17:1 In the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria 3 for nine years. 17:2 He did evil in the sight of 4 the Lord, but not to the same degree as the Israelite kings who preceded him. 17:3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria threatened 5 him; Hoshea became his subject and paid him tribute. 17:4 The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. 6 Hoshea had sent messengers to King So 7 of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him. 8 17:5 The king of Assyria marched through 9 the whole land. He attacked Samaria and besieged it for three years. 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel 10 to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.
18:9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched 11 up against Samaria 12 and besieged it. 18:10 After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel Samaria was captured. 18:11 The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel 13 to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 18:12 This happened because they did not obey 14 the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. 15 They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. 16
24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, 17 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. 18 Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. 19 24:2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets. 20 24:3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins which Manasseh had committed. 21 24:4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them. 22
24:5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 23 24:6 He passed away 24 and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king. 24:7 The king of Egypt did not march out from his land again, for the king of Babylon conquered all the territory that the king of Egypt had formerly controlled between the Brook of Egypt and the Euphrates River.
24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 25 His mother 26 was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. 24:9 He did evil in the sight of 27 the Lord as his ancestors had done.
24:10 At that time the generals 28 of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched to Jerusalem and besieged the city. 29 24:11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his generals were besieging it. 24:12 King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered 30 to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, 31 took Jehoiachin 32 prisoner. 24:13 Nebuchadnezzar 33 took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned. 24:14 He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land. 24:15 He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land. 34 24:16 The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors. 35 24:17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s 36 uncle, king in Jehoiachin’s place. He renamed him Zedekiah.
24:18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. 37 His mother 38 was Hamutal, 39 the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 24:19 He did evil in the sight of 40 the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done. 41
24:20 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger; he finally threw them out of his presence. 42 Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 25:1 So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside 43 it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 44 25:2 The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 25:3 By the ninth day of the fourth month 45 the famine in the city was so severe the residents 46 had no food. 25:4 The enemy broke through the city walls, 47 and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. 48 They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. 49 (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 50 25:5 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, 51 and his entire army deserted him. 25:6 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, 52 where he 53 passed sentence on him. 25:7 Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. 54 The king of Babylon 55 then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.
25:8 On the seventh 56 day of the fifth month, 57 in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard 58 who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. 59 25:9 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 60 25:10 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 25:11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 61 25:12 But he 62 left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards.
25:13 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord’s temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the “The Sea.” 63 They took the bronze to Babylon. 25:14 They also took the pots, shovels, 64 trimming shears, 65 pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. 66 25:15 The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers 67 and basins. 25:16 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple – including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” 68 and the movable stands – was too heavy to be weighed. 25:17 Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feet 69 high. The bronze top of one pillar was about four and a half feet 70 high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.
25:18 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. 25:19 From the city he took a eunuch who was in charge of the soldiers, five 71 of the king’s advisers 72 who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens 73 for military service, and sixty citizens from the people of the land who were discovered in the city. 25:20 Nebuzaradan, captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 25:21 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed 74 at Riblah in the territory 75 of Hamath. So Judah was deported from its land.
25:22 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah. 76 25:23 All of the officers of the Judahite army 77 and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to govern. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite. 25:24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. 78 He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.” 25:25 But in the seventh month 79 Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, 80 came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah, 81 as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. 25:26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as the army officers, left for 82 Egypt, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians might do.
25:27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh 83 day of the twelfth month, 84 King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned 85 King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him 86 from prison. 25:28 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than 87 the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 25:29 Jehoiachin 88 took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 25:30 He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died. 89
2:37 “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has granted you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 2:38 Wherever human beings, 90 wild animals, 91 and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. 92 He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold. 2:39 Now after you another kingdom 93 will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth. 2:40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom, one strong like iron. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces 94 all of these metals, 95 so it will break in pieces and crush the others. 96 2:41 In that you were seeing feet and toes 97 partly of wet clay 98 and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. Some of the strength of iron will be in it, for you saw iron mixed with wet clay. 99 2:42 In that the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, the latter stages of this kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile. 2:43 And 100 in that you saw iron mixed with wet clay, so people will be mixed 101 with one another 102 without adhering to one another, just as 103 iron does not mix with clay.
7:4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind 104 was given to it. 105
7:5 “Then 106 a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs 107 in its mouth between its teeth. 108 It was told, 109 ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’
7:6 “After these things, 110 as I was watching, another beast 111 like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. 112 This beast had four heads, 113 and ruling authority was given to it.
7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions 114 a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. 115 It had two large rows 116 of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.
