The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. (Daniel 7:4)
King Richard’s nickname, the “Lion-Hearted,” ascribed to him unusual courage and boldness. Conversely, a “man-hearted” lion would indicate cowardice and timidity. In its declining years Babylon became weak and enfeebled through wealth and luxury, and fell a prey to the Medo-Persian kingdom.
Some see in the expression “man’s heart” the disappearance of the animal characteristic of greed and ferocity and the humanizing of the king of Babylon. Such could apply to Nebuchadnezzar after his humiliating experience, but would not be a fitting representation of the kingdom in its closing years.
Lifted up.
A lion standing erect like a man is indicative of the loss of lionlike qualities.
Plucked.
The lion was no longer able to fly like an eagle upon its prey. This doubtless refers to the time when less powerful rulers followed Nebuchadnezzar in the kingdom of Babylon, rulers under whose administration Babylon lost glory and power. Some have suggested a possible reference also to Nebuchadnezzar’s later life, when for seven years he was deprived not only of his power but also of his reason (ch. 4:31-33).
Lion … eagle’s wings.
An appropriate symbol for Babylon. The winged lion is found on Babylonian objects of art. The combination of lion and eagle was a common motif—more often a lion with eagle’s wings, sometimes with claws or a beak; a similar composite was the eagle with a lion’s head. The winged lion is one of the forms of the beast often pictured in combat with Marduk, the patron god of the city of Babylon. On these lion-eagle combinations see S. H. Langdon, Semitic Mythology (“The Mythology of All Races,” vol. 13), pp. 118, 277-282, and Fig. 51 facing p. 106 (winged lion), and pp. 116, 117 (lion-headed eagle); see illustrations of various Babylonian and Assyrian composite beasts in L. E. Froom, Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. I, pp. 50, 52.
Other prophets referred to King Nebuchadnezzar by similar figures (Jer. 4:7; Jer. 50:17, 44; Lam. 4:19; Eze. 17:3, 12; Hab. 1:8). The lion as the king of beasts and the eagle as the king of birds fittingly represented the empire of Babylon at the height of its glory. A lion is noted for its strength, whereas the eagle is famous for the power and the range of its flight. Nebuchadnezzar’s power was felt not only in Babylon but from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, and from Asia Minor to Egypt. Thus it is fitting, in order to represent the spread of Babylon’s power, that the lion should be provided with eagle’s wings.