawest] The dream is so fully interpreted in the following verses that it needs no comment.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
20. The tree is the king.The branches, the princes. The leaves, the soldiers.The fruits, the revenues. The shadow, the protectionafforded to dependent states.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The tree which thou sawest, e.] In these two verses is related part of the dream, which respects the flourishing estate of Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom [See comments on Da 4:10],
[See comments on Da 4:11],
[See comments on Da 4:12].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here we see what I have touched upon, namely, how Daniel acted respectfully to the king, and thus was mindful of his prophetic duty, while he punctually discharged the commands of God. We must notice this distinction, for nothing is more difficult for ministers of the Word than to maintain this middle course. Some are always fulminating through a pretense of zeal, and forget themselves to be but men: they shew no sign of benevolence, but indulge in mere bitterness. Hence they have no authority, and all their admonitions are hateful. Next, they explain God’s Word with pride and boasting, when they frighten sinners without either humanity, or pain, or sympathy. Others, again, who are wicked and perfidious flatterers, gloss over the grossest iniquities; they object to both Prophets and Apostles, esteeming the fervor of their zeal to have driven away all human affections! Thus they delude miserable men, and destroy them by their flattery. But our Prophet, as all the rest, here shews how God’s servants ought to take a middle course. Thus Jeremiah, when prophesying adversity, feels sorrow and bitterness of spirit, and yet does not turn aside from unsparing reproof of the severest threats, as both sprang from God. (Jer 9:1.) The rest of the prophets also act in the same manner. Here Daniel, on the one hand, pities the king, and on the other, through knowing himself to be the herald of God’s anger, he is not frightened by any danger while setting before the king the punishment which he had despised. Hence we gather why he was not astonished. He felt no fear of the tyrant, although many do not dare to discharge their duty when an odious message is entrusted to them, which stimulates the impious and the unbelievers to madness. Daniel, however, was not astonished with any fear of this kind; he only wished God to act mercifully towards his king. For he says here, Thou art king thyself. He does not speak with any doubt or hesitation, neither does he use obscurity nor a number of excuses, but plainly announces king Nebuchadnezzar to be intended by the tree which he saw. Hence the tree which thou sawest is large and strong, under the shade of which the beasts of the field were dwelling, and in the boughs of which the birds of the air were making their nests: thou, says he, art the king. Why so? Thou hast become great and strong; thy magnitude has extended to the heavens, and thy power to the ends of the earth Now, what follows?
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(20) It should be noticed that both in this and in the following verse the description of the tree given in Dan. 4:11-12 is curtailed. It was observed that, on the contrary, there was an expansion of details in the interpretation of the former dream. (See Note on Dan. 4:23.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20-22. See Dan 4:10-12, and for the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s empire, Introduction, III, 3, 4. One ancient Greek version gives as a reason for Nebuchadnezzar’s fall, “because thou hast laid waste the house of the living God.” This seems like a stroke at Antiochus Epiphanes.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“The tree that you saw, which grew and was strong, whose height reached to heaven, and was in sight of all the earth, whose leaves were lush, and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and on whose branches the birds of heaven had their nests. It is you, O king. You have grown and become strong. For your greatness has grown and reached to heaven, and your dominion is to the end of the earth.”
The tree represented all that Nebuchadnezzar could have hoped for. It represented him as powerful and strong, riding tall and famous, the feeder and protector of His people, so famous that even the gods knew of him (‘reached to heaven’ – compare Gen 10:9), and ruler of the known world. But then was to come the downside.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Dan 4:20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
Ver. 20. The tree that thou sawest. ] See on Dan 4:11 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Dan 4:20-22
Dan 4:20 The treeH363 thatH1768 thou sawest,H2370 whichH1768 grew,H7236 and was strong,H8631 whose heightH7314 reachedH4291 unto the heaven,H8065 and the sightH2379 thereof to allH3606 the earth;H772
Dan 4:21 Whose leavesH6074 were fair,H8209 and the fruitH4 thereof much,H7690 and in it was meatH4203 for all;H3606 underH8460 which the beastsH2423 of the fieldH1251 dwelt,H1753 and upon whose branchesH6056 the fowlsH6853 of the heavenH8065 had their habitation:H7932
Dan 4:22 ItH1932 is thou,H607 O king,H4430 thatH1768 art grownH7236 and become strong:H8631 for thy greatnessH7238 is grown,H7236 and reachethH4291 unto heaven,H8065 and thy dominionH7985 to the endH5491 of the earth.H772
Dan 4:20-22
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream Explained
The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
It is interesting to note here that an entire empire on earth is personified in a single man as a figure of a tree. We see a similar instance in Revelation where a man is personified for a kingdom in the figure of the beast. The Babylonian empire was indeed a glorious kingdom on earth, being the most powerful nation in the ancient world after the fall of the Assyrian empire (612 BCE). The capital city, Babylon, was beautifully adorned by king Nebuchadnezzar, who erected several famous buildings that endured for centuries after the empire fell.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Dan 4:10-12, Eze 31:3, Eze 31:16
Reciprocal: Psa 37:35 – a green bay tree Pro 17:19 – he that Isa 37:24 – General Jer 51:9 – her judgment Eze 19:11 – her stature Mar 4:32 – shooteth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 4:20-21. This paragraph merely repeats the description of the tree as the king gave it to Daniel, and does not call for any additional com-ments.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Dan 4:20-22. The tree that thou sawest is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong Princes and great men are frequently represented in Scripture by fair and flourishing trees. So the king of Assyria is described, Eze 31:3-8 : compare Isa 10:34; Zec 11:2. Thy greatness is grown and reacheth unto heaven As near as human greatness can do. He shows the king his present prosperous state in the glass of his own dream: see Dan 4:11. And thy dominion to the end of the earth To the Caspian sea, to the Euxine sea, and to the Atlantic ocean. Grotius. See note on chap. Dan 2:38.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
By repeating the facts of the dream as Nebuchadnezzar had previously narrated them, Daniel assured the king that he understood the dream exactly and was therefore interpreting it accurately. Nebuchadnezzar would have to leave his present place in society and would live in the open air with "beasts" (animals) of the field. Moreover, he would behave as an animal himself, even eating grass. Zoanthropy is a form of mental illness that causes such behavior. With it a person imagines himself or herself to be an animal. Perhaps this is what God used to afflict Nebuchadnezzar. [Note: Keil, p. 159; Pentecost, pp. 1342-43.] Another possibility is that the king suffered from boanthropy. With this illness a person thinks himself or herself to be an ox (cf. Dan 5:21). His or her outer behavior is irrational, but the inner consciousness remains virtually unchanged. [Note: Young, p. 112; Archer, "Daniel," p. 66.] This may account for the statement that at the end of his affliction Nebuchadnezzar "raised his eyes toward heaven" (i.e., repented, Dan 4:34). R. K. Harrison recorded his personal observation of a mental patient with boanthropy who demonstrated exactly the symptoms described of Nebuchadnezzar. [Note: R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, pp. 1116-17.] Joyce Baldwin quoted a consulting psychiatrist who witnessed a similar case. [Note: Baldwin, pp. 109-10.]