7:8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. 117 This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant 118 things.
8:5 While I was contemplating all this, 126 a male goat 127 was coming from the west over the surface of all the land 128 without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn 129 between its eyes. 8:6 It came to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed against it with raging strength. 130 8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram 131 and struck it 132 and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. 133 The goat hurled the ram 134 to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. 135 8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns 136 in its place, 137 extending toward the four winds of the sky. 138
8:9 From one of them came a small horn. 139 But it grew to be very big, toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land. 140 8:10 It grew so big it reached the army 141 of heaven, and it brought about the fall of some of the army and some of the stars 142 to the ground, where it trampled them. 8:11 It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, 143 from whom 144 the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary 145 was thrown down. 8:12 The army was given over, 146 along with the daily sacrifice, in the course of his sinful rebellion. 147 It hurled 148 truth 149 to the ground and enjoyed success. 150
8:13 Then I heard a holy one 151 speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain – this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?” 8:14 He said to me, “To 2,300 evenings and mornings; 152 then the sanctuary will be put right again.” 153
1 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
2 tn Heb “them.”
3 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
4 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
5 tn Heb “went up against.”
6 tn Heb “and the king of Assyria found in Hoshea conspiracy.”
7 sn For discussion of this name, see HALOT 744 s.v. סוֹא and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 196.
8 tn Heb “and bound him in the house of confinement.”
9 tn Heb “went up against.”
10 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
11 tn Heb “went” (also in v. 13).
12 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
13 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
14 tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
15 tn Heb “his covenant.”
16 tn Heb “all that Moses, the
17 tn Heb “In his days.”
18 tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.
19 tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”
20 tn Heb “he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the
21 tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the
22 tn Heb “and also the blood of the innocent which he shed, and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the
23 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoiakim, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
24 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
25 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
26 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
27 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
28 tn Heb “servants.”
29 tn Heb “went up [to] Jerusalem and the city entered into siege.”
30 tn Heb “came out.”
31 sn That is, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 597
32 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nebuchadnezzar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
34 tn Heb “and he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the mighty of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
35 tn Heb “the entire [group], mighty men, doers of war.”
36 tn Heb “his.”
37 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
38 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
39 tc Some textual witnesses support the consonantal text (Kethib) in reading “Hamital.”
40 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
41 tn Heb “according to all which Jehoiakim had done.”
42 tn Heb “Surely [or, ‘for’] because of the anger of the
43 tn Or “against.”
44 sn This would have been Jan 15, 588
45 tn The MT has simply “of the month,” but the parallel passage in Jer 52:6 has “fourth month,” and this is followed by almost all English translations. The word “fourth,” however, is not actually present in the MT of 2 Kgs 25:3.
46 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
47 tn Heb “the city was breached.”
48 tn The Hebrew text is abrupt here: “And all the men of war by the night.” The translation attempts to capture the sense.
49 sn The king’s garden is mentioned again in Neh 3:15 in conjunction with the pool of Siloam and the stairs that go down from the city of David. This would have been in the southern part of the city near the Tyropean Valley which agrees with the reference to the “two walls” which were probably the walls on the eastern and western hills.
50 sn Heb “toward the Arabah.” The Arabah was the rift valley north and south of the Dead Sea. Here the intention was undoubtedly to escape across the Jordan to Moab or Ammon. It appears from Jer 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
51 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
52 sn Riblah was a strategic town on the Orontes River in Syria. It was at a crossing of the major roads between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Pharaoh Necho had earlier received Jehoahaz there and put him in chains (2 Kgs 23:33) prior to taking him captive to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar had set up his base camp for conducting his campaigns against the Palestinian states there and was now sitting in judgment on prisoners brought to him.
53 tn The Hebrew text has the plural form of the verb, but the parallel passage in Jer 52:9 has the singular.
54 tn Heb “were killed before his eyes.”
55 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
56 tn The parallel account in Jer 52:12 has “tenth.”
57 sn The seventh day of the month would have been August 14, 586
58 tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371 s.v. טַבָּח 2, and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
59 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
60 tn Heb “and every large house he burned down with fire.”
61 tc The MT has “the multitude.” But הֶהָמוֹן (hehamon) should probably be emended to הֶאָמוֹן (he’amon).
62 tn Heb “the captain of the royal guard.” However, the subject is clear from the preceding and contemporary English style would normally avoid repeating the proper name and title.
63 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
64 sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.
65 sn These were used to trim the wicks.
66 tn Heb “with which they served [or, ‘fulfilled their duty’].”
