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Daniel Chapter
Eight
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 8
This
chapter contains the vision of a ram and he goat, and the interpretation of it.
It begins with observing the time and place of the vision, Daniel 8:1, then
describes the ram seen; by the place of his situation; by his two horns; and by
his pushing several ways with so much force and fury, that none could stand
before him, or deliver: out of his hands, Daniel 8:3 next the
he goat appears, and is described by the part from whence he came; the
swiftness of his motion; the notable horn between his eyes; and his running to ram
in great fury, smiting him between his horns, casting him to the ground, and
trampling upon him, and none to deliver, Daniel 8:5 but,
after waxing great and powerful, its horn was broken, and four more rose up in
its stead, and out of one of them a little horn, Daniel 8:8 which
little horn is described by its power and prevalence to the south and to the
east, towards the pleasant land, the host of heaven, and the Prince of the
host; and by it the stars were cast down and trampled upon, the daily sacrifice
made to cease; the place of the sanctuary cast down, and truth itself, Daniel 8:9, and
upon inquiry it appeared that these sacred things were to continue in this
desolate condition unto 2300 days, Daniel 8:13. Daniel
being desirous of knowing the meaning of this vision, the Angel Gabriel is
ordered by Christ to give him an understanding of it; who drew near to him, and
awaked him out of his sleep, and gave him the interpretation of it; Daniel 8:15, which
is as follows; the ram; with two horns, signifies the kings of Media and
Persia; the rough goat, the king of Greece; and the great horn the first king,
Alexander the great; and the four horns, four kingdoms which rose up out of the
Grecian empire upon his death, Daniel 8:20, and
the little horn a king of fierce countenance, Antiochus Epiphanes; who is,
described by his craft, and cunning, by his power and might, and by the
destruction he should make; Daniel 8:23, this
vision the angel assures the prophet was true, and bids him shut it up, since
it was for many days, Daniel 8:26, upon
which Daniel fainted, and was sick for a time; but afterwards recovered, so as
to be able to do the king's business; but astonished at the vision himself, and
which was not understood by others, Daniel 8:27.
Daniel 8:1 In the third
year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me,
Daniel—after the one that appeared to me the first time.
YLT 1`In the third year of the
reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision hath appeared unto me -- I Daniel --
after that which had appeared unto me at the beginning.
In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar,.... Which
some sayF20Seder Olam Rabba, c. 28. p. 81. was the last year of his
reign; but, according to Ptolemy's canon, he reigned seventeen years; and so
says JosephusF21Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 4. ; however, this, as
well as the preceding vision, were seen before what happened recorded in the
"fifth" and "sixth" chapters. The following vision was seen
by Daniel, according to Bishop UsherF23Annales Vet. Test. A. M.
3451. and Dean PrideauxF24Connexion, &c part 1. p. 117. in the
year of the world 3451 A.M., and 553 B.C. Mr. BedfordF25Scripture
Chronlogy, p. 710. places it in 552 B.C.; and Mr. WhistonF26Chronological
Tables, cent. 10. , very wrongly, in 537 B.C., two years after the death of
Belshazzar. The prophet having, in the preceding chapters, related what
concerned the Chaldeans, he wrote in the Chaldee language; but now,
henceforward, writing of things which concerned the Jews more especially, and
the church and people of God in later times, he writes in the Hebrew tongue.
A vision appeared unto me, even to me Daniel; and not
another; which is said for the certainty of it; whether it was seen by him
waking, or in a dream, as the former vision, is not certain; it seems rather as
if he was awake at first, though he afterwards fell prostrate to the ground,
and into a deep sleep; yet the Syriac version takes it to be a dream, and so
renders the first clause of the next verse: "after that which appeared to
me at the first"; at the beginning of Belshazzar's reign, in the first
year of it, recorded in the preceding chapter; which was concerning the four
monarchies in general, and particularly concerning the fourth or Roman
monarchy, of which a large account is given; and the Chaldean monarchy being
near at an end, here the two monarchies between, namely, the Persian and
Grecian, are in this vision described.
Daniel 8:2 2 I
saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in
Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the
vision that I was by the River Ulai.
YLT 2And I see in a vision, and
it cometh to pass, in my seeing, and I [am] in Shushan the palace that [is] in
Elam the province, and I see in a vision, and I have been by the stream Ulai.
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 of God to be at Jerusalem, Ezekiel 8:3. This
city Shushan, or Susa, as it is called by other writers, and signifies a
"lily", was so called from the plenty of lilies that grew about it,
or because of the pleasantness of it; it was the metropolis of the country
Susiana, which had its name from it, and was afterwards the royal seat of the
kings of Persia. This was first made so by Cyrus; for StraboF1Geograph.
l. 15. p. 500. says, that he and the Persians having overcome the Medes,
observing that their own country was situated in the extreme parts, and Susa
more inward, and nearer to other nations, being, as he says, between Persia and
Babylon, set his royal palace in it; approving both the nearness of the
country, and the dignity of the city. Here the kings of Persia laid up their
treasures, even prodigious large ones; hence Aristagoras told Cleomenes, that
if he could take that city, he would vie, and might contend, with Jupiter for
richesF2Herodoti Terpsichore, sive l. 5. c. 48. ; for hither Cyrus
carried whatever money he had in Persia, even forty thousand talents, some say
fiftyF3Strabo. ib. p. 502. . AlexanderF4Curtius, l. 5. c.
2. Plutarch. in Vita Alexandri, Diador. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 540. ,
when he took this city, found a vast quantity of riches in it. It is called
here a palace; and so it is spoken of by HerodotusF5Terpsichore,
sive l. 5. sect. 48. , Diodorus SiculusF6Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 539.
, PausaniusF7Laconice, sive l. 3. p. 175. , PlinyF8Nat.
Hist. l. 6. c. 27. , and others, as a royal city, where were the residence and
palace of the kings of Persia; but the royal palace was not in it at this time;
the kings of Babylon had their palace and kept their court at Babylon, where
Daniel was; but in vision it seemed to him that he was in Shushan, and which
was represented to him as a palace, as it would be, and as the metropolis of
the kingdom of Persia, which he had a view of in its future flourishing
condition, and as destroyed by Alexander; for, as before observed, it was Cyrus
that first made it a royal city; whereas this vision was in the third year of
Belshazzar, king of Babylon. Some versions render it, a "tower" or
"castle"; and so several writers, as StraboF9Geograph. l.
15. p. 500. PlutarchF11In Vita Alexandri. and PlinyF12Ut
supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27.) , speak of the tower or castle in it. Diodorus
SiculusF13Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 540. says, when Antigonus took the
tower of Susa, he found in it a golden vine, and a great quantity of other
works, to the value of fifteen thousand talents; and out of crowns, and other
gifts and spoils, he made up five thousand more. And PolybiusF14Hist.
l. 5. p. 249. relates, that though Molon took the city, yet could not take the
fortress, and was obliged to raise the siege, so strong it was. It must be a
mistake of PlinyF15Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27.) that this
city was built by Darius Hystaspes; he could only mean it was rebuilt, or
rather enlarged, by him, since it was in being long before his time, and even a
royal city in the times of Cyrus. StraboF16Geograph. l. 15. p. 500.
says it was built by Tithon the father of Merenon, was in compass a fifteen
miles, of an oblong figure, and the tower was called after his father's name
Mernnonia; and Shushan itself is called, by HerodotusF17Polymnia,
sive l. 7. c. 151. , Susa Memnonia. At this day, with the common people, it
goes by the name of TusterF18Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 658, 935. .
The east gate of the mountain of the house, which led to the temple at
Jerusalem, was called Shushan. Some sayF19Jarchi & Bartenora in
Misn. Celim, c. 17. sect. 9. there was a building over this gate, on which the
palace of Shushan was portrayed, from whence it had its name. The reason of
this portrait is differently given; the Jewish commentators on the MisnahF20Maimon
& Bartenora in Misn. Kelim, c. 17. sect. 9. & Middot, c. 1. sect. 3.
commonly say that this was ordered by the kings of Persia, that the people of
Israel might stand in awe of them, and not rebel against them. Their famous
lexicographerF21R. Nathan, Sepher Aruch in voce ששן,
fol. 160. 3. says, that this was done, that the Israelites, when they saw it,
might remember their captivity in it. But a chronologerF23R. Abraham
Zacuth, Sepher Juchasin, fol. 65. 2. of theirs gives this as the reason, that
the children of the captivity made this figure, that they might remember the
miracle of Purim, which was made in Shushan; and this, he says, is a good
interpretation of it. This city was in the province of Elam; that is, Persia,
as it is also called, Isaiah 21:6 for
JosephusF24Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 4. says the Persians had their
original from the Elamites, or Elameans; and PlinyF25Nat. Hist. l.
