Hippolytus of Rome : And so, after sufficient time had passed and the eighteenth year had come, the king, having remembered his dream, made a golden image, which was sixty cubits high and its breadth was six cubits. For when the blessed Daniel, when he interpreted the same dream, answered the saying, "You are the head of the golden image," [Daniel 2:38] in this word king Nebuchadnezzar, having been puffed up and having been lifted up in heart, made the image as an anti-type of the dream, so that he might be worshiped as God by all. And so having furnished it in greatness he set it up in the plain of Deira in the country of Babylon. — Commentary on Daniel 2.15.1-3 Hippolytus of Rome : For Scripture says, "In the eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar the king made a golden image, its height was sixty cubits, and its breadth was six cubits, and he set it in the plain of Deira in the country of Babylon." [Daniel 3:1] And so through eighteen years he imitated Jesus the son of God, who was present in the world, who also raised his own human image from the dead and showed this image, which was pure and blameless as gold, to his disciples. Through the height of sixty cubits, there are sixty patriarchs, through whom the image of God according to the flesh, that is the Word, is molded and fashioned and is exulted on behalf of all the patriarchs. Through the breadth of six cubits this recalls the six days of creation. For on the sixth day man, having been molded from dust, came to be. And so the gold which Nebuchadnezzar molded into the representative image which he made, he set it up on the plain of Deira, in the country of Babylon, indicating the plain to be the world, and Babylon the great city. And at that time Nebuchadnezzar made only one image, but now the deceiver devises greater things in the world, so that through the many spectacles he may delude all men, some being carried about in one direction or another, some worshiping golden idols, others silver, others bronze, some that which is composed from ivory, many revering clay and stone. They all, abandoning the heavenly God, submit to empty and lifeless and useless idols, not wishing to look up to the height of heaven, nor wishing to apprehend the beauty of heaven, so that they, who do not recognize the God of this heaven, are not able to be saved. These things are the handiwork of the devil. He worked not only long ago in Babylon, but also now he does the same things and endeavors more reckless things against the slaves of God. Having prepared the furnace of fire beforehand, so that through it he might frighten men, who do not see the eternal punishment through fire which is prepared for the devil by God. — Commentary on Daniel 2.27.5-11 Jerome : Verse 1. "Nebuchadnezzar the king made a golden statue seventy cubits in height and six cubits in breadth." How soon he forgot the truth, when he had just been worshipping a servant of God as if he had been God Himself, but now commanded a statue to be made for himself in order that he personally might be worshipped in the statue! Now if this statue was of gold, and was of incalculable weight, it was intended to arouse amazement in the beholders and to be worshipped as God even though a mere inanimate object, whilst everyone would be consecrating his own avarice to it. On the other hand an opportunity of salvation was afforded to the barbarian nations through the opportune presence of the captive Jews (Col. iii), with the result that after they had first come to know the power of the one true God through Daniel's revelation of the dream, they might then learn from the brave example of the three youths to despise death, and to eschew the worship of idols. "And he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon." Instead of "Dura" Theodotion has "Deira," and Symmachus has "Durau," whereas the Septuagint renders it as the common noun peribolon, a word which we might render as "game-preserve" or "enclosure." — Commentary on Daniel Theodoret of Cyrus : Our Lord is good and loves humankind, so the creator and ruler desires "all to be saved and to know the truth" and "does not seek the death of the wicked but that they should turn and live." Indeed, for that reason he died for our salvation. So truly he [the king] acts like a fool; being enslaved to arrogance, he derives no benefit from the divine remedy, but like the one who lives with illness, he rejects the cure from those who practice medicine. Thus, the awful disease tends to grow day by day. Such a man is this boastful king, who the God of all bestowed on him kindness without bounds, applying the cure for countless transgressions and acts of impiety. So also God revealed that the bringing of peace is fragile and passing, as he held aloft the ones made captive by war and who bore by compulsion the yoke of slavery. They shined splendidly and steadfastly and were admired for the wisdom of their prophecy. And thereby the God of all was indeed confessed to be the true God. But after a short time, the king came back into his true nature, just "as a dog returns to his vomit." — COMMENTARY ON Daniel 3:1