Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 2:31

"Thou, O king, sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible." — Daniel 2:31 (ASV)

You, O king, saw - The margin reads, “were seeing.” This marginal note aligns with the Chaldee. The language properly denotes a prolonged or attentive observation. He was in an attitude favorable to vision, or was looking with intensity, and this remarkable image appeared before him. (Compare to Daniel 7:1-2, Daniel 7:4, Daniel 7:6). It was not something that appeared for a moment and then vanished, but it remained long enough for him to contemplate it accurately.

And, behold, a great image - In Chaldee, it is “one image that was grand” - שׂגיא חד צלם ts^elēm chad s'agı̂y'. Similarly, the Vulgate has statua una grandis, and the Greek, εἰκὼν μία eikōn mia. The purpose seems to be to focus attention on the fact that there was only “one” image, though composed of such different materials—materials that seemed so ill-suited to be combined into the same statue. The idea conveyed by its representation as “one” is that, in some respects, it symbolized “the same kingdom”: that is, it would extend over the same countries and could, in a sense, be regarded as a continuation of the same empire.

There was so much “identity,” though different in many respects, that it could be represented as “one.” The word translated “image” (צלם tselem) properly denotes “a shade” or “shadow,” and then anything that “shadows forth” or represents something.

It is applied to humans (Genesis 1:27) as shadowing forth or representing God; that is, there was something in humans when they were created that had such a resemblance to God that they might be regarded as an “image” of Him.

The word is often used to denote idols—as supposed to be a “representation” of the gods, either in their forms or as shadowing forth their character as majestic, stern, mild, severe, merciful, etc. (Numbers 33:52; 1 Samuel 6:5; 2 Kings 11:18; 2 Chronicles 23:17; Ezekiel 7:20; Ezekiel 16:17; Ezekiel 23:14; Amos 5:26).

This image is not represented as an idol to be worshipped. Nor, in the use of the word, should it be supposed that there is an allusion (as Professor Bush supposes) to the fact that these kingdoms would be idolatrous. Instead, the word is used in its proper and primitive sense to denote something that would “represent” or “shadow forth” the kingdoms that would exist.

The exact “size” of the image is not mentioned. It is only suggested that it was great—a proper characteristic to represent the “greatness” of the kingdoms to which it referred.

This great image - The word translated “great” here (רב rab) is different from that used in the previous clause, though it is not easy to determine the exact difference between the words. Both denote that the image was of gigantic dimensions. It is well remarked by Professor Bush that “the monuments of antiquity sufficiently show that the practice prevailed throughout the East, and still more in Egypt, of constructing enormous statues, which were usually dedicated to some of their deities and connected with their worship. The object, therefore, now presented in the monarch’s dream was probably not entirely new to his thoughts.”

Whose brightness was excellent - This means “Whose brightness ‘excelled,’ or was unusual and remarkable.” The word translated "brightness" (זיו zı̂yv) is found only in Daniel. It is translated “brightness” in Daniel 2:31 and Daniel 4:36; in the margin in Daniel 5:6 and Daniel 5:9; and “countenance” in Daniel 5:6 (text), Daniel 2:9–10, and Daniel 7:28.

From the places where it is found, particularly Daniel 4:36, it is clear that it is used to denote a certain beauty or majesty shining forth in the countenance, which was fitted to impress the beholder with awe. The term here is to be understood not merely of the face of the image, but of its entire aspect, as having something in it notably splendid and imposing. We only have to conceive of a colossal statue whose head was burnished gold, and a large part of whose frame was polished silver, to see the force of this language.

Stood before you - It stood opposite him in full view. He had an opportunity to survey it clearly and distinctly.

And the form of it was terrible - Vast, imposing, grand, fearful. The sudden appearance of such an object could not help but fill the mind with terror. The purpose for which this representation was made to Nebuchadnezzar is clearly unfolded in the explanation Daniel gives.

It may be remarked here, generally, that such an appearance of a gigantic image was well-suited to represent successive kingdoms, and that the representation was in accordance with the spirit of ancient times. “In ancient coins and medals,” says the editor of the “Pictorial Bible,” “nothing is more common than to see cities and nations represented by human figures, male or female. According to the ideas which suggested such symbols, a vast image in the human figure was, therefore, a very fitting emblem of sovereign power and dominion, while the materials of which it was composed most significantly typified the character of the various empires, the succession of which was foreshadowed by this vision.

This last idea, of expressing the condition of things by metallic symbols, was prevalent before the time of Daniel. Hesiod, who lived about two centuries before Daniel, characterizes the succession of ages (four) by the very same metals—gold, silver, brass, and iron.”