6. c. 27. observes, that Elymais joined to Persia; and the country of Susiane,
so called from Susa its chief city, was, according to StraboF26Geograph.
l. 15. p. 500. (a1) Geograph. l. 6. c. 3. (b1) Geograph. p. 501, 505. (c1) Ut
supra, (Nat. Hist.) l. 6. c. 23, 27. (d1) Geograph. l. 6. c. 3. (e1) Ut supra,
(Geograph.) p. 505. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. (f1) Clio, sive l. 1. c. 188.
Terpsichore, sive l. 5. c. 49, 52. (g1) Ut supra. (Curtius, l. 5. c. 2.) (h1)
Geograph. l. 15. p. 501. (i1) Travels, part 2. B. 3. c. 9. p. 153. (k1) See the
Universal History, vol. 5. p. 124. (l1) Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 7. and
Ptolemy (a1), a part of Persia: and here Daniel in vision thought himself to
be; and a very suitable place for him to have this vision in, which so much
concerned the affairs of Persia.
And I saw in a vision, and I was by the river Ulai; that is, in
vision; it seemed to the prophet that he was upon the banks of the river Ulai;
the same with the Eulaeus of Strabo (b1), Pliny (c1), Ptolemy (d1), and others,
which ran by, and surrounded, the city of Shushan, or Susa; the water of which
was so light, as Strabo (e1) observes, that it was had in great request, and
the kings of Persia would drink of no other, and carried it with them wherever
they went. Herodotus (f1) and Curtius (g1) make mention of the river Choaspes,
as running by Susa, and say the same things of its water; from whence it might
be concluded it was one and the same river, called by different names; though
Strabo takes notice of them together, as if they were distinct; yet he, from
Polycletus (h1), makes them, with Tigris, to disembogue into the same lake, and
from thence into the sea. The river which runs by Shushan, now called Souster,
according to Monsieur Thevenot (i1), is Caron, and comes from the hills about
it, and is thought to be the Choaspes of the ancients; near to which, as he was
told, is a hill that now goes by the name of Choasp; so that, upon the whole,
they seem to be one and the same river (k1). Josephus says (l1), that Daniel
had this vision in the plain of Susa, the metropolis of Persia, as he went out
with his friends, that is, out of the city: and the Vulgate Latin version
renders it, "by the gate Ulai"; a gate of the city of Shushan so
called: and so Saadiah Gaon interprets it a gate; but the former sense is best.
Daniel 8:3 3 Then
I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which
had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher
than the other, and the higher one came up last.
YLT 3And I lift up mine eyes,
and look, and lo, a certain ram is standing before the stream, and it hath two
horns, and the two horns [are] high; and the one [is] higher than the other,
and the high one is coming up last.
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 things formed in the fancy were
represented:
and saw, and, behold; he saw something
wonderful in a visionary way, and which struck his mind, and raised his
attention:
there stood before the river; the river Ulai, near
Shushan, the palace, the seat of the kings of Persia, to the east:
a ram, which had two horns; a symbol of the kingdom
of the Medes and Persians, signified by the two horns, Daniel 8:20, an
emblem of power and dominion, and sometimes used to signify kings and kingdoms;
see Daniel 7:24 and
these as united in one monarchy, under one monarch, Cyrus, and continued in his
successors unto the times of Alexander; and therefore called "a ram",
or "one ram"F13איל אחד "aries unus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus,
&c. , as in the original; and which in sound has some likeness to Elam or
Persia: and this kingdom or monarchy may be signified by it, partly because of
its strength and power, and partly because of its riches, as some think, as
well as because it is a fighting creature; and it may be chiefly because this
monarchy was mild, and kind, and gentle to the Jewish nation: and it is very
remarkable, that, according to Ammianus MarcellinusF14Hist. l. 19. ,
the ram was the royal ensign of the Persians; whose kings used to wear for a
diadem something made of gold, in the shape of a ram's head, set with little
stones:
and the two horns were high; grew straight up on
high, and so were different from the usual horns of a ram, which are crooked;
denoting the great power, authority, wealth, and riches, these two kingdoms
rose up unto:
but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last; I think the
words might be rendered better, "and the first was higher than the second,
but it ascended, or grew up, higher at last"F15והאחת גבחה מן
השנית והגבהה עלה באחרונה. ; the kingdom of the
Medes was the first kingdom, and it was at first superior to the kingdom of
Persia; but afterwards the kingdom of Persia became greater than that, under
Cyrus and his successors: and Sir John Chardin saysF16Travels, vol.
3. , that rams' heads, with horns one higher than another, are still to be seen
in the ruins of Persepolis.
Daniel 8:4 4 I
saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could
withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but
he did according to his will and became great.
YLT 4I have seen the ram pushing
westward, and northward, and southward, and no living creatures do stand before
it, and there is none delivering out of its hand, and it hath done according to
its pleasure, and hath exerted itself.
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward,.... That is,
with his horns, as rams do; these kingdoms using all their power and strength,
wealth and riches, in fighting with and subduing nations, and pushing on their
conquests in all parts here mentioned; to the west, Babylon, Syria, Asia, and
part of Greece; to the north, Iberia, Albania, Armenia, Scythia, Colchis, and
the inhabitants of the Caspian sea; and to the south, Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt,
and India; all which places were conquered by Cyrus and his successors. No
mention is made of the east, because this ram stood in the east, facing the
west; and at the right and left were the north and south; and so Cyrus is said
to come from the east, Isaiah 46:11.
So that no beast might stand before him: no, not the
first beast, the Babylonian monarchy, which; fell into the hands of Cyrus; nor
any other king or kingdom he and his successors fought against:
neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; or power;
Croesus, the rich king of Lydia, and other allies of the king of Babylon,
assisted him against Cyrus, and endeavoured to prevent his falling into his
hands, but all in vain:
but he did according to his will, and became great; none being
able to oppose him, he carried his arms where he pleased, and imposed what
tribute he thought fit, and obliged them to do whatever was his will; and so
became great in power and dignity, in riches and wealth: this monarchy was very
large and extensive, and very rich and wealthy, in the times of Cyrus and his
successors; and especially in the times of Darius, the last monarch of it, conquered
by Alexander, who is described as follows:
Daniel 8:5 5 And
as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the
surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had
a notable horn between his eyes.
YLT 5`And I have been
considering, and lo, a young he-goat hath come from the west, over the face of
the whole earth, whom none is touching in the earth; as to the young he-goat, a
conspicuous horn [is] between its eyes.
And as I was considering,.... The ram, and the
strange things done by him; wondering that a creature of so little strength,
comparatively with other beasts, should be able to do such exploits: and
thinking with himself what should be the meaning of all this, and what would be
the issue of it,
behold, an he goat came from the west; which is
interpreted of the king or kingdom of Grecia, which lay to the west of Persia;
and a kingdom may be said to do what one of its kings did; particularly
Alexander, king of Macedon, in Greece, who, with the Grecian army under him,
marched from thence to fight the king of Persia; and which might be signified
by a "he goat", because of its strength, its comeliness in walking,
and its being the guide and leader of the flock: and also it is remarkable,
that the arms of Macedon, or the ensigns carried before their armies, were a
goat, ever since the days of Caranus; who following a flock of goats, was
directed to Edessa, a city of Macedon, and took it; and from this circumstance
of the goats called it Aegeas, and the people Aegeades, which signifies
"goats"; and put the goat in his armsF17Justin ex Trogo,
l. 7. c. 1. .
On the face of the whole earth; all that lay between
Greece and Persia, all Asia; yea, all the whole world, at least as Alexander
thought, who wept because there was not another world to conquer: hence Juvenal
saysF18Satyr. 10. , "unus Pelloeo juveni non sufficit
orbis"; one world was not enough for this young man.
