circumcision, but it is probable, previous to the introduction of that
rite, that the name was given immediately after its birth. Among the
orientals the appellations given as names are always significant. In the
Old Testament, we find that the child was named in many instances from
the circumstances of its birth, or from some peculiarities in the
history of the family to which it belonged, Gen. xvi, 11; xix, 37; xxv,
25, 26; Exod. ii, 10; xviii, 3, 4. Frequently the name was a compound
one, one part being the name of the Deity, and among idolatrous nations
the name of an idol. The following instances may be mentioned among
others, and may stand as specimens of the whole, namely, שמואל,
_Samuel_, hear God;” אדניה, _Adonijah_, God is lord;” יהוצדק,
_Josedech_, God is just;” אתבעל, _Ethbaal_, a Canaanitish name, the
latter part of the compound being the name of the idol deity, Baal;
בלשאצר, _Belshazzar_, Bel,” a Babylonish deity, is ruler and king.”
Sometimes the name had a prophetic meaning, Gen. xvii, 15; Isa. vii, 14;
viii, 3; Hos. i, 4, 6, 9; Matt. i, 21; Luke i, 13, 60, 63. In the later
times names were selected from those of the progenitors of a family;
hence in the New Testament hardly any other than ancient names occur,
Matt. i, 12; Luke i, 61; iii, 23, &c. The inhabitants of the east very
frequently change their names, and sometimes do it for very slight
reasons. This accounts for the fact of so many persons having two names
in Scripture, Ruth i, 20, 21; 1 Sam. xiv, 49; xxxi, 2; 1 Chron. x, 2;
Judges vi, 32; vii, 1; 2 Sam. xxiii, 8. Kings and princes very often
changed the names of those who held offices under them, particularly
when they first attracted their notice, and were taken into their
employ, and when subsequently they were elevated to some new station,
and crowned with additional honours, Gen. xli, 45; xvii, 5; xxxii, 28;
xxxv, 10; 2 Kings xxiii, 34, 35; xxiv, 17; Dan. i, 6; John i, 42; Mark
iii, 17. Hence a name, a new name, occurs tropically, as a token or
proof of distinction and honour in the following among other passages,
Phil. ii, 9; Heb. i, 4; Rev. ii, 17. Sometimes the names of the dead
were changed; for instance that of Abel, הבל, a word which signifies
breath, or something transitory as a breath, given to him after his
death, in allusion to the shortness of his life, Gen. ii, 8. Sometimes
proper names are translated into other languages, losing their original
form, while they preserve their signification. This appears to have been
the case with the proper names, which occur in the first eleven chapters
of Genesis, and which were translated into the Hebrew from a language
still more ancient. The orientals in some instances, in order to
distinguish themselves from others of the same name, added to their own
name the name of their father, grandfather, and even great grandfather.
The name of God often signifies God himself; sometimes his attributes
collectively; sometimes his power and authority. Of the Messiah it is
said, And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King
of kings, and Lord of lords,” Rev. xix, 16. In illustration of this it
may be remarked, that it appears to have been an ancient custom among
several nations, to adorn the images of their deities, princes, victors
at their public games, and other eminent persons, with inscriptions
expressive of their names, character, titles, or some circumstance which
might contribute to their honour. There are several such images yet
extant, with an inscription written either on the garment, or one of the
thighs. Herodotus mentions two figures of Sesostris, king of Egypt, cut
upon rocks in Ionia, after his conquest of that country, with the
following inscription across the breast, extending from one shoulder to
the other: I conquered this country by the force of my arms.” Gruter has
published a naked statue made of marble, and supposed to represent the
genius either of some Roman emperor, or of Antinöus, who was deified by
Hadrian, with an inscription on the inside of the right thigh, written
perpendicularly in Roman letters, and containing the names of three
persons. Near the statue, on the same side of it, stands an oval shield
with the names of two other persons written round the rim in letters of
the same form. In the appendix to Dempster’s _Etruria Regalis_” is a
female image of brass, clothed in a loose tunic down to the feet, with a
shorter garment over it, on the right side of which is a perpendicular
inscription in Etrurian characters, extending partly on the lower
garment. This figure, from the diadem on the head, and other
circumstances which accompany it, Philip Bonarota, the editor of that
work, supposes to have been designed for some Etrurian deity. Montfaucon
has given us a male image of the same metal, dressed in a tunic, and
over that another vestment something like a Roman toga, reaching to the
middle of the legs, on the bottom of which is an Etrurian inscription
written horizontally. There are likewise in both those writers two male
figures crowned with laurel, which Montfaucon calls combatants, as the
laurel was an emblem of victory. But Bonarota takes one of them for an
image of Apollo, which has a chain round the neck, a garment wrapped
over the right arm, and a bracelet on the left, with half boots on the
legs; the rest of the body being naked has an Etrurian inscription
written downward in two lines on the inside of the left thigh. The other
figure has the lower part of the body clothed in a loose vestment, with
an inscription upon it over the right thigh, perpendicularly written in
Roman letters, which Bonarota has thus expressed in a more distinct
manner than they appear in Montfaucon: POMPONIO VIRIO I. To these may be
added from Montfaucon, a marble statue of a naked combatant, with a
fillet about his head in token of victory. It is drawn in two views, one
exhibiting the back and the other the fore part of the body, the latter
of which has in Greek letters, ΚΑΦΙΣΟΔΟΡΟΣ for ΚΑΦΙΣΟΔΩΡΟΣ,
perpendicularly inscribed on the outside of the left thigh; and the
former the name ΑΙΣΧΛΑΜΙΟΥ in the like characters and situation on the
right thigh; these together make one inscription signifying
_Caphisodorus filius Æschlamii_. [Caphisodorus the son of Æschlamius.]
