Daniel 2:23

2:23 O God of my fathers, I acknowledge and glorify you,

for you have bestowed wisdom and power on me.

Now you have enabled me to understand what I ¹  requested from you.

For you have enabled me to understand the king’s dilemma.” ² 

Daniel 8:8

8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns ³  in its place, ⁴  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ⁵ 

Daniel 11:5-6

11:5 “Then the king of the south ⁶  and one of his subordinates ⁷  will grow strong. His subordinate ⁸  will resist ⁹  him and will rule a kingdom greater than his. ¹⁰  11:6 After some years have passed, they ¹¹  will form an alliance. Then the daughter ¹²  of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power, ¹³  nor will he continue ¹⁴  in his strength. ¹⁵  She, together with the one who brought her, her child, ¹⁶  and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time. ¹⁷ 

Daniel 12:7

12:7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky ¹⁸  and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters ¹⁹  the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.”

[2:23]  ¹ tn Aram “we.” Various explanations have been offered for the plural, but it is probably best understood as the editorial plural; so also with “me” later in this verse.

[2:23]  ² tn Aram “the word of the king.”

[8:8]  ³ tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ⁴ sn The four conspicuous horns refer to Alexander’s successors. After his death, Alexander’s empire was divided up among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt.

[8:8]  ⁵ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[11:5]  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.

[11:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “princes.”

[11:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “be strong against.”

[11:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “greater than his kingdom.”

[11:6]  ⁷ sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 B.C.) and Antiochus II Theos (ca. 262-246 B.C.).

[11:6]  ⁸ sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.

[11:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”

[11:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.

[11:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.

[11:6]  ¹² tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yolÿdah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.

[11:6]  ¹³ sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 B.C.), as the Seleucid king.

[12:7]  ⁹ tn Or “to the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[12:7]  ¹⁰ tc The present translation reads יַד־נֹפֵץ (yad-nofets, “hand of one who shatters”) rather than the MT נַפֵּץ־יַד (nappets-yad, “to shatter the hand”).