Daniel 8:11-12

8:11 It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, ¹  from whom ²  the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary ³  was thrown down. 8:12 The army was given over, ⁴  along with the daily sacrifice, in the course of his sinful rebellion. ⁵  It hurled ⁶  truth ⁷  to the ground and enjoyed success. ⁸ 

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ⁹  and struck it ¹⁰  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ¹¹  The goat hurled the ram ¹²  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ¹³ 

¹ 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).

² tn Or perhaps “and by him,” referring to Antiochus rather than to God.

³ sn Here the sanctuary is a reference to the temple of God in Jerusalem.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tc Two medieval Hebrew MSS and the LXX have a passive verb here: “truth was hurled to the ground” (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV).

⁷ sn Truth here probably refers to the Torah. According to 1 Macc 1:56, Antiochus initiated destruction of the sacred books of the Jews.

⁸ tn Heb “it acted and prospered.”

⁷ tn Heb “him.”

⁸ tn Heb “the ram.”

⁹ tn Heb “stand before him.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ 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 B.C.), Isus (333 B.C.), and Gaugemela (331 B.C.).