Daniel 7:6

7:6 “After these things, ¹  as I was watching, another beast ²  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ³  This beast had four heads, ⁴  and ruling authority was given to it.

Daniel 8:5-8

8:5 While I was contemplating all this, ⁵  a male goat ⁶  was coming from the west over the surface of all the land ⁷  without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn ⁸  between its eyes. 8:6 It came to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed against it with raging strength. ⁹  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  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 ¹⁵  in its place, ¹⁶  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ¹⁷ 

Daniel 8:21

8:21 The male goat ¹⁸  is the king of Greece, ¹⁹  and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.

Daniel 11:2-4

11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ²⁰  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ²¹  