3:1 image of gold. The king, taken up with his importance as the golden head of the prophetic image to influence and direct the entire sequence of kingdoms that would come after him, arrogantly constructed his manufactured image entirely of gold, in effect proclaiming himself as destined to be the greatest man in world history.

3:1 threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits. An image with a height ten times its width would look more like an obelisk than a statue of a man. Possibly the king was trying to emphasize the long duration of his influence in the world. More probably, the height dimension included a high pedestal on which the statue rested.

3:5 sackbut. A musical instrument like a lyre.

3:5 dulcimer. A stringed instrument.

3:5 all kinds of musick. This list includes several Greek instruments, identified in the original by their Greek names, and this has served as an excuse for liberals to attribute the book of Daniel to a late date. The fact is, however, that Greek culture was already well developed in Nebuchadnezzar’s time and commerce between Greece and Babylon well established, so that such instruments were common in Babylon at this time. The king’s proclamation (Daniel 3:4) acknowledged other languages in Babylon.