67 sn These held the embers used for the incense offerings.
68 tc The MT lacks “the twelve bronze bulls under ‘the Sea,’” but these words have probably been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. The scribe’s eye may have jumped from the וְהָ (vÿha-) on וְהַבָּקָר (vÿhabbaqar), “and the bulls,” to the וְהָ on וְהַמְּכֹנוֹת (vÿhammÿkhonot), “and the movable stands,” causing him to leave out the intervening words. See the parallel passage in Jer 52:20.
69 tn Heb “eighteen cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.
70 tn Heb “three cubits.” The parallel passage in Jer 52:22 has “five.”
71 tn The parallel passage in Jer 52:25 has “seven.”
72 tn Heb “five seers of the king’s face.”
73 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
74 tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”
75 tn Heb “land.”
76 tn Heb “And the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left, he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan.”
77 tn Heb “of the army.” The word “Judahite” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
78 tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
79 sn It is not altogether clear whether this is in the same year that Jerusalem fell or not. The wall was breached in the fourth month (= early July; Jer 39:2) and Nebuzaradan came and burned the palace, the temple, and many of the houses and tore down the wall in the fifth month (= early August; Jer 52:12). That would have left time between the fifth month and the seventh month (October) to gather in the harvest of grapes, dates and figs, and olives (Jer 40:12). However, many commentators feel that too much activity takes place in too short a time for this to have been in the same year and posit that it happened the following year or even five years later when a further deportation took place, possibly in retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah (Jer 52:30). The assassination of Gedaliah had momentous consequences and was commemorated in one of the post exilic fast days lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (Zech 8:19).
80 tn Heb “[was] from the seed of the kingdom.”
81 tn Heb “and they struck down Gedaliah and he died.”
82 tn Heb “arose and went to.”
83 sn The parallel account in Jer 52:31 has “twenty-fifth.”
84 sn The twenty-seventh day would be March 22, 561
85 tn Heb “lifted up the head of.”
86 tn The words “released him” are supplied in the translation on the basis of Jer 52:31.
87 tn Heb “made his throne above the throne of.”
88 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
89 tc The words “until the day he died” do not appear in the MT, but they are included in the parallel passage in Jer 52:34. Probably they have been accidentally omitted by homoioteleuton. A scribe’s eye jumped from the final vav (ו) on בְּיוֹמוֹ (bÿyomo), “in his day,” to the final vav (ו) on מוֹתוֹ (moto), “his death,” leaving out the intervening words.
90 tn Aram “the sons of man.”
91 tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”
92 tn Aram “hand.”
93 sn The identity of the first kingdom is clearly Babylon. The identification of the following three kingdoms is disputed. The common view is that they represent Media, Persia, and Greece. Most conservative scholars identify them as Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
94 tc Theodotion and the Vulgate lack the phrase “and as iron breaks in pieces.”
95 tn The Aramaic text does not have this word, but it has been added in the translation for clarity.
96 tn The words “the others” are supplied from the context.
97 tc The LXX lacks “and toes.”
98 tn Aram “potter’s clay.”
99 tn Aram “clay of clay” (also in v. 43).
100 tc The present translation reads the conjunction, with most medieval Hebrew
101 sn The reference to people being mixed is usually understood to refer to intermarriage.
102 tn Aram “with the seed of men.”
103 tc The present translation reads הֵיךְ דִּי (hekh diy) rather than the MT הֵא־כְדִי (he’-khÿdi). It is a case of wrong word division.
104 tn Aram “heart of a man.”
105 sn The identity of the first animal, derived from v. 17 and the parallels in chap. 2, is Babylon. The reference to the plucking of its wings is probably a reference to the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (cf. chap. 4). The latter part of v. 4 then describes the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. The other animals have traditionally been understood to represent respectively Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, although most of modern scholarship identifies them as Media, Persia, and Greece. For a biblical parallel to the mention of lion, bear, and leopard together, see Hos 13:7-8.
106 tn Aram “and behold.”
107 sn The three ribs held securely in the mouth of the bear, perhaps representing Media-Persia, apparently symbolize military conquest, but the exact identity of the “ribs” is not clear. Possibly it is a reference to the Persian conquest of Lydia, Egypt, and Babylonia.
108 tc The LXX lacks the phrase “between its teeth.”
109 tn Aram “and thus they were saying to it.”
110 tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.
111 tn Aram “and behold, another one.”
112 tn Or “sides.”
113 sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.
114 tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.
115 sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.
116 tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.
117 tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”
118 tn Aram “great.” So also in vv. 11, 20.
