Daniel 7:4

7:4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind ¹  was given to it. ² 

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ³  and struck it ⁴  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ⁵  The goat hurled the ram ⁶  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ⁷ 

[7:4]  ¹ tn Aram “heart of a man.”

[7:4]  ² sn The identity of the first animal, derived from v. 17 and the parallels in chap. 2, is Babylon. The reference to the plucking of its wings is probably a reference to the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (cf. chap. 4). The latter part of v. 4 then describes the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. The other animals have traditionally been understood to represent respectively Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, although most of modern scholarship identifies them as Media, Persia, and Greece. For a biblical parallel to the mention of lion, bear, and leopard together, see Hos 13:7-8.

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.).