Daniel 4:31

4:31 While these words were still on the king’s lips, ¹  a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, ²  King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you!

Daniel 7:6

7:6 “After these things, ³  as I was watching, another beast ⁴  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ⁵  This beast had four heads, ⁶  and ruling authority was given to it.

Daniel 11:5

11:5 “Then the king of the south ⁷  and one of his subordinates ⁸  will grow strong. His subordinate ⁹  will resist ¹⁰  him and will rule a kingdom greater than his. ¹¹ 

Daniel 11:18

11:18 Then he will turn his attention ¹²  to the coastal regions and will capture many of them. But a commander ¹³  will bring his shameful conduct to a halt; in addition, ¹⁴  he will make him pay for his shameful conduct. ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Aram “in the mouth of the king.”

² tn Aram “to you they say.”

³ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

⁴ tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

⁵ tn Or “sides.”

⁶ 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.

⁵ sn The king of the south is Ptolemy I Soter (ca. 323-285 B.C.). The following reference to one of his subordinates apparently has in view Seleucus I Nicator (ca. 311-280 B.C.). Throughout the remainder of chap. 11 the expressions “king of the south” and “king of the north” repeatedly occur. It is clear, however, that these terms are being used generically to describe the Ptolemaic king (i.e., “of the south”) or the Seleucid king (i.e., “of the north”) who happens to be in power at any particular time. The specific identity of these kings can be established more or less successfully by a comparison of this chapter with the available extra-biblical records that discuss the history of the intertestamental period. In the following notes the generally accepted identifications are briefly mentioned.

⁶ tn Heb “princes.”

⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “be strong against.”

⁹ tn Heb “greater than his kingdom.”

⁷ tn Heb “his face.” See v. 19 as well.

⁸ sn The commander is probably the Roman commander, Lucius Cornelius Scipio.

⁹ tn The Hebrew here is difficult in that the negative בִּלְתִּי (biltiy, “not”) is used in an unusual way. The sense is not entirely clear.

¹⁰ tn Heb “his shameful conduct he will return to him.”