Daniel
Daniel 8
1In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. 2I saw the vision. Now it was so, that when I saw, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai. 3Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. The two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 4I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward. No animals could stand before him. There wasn’t any who could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
5As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the whole earth, and didn’t touch the ground. The goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6He came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran on him in the fury of his power. 7I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled on him. There was no one who could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8The male goat magnified himself exceedingly. When he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of the sky.
9Out of one of them came out a little horn, which grew exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land. 10It grew great, even to the army of the sky; and it cast down some of the army and of the stars to the ground, and trampled on them. 11Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12The army was given over to it together with the continual burnt offering through disobedience. It cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
13Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long will the vision about the continual burnt offering, and the disobedience that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the army to be trodden under foot be?”
14He said to me, “To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be cleansed.”
15When I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. Then behold, there stood before me something like the appearance of a man. 16I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
17So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end.”
18Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright.
19He said, “Behold, I will make you know what will be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongs to the appointed time of the end. 20The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. 21The rough male goat is the king of Greece. The great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms will stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
23“In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding dark sentences, will stand up. 24His power will be mighty, but not by his own power. He will destroy awesomely, and will prosper in what he does. He will destroy the mighty ones and the holy people. 25Through his policy he will cause deceit to prosper in his hand. He will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many in their security. He will also stand up against the prince of princes; but he will be broken without hand.
26“The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision, for it belongs to many days to come.”
27I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick for some days. Then I rose up, and did the king’s business. I wondered at the vision, but no one understood it.
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What others are saying
5 commentators · 79 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry2
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
Here is, I. The date of this vision, Dan 8:1. It was in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, which proved to be his last year, as many reckon; so that this chapter also should be, in order of time, before the fifth. That Daniel might not be surprised at…
Here we have, I. Daniel's earnest desire to have this vision explained to him (Dan 8:15): I sought the meaning. Note, Those that rightly know the things of God cannot but desire to know more and more of them, and to be led further into the mystery of them…
John Gill27
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar,.... Which some say (t) was the last year of his reign; but, according to Ptolemy's canon, he reigned seventeen years; and so says Josephus (u); however, this, as well as the preceding vision, were seen before…
And I saw in a vision,.... The following things: and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; not in reality, but so it seemed to him in the vision; as Ezekiel, when in Babylon, seemed in the visions…
Then I lifted up mine eyes,.... To see what was to be seen in this place, where he in the vision was brought; he lifted up the eyes of his understanding, being enlightened by the vision of prophecy, and the eyes of his body, to which objects of corporeal…
Adam Clarke22
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
In the third year of the reign of - Belshazzar - We now come once more to the Hebrew, the Chaldee part of the book being finished. As the Chaldeans had a particular interest both in the history and prophecies from Dan 2:4 to the end of chap. 7, the whole is…
I saw in a vision - Daniel was at this time in Shushan, which appears to have been a strong place, where the kings of Persia had their summer residence. It was the capital of the province of Elam or the Elymais; which province was most probably added to the…
A ram which had two horns - In the former vision there were four beasts, pointing out four empires; in this we have but two, as only two empires are concerned here, viz., the Grecian and the Persian. The Babylonish empire is not mentioned; its fate was before…
Keil & Delitzsch5
The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.
Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.
The Vision Dan 8:1, Dan 8:2 contain the historical introduction to this new revelation. This was given to Daniel in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, and thus two years after the vision of the four world-kingdoms (Dan 7:1), but not in a dream as that…
The transformation of the Javanic kingdom. - By the kingdom of the ram the he-goat became very great, powerful (הגדּיל as in Dan 8:4). But the great horn was broken at the height of his strength, and four similar horns grew up in its stead, toward the four…
The interpretation of the vision. Dan 8:9 Without following the development of the four horns further, the prophecy passes over to the little horn, which grew up out of one of the four horns, and gained great significance in relation to the history of the…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown23
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
Shushan--Susa. Though then comparatively insignificant, it was destined to be the capital of Persia after Cyrus' time. Therefore Daniel is transported into it, as being the capital of the kingdom signified by the two-horned ram (Neh 1:1; Est 1:2-5)…
two horns--The "two" ought not to be in italics, as if it were not in the original; for it is expressed by the Hebrew dual. "Horn" in the East is the symbol of power and royalty. one . . . higher than . . . other . . . the higher came up last--Persia, which…
ram pushing westward--Persia conquered westward Babylon, Mesopotamia, Syria, Asia Minor. northward--Colchis, Armenia, Iberia, and the dwellers on the Caspian Sea. southward--Judea, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya; also India, under Darius. He does not say eastward…
World English Bible — Public domain