John Calvin Commentary Daniel 2:36-38

"This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold." — Daniel 2:36-38 (ASV)

Daniel here declares "the golden head of the image" to be the Babylonian kingdom. We know that the Assyrians were subdued before the monarchy was transferred to Babylon; but since they did not prevail sufficiently to be considered supreme rulers in that eastern territory, the Babylonian empire is here mentioned first.

It is also worthwhile to remark that God was unwilling to refer here to what had already occurred, but He rather proposed that the people should in the future depend on this prophecy and rest upon it. It would have been superfluous here to say anything about the Assyrians, since that empire had already passed away.

But the Chaldeans were still to reign for some time—say seventy or at least sixty years. Hence, God wished to hold the minds of His own servants in suspense until the end of that monarchy, and then to arouse them by fresh hopes, until the second monarchy should pass away, so that afterwards they might rest in patience under the third and fourth monarchies, and might perceive at length that the time of Christ’s advent was near.

This is the reason why Daniel places the Chaldean monarchy here in the first rank and order. And in this matter there is no difficulty, because he states King Nebuchadnezzar to be the golden head of the image. We may gather the reason for his being called the golden head from the context, namely, because its integrity was then greater than under the empire of the Medes and Persians.

It is very true that the Chaldeans were the most cruel robbers, and we know how Babylon was then detested by all the pious and sincere worshippers of God. Still, since things usually become worse over time, the state of the world was, as yet, tolerable under that sovereignty.

This is the reason why Nebuchadnezzar is called "the head of gold"; however, this title should not be referred to him personally but rather extended to his whole kingdom and all his successors, among whom Belshazzar was the most hateful despiser of God; and by this inclusive understanding, he is also considered part of this head of gold.

But Daniel shows that he did not flatter the king, since he assigns this reason for Nebuchadnezzar being the golden head: God had set him up above all the earth. But this seems to be common to all kings, since none of them reign without God’s permission—a sentiment which is partially true—but the Prophet implies that Nebuchadnezzar was raised up in a special manner, because he excelled all other sovereigns.