The statue may have represented Nebuchadnezzar himself. The Assyrian kings set up such statues as symbols of their dominion, and Hellenistic monarchs were deified. If Nebuchadnezzar had been insisting that he himself be worshiped, however, one would have expected some overt critique of this (cf. Isa 14:13–21; also Judith’s treatment of Holofernes, who seeks this on Nebuchadnezzar’s behalf, Jdt 3:8). The association of bowing down before the statue with serving Nebuchadnezzar’s god(s) (vv 12, 14)