And touched not the ground; as he went; he seemed
rather to fly in the air than to walk upon the earth; with such swiftness did
Alexander run over the world, and make his conquests: in six or eight years
time he conquered the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, Babylon, Egypt, and
all the neighbouring nations; and afar off, Greece, Thrace, Illyricum, and even
the greatest part of the then known world: hence the third or Grecian monarchy
under him is said to be like a leopard, with four wings of a fowl on its backF19Alexander
was remarkable for the agility of his body, as appeared by his mounting his
horse Bucephalus (Plutarch in Vita Alexandri), to the admiration of his father,
and all that beheld him; as well as famous for the quick marches of his army,
and his very swift and expeditious execution of his signs. "Plurimum pedum
celeritate pollebat"; he greatly excelled in swiftness of foot, says the
historian: and again, "armatusque de navi, tripudianti similis
prosiluit"; he leaped armed out of the ship like one that danced (Suppl.
in Curt. l. 1. p. 16. l. 2. p. 26) And he himself, speaking of the countries he
had conquered, says, "quas tanta velocitate domuimus": and elsewhere,
"cujus velocitatem nemo valuisset effugere". And of Bessus it is
said, that "Alexandri celeritate perterritus". And Cobares, the
magician calls him "velocissimus rex" (Curt. Hist. l. 6. c. 3. &
l. 7. c. 4. 7.). And another historian says (Justin ex Trogo, l. 11. c. 2.
& l. 12. c. 9.) that having observed the enemy's city forsook by them,
"sine ullo satellite desiliit in planitiem urbis": and again, "tanta
celeritate instructo paraloque exercitu Graeciam oppressi; ut quem venire non
senserant, videre se vix crederant". ; see Gill on Daniel 7:6 he
conquered countries as soon almost as another could have travelled over them;
in his marches he was swift and indefatigable. AelianusF20Var. Hist.
l. 10. c. 4. reports, that he marched, clad in armour, thrice four hundred,
that is, twelve hundred furlongs, upon a stretch; and, before his army could
take any rest, fought his enemies, and conquered them. Some render the words,
"whom no man touched in the earth"F21ואין
נוגע בארץ quem neme
attingebat in terra, Junius & Tremellius. ; that is, none could oppose,
resist, and stop him; he bore down and carried all before him; there was no
coming at him, so as to touch him, or hurt him; he was so swift in his motions,
and so powerful in his army.
And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes; or, "a
horn of vision": which in Daniel 8:21 is
interpreted of the first king of Greece, that is, when it became a monarchy;
who was Alexander the great; and very properly called a "horn", being
possessed of great power and authority; and a notable one, very remarkable and
famous, as he has been in all ages since: "a horn of vision"F23קרן הזות "cornu
visionis", Montanus; "visibile sive visendum", Vatablus;
"conspicuum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. as it may be
rendered; a very visible and conspicuous one, to be seen afar off, and which
attracted the eyes of all unto it: its situation was "between the eyes of
the goat", denoting his sagacity, wisdom, prudence, craft, and cunning;
being attended and surrounded with his father Philip's wise counsellors as
Parmenio, Philotas, Clitus, and others. It is remarkable that by the Arabs
Alexander is called Dulcarnaim, or Dhilcarnain; that is, one having two hornsF24See
Gregory, de Aeris & Epochis, c. 11. p. 158, 159. : the reason of which was,
he affected to be the son of Jupiter Hammon, and therefore at feasts and public
entertainments would put on the purple and horns of Hammon: hence, as Clemens
of Alexandria observesF25Protreptic. ad Gentes, p. 36. , he is by
the statuaries represented as horned, or wearing horns; but then, as ArnobiusF26Adv.
Gentes, l. 6. p. 233. and others take notice, Hammon is made by the painters
and statuaries to have ram's horns; whereas it seems more likely that
Alexander's were goat's horns, since the goat was in the arms of Macedon; and
so Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who mimicked Alexander in his armour, is said to
have goat's horns on his helmet, upon the top of his crestF1Plutarch.
in Vita Pyrrhi. ; and to such ensigns is the allusion here.
Daniel 8:6 6 Then
he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the
river, and ran at him with furious power.
YLT 6And it cometh unto the ram
possessing the two horns, that I had seen standing before the stream, and
runneth unto it in the fury of its power.
And he came to the ram that had two horns,.... Alexander
being chosen and made by the states of Greece captain general of all Greece
against the Persians, marched from thence with his army, passed the Hellespont,
and entered into the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, signified by the ram
with two horns, and came up to Darius Codomannus, possessed of this large
monarchy, and at the head of a numerous army:
which I had seen standing before the river; the river
Ulai, near to Shushan, the royal seat of the kings of Persia; here Darius stood
in his royal majesty and dignity, as the defender of his empire, and
unconcerned at the attempt of Alexander, having nothing to fear, as he thought,
from such a puny adversary:
and ran unto him in the fury of his power; or,
"heat of his power"F2בחמת כחו "fervore virtutis suae", Munster; "cum
ardore virium suarum", Cocceius; "in aestu robaris sui",
Michaelis. ; which denotes the haste Alexander made with his army into Asia;
his eager desire, and the fervour of his mind to engage with the Persians: the
historian says, that he passed the Hellespont into Asia, "incredibli ardore
mentis accensus"; fired with an incredible ardour of mind: and a little
after, having conquered the rebels of Pisidia, he marched against Darius,
"summo mentis ardore"; with the greatest ardour of mind, and with no
less alacrityF3Supplem. in Curt. l. 2. p. 26,28. ; which exactly
agrees with the sacred text. The running of the he goat to the ram in a hostile
way is described in allusion to the manner of those creatures when they fight
with one another, or attack an enemy.
Daniel 8:7 7 And
I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the
ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him,
but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that
could deliver the ram from his hand.
YLT 7And I have seen it coming
near the ram, and it becometh embittered at it, and smiteth the ram, and
breaketh its two horns, and there hath been no power in the ram to stand before
it, and it casteth it to the earth, and trampleth it down, and there hath been
no deliverer to the ram out of its power.
And I saw him come close unto the ram,.... Though
the distance between Greece and Persia was very great, and many rivers and
mountains in the way, which seemed impassable; Alexander got over them all, and
came up to Darius, and fought several battles with him, and entirely defeated
him, though greatly inferior in number to him, as follows:
and he was moved with choler against him; exceedingly
embittered against him; exasperated and provoked to the last degree, by the
proud and scornful message he sent him; calling himself king of kings, and akin
to the gods, and Alexander his servant; ordering his nobles to take Philip's
madding stripling, as he called him in contempt, and whip him with children's rods,
and clothe him in purple, and deliver him bound to him; then sink his ships
with the mariners, and transport all his soldiers to the further part of the
Red seaF4Supplem. in Curt. l. 2. p. 27. :
and smote the ram; in three battles, in each of which the
Persians were smitten and routed by the Grecians: first at the river Granicus,
where Alexander with thirty thousand foot, and five thousand horse, met the
Persians, though more than five times his number, being, as JustinF5Trogo,
l. 11. c. 6. says, six hundred thousand, and got the victory over them; here
twenty thousand of the Persian footmen, and two hundred and fifty of their
horse, were slain, and not more than thirty nine of the Macedonians killedF6Supplem.
in Curt. l. 2. p. 28. : PlutarchF7In Vit. Alexandri. says, it was
reported that the Persians lost twenty thousand footmen, and two thousand five
hundred horse; and from Aristobulus he says, that the Macedonians lost only
thirty four men, of which twelve were footmen: and Diodorus SiculusF8Bibliothec.
l. 17. p. 503. relates that the Persians lost more than ten thousand footmen,
and not less than two thousand horse, and more than twenty thousand were taken:
according to JustinF9E Trogo, l. 11. c. 6. , of Alexander's army
there only fell nine footmen, and a hundred and twenty horsemen: others say,
that, of the Macedonians, twenty five men of Alexander's own troop fell in the
first attack, about sixty other of the horsemen were killed, and thirty of the
footmenF11Universal History, vol. 5. p. 297. ; so different are the
accounts of the slain in this battle; however, the victory appears to be very
great, whereby Sardis, with all Darius's rich furniture, fell into the hands of
Alexander, and all the provinces of the lesser Asia submitted to him. The next battle
was fought at Issus its Cilicia, where Darius had an army, according to
PlutarchF12In Vit. Alexandri. , consisting of six hundred thousand
men; according to JustinF13E Trogo, l. 11. c. 9. , four hundred
thousand footmen, and a hundred thousand horsemen, which was routed by
Alexander; when a hundred thousand of the Persian footmen, and ten thousand of
their horsemen, were slain; and only, on Alexander's side, five hundred and
four of the footmen wounded, thirty two wanting, and a hundred and fifty of the
horsemen killedF14Curtius, l. 3. c. 11. : here also the accounts
vary; PlutarchF15In Vita Alexandri. says above a hundred and ten
thousand of the Persians were slain: according to Diodorus SiculusF16Bibliothec
l. 17. p. 515. , there fell of them a hundred and twenty thousand footmen, and
not less than ten thousand horsemen; and of the Macedonians three hundred
footmen, and about a hundred and fifty horsemen: according to ArrianF17Exped.
