8:1 1 In the third year 2 of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously. 3
8:15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision, I sought to understand it. Now one who appeared to be a man was standing before me.
11:14 “In those times many will oppose 10 the king of the south. 11 Those who are violent 12 among your own people will rise up in confirmation of 13 the vision, but they will falter.
1 sn Dan 8:1 marks the switch from Aramaic (= 2:4b-7:28) back to Hebrew as the language in which the book is written in its present form. The remainder of the book from this point on (8:1-12:13) is in Hebrew. The bilingual nature of the book has been variously explained, but it most likely has to do with the book’s transmission history.
2 sn The third year of King Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 551
3 tn Heb “in the beginning.” This refers to the vision described in chapter seven.
1 tn Heb “on my face.”
2 tn Or “human one.”
1 tn Heb “truth.”
1 tn Heb “speaking in prayer.”
2 tn Heb “in the beginning.”
3 tn The Hebrew expression בִּיעָף מֻעָף (mu’af bi’af) is very difficult. The issue is whether the verb derives from עוּף (’uf, “to fly”) or from יָעַף (ya’af, “to be weary”). Many ancient versions and modern commentators take the first of these possibilities and understand the reference to be to the swift flight of the angel Gabriel in his coming to Daniel. The words more likely refer to the extreme weariness, not of the angel, but of Daniel. Cf. 7:28; 8:27; 10:8-9, 16-17; also NASB.
1 tn Heb “stand against.”
2 sn This was Ptolemy V Epiphanes (ca. 203-181
3 tn Heb “sons of violence.” “Son(s) is sometimes used idiomatically in Hebrew to indicate that someone is characterized by a certain quality. So the expression “sons of violence” means that these individuals will be characterized by violent deeds.
4 tn Heb “to cause to stand.”