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16. How was Nebuchadnezzar about to be humiliated?

¹⁶ Boast though he did, proud Nebuchadnezzar was about to be humiliated. Says the inspired account: “While the word was yet in the king’s mouth, there was a voice that fell from the heavens: ‘To you it is being said, O Nebuchadnezzar the king, “The kingdom itself has gone away from you, and from mankind they are driving even you away, and with the beasts of the field your dwelling will be. Vegetation they will give even to you to eat just like bulls, and seven times themselves will pass over you, until you know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind, and that to the one whom he wants to he gives it.”’”—Daniel 4:31, 32.

17. What happened to proud Nebuchadnezzar, and in what circumstances did he soon find himself?

¹⁷ Nebuchadnezzar promptly lost his reason. Driven away from mankind, he ate vegetation “just like bulls.” Out among the beasts of the field, he certainly was not sitting idly in the grass of a virtual paradise, enjoying refreshing breezes daily. In modern-day Iraq, where Babylon’s ruins are located, temperatures range from a high of 120 degrees Fahrenheit [50°C] in the summer months to well below freezing in wintertime. Unattended and exposed to the elements, Nebuchadnezzar’s long, matted hair looked like eagles’ feathers and his uncut fingernails and toenails became like birds’ claws. (Daniel 4:33) What humiliation for this proud world ruler!

18. During the seven times, what took place with regard to Babylon’s throne?

¹⁸ In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the great tree was felled and its stump was banded to prevent growth upward for seven times. Similarly, Nebuchadnezzar “was brought down from the throne of his kingdom” when Jehovah struck him with madness. (Daniel 5:20) In effect, this changed the king’s heart from that of a man to that of a bull. Yet, God reserved Nebuchadnezzar’s throne for him until the seven times ended. While Evil-merodach possibly acted as the temporary head of government, Daniel served as “the ruler over all the jurisdictional district of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.” His three Hebrew companions continued to share in administering that district’s affairs. (Daniel 1:11-19; 2:48, 49; 3:30) The four exiles awaited Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration to the throne as a sane king who had learned that “the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind, and that to the one whom he wants to he gives it.”

IS THERE SECULAR EVIDENCE?

22. With what disorder have some identified Nebuchadnezzar’s madness, but what should we realize regarding the cause of his deranged state?

²² Some have identified Nebuchadnezzar’s madness with lycanthropy. Says one medical dictionary: “LYCANTHROPY . . . from [lyʹkos], lupus, wolf; [anʹthro·pos], homo, man. This name was given to the sickness of people who believe themselves to be changed into an animal, and who imitate the voice or cries, the shapes or manners of that animal. These individuals usually imagine themselves transformed into a wolf, a dog or a cat; sometimes also into a bull, as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar.” (Dictionnaire des sciences médicales, par une société de médicins et de chirurgiens, Paris, 1818, Volume 29, page 246) The symptoms of lycanthropy are similar to those of Nebuchadnezzar’s demented state. Since his mental illness was divinely decreed, however, it cannot specifically be identified with a known disorder.

23. What secular testimony is there to Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity?

²³ Scholar John E. Goldingay cites several parallels to Nebuchadnezzar’s madness and restoration. For instance, he states: “A fragmentary cuneiform text apparently refers to some mental disorder on Nebuchadnezzar’s part, and perhaps to his neglecting and leaving Babylon.” Goldingay cites a document called “The Babylonian Job” and says that it “testifies to chastisements by God, illness, humiliation, seeking interpretation of a terrifying dream, being thrown over like a tree, being put outside, eating grass, losing understanding, being like an ox, being rained on by Marduk, nails being marred, hair growing, and being fettered, and then to a restoration for which he praises the god.”