Daniel 5:5

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ¹  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ²  The king was watching the back ³  of the hand that was writing.

Daniel 7:6

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

[5:5]  ¹ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ² sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ³ tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[7:6]  ⁴ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

[7:6]  ⁵ tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

[7:6]  ⁶ tn Or “sides.”

[7:6]  ⁷ 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.