Page 77 - Daniel

idol, but a statue corresponding to human form. It was great in the sense
of being immense, and by its very size the statue must have been
overwhelming in its implication of power. Even Nebuchadnezzar, the
absolute ruler, recognized this as something greater than himself.

In addition to its great size, the statue was remarkable for its
appearance. It apparently reflected light, indicated by its “exceeding
brightness.” The image apparently was seen as standing very close to

Nebuchadnezzar, which could help explain why its effect was
“frightening.”

Illustration of what Nebuchadnezzar’s statue might have looked like in his dream

Daniel then proceeded to describe the metallic character of the image
—its head of gold, breast and arms of silver, abdomen and thighs of

bronze, legs of iron, and feet part of iron and part of clay or pottery.
There is an apparent symbolism in the major metals and the form of the
image.

The preciousness of the metals deteriorates from the head of gold to
the clay of the feet, and there is a corresponding lower weight; that is,