1:1 In the third 1 year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar 2 of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem 3 and laid it under siege. 4
8:5 While I was contemplating all this, 8 a male goat 9 was coming from the west over the surface of all the land 10 without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn 11 between its eyes.
1 sn The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be ca. 605
2 sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
4 sn This attack culminated in the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon. The second one occurred in 597
5 tn Heb “mouth.”
6 sn Anointing oneself with oil (usually olive oil) was a common OT practice due to the severity of the Middle Eastern sun (cf. Ps 121:6). It was also associated with rejoicing (e.g., Prov 27:9) and was therefore usually not practiced during a period of mourning.
9 sn The question is rhetorical, intended to encourage reflection on Daniel’s part.
13 tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
14 tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”
15 tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
16 tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.
17 tn Heb “and behold.”
18 tc The Greek version of Theodotion reads “I left him [i.e., Michael] there,” and this is followed by a number of English translations (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT).