Daniel 11:15

11:15 Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city. ¹  The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents. ²  They will have no strength to prevail.

Daniel 1:4

1:4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, ³  well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated ⁴  and having keen insight, ⁵  and who were capable ⁶  of entering the king’s royal service ⁷  – and to teach them the literature and language ⁸  of the Babylonians. ⁹ 

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ¹⁰  and struck it ¹¹  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ¹²  The goat hurled the ram ¹³  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ¹⁴ 

[11:15]  ¹ sn This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.

[11:15]  ² tn Or “choice troops” (BDB 104 s.v. מִבְחָר), or “elite troops” (HALOT 542 s.v. מִבְחָר).

[1:4]  ³ tn Heb “good of appearance.”

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “who had strength.”

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19.

[1:4]  ⁸ sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.

[1:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ⁹ 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.).