Alex. l. 2. , the Persians lost ten thousand horsemen, and ninety thousand
footmen: according to JustinF18E. Trogo, l. 11. c. 9. , sixty one
thousand footmen, and ten thousand horsemen, were slain, and forty thousand
taken; and of the Macedonians there fell one hundred and thirty footmen, and
one hundred and fifty horsemen; but, be it as it will, the victory was
exceeding great, whereby the camp of Darius, his mother, wife, and children,
and all his riches at Damascus, fell into the hands of Alexander, with all
Syria. The third and last battle was fought near Arbela, or rather at Gaugamela
in Assyria, when Alexander with fifty thousand men beat Darius with an army of
eleven hundred thousand men; PlutarchF19Vit. Alexandri. says ten
hundred thousand; forty thousand of which were slain, and of the Macedonians
only three hundred or less were wantingF20Curtius, l. 4. c. 16. ;
according to ArrianF21Ut supra, (Exped. Alex.) l. 3. thirty thousand
were slain; but Diodorus SiculusF23Biblioth. l. 17. p. 536. says
ninety thousand: this was the decisive battle; after this Babylon and Persepolis
were taken by Alexander, and he became master of the whole empire, which is
intended in the next clause:
and brake his two horns; conquered the Medes and
Persians, the two kingdoms united in one monarchy, but now destroyed; another
monarchy, the Grecian, took its place:
and there was no power in the ram to stand before him there was no
strength in tim whole empire sufficient to resist, oppose, and stop him; though
vast armies were collected together, these were soon broken and routed, and
Darius at the head of them was forced to fly and make his escape in the best
manner he could;
but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: not Darius
personally, for he was slain by Bessus, one of his own captains; but the
Persian empire, it ceased to be, and was no longer in the hands of the
Persians, but was taken from them by Alexander; and all the glory and majesty
of it were defaced and despised; the famous city and palace of Persepolis were
burnt in a drunken fit, at the instigation of Thais the harlot:
and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand; not his
armies, nor his generals, nor his allies, nor his offers to Alexander of his
daughter in marriage, and part of his kingdom; all were in vain, and to no
purpose; he and his whole empire fell into the conqueror's hands, and there was
no remedy against it. JosephusF24Antiqu. l. 11. c. 8. sect. 5. says,
that when Alexander was in his way to Jerusalem, Jaddus, the high priest, met
and accompanied him into the city and temple, and showed him this prophecy of
Daniel, that some one of the Grecians should abolish the empire of the
Persians; and, thinking himself to be intended, was greatly pleased. GorionidesF25Heb.
Hist. l. 2. c. 7. p. 88. says the high priest, whom he calls Ananias, said to
Alexander, on showing him the prophecy, thou art this he goat, and Darius is
the ram; and thou shall trample him to the ground, and take the kingdom out of
his hand; and he greatly strengthened the heart of the king.
Daniel 8:8 8 Therefore
the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was
broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of
heaven.
YLT 8`And the young he-goat hath
exerted itself very much, and when it is strong, broken hath been the great
horn; and come up doth a vision of four in its place, at the four winds of the
heavens.
Therefore the he goat waxed very great,.... The
Grecian monarchy, under Alexander, became very powerful, and was very
extensive; he not only conquered the Persian empire, but also the Indies, yea,
the whole world, as he imagined; and indeed he did bring into subjection to him
the greatest part of the then known world; and he was very great in his own
esteem, at least reckoned himself lord of the world, called himself the son of
Jupiter Ammon, and affected to be worshipped as a god:
and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; when the
Grecian monarchy was established, and became very powerful, and reached to the
greatest part of the earth, then Alexander the first king of it, a great horn,
and powerful monarch, died, or was broken; not as the two horns of the ram, by
the power of the enemy; not by violence, but by intemperance, in a drunken fit,
or, as was suspected, by poison; and that when he was in the height of his
glory, swelled with his victories; and that in the prime of his days, when in
his full strength, being in the "thirty third" year of his age:
and for it, or in the room and stead of itF26תחתיה
"loco ejus, vel illius", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Cocceius, Michaelis. ,
came up four notable ones; or, "four horns of
vision"F1חזות ארבע
"quatuor cornua conspicua", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator;
"cornua aspectus quatuor", Michaelis. ; very famous and conspicuous,
like that in Daniel 8:5, which
were the four kingdoms into which the empire was divided some time after
Alexander's death, and the four kings that were over them: the kingdoms were
those of Egypt, Greece, Asia, and Syria. Ptolemy was king of Egypt, to which
belonged Lybia, Palestine, Arabia, and Caelesyria. Cassander was king of
Macedonia and Greece. Lysimachus was king of Asia, to which belonged Thrace,
Bithynia, and other places; and Seleucus was king of Syria, and of the eastern
countries: these are the four heads of the leopard, or third beast, which
signifies the Grecian monarchy, Daniel 7:6 and these
were
toward the four winds of heaven; east, west, north, and
south: Egypt, with its appendages, lay to the south; Asia, and what belonged to
that, to the north; Macedonia and Greece to the west; and Syria to the east:
and thus was the Grecian empire divided into four kingdoms, among the
successors of Alexander: there were some partitions of it before this into
provinces among governors, under the brother and son of Alexander; but after
the battle of Ipsus, in which Antigonus, one of Alexander's captains, and a
very principal, active, and ambitious man, was slain, and his army routed; the
four confederate princes against him, above named, divided by consent the
empire between them into separate kingdoms, and became really, and not in title
only, kings of themF2See Prideaux's Connexion, part 1. B. 8. p. 558,
559. ; which is what is here prophesied of.
Daniel 8:9 9 And
out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the
south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.
YLT 9And from the one of them
come forth hath a little horn, and it exerteth itself greatly toward the south,
and toward the east, and toward the beauteous [land];
And out of one of them came forth a little horn,.... Meaning
not the kingdom of Titus Vespasian, as Jarchi; nor the kingdom of the Turks, as
Saadiah; but the kingdom of Antiochia, as Aben Ezra and Jacchiades; or rather
Antiochus Epiphanes, who sprung from the kingdom of the Seleucidae in Syria, or
from Seleucus king of Syria, one of the four horns before mentioned: this is
that sinful root said to come out from thence, in the Apocrypha:
"And
there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of
Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the
hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.' (1 Maccabees 1:10)
called
"a horn", because he had some power and authority, and which he
usurped and increased in; though but a "little" one in comparison of
Alexander the great horn; or at his beginning, being an hostage at Rome; from
whence he got away by stealth, and seized the kingdom of Syria, which belonged
to his elder brother's son, whom he dispossessed of it; and by mean, artful,
and deceitful methods, got it into his hands, who had no right unto it, nor any
princely qualities for it:
which waxed exceeding great toward the south; towards
Egypt, which lay south of Syria; into which Antiochus entered, and fought
against Ptolemy Philometer, king of it, took many cities, and besieged
Alexandria; and in all probability would have subdued the whole country, had
not the RomansF3See Joseph. Antiqu. l. 12. c. 5. sect. 2. restrained
him, by sending their ambassador Popilius to him, who obliged him to desist and
depart;
"17
Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and
elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy, 18 And made war against Ptolemee
king of Egypt: but Ptolemee was afraid of him, and fled; and many were wounded
to death. 19 Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt and he took
the spoils thereof. 20 And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned
again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and
Jerusalem with a great multitude,' (1 Maccabees 1)
and toward the east; towards Armenia and
Persia, the Atropatii in Media, and the countries beyond the Euphrates, whom he
made tributary to him; in the Apocrypha:
"Wherefore,
being greatly perplexed in his mind, he determined to go into Persia, there to
take the tributes of the countries, and to gather much money.' (1 Maccabees 3:31)
"1About
that time king Antiochus travelling through the high countries heard say, that
Elymais in the country of Persia was a city greatly renowned for riches,
silver, and gold; 2And that there was in it a very rich temple, wherein were
coverings of gold, and breastplates, and shields, which Alexander, son of
Philip, the Macedonian king, who reigned first among the Grecians, had left
there.' (1 Maccabees 6)
and toward the pleasant land; the land of Judea, so
called because of its delightful situation, and great fruitfulness; and because
God chose it above all others for his habitation; where his word, and worship,
and ordinances, were observed and enjoyed; and where the Messiah should be born
and dwell; into this Antiochus led his army, and greatly afflicted and
distressed it; he made himself master of most places in Galilee and Judea. The
Arabic version reads "toward the west"; no mention is made of the
north, because there he himself reigned; Syria being north to Egypt, as that
was south to Syria; hence afterwards the king of Egypt is called the king of
the south, and the king of Syria the king of the north.