NAOMI. See RUTH.
NAPHTALI, the sixth son of Jacob by Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid. The word
Naphtali signifies _wrestling_, or _struggling_. When Rachel gave him
this name, she said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my
sister, and I have prevailed,” Gen. xxx, 8. Naphtali had but four sons,
and yet at the coming out of Egypt his tribe made up fifty-three
thousand four hundred men, able to bear arms. Moses, in the blessing he
gave to the same tribe, says, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and
full with the blessing of the Lord, possess thou the west and the
south,” Deut. xxxiii, 23. The Vulgate reads it, the sea and the south,”
and the Hebrew will admit of either interpretation, that is, the sea of
Gennesareth, which was to the south by the inheritance of this tribe.
His soil was very fruitful in corn and oil. His limits were extended
into upper and lower Galilee, having Jordan to the east, the tribes of
Asher and Zebulun to the west, Libanus to the north, and the tribe of
Issachar to the south. Under Barak, their general, they and the
Zebulunites fought with distinguished bravery against the army of Jabin
the younger; and at the desire of Gideon they pursued the Midianites,
Judges iv, 10; v, 18; vii, 23. A thousand of their captains, with
thirty-seven thousand of their troops, assisted at David’s coronation,
and brought great quantities of provision with them, 1 Chron. xii, 34,
40. We find no person of distinguished note among them, save Barak, and
Hiram the artificer. Instigated by Asa, Benhadad the elder, king of
Syria, terribly ravaged the land of Naphtali; and what it suffered in
after invasions by the Syrians we are partly told, 1 Kings xv, 20. The
Naphtalites were, many, if not most of them, carried captive by
Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, 2 Kings xv, 29. Josiah purged their
country from idols. Our Saviour and his disciples, during his public
ministry, resided much and preached frequently in the land of Naphtali,
Isaiah ix, 1; Matt. iv, 13, 15.
NAPHTUHIM, a son, or rather the descendants of a son, of Mizraim, whose
proper name is Naphtuch. Naphtuch is supposed to have given his name to
Naph, Noph, or Memphis, and to have been the first king of that division
of Egypt. He is, however, placed by Bochart in Libya; and is conjectured
to be the Aphtuchus, or Autuchus, who had a temple somewhere here. He is
farther conjectured, and not without reason, to be the original of the
Heathen god Neptune; who is represented to have been a Libyan, and whose
temples were generally built near the sea coast. By others, he is
supposed to have peopled that part of Ethiopia between Syene and Meroe,
the capital of which was called Napata.
NATHAN, a prophet of the Lord, who appeared in Israel in the time of
King David, and had a great share in the confidence of this prince. His
country is unknown, as also the time in which he began to prophesy. The
first time we find him mentioned, is when David designed to build the
temple, 2 Sam. vii, 3, &c. We find him mentioned again in the affair of
David and Bathsheba, when he faithfully reproved the king for his wicked
conduct, 2 Sam. xii, 1–14. And when Adonijah began to take upon him the
state, and to assume the dignity, of a sovereign, and to form a party in
opposition to his brother Solomon, Nathan repaired to Bathsheba, and
sent her immediately to the king with instructions what to say; and
while she was yet discoursing with the king, Nathan came in, reminded
David of his promise, that Solomon should be his successor, and procured
Solomon to be immediately anointed king of Israel.
