Nebuchadnezzar’s statue
Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about a statue that Daniel said represented him. So, the king built one.
It was a golden statue 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. He put it on the plains of Dura, located somewhere in Babylon province.
Statue of the king or the god?
The writer doesn’t say if the king intended it to be a statue of himself, Babylon’s god Bel, or a representation of the statue in his dream. A Greek historian from a century after Daniel, Herodotus (about 484-424 BC) described another statue of Bel made with 22 tons (800 talents in biblical measurement) of gold: “In the temple of Babylon there is a…great sitting figure of Bel, all of gold on a golden throne, supported on a base of gold.” Bel (known as Marduk to Assyrians) was the chief god of Babylon city and of the Babylonian Empire. In the dry climate of what is now Iraq, Bel was often associated with rain and thunderstorms.Tall as four 2-story houses
The statue stood 27 meters tall and almost 3 meters wide. In ancient Hebrew measurement, it was 60 by 6 cubits. A typical two-story house stands about 20-25 feet tall (6-8 meters). The statue stood as tall as four two-story houses stacked on top of each other. The famous Rhodes Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, stood 10 cubits taller, to a height of 108 feet (33 meters).Must attend dedication
When it came time to dedicate the statue, he ordered officials from all provinces to attend. He sent orders out to governors, commissioners, advisors, treasurers, judges, and every other leader in provinces throughout the empire. So, all these officials came to the dedication of the statue and watched to see what would happen.Where to find more Bible maps
The Casual English Bible® has more than 900 Bible maps, many in 3D style. You can search for maps by place name, such as "Sea of Galilee."Dedicated Bible map search engine
But you can also search for maps by Bible book, such as searching for all the maps in the book of Joshua. In addition, you can search by country, region, or era on a timeline, such as when Israel had kings or when Jesus was on earth. Here's a link to the dedicated Map Search Engine.For more Bible features
Nebuchadnezzar's statue of gold