Daniel 8:10 10 And
it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some
of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
YLT 10yea, it exerteth unto the
host of the heavens, and causeth to fall to the earth of the host, and of the
stars, and trampleth them down.
And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven,.... The
people of the Jews, the army of the living God, the church militant, among whom
were many of the citizens of heaven, whose names are written there; such was
the insolence of this king, as to molest and disturb them:
and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground,
and stamped them; some of the common people he persecuted and destroyed, or
prevailed upon them, either by threats or flatteries, to relinquish their
religion; and even some of the "stars", the lights of the people, the
priests and Levites, that ministered unto them; or the princes, and elders of
the people, whom he slew, as Jacchiades interprets it; or removed from their
posts so that they could not do their office; or they turned apostates; and
those that did not he barbarously put to death, and insulted over them, and
used them in a very contemptuous manner, as old Eleazar, the mother and her
seven sons; see 2Maccabees chapter 7.
Daniel 8:11 11 He
even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the
daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was
cast down.
YLT 11And unto the prince of the
host it exerteth itself, and by it taken away hath been the continual
[sacrifice], and thrown down the base of his sanctuary.
Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince host,.... Either
the high priest Onias, whom he disposed of his office, and put Jason a wicked
man into it; or Judas Maccabeus, the prince of the Jewish nation; or rather, as
Jacchiades, God himself, the Lord God of Israel, the King, Prince, Governor,
and defender of them, whom Antiochus blasphemed; whose worship he puts stop to;
and whose temple he profaned, and ill used his people; all which was against
God himself, and is a proof of the pride and insolence of this king:
and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away; the lambs in
the morning and evening were forbid to be sacrificed; or they could not be
offered, because the altar was pulled down, or profaned; and so all other
sacrifices were made to cease, as well as this, which is put for all: or,
"from him"F4ממנו "ab
eo", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, "ab ipso", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis. , the prince, "the daily sacrifice was
taken away"; either from the priest, who used to offer it; or from God, to
whom it was offered:
and the place of his sanctuary was cast down: not that the
temple was destroyed by him, but it was profaned and rendered useless; the
worship of God was not carried on in it, but the image of Jupiter was set up in
it, and it was devoted to the service of an idol; yea, the altar was pulled
down, and all the vessels and ornaments of the temple were taken away and
destroyed; in the Apocrypha:
"And
the table of the shewbread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials, and the
censers of gold, and the veil, and the crown, and the golden ornaments that
were before the temple, all which he pulled off.' (1 Maccabees 1:22)
"Now
Jerusalem lay void as a wilderness, there was none of her children that went in
or out: the sanctuary also was trodden down, and aliens kept the strong hold;
the heathen had their habitation in that place; and joy was taken from Jacob,
and the pipe with the harp ceased.' (1 Maccabees 3:45)
"And
lo, the heathen are assembled together against us to destroy us: what things
they imagine against us, thou knowest.' (1 Maccabees 3:52)
Daniel 8:12 12 Because
of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily
sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this
and prospered.
YLT 12And the host is given up,
with the continual [sacrifice], through transgression, and it throweth down
truth to the earth, and it hath worked, and prospered.
And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of
transgression,.... Which some interpret of a garrison of soldiers placed by
Antiochus, through his sin and wickedness, to hinder the oblation of the daily
sacrifice, as Grotius: others, of a host of apostates among the Jews, who
advised Antiochus against the daily sacrifice, and to kill swine, and offer
them on the altar, as Jacchiades; or rather it may be rendered, "and the
host was given over", or "delivered", i.e. to the enemy,
"because of the transgression against the daily sacrifice"F5וצבא תנתן על
התמיד בפשע
"exercitusque traditus est propter trangressionem contra res circa illud
juge sacrificium", Vatablus. ; that is, because of the transgression of
the priests or the people, in neglecting the daily sacrifice, the host or
people of the Jews were delivered up into the hands of Antiochus; or they were
delivered up, together with the daily sacrifice, for their sinsF6"Et
exercitus tradetur una cum sacrificio jugi ob praevaricationem",
Michaelis. . The word צבא is by Jarchi and Ben Melech
interpreted a set time, a fixed time which shall have an end; and Calvin
inclines to this sense, that though the daily sacrifice would be taken away,
because of the transgression of the people, yet it was only for a certain time,
and would be restored again when that time was up; and so is spoken for the
comfort of the Lord's people:
and it cast down the truth to the ground: that is, the
little horn Antiochus, or his host and army; he did all that in him lay to
extirpate and abolish true religion and godliness; he cut in pieces the copies
of the book of the law, and burnt them, called the law of truth in Malachi 2:6, as
Jacchiades observes, and put to death the professors of the truth; and showed
all the contempt of true doctrine and worship he was capable of; see the
Apocrypha:
"57
And whosoever was found with any the book of the testament, or if any committed
to the law, the king's commandment was, that they should put him to death. 58
Thus did they by their authority unto the Israelites every month, to as many as
were found in the cities. 59 Now the five and twentieth day of the month they
did sacrifice upon the idol altar, which was upon the altar of God. 60 At which
time according to the commandment they put to death certain women, that had
caused their children to be circumcised.' (1 Maccabees 1)
and it practised, and prospered; he did what he pleased,
and he succeeded in his attempts for a while, there being none to oppose him.
Daniel 8:13 13 Then
I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one
who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the
daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both
the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”
YLT 13`And I hear a certain holy
one speaking, and a certain holy one saith to the wonderful numberer who is
speaking: Till when [is] the vision of the continual [sacrifice], and of the
transgression, an astonishment, to make both sanctuary and host a treading
down?
Then I heard one saint speaking,.... An angel, either a
created angel, pure and holy in his nature, as Gabriel; or the uncreated Angel
Jesus Christ, the Word of God; what he was speaking of is not said; perhaps
Daniel did not hear what he said, though he heard him speaking, or perceived
that he spake; yet did not understand what he said, or what was the subject of
his discourse; very probably it was something relative to the vision now seen:
and another saint said unto that certain saint that spake; another angel
said to him that spake, whose name is unknown, only called such an one, or
Palmoni, which some render "the wonderful numberer"; or, "the
numberer of secrets", or "that has all secrets numbered"F7לפלמוני "illi qui occulta in numerato habet",
Junius & Tremellius. ; and apply it to Christ, whose name is
"Pele", wonderful; the eternal Word of God, that is in the bosom of
the Father, and knows all secrets, and the number of times and seasons, how
long they will last; what created angels know not, he does; and therefore they
apply to him for instruction and knowledge in hidden things:
how long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and
the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be
trodden underfoot? that is, how long will this vision last? or when will this
prophecy be at an end, and have its full and final accomplishment? how long
will the sacrifice be taken away, or made to cease? how long will that
transgression, that abomination, making the temple desolate, the image of
Jupiter Olympius set up by Antiochus, continue in it? how long shall it be
given to him, or he be permitted to tread under foot, and use in the most
contemptuous manner, the temple of the Lord, and his people?
Daniel 8:14 14 And
he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days;[a] then the
sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
YLT 14And he saith unto me, Till
evening -- morning two thousand and three hundred, then is the holy place
declared right.
