Daniel 7:17

7:17 ‘These large beasts, which are four in number, represent four kings who will arise from the earth.

Daniel 7:3

7:3 Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another.

Daniel 7:6

7:6 “After these things, ¹  as I was watching, another beast ²  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ³  This beast had four heads, ⁴  and ruling authority was given to it.

Daniel 7:2

7:2 Daniel explained: ⁵  “I was watching in my vision during the night as ⁶  the four winds of the sky ⁷  were stirring up the great sea. ⁸ 

Daniel 3:25

3:25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” ⁹ 

¹ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

² tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

³ tn Or “sides.”

⁴ 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.

¹ tn Aram “answered and said.”

² tn Aram “and behold.”

³ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁴ sn The referent of the great sea is unclear. The common view that the expression refers to the Mediterranean Sea is conjectural.

¹ sn The phrase like that of a god is in Aramaic “like that of a son of the gods.” Many patristic writers understood this phrase in a christological sense (i.e., “the Son of God”). But it should be remembered that these are words spoken by a pagan who is seeking to explain things from his own polytheistic frame of reference; for him the phrase “like a son of the gods” is equivalent to “like a divine being.”