How did Nebuchadnezzar know that the fourth man was the Son of God?

Answer 1

Shadrach Meshach and Abed-Nego said to Nebuchadnezzar their God would save them if they were put in the furnace - Dan 3:17. Nebuchadnezzar didn't really know that the person was God but he reasoned it was someone - angel etc - from God.

Compare these different translations:

Dan 3:25 "Then why do I see four men walking around in the fire?" he asked. "They are not tied up, and they show no sign of being hurt---and the fourth one looks like an angel." - Good News Bible

Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods. - American Standard Version

Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Behold! I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and there is no harm among them. And the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods. - Literal Translation.

Answer 2

Simply - Like, as Peter was given knowledge that Christ was the Son of God by the Holy Spirit. It was in the same like, undenounced to Nebuchadnezzar, he knew immediately it was the Son of God "Jesus".

There is no need to excuse what is in front of you and try to reinterpret what is already clear.

Ex: I say today, " I see a dog" and I write it down and put it in a bottle. A 1000 years later the bottle is found. The one who finds it says, "whomever wrote this, clearly didn't know what a dog was at the time.... that is actually interpreted as a wolf".....

??!?!?!?? This is what society does - something that is clear, many feel it needs to be reinterpreted but GOD is not a GOD of confusion - Satan is. Period.

Nebuchadnezzar saw Jesus but yet only knew HIM as the Son of God, as this was revealed to him.

Answer 3

In the story from the Book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar recognizes the fourth man as the Son of God based on his appearance and presence in the fiery furnace. The miraculous nature of the event, with the fourth man appearing unharmed alongside the three Hebrew men, leads Nebuchadnezzar to acknowledge the divine nature of this figure.

Answer 4

A:Daniel 3:25 does seem to suggest that Nebuchadnezzar thought the man was the Son of God, but only if we read the King James Version: "He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Almost every other English translation gives this more accurately either as "Like a god" or "Like a son of the gods." The difference arises from the theological preference of the seventeenth-century translators responsible for the King James Bible.

When read as "Like a god" or "Like a son of the gods" the answer becomes obvious - the author of the Book of Daniel was showing that the angel sent to save the three boys was so noble in appearance that to Nebuchadnezzar he seemed to be a god, or a son of the gods.

Another Answer:

It simply was NOT Jesus but an angel of God and Nebuchadnezzar knew it.

To better understand what the term 'bar elahim' means as 'son of God,' we need consider two things: first and foremost, always read Scripture in its full context as it usually answers your questions for you - let The Bible answer the Bible; second, we must understand the titles of God - 'Son of God' was not yet given to the Word as He had not been begotten and born of Mary in the 7th Century BC. So looking at Daniel 3:25 and 28 we read:

Daniel 3:25-28New King James Version (NKJV)

25 "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."[a]

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel[b] and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!

Footnotes:

1. Daniel 3:25 Or a son of the gods
2. Daniel 3:28 Or angel

Note: The term 'son of God can relate to a man or men as it does in Genesis 6:2 and here:

Psalm 82:6New International Version (NIV)

6 "I said, 'You are "gods";

you are all sons of the Most High.'