And he said unto me,.... That is,
"Palmoni", the wonderful person, to whom the angel put the above
question, gave the answer to it; not unto the angel that asked it, but unto
Daniel that stood by; knowing that it was for his and his people's sake the
question was asked, and therefore gave the answer to him, as follows:
unto two thousand and three hundred days; or so many
"mornings" and "evenings"F8ערב
בוקר "vespero matutina", Castalio;
"vespertina matutinaque tempora", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
; which shows that not so many years, as Jacchiades, and others, are meant; but
natural days, consisting of twenty four hours, and which make six years, three
months, and eighteen days; and reckoning from the fifteenth day of the month
Cisleu, in the year 145 of the Selucidae, in which Antiochus set up the
abomination of desolation upon the altar, in the Apocrypha:
"Now
the five and twentieth day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol altar,
which was upon the altar of God.' (1 Maccabees 1:59)
to
the victory obtained over Nicanor by Judas, on the thirteenth day of the month
Adar, Anno 151, are just 2300 days; which day the Jews kept as an annual feast,
in commemoration of that victory; and from that time enjoyed peace and rest
from warF9Joseph. Antiqu. l. 12. c. 10. sect. 5. : this way goes
L'Empereur after Capellus; but others begin from the defection of the people
from the pure religion by Menelaus, Anno 141; though Antiochus did not enter on
his impieties till the following year; and, reckoning from the sixth day of the
sixth month in that year, to the twenty fifth day of Cisleu in the year 148,
when the Jews offered the daily sacrifice on the new altar of burnt offerings,
in the Apocrypha:
"Now
on the five and twentieth day of the ninth month, which is called the month
Casleu, in the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose up betimes in the
morning, 53And offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of
burnt offerings, which they had made. ' (1 Maccabees 4:52)
were
just six years, three months, and eighteen days: and so it follows,
and then shall the sanctuary be cleansed; as it was by
Judas Maccabeus at the time above mentioned; when he purified the holy places,
sanctified the courts, rebuilt the altar, renewed the vessels of the sanctuary,
and put all in their proper places; in the Apocrypha:
"41Then
Judas appointed certain men to fight against those that were in the fortress,
until he had cleansed the sanctuary. 42So he chose priests of blameless
conversation, such as had pleasure in the law: 43Who cleansed the sanctuary,
and bare out the defiled stones into an unclean place. 44And when as they
consulted what to do with the altar of burnt offerings, which was profaned; 45
They thought it best to pull it down, lest it should be a reproach to them,
because the heathen had defiled it: wherefore they pulled it down, 46 And laid
up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there
should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them. 47 Then they took
whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar according to the
former; 48 And made up the sanctuary, and the things that were within the
temple, and hallowed the courts. 49 They made also new holy vessels, and into
the temple they brought the candlestick, and the altar of burnt offerings, and
of incense, and the table. 50 And upon the altar they burned incense, and the
lamps that were upon the candlestick they lighted, that they might give light
in the temple. 51Furthermore they set the loaves upon the table, and spread out
the veils, and finished all the works which they had begun to make.' (1 Maccabees 4)
Indeed,
as Antiochus was a type of antichrist, and his persecution of that desolation
made by antichrist in the church; these 2300 days may be considered as so many
years, which will bring it down to the end of the sixth Millennium, or
thereabout; when it may be hoped there will be a new face of things upon the
sanctuary and church of God, and a cleansing of it from all corruption in
doctrine, discipline, worship, and conversation.
Daniel 8:15 15 Then
it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning,
that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.
YLT 15`And it cometh to pass in
my seeing -- I, Daniel -- the vision, that I require understanding, and lo,
standing over-against me [is] as the appearance of a mighty one.
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision,.... The whole
of the preceding vision, concerning the ram, he goat, and little horn, and what
were done by them; the prophet not only affirms he saw this vision, but repeats
the affirmation, expressing his own name, partly for the sake of emphasis, and
partly for the greater confirmation of his words; wherefore it was a most
impudent thing Porphyry to say, that the true Daniel never saw this vision; but
what is here related was written after Antiochus's reign, and falsely ascribed
to him. It being so clear a prophecy concerning Alexander, and the destruction
of the Persian empire by him, this acute spiteful Heathen had no other way of
evading the evidence of it in favour of true religion but by this false and
lying assertion:
and I sought for the meaning; that is, of the vision;
for a more perfect, clear, and explicit meaning of it; something he had learnt
concerning the latter part of it, relating to the desolation of the temple, and
the continuance of it, from what passed between the two saints or angels; but
he was desirous of knowing more; which he either signified by making
application to the angel that stood near him; or rather by secret ejaculations
in prayer to God; and he, who is afterwards described as a man, though the
eternal God that knows all things, knew the secret desires of his soul, and
immediately took care they should be answered:
then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man: not really a
man, but in form and appearance; not Gabriel, or any created angel in human
form, in which angels sometimes appeared but the eternal Son of God, who was to
be incarnate, and was often seen in the form of a man before his incarnation;
in like manner he was now seen by Daniel, right
over againstF11לנגדי "ex
adverso mei", Michaelis. whom he stood; this is the same with the speaking
saint, or Paimoni the wonderful One, in Daniel 8:13.
Jacchiades says, this is the holy blessed God; as it is indeed the Immanuel,
God that was to be manifested in the flesh.
Daniel 8:16 16 And
I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and
said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
YLT 16And I hear a voice of man
between [the banks of] Ulai, and he calleth and saith: Gabriel, cause this
[one] to understand the appearance.
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai,.... Near to
which Daniel was, Daniel 8:2 and it
seemed to him as if the appearance of the man was in the midst of the river,
between the banks of it, from whence the voice came; or between the arms of it,
it bending and winding about; or rather between Shushan and the river; or
between the prophet and that: this voice was the voice of the person that
appeared as a man in the preceding verse:
which called, and said, Gabriel; the voice was loud,
audible, and commanding; even to an angel, one of great note, Gabriel, the man
of God, the mighty one; and shows, that the person that made this appearance,
and spoke in this authoritative way, was the Lord, and head of angels, even of
all principalities and power, at whose beck and command they are:
make this man to understand the vision; the above
vision of the ram, he goat, and little horn; give him a full explanation of it;
tell him what the several figures mean, represented in it; that he may have a
clear understanding of all things contained in it; the saints and people of God
are sometimes instructed by angels, and particularly the prophets of old were;
and which was more common in the times of the former dispensation than now; for
God has not put in subjection to angels the world to come, or the Gospel
dispensation, Hebrews 2:5.
Daniel 8:17 17 So
he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face;
but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to
the time of the end.”
YLT 17And he cometh in near my
station, and at his coming in I have been afraid, and I fall on my face, and he
saith unto me: Understand, son of man, for at the time of the end [is] the
vision.
So he came near where I stood,.... The angel
immediately obeyed the divine Person in human form, and came near the prophet,
in order to instruct him, and carry on a familiar conversation with him:
and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face; not being
able to bear the glory that attended him; and especially when he considered him
as the messenger of a divine Person sent to instruct him, and being conscious
of his own frailty and weakness:
but he said unto me, understand, O son of man: give
attention in order to understand the vision, which the angel, by a divine
command, was about to give him the full meaning of; and which he could not so
well attend unto in his present circumstance and posture; and therefore
suggests he should shake off his fear, and stand on his feet, and listen to
what he was about to say: he calls him "son of man", a title only
given to him and Ezekiel; and so may be considered as a mark of honour and
respect, as being one greatly beloved and honoured by the Lord; or to express
his tender regard to him, and accommodating himself to him, considering he was
a frail mortal man; or to put him in mind that he should so consider himself,
though now among angels, and favoured with revelations of secrets, that so he
might not be exalted with them above measure:
for at the time of the end shall be the vision; or rather,
"for a time is the end of the vision"F12לעת קץ החזון
"ad tempus, finis visionis", Munster, Montanus, Calvin. ; there is a
set, fixed, and determined time, when the vision shall end, and have its full
accomplishment; namely, when the 2300 days are expired.
Daniel 8:18 18 Now,
as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground;
but he touched me, and stood me upright.
