Daniel 4:11
in Daniel 4The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.
KJV
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
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This verse in Daniel 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verseFor the tree "grew great and strong, which reached unto the height of heaven and its trunk to the limits of all the earth," [Daniel 4:11] Scripture indicates it to be the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, as also Daniel distinctly stated, because the king was exalted and became glorious and ruled over all the earth and mastered the farthest nations. Its branches were dignitaries and commanders and governors and all who were appointed by him were as branches which are put forward from a tree.
This site's exposition
a tree in the midst of the earth
on Daniel 4:10-12
The tree in the midst of the earth grows until its height reaches unto heaven and its sight to the end of all the earth, an image the bench reads against the ancient world's own common figure of a king as a great tree sheltering his people, meat for all, shadow for the beasts, boughs for the birds. The picture is entirely benevolent before the watcher ever speaks, which is itself the point Henry marks, greatness is not the sin the vision comes to judge; what the tree becomes in the king's own heart is.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The tree grew, and was strong,.... Grew higher and broader, taller and thicker, increased in boughs and branches, and became strong and stable, that no winds nor storms could move it: this shows the increasing power of Nebuchadnezzar, the enlargement of his dominions, and the stability of his empire: and the height thereof reached unto heaven; higher than any on earth; expressive of his dominion over all nations and people of the earth; or of his ambition of deity itself; and so Saadiah illustrates it by Isa 14:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The tree grew - Or the tree was “great” - רבה rebâh. It does not mean that the tree grew while he was looking at it so as to reach to the heaven, but that it stood before him in all its glory, its top reaching to the sky, and its branches extending afar. And was strong - It was well-proportioned, with a trunk adapted to its height, and to the mass of boughs and foliage which it bore. The strength here refers to its trunk, and to the fact that it seemed fixed firmly in the earth.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
But leave its main roots in the ground but its main roots leave over.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רְבָ֥ה | revah | it grew great | H7236 → | 6 times |
| אִֽילָנָ֖א | ʾilana' | tree the | H363 → | 6 times |
| וּתְקִ֑ף | utekif | and it grew strong | H8631 → | 5 times |
| וְרוּמֵהּ֙ | verumeh | and height its | H7314 → | 5 times |
| יִמְטֵ֣א | yimte' | it reached | H4291 → | 8 times |
| לִשְׁמַיָּ֔א | lishmaiya' | to heavens the | H8065 → | 38 times |
| וַחֲזוֹתֵ֖הּ | vachazoteh | and [the] sight of it | H2379 → | |
| לְס֥וֹף | lesof | [was] to [the] end of | H5491 → | 5 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3606 → | 82 times |
| אַרְעָֽא׃ | ʾara' | land the | H772 → | 21 times |
רְבָ֥הit grew great
revahH7236 →6 times
אִֽילָנָ֖אtree the
ʾilana'H363 →6 times
וּתְקִ֑ףand it grew strong
utekifH8631 →5 times
וְרוּמֵהּ֙and height its
verumehH7314 →5 times
יִמְטֵ֣אit reached
yimte'H4291 →8 times
לִשְׁמַיָּ֔אto heavens the
lishmaiya'H8065 →38 times
וַחֲזוֹתֵ֖הּand [the] sight of it
vachazotehH2379 →
לְס֥וֹף[was] to [the] end of
lesofH5491 →5 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3606 →82 times
אַרְעָֽא׃land the
ʾara'H772 →21 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 11:4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:28
Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 5:44
How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- Luke 1:51
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
- Deuteronomy 9:1
Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
- Daniel 4:30
the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
- Deuteronomy 1:28
Through
Matthew 11:23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would…
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:13–15
You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of…
- John 4:46–54
So once again He came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.
- Isaiah 14:13–15
Through
Deuteronomy 9:1Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 11:31
For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,
- Deuteronomy 11:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Daniel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.8.3-10; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.