NATHANAEL, a disciple of our Lord. He appears to have been a pious Jew
who waited for the Messiah: and upon Jesus saying to him, Before Philip
called thee, I saw thee under the fig tree,” Nathanael, convinced, by
some circumstance not explained, of his omniscience, exclaimed, Master,
thou art the Son of God, and the King of Israel.” Many have thought that
Nathanael was the same as Bartholomew. The evangelists, who mention
Bartholomew, say nothing of Nathanael; and St. John, who mentions
Nathanael, takes no notice of Bartholomew. We read at the end of St.
John’s Gospel, that our Saviour, after his resurrection, manifested
himself to Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, and the sons of Zebedee, as they
were fishing in the lake of Gennesareth. We know no other circumstances
of the life of this holy man.
NATURAL, ψυχικὸς, is a term that frequently occurs in the apostolic
writings: The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned,” 1
Cor. ii, 14. Here it is plain that by the natural man,” is not meant a
person devoid of natural judgment, reason, or conscience, in which sense
the expression is often used among men. Nor does it signify one who is
entirely governed by his fleshly appetites, or what the world calls a
voluptuary, or sensualist. Neither does it signify merely a man in the
rude state of nature, whose faculties have not been cultivated by
learning and study, and polished by an intercourse with society. The
Apostle manifestly takes his natural man” from among such as the world
hold in the highest repute for their natural parts, their learning, and
their religion. He selects him from among the philosophers of Greece,
who sought after wisdom, and from among the Jewish scribes, who were
instructed in the revealed law of God, 1 Cor. i, 22, 23. These are the
persons whom he terms the wise, the scribes, the disputers of this
world--men to whom the Gospel was a stumbling block and foolishness, 1
Cor. i, 20, 23. The natural man is here evidently opposed to, ὁ
πνευματικὸς, him that is spiritual,” 1 Cor. ii, 15, even as the natural
body which we derive from Adam is opposed to the spiritual body which
believers will receive from Christ at the resurrection, according to 1
Cor. xv, 44, 45. Now the spiritual man is one who has the Spirit of
Christ dwelling in him, Rom. viii, 9, not merely in the way of
miraculous gifts, as some have imagined, (for these were peculiar to the
first age of the Christian church, and even then not common to all the
saints, nor inseparably connected with salvation, 1 Cor. xiii, 1–4; Heb.
vi, 4–7,) but in his saving influences of light, holiness, and
consolation, whereby the subject is made to discern the truth and
excellency of spiritual things, and so to believe, love, and delight in
them as his true happiness. If therefore a man is called spiritual”
because the Spirit of Christ dwells in him, giving him new views,
dispositions, and enjoyments, then the natural man,” being opposed to
such, must be one who is destitute of the Spirit, and of all his saving
and supernatural effects, whatever may be his attainments in human
learning and science. It is obviously upon this principle that our Lord
insists upon the necessity of the new birth in order to our entering
into the kingdom of heaven, John iii, 3, 5.
NATURE. In Scripture the word nature expresses the orderly and usual
course of things established in the world. St. Paul says, to ingraft a
good olive tree into a wild olive is contrary to nature, Rom. xi, 24;
the customary order of nature is thereby in some measure inverted.
Nature is also put for natural descent: We who are Jews by nature,” by
birth, and not Gentiles,” Gal. ii, 15. We were by nature the children of
wrath,” Eph. ii, 3. Nature also denotes common sense, natural instinct:
Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man have long hair, it
is a shame to him?” 1 Cor. xi, 14.
NAZARENES, or NAZARÆANS, a name originally given to Christians in
general, on account of Jesus Christ’s being of the city of Nazareth; but
was, in the second century, restrained to certain judaizing Christians,
who blended Christianity and Judaism together. They held that Christ was
born of a virgin, and was also in a certain manner united to the divine
nature. They refused to abandon the ceremonies prescribed by the law of
Moses; but were far from attempting to impose the observance of these
ceremonies upon Gentile Christians. They rejected those additions that
were made to the Mosaic institutions by the Pharisees and doctors of the
law, and admitted the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament. The
fathers frequently mention the Gospel of the Nazarenes, which differs
nothing from that of St. Matthew, but was afterward corrupted by the
Ebionites. These Nazarenes preserved this first Gospel in its primitive
purity. Some of them were still in being in the time of St. Jerome, who
does not reproach them with any errors.