YLT 18And in his speaking with
me, I have been in a trance on my face, on the earth; and he cometh against me,
and causeth me to stand on my station,
Now as he was speaking with me,.... Addressing him in
the above manner:
I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground; through fear
he fell prostrate to the ground, and swooned away, which issued in a deep
sleep; and so was unfit to attend to the explanation of the vision the angel
was sent to give him; and which was not through indifference to it, or neglect
of it; but through human weakness, his nature not being able to bear up under
such circumstances, which struck him with such fear and dread:
but he touched me, and set me upright; he jogged him
out of his sleep, and took him, and raised him up, and set him on his feet; or,
"on his standing"F13על עמדי "super stare meum", Montanus, Gejerus;
"super stationem meam", Michaelis. ; which Ben Melech explains, as he
"was standing at first"; and so in a better posture to attend to what
was about to be revealed unto him.
Daniel 8:19 19 And
he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time
of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.
YLT 19and saith: Lo, I -- I am
causing thee to know that which is in the latter end of the indignation; for,
at the appointed time [is] the end.
And he said, behold, I will make thee know,.... Or,
"make known unto thee"F14מודיעך
"ego notum faciam tibi", Piscator; "indicaturus tibi sum",
Michaelis. ; what he knew not, even things future: particularly
what shall be in the last end of the indignation; the
indignation of God against the people of Israel, in the sore affliction and
persecution of them by Antiochus, which he suffered to be; here the angel
suggests that that should not remain always, but should have an end; and he
would inform the prophet what should be at the close; or rather, as NoldiusF15Concord.
Ebr. Partic. p. 180. No. 809. renders it, "what shall be unto the last end
of the indignation"; all that should come to pass from the beginning of
the Persian monarchy, signified by the "ram", quite through the
Grecian monarchy, designed by the "he goat", unto the end of the
persecution by Antiochus; for, certain it is, the angel informed the prophet of
more things than what concerned the last part and, closing scene of these
sorrowful times; even of all the above said things, which intervened between
the setting up of the Persian monarchy, and the sufferings of the Jews in the
times of Antiochus; and so Aben Ezra interprets it, here
"is
declared the wrath of God upon Israel in the days of wicked Greece, and in the
days of Antiochus, until the Hasmonaeans cleansed the temple:'
for
at the time appointed the end shall be; the end of that indignation or
affliction, and so of this vision or prophecy: there was a time appointed by
God for the fulfilment of the whole; and when that time was come all would be
accomplished; the indignation would cease, and the persecution be at an end.
Daniel 8:20 20 The
ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and
Persia.
YLT 20`The ram that thou hast
seen possessing two horns, [are] the kings of Media and Persia.
The ram which thou sawest having two horns,.... Here
begins the particular explanation of the above vision, and of the first thing
which the prophet saw in it, a ram with two horns: which two horns, he says,
are the kings of Media and Persia; Darius the first king
was a Mede, and Cyrus, that succeeded him, or rather reigned with him, was a
Persian: or rather the ram with two horns signifies the two kingdoms of the
Medes and Persians united in one monarchy, of which the ram was an emblem; See
Gill on Daniel 8:3 for
Darius and Cyrus were dead many years before the time of Alexander; and
therefore could not personally be the two horns of the ram broken by him; nor
is it to be understood of the kings of two different families, as the one of.
Cyrus, and the other of Darius Hystaspes, in whose successors the Persian
monarchy continued till destroyed by Alexander, as Theodoret.
Daniel 8:21 21 And
the male goat is the kingdom[b] of Greece.
The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.
YLT 21And the young he-goat, the
hairy one, [is] the king of Javan; and the great horn that [is] between its
eyes is the first king;
And the rough goat is the king of Grecia,.... Including
all the kings of it, from Alexander to the end of the Grecian monarchy; or
rather the kingdom of Greece, which began in him, and continued until it was
destroyed by the Romans: this was signified by the rough or hairy goat,
especially when Alexander was at the head of it, for his strength and prowess,
his swiftness in his marches over rocks and mountains, his majesty and
grandeur, and also his lust and uncleanness; See Gill on Daniel 8:5,
and the great host that is between his eyes is the first king; this is
Alexander, who, though he was not the first king of Macedon, his father Philip,
and others, were kings before him; yet was the first king of the Grecian
monarchy, which took place on the Persian monarchy being destroyed by him.
Daniel 8:22 22 As
for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four
kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.
YLT 22and that being broken,
stand up do four in its place, four kingdoms from the nation do stand up, and
not in its power.
Now that being broken,.... That is, the great
horn Alexander, the first king of the Grecian monarchy; whose death, either by
drunkenness, or by poison, is here expressed by being "broken". The
sense is, he being dead, or upon his death,
whereas four stood up for it; four horns rose up in
the room and stead of the great one broken; see Daniel 8:8 these
signified that
four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation; which were
the kingdoms of Egypt, Asia, Macedonia, and Syria, into which the Grecian
monarchy was divided after the death of Alexander; and the first kings of them
were all of the Grecian or Macedonian nation, and not Egyptians, Armenians,
Syrians, &c.:
but not in his power; they did not rise and
stand up in the power and strength, in the grandeur and magnificence, of
Alexander; they were not equal, but greatly inferior to him, though they were
notable horns, or famous kingdoms, as in Daniel 8:8. Saadiah
interprets it, not of his seed or offspring; these were not his sons that were
the heads of these kingdoms; but his captains or generals.
Daniel 8:23 23 “And
in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their
fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister
schemes.
YLT 23`And in the latter end of
their kingdom, about the perfecting of the transgressors, stand up doth a king,
fierce of face, and understanding hidden things;
And in the latter time of their kingdom,.... Toward
the close of the kingdom of the four kings that divided Alexander's kingdom;
for though they were four distinct kings, and had four separate kingdoms, yet
these all belonged to one kingdom or monarchy, the Grecian empire; and when
that was decreasing, and coming into the hands of the Romans, there rose up,
stood, and flourished awhile, King Antiochus, afterwards described, who began
to reign in the hundred and thirty seventh year of the Seleucidae,
"And
there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of
Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the
hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.' (1 Maccabees 1:10)
and
166 B.C., and the same year that he set up the abomination of desolation in the
temple at Jerusalem, as Mr. MedeF16Works, B. 3. c. 11. p. 654. has
observed, Aemilius the Roman consul conquered Perseus king of Macedon, whereby
all Greece came into the hands of the Romans; so that this king may be truly
said to arise and stand in the latter part of the Grecian empire, when that was
declining, and the Roman empire was taking place:
when the transgressors are come to the full; many among
the Jews, who apostatized from their religion, turned Heathens, even some of
the priests, when their number was completed, and they had filled up the
measure of their iniquities; in the Apocrypha:
"In
those days went there out of Israel wicked men, who persuaded many, saying, Let
us go and make a covenant with the heathen that are round about us: for since
we departed from them we have had much sorrow. &c.' (1 Maccabees 1:11)
a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,
shall stand up; meaning Antiochus; as is generally agreed, both by Jewish and
Christian interpreters, and to whom these characters agree: he was "hard
of face"F17עז פנים
"durus facie", Calvin, Piscator; "validus facie",
Michaelis. , as it may be rendered; an impudent brasen faced man, who had no
shame nor fear in him; regarded neither God nor man; committed the most
atrocious crimes in the most public manner; and particularly was daring and
impudent in his blasphemy against God and the true religion; and it may also
signify that he was cruel, barbarous, and inhuman, especially to the Jews, as
his persecution of them abundantly proves: and his "understanding dark
sentences", or "riddles"F18חידות
"aenigmata", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Calvin, Piscator, Polanus.
, which he could both propose and answer, shows him to be sagacious and
cunning, well versed in wicked craft and policy; he had the art of inveigling
and deceiving men; it was by deceit and cunning he got the kingdom from his
nephew; and, by the wicked art of persuasion he was master of, he seduced many
of the Jews to relinquish their religion, and embrace Heathenism; and so well
skilled he was in wicked politics, that he could cover his own designs, and
penetrate into the secrets of others; according to Jacchiades, he was skilful
in the art of magic and astrology. This is the little horn that was to rise out
of one of the four horns or kingdoms; as Antiochus did from that of Seleucus,
and stood and reigned more than twelve years.
Daniel 8:24 24 His
power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And
shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy
people.
YLT 24and his power hath been
mighty, and not by his own power; and wonderful things he destroyeth, and he
hath prospered, and wrought, and destroyed mighty ones, and the people of the
Holy Ones.
