Political Ideologies1992
An Introduction
by Andrew Heywood
"Peter Atkins presents a detailed investigation into the nature of Nebuchadnezzar's animalising affliction in Daniel 4 and the degree to which he is depicted as actually becoming an animal. Atkins examines typical explanations of this which seem to have followed two predominant lines of interpretation: either Nebuchadnezzar undergoes a physical metamorphosis of some kind into an animal form; or diverse other readings that specifically preclude or deny an animal transformation of the king. By providing an extensive examination of this division of interpretative opinion, alongside innovative assessments of the narrative's textual history and ancient Mesopotamian divine-human-animal boundaries, Atkins ultimately demonstrates how neither of these traditional interpretations best reflect the...