NAZARETH, a little city in the tribe of Zebulun, in Lower Galilee, to
the west of Tabor, and to the east of Ptolemais. This city is much
celebrated in the Scriptures for having been the usual place of the
residence of Jesus Christ, during the first thirty years of his life,
Luke ii, 51. It was here he lived in obedience to Joseph and Mary, and
hence he took the name of Nazarene. After he had begun to execute his
mission he preached here sometimes in the synagogue, Luke iv, 16. But
because his countrymen had no faith in him, and were offended at the
meanness of his original, he did not many miracles here, Matt. xiii, 54,
58, nor would he dwell in the city. So he fixed his habitation at
Capernaum for the latter part of his life, Matt. iv, 13. The city of
Nazareth was situated upon an eminence, and on one side was a precipice,
from whence the Nazarenes designed, at one time, to cast Christ down
headlong, because he upbraided them for their incredulity, Luke iv, 29.
The present state of this celebrated place is thus described by modern
travellers:--Nassara, or Naszera, is one of the principal towns in the
pashalic of Acre. Its inhabitants are industrious, because they are
treated with less severity than those of the country towns in general.
The population is estimated at three thousand, of whom five hundred are
Turks; the remainder are Christians. There are about ninety Latin
families, according to Burckhardt; but Mr. Connor reports the Greeks to
be the most numerous: there is, beside, a congregation of Greek
Catholics, and another of Maronites. The Latin convent is a very
spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repaired and
considerably enlarged in 1730. The remains of the more ancient edifice,
ascribed to the mother of Constantine, may be observed in the form of
subverted columns, with fragments of capitals and bases of pillars,
lying near the modern building. Pococke noticed, over a door, an old
alto-relief of Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes. Within the
convent is the church of the annunciation, containing the house of
Joseph and Mary, the length of which is not quite the breadth of the
church; but it forms the principal part of it. The columns and all the
interior of the church are hung round with damask silk, which gives it a
warm and rich appearance. Behind the great altar is a subterranean
cavern, divided into small grottoes, where the virgin is said to have
lived. Her kitchen, parlour, and bed room, are shown, and also a narrow
hole in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself from his
persecutors. The pilgrims who visit these holy spots are in the habit of
knocking off small pieces of stone from the walls, which are thus
considerably enlarging. In the church a miracle is still exhibited to
the faithful. In front of the altar are two granite columns, each two
feet one inch in diameter, and about three feet apart. They are supposed
to occupy the very places where the angel and the virgin stood at the
precise moment of the annunciation. The innermost of these, that of the
virgin, has been broken away, some say by the Turks, in expectation of
finding treasure under it; so that,” as Maundrell states, “eighteen
inches’ length of it is clean gone between the pillar and the pedestal.”
Nevertheless, it remains erect, suspended from the roof, as if attracted
by a loadstone. It has evidently no support below; and, though it
touches the roof, the hierophant protests that it has none above. All
the Christians of Nazareth,” says Burckhardt, with the friars, of
course, at their head, affect to believe in this miracle; though it is
perfectly evident that the upper part of the column is connected with
the roof.” The fact is,” says Dr. E. D. Clarke, that the capital and a
piece of the shaft of a pillar of gray granite have been fastened on to
the roof of the cave; and so clumsily is the rest of the _hocus pocus_
contrived, that what is shown for the lower fragment of the same pillar
resting upon the earth, is not of the same substance, but of Cipolino
marble. About this pillar, a different story has been related by almost
every traveller since the trick was devised. Maundrell, and Egmont and
Heyman, were told that it was broken, in search of hidden treasure, by a
pasha, who was struck with blindness for his impiety. We were assured
that it was separated in this manner when the angel announced to the
virgin the tidings of her conception. The monks had placed a rail, to
prevent persons infected with the plague from coming to rub against
these pillars: this had been, for many years, their constant practice,
whenever afflicted with any sickness. The reputation of the broken
pillar, for healing every kind of disease, prevails all over Galilee.”