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power,.... He should
possess a large kingdom, and that should be increased by conquests:
but not in his powerF19בכוחו "robore ipsius", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ,
the power of Alexander; he should not arrive to that greatness he did, as in Daniel 8:22 so
Jacchiades: or, "in his own power"F20"In fortitudine
sua", Pagninus, Montanus; "per virtutem suam", Munster. ; for it
was not so much by his own courage and valour, by any heroic actions of
Antiochus, he became so great, as by craft and deceit: through sedition he
procured the death of his father and eider brother; and by fraud got the
kingdom from his nephew; and through the perfidy of Menelaus and Jason, the
high priests of the Jews, and other apostates, he obtained what dominion he had
over the Jews; and it was by the assistance of Eumenes king of Pergamos, and
his brother Attalus, that he kept the kingdom he had usurped, who stood by him,
in order to check the growing power of the Romans; and more especially it was
by a power given him from above, or by the permission and providence of God,
who suffered him to be so great, and to prevail particularly over the Jews;
because of their sins, as Aben Ezra and Saadiah observe, to chastise them for
them: so his antitype, antichrist, became great and powerful, through craft and
policy, and by the help of the ten kings that gave their kingdoms to him:
and he shall destroy wonderfully; or beyond all credit,
countries, cities, towns, and their inhabitants; he slew fourscore thousand
Jews in three days' time, bound forty thousand, and sold as many,
"And
there were destroyed within the space of three whole days fourscore thousand,
whereof forty thousand were slain in the conflict; and no fewer sold than
slain.' (2 Maccabees 5:14)
or,
"he shall destroy wonderful things"F21נפלאות
"mirabilia", Montanus, Polanus. ; the temple, and the wonderful
things of worth and value in it, so Saadiah and Jacchiades; he took away the
vessels of the temple, the golden lamps, the ark, and table of gold, &c.:
and shall prosper and practise; for a while do what he
pleased, none being able to oppose and hinder him; see Daniel 8:12.
and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people; by the
"mighty" may be meant the Egyptians, Parthians, and other nations he
made war with; and by the "holy people" the Jews, who were sanctified
and separated from other people by the Lord, to be a peculiar people; among
whom were his holy temple, his holy priests, his holy word, ordinances, and
worship; multitudes of these he destroyed, as before observed. Jacchiades
interprets this of the sons of Aaron, the holy priests of the Lord, whom he
slew.
Daniel 8:25 25 “Through
his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;[c] And he
shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their
prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be
broken without human means.[d]
YLT 25`And by his understanding
he hath also caused deceit to prosper in his hand, and in his heart he exerteth
himself, and by ease he destroyeth many; and against the prince of princes he
standeth -- and without hand he is broken.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his
hand,.... His schemes were laid in such deep policy, and he managed so
artfully and craftily in the execution of them, that he commonly succeeded; as
in getting the kingdom of Syria from his nephew; and, under a pretence of peace
and friendship, and to defend Philometer king of Egypt, a minor, and by large
promises to the nobles of the land, made himself master of it; and by deceitful
methods he prevailed in Judea; see Daniel 11:21,
and he shall magnify himself in his heart; swell with
pride, on account of success, through his policy, craft, and cunning, and think
himself above all mortals, and equal to God himself; yea, as his antitype
antichrist, exalt himself above all that is called God; fancy that he could
command the seas, weigh the mountains in scales, and reach heaven itself, in
the Apocrypha:
"And
thus he that a little afore thought he might command the waves of the sea, (so
proud was he beyond the condition of man) and weigh the high mountains in a
balance, was now cast on the ground, and carried in an horselitter, shewing
forth unto all the manifest power of God.' (2 Maccabees 9:8)
and by peace shall destroy many; under a pretence of
peace enter into countries and destroy the inhabitants of them, as in Egypt and
Judea; or, by leagues and treaties of peace, outwitting those he made peace
with; so some political princes do themselves more service, and their enemies
more hurt, by treaties than by battles: or "in peace"F23בשלוה "in pace", Calvin, Vatablus; "in
tranquillitate", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius,
Michaelis. ; when at peace with them, or while they are in peace and
tranquillity; coming upon them unexpectedly at an unawares, when they did not
so much as dream of war:
he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; not the high
priest, as Grotius; nor Michael, as Aben Ezra; but God himself, as Saadiah and
Jacchiades; who is King of kings, and Lord of lords, the only Pontentate, to
whom all the princes above and below are subject; him Antiochus stood up
against, when he profaned his temple at Jerusalem, forbid his worship,
persecuted and destroyed his people, and set up the image of Jupiter in his
house:
but he shall be broken without hand; alluding to his being a
horn; it is expressive of his death, and the manner of it; that he should not
die by the hand of an enemy in battle, nor be assassinated by the hand of a
ruffian, but be cut off by the immediate hand of God. Jacchiades says, that by
the providence of God he fell ill of a bad disease, and at the cry of one of
his elephants his chariot was overturned, and he fell on the ground, and his
bones were broken. Of his death, and the manner of it, in the Apocrypha:
"Now
when the king heard these words, he was astonished and sore moved: whereupon he
laid him down upon his bed, and fell sick for grief, because it had not
befallen him as he looked for.' (1 Maccabees 6:8)
"But
the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, smote him with an incurable and invisible
plague: or as soon as he had spoken these words, a pain of the bowels that was
remediless came upon him, and sore torments of the inner parts;' (2 Maccabees 9:5)
"So
that the worms rose up out of the body of this wicked man, and whiles he lived
in sorrow and pain, his flesh fell away, and the filthiness of his smell was
noisome to all his army.' (2 Maccabees 9:9)
which
was much like that of Herod's, Acts 12:23, being
stricken with a violent disorder in his bowels: his body covered with worms;
his flesh flaked off, and emitted such a stench, as was intolerable to his
army. Aben Ezra says, he fell from the roof of a house, and was broken, and
died.
Daniel 8:26 26 “And
the vision of the evenings and mornings Which was told is true; Therefore seal
up the vision, For it refers to many days in the future.”
YLT 26And the appearance of the
evening and of the morning, that is told, is true; and thou, hide thou the
vision, for [it is] after many days.'
And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is
true,.... That is, of the 2300 evenings and mornings, or natural days;
unto which time the daily sacrifice was to cease, and the sanctuary and host
trodden under foot; and then the sanctuary would be cleansed. This account is
"true", and not only to be believed, but is clear and plain, and to
be literally understood of so many days, of such a term of time exactly, having
no obscurity in it:
wherefore shut thou up the vision; the whole vision of the
ram and he goat, and the little horn: the meaning is, that he should keep it to
himself, and conceal it from men; not from his own people, for whose sake it
was given, but from the Chaldeans, whose destruction was near; and who would be
succeeded by the Persians, who might be disgusted with this prophecy, should
they see it, it foretelling the destruction of their empire: or this order was
given to suggest to Daniel that the fulfilment of it would be deferred some
time, during which it would not be so easy to be understood as when it was near
accomplishing and accomplished; and then prophecy and facts might be compared
together:
for it shall be for many days; it were three hundred
years, or more, from the reign of Belshazzar to the death of Antiochus, in
which this vision ends.
Daniel 8:27 27 And
I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the
king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.
YLT 27And I, Daniel, have been,
yea, I became sick [for] days, and I rise, and do the king's work, and am
astonished at the appearance, and there is none understanding.
And I Daniel fainted and was sick certain days,.... Or,
"then I Daniel fainted"F24So Noldius, Concord. Ebr. Part.
p. 309. ; after he had seen the vision, and had thought upon it, and considered
the afflictions that were to come upon the people of God, and the condition the
temple, and the worship of it, would be in; these so affected his mind, that he
not only fainted away, and was struck with a kind of stupor and amazement, but
had a fit of illness upon him, which continued some days; such a nearness and
sympathy there are between the soul and body:
afterwards I rose up; from the bed in which he
had laid some days ill:
and did the king's business; by which it appears,
that, upon the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel was as yet continued in the
service of the king of Babylon, though perhaps not in the same posts as before,
and was not a favourite at court, and so much known as he had been; and also
that he was not in reality at Shushan, when he had this vision, but at Babylon:
and I was astonished at the vision; at the things contained
in it, which were of so much importance, respecting the kingdoms of the earth,
especially the Persian and Grecian empires, and the state of his own people the
Jews:
but none understood it: to whom he showed it;
none but himself, who was made to understand it by the angel, Daniel 8:16.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)