William Blake
1795
Color print finished in pen and watercolor
Miscellaneous purchase funds
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A harsh and powerful Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzar dreamed one night of a great tree in the midst of the earth. Abundant with leaves
and fruit, the tree grew until its top reached heaven. A heavenly being appeared in Nebuchadnezzar's dream and ordered him to cut down
the tree, leaving only its roots bound in iron and bronze among the field grasses. The same heavenly being then decreed that the king's
mind be changed from a man's to a beast's.
Nebuchadnezzar did not understand his dream, so he called on the prophet Daniel to interpret it.1 Daniel said that Nebuchadnezzar was the
strong tree in his dream. He said that the dream was a decree from God that the mighty king who ruled without care for anyone but
himself would be driven to dwell with beasts so that he would recognize God's superior power. Nebuchadnezzar disregarded the dream's
warning and continued to misuse his power. When he failed to show mercy to those he oppressed, the dream came true. Driven from human
society, Nebuchadnezzar found himself eating grass as oxen do. He was drenched by the dew of heaven, and his hair grew into eagles'
feathers and his nails turned into birds' talons.2
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1 The interpretation of dreams was very important to Babylonian rulers. Using their great skills in
astronomy, the Chaldeans (people of an area within the empire) used the movement and positions of the planets and stars in order to
predict the plans of the gods, and thus the future.
2 Daniel 4:1-37.
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