Burckhardt says that this church, next to that of the holy sepulchre, is
the finest in Syria, and contains two tolerably good organs. Within the
walls of the convent are two gardens, and a small burying ground: the
walls are very thick, and serve occasionally as a fortress to all the
Christians in the town. There are, at present, eleven friars in the
convent: they are chiefly Spaniards. The yearly expenses of the
establishment are stated to amount to upward of nine hundred pounds; a
small part of which is defrayed by the rent of a few houses in the town,
and by the produce of some acres of corn land: the rest is remitted from
Jerusalem. The whole annual expenses of the _Terra Santa_ convents are
about fifteen thousand pounds; of which the pasha of Damascus receives
about twelve thousand pounds. The Greek convent of Jerusalem, according
to Burckhardt’s authority, pays much more, as well to maintain its own
privileges, as with a view to encroach upon those of the Latins. To the
north-west of the convent is a small church, built over Joseph’s work
shop. Both Maundrell and Pococke describe it as in ruins; but Dr. E. D.
Clarke says, This is now a small chapel, perfectly modern, and neatly
whitewashed.” To the west of this is a small arched building, which,
they say, is the synagogue where Christ exasperated the Jews, by
applying the language of Isaiah to himself. It once belonged to the
Greeks; but, Hasselquist says, was taken from them by the Arabs, who
intended to convert it into a mosque, but afterward sold it to the
Latins. This was then so late a transaction that they had not had time
to embellish it. The Mountain of the Precipitation” is at least two
miles off; so that, according to this authentic tradition, the Jews must
have led our Lord a marvellous way. But the said precipice is shown as
that which the Messiah leaped down to escape from the Jews; and as the
monks could not pitch upon any other place frightful enough for the
miracle, they contend that Nazareth formerly stood eastward of its
present situation, upon a more elevated spot. Dr. E. D. Clarke, however,
remarks that the situation of the modern town answers exactly to the
description of St. Luke. “Induced, by the words of the Gospel, to
examine the place more attentively than we should otherwise have done,
we went, as it is written, out of the city, ‘to the brow of the hill
whereon the city is built,’ and came to a precipice corresponding to the
words of the evangelist. It is above the Maronite church, and, probably,
the precise spot alluded to by the text.”
NAZARITES, those under the ancient law who engaged by a vow to abstain
from wine and all intoxicating liquors, to let their hair grow, not to
enter any house polluted by having a dead corpse in it, nor to be
present at any funeral. If, by accident, any one should have died in
their presence, they recommenced the whole of their consecration and
Nazariteship. This vow generally lasted eight days, sometimes a month,
and sometimes their whole lives. When the time of their Nazariteship was
expired, the priest brought the person to the door of the temple, who
there offered to the Lord a he-lamb for a burnt-offering, a she-lamb for
an expiatory sacrifice, and a ram for a peace-offering. They offered,
likewise, loaves and cakes, with wine, for libations. After all was
sacrificed and offered, the priest, or some other, shaved the head of
the Nazarite at the door of the tabernacle, and burned his hair on the
fire of the altar. Then the priest put into the hands of the Nazarite
the shoulder of the ram roasted, with a loaf and a cake, which the
Nazarite returning into the hands of the priest, he offered them to the
Lord, lifting them up in the presence of the Nazarite. And from this
time he might again drink wine, his Nazariteship being accomplished.
Perpetual Nazarites, as Samson and John the Baptist, were consecrated to
their Nazariteship by their parents, and continued all their lives in
this state, without drinking wine or cutting their hair. Those who made
a vow of Nazariteship out of Palestine, and could not come to the temple
when their vow was expired, contented themselves with observing the
abstinence required by the law, and cutting off their hair in the place
where they were: the offerings and sacrifices prescribed by Moses, to be
offered at the temple, by themselves or by others for them, they
deferred till a convenient opportunity. Hence it was that St. Paul,
being at Corinth, and having made the vow of a Nazarite, had his hair
cut off at Cenchrea, a port of Corinth, and deferred the rest of his vow
till he came to Jerusalem, Acts xviii, 18. When a person found he was
not in a condition to make a vow of Nazariteship, or had not leisure
fully to perform it, he contented himself by contributing to the expense
of sacrifices and offerings of those who had made and were fulfilling
this vow; and by this means he became a partaker in such Nazariteship.
When St. Paul came to Jerusalem, A. D. 58, St. James, with other
brethren, said to him, that to quiet the minds of the converted Jews he
should join himself to four persons who had a vow of Nazariteship, and
contribute to their charges and ceremonies; by which the new converts
would perceive that he did not totally disregard the law, as they had
been led to suppose, Acts xxi, 23, 24. The institution of Nazaritism is
involved in much mystery; and no satisfactory reason has ever been given
of it. This is certain, that it had the approbation of God, and may be
considered as affording a good example of self-denial in order to be
given up to the study of the law, and the practice of exact
righteousness.
NEBO, the name of an idol of the Babylonians: Bel boweth down, Nebo
stoopeth,” Isaiah xlvi, 1. The word _Nebo_ comes from a root that
signifies to prophesy,” and therefore may stand for an oracle. There is
some probability in the opinion of Calmet, that Bel and Nebo are but one
and the same deity, and that Isaiah made use of these names as
synonymous. The god Bel was the oracle of the Babylonians. The name
Nebo, or Nabo, is found in the composition of the names of several
princes of Babylon; as Nabonassar, Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuzar-adan, Nebushasban, &c.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE GREAT, son and successor of Nabopolassar, succeeded
to the kingdom of Chaldea, A. M. 3399. Some time previously to this,
Nabopolassar had associated him in the kingdom, and sent him to recover
Carchemish, which had been conquered from him four years before by
Necho, king of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar, having been successful, marched
against the governor of Phenicia, and Jehoiakim, king of Judah, who was
tributary to Necho, king of Egypt. He took Jehoiakim, and put him in
chains in order to carry him captive to Babylon; but afterward left him
in Judea, on condition of paying a large tribute. He took away several
persons from Jerusalem; among others Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, all of the royal family, whom the king of Babylon caused to be
carefully instructed in the language and in the learning of the
Chaldeans, that they might be employed at court, Dan. i. Nabopolassar
dying about the end of A. M. 3399, Nebuchadnezzar, who was then either
in Egypt or in Judea, hastened to Babylon, leaving to his generals the
care of bringing to Chaldea the captives whom he had taken in Syria,
Judea, Phenicia, and Egypt; for, according to Berosus, he had subdued
all those countries. He distributed these captives into several
colonies; and deposited the sacred vessels of the temple of Jerusalem,
and other rich spoils in the temple of Belus. Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
continued three years in fealty to King Nebuchadnezzar; but being then
weary of paying tribute, he threw off the yoke. The king of Chaldea sent
troops of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, who harassed
Judea during three or four years, and at last Jehoiakim was besieged and
taken in Jerusalem, put to death, and his body thrown to the birds of
the air, according to the predictions of Jeremiah. See JEHOIAKIM.
In the mean time, Nebuchadnezzar being at Babylon in the second year of
his reign, had a mysterious dream, in which he saw a statue composed of
several metals, a head of gold, a breast of silver, belly and thighs of
brass, legs of iron, and feet half of iron and half clay; and a little
stone rolling by its own impulse from the mountain struck the statue and
broke it. This dream gave him great uneasiness, yet it faded away from
his memory, and he could not recover more than the general impression of
it. He ordered all his diviners and interpreters of dreams to be sent
for; but none could tell him the dream or the interpretation: and, in
wrath, he sentenced them all to death, which was about to be put in
execution, when Daniel was informed of it. He went immediately to the
king, and desired him to respite the sentence a little, and he would
endeavour to satisfy his desire. God in the night revealed to him the
king’s dream, and also the interpretation: Thou,” said Daniel, art
represented by the golden head of the statue. After thee will arise a
kingdom inferior to thine, represented by the breast of silver; and
after this, another, still inferior, denoted by the belly and thighs of
brass. After these three empires,” which are the Chaldeans, Persians,
and Greeks, will arise a fourth, denoted by the legs of iron,” the
Romans. Under this last empire God will raise a new one, of greater
strength, power, and extent, than all the others. This last is that of
the Messiah, represented by the little stone coming out from the
mountain and overthrowing the statue.” Then the king raised Daniel to
great honour, set him over all the wise men of Babylon, and give him the
government of that province. At his request he granted to Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, the oversight of the works of the same province
of Babylon.
In the same year, as Dr. Hales thinks, in which he had this dream, he
erected a golden statue, whose height was sixty cubits, and breadth six
cubits, in the plains of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Having
appointed a day for the dedication of this statue, he assembled the
principal officers of his kingdom, and published by a herald, that all
should adore this image, at the sound of music, on penalty of being cast
into a burning fiery furnace. The result, as to the three Jews,
companions of Daniel, who would not bend the knee to the image, is
stated in Dan. iii. Daniel probably was absent. The effect of the
miracle was so great that Nebuchadnezzar gave glory to the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and he exalted the three Hebrews to
great dignity in the province of Babylon, Dan. iv.