119 tn Heb “lifted my eyes.”
120 tn Heb “and behold.”
121 tn Heb “one.” The Hebrew numerical adjective occasionally functions like an English indefinite article. See GKC 401 §125.b.
122 tn Heb “high” (also “higher” later in this verse).
123 tn Or “beast” (NAB).
124 tn Heb “hand.” So also in v. 7.
125 tn In the Hiphil the Hebrew verb גָּדַל (gadal, “to make great; to magnify”) can have either a positive or a negative sense. For the former, used especially of God, see Ps 126:2, 3; Joel 2:21. In this chapter (8:4, 8, 11, 25) the word has a pejorative sense, describing the self-glorification of this king. The sense seems to be that of vainly assuming one’s own superiority through deliberate hubris.
126 tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
127 tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”
128 tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
129 tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.
130 tn Heb “the wrath of its strength.”
131 tn Heb “him.”
132 tn Heb “the ram.”
133 tn Heb “stand before him.”
134 tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
135 sn The goat of Daniel’s vision represents Greece; the large horn represents Alexander the Great. The ram stands for Media-Persia. Alexander’s rapid conquest of the Persians involved three battles of major significance which he won against overwhelming odds: Granicus (334
136 tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
137 sn The four conspicuous horns refer to Alexander’s successors. After his death, Alexander’s empire was divided up among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt.
138 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
139 sn This small horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who controlled the Seleucid kingdom from ca. 175-164
140 sn The expression the beautiful land (Heb. הַצֶּבִי [hatsÿvi] = “the beauty”) is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel. Cf. 11:16, 41, where it is preceded by the word אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”).
141 tn Traditionally, “host.” The term refers to God’s heavenly angelic assembly, which he sometimes leads into battle as an army.
142 sn In prescientific Israelite thinking the stars were associated with the angelic members of God’s heavenly assembly. See Judg 5:20; Job 38:7; Isa 40:26. In west Semitic mythology the stars were members of the high god’s divine assembly (see Isa 14:13).
143 sn The prince of the army may refer to God (cf. “whose sanctuary” later in the verse) or to the angel Michael (cf. 12:1).
144 tn Or perhaps “and by him,” referring to Antiochus rather than to God.
145 sn Here the sanctuary is a reference to the temple of God in Jerusalem.
146 tc The present translation reads וּצְבָאָהּ נִתַּן (utsÿva’ah nittan) for the MT וְצָבָא תִּנָּתֵן (vÿtsava’ tinnaten). The context suggests a perfect rather than an imperfect verb.
147 tn Heb “in (the course of) rebellion.” The meaning of the phrase is difficult to determine. It could mean “due to rebellion,” referring to the failures of the Jews, but this is not likely since it is not a point made elsewhere in the book. The phrase more probably refers to the rebellion against God and the atrocities against the Jews epitomized by Antiochus.
148 tc Two medieval Hebrew
149 sn Truth here probably refers to the Torah. According to 1 Macc 1:56, Antiochus initiated destruction of the sacred books of the Jews.
150 tn Heb “it acted and prospered.”
151 sn The holy one referred to here is presumably an angel. Cf. 4:13[10], 23 [20].
152 sn The language of evenings and mornings is reminiscent of the creation account in Genesis 1. Since “evening and morning” is the equivalent of a day, the reference here would be to 2,300 days. However, some interpreters understand the reference to be to the evening sacrifice and the morning sacrifice, in which case the reference would be to only 1,150 days. Either way, the event that marked the commencement of this period is unclear. The event that marked the conclusion of the period is the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem following the atrocious and sacrilegious acts that Antiochus implemented. This took place on December 25, 165
153 tn Heb “will be vindicated” or “will be justified.” This is the only occurrence of this verb in the Niphal in the OT. English versions interpret it as “cleansed” (KJV, ASV), “restored” (NASB, TEV, NLT), or “reconsecrated” (NIV).
154 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
155 sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).
156 sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.
157 tn Heb “show regard for.”
158 tn Heb “arms.”
159 tn Heb “the sanctuary, the fortress.”
160 tn Heb “will give.”
161 tn Or “corrupt.”
162 tn Heb “acted wickedly toward.”
163 tn Heb “know.” The term “know” sometimes means “to recognize.” In relational contexts it can have the connotation “recognize the authority of, be loyal to,” as it does here.
164 sn This is an allusion to the Maccabean revolt, which struggled to bring about Jewish independence in the second century
165 tn Heb “the many.”
166 tn Heb “stumble.”
167 tn Or “by burning.”
168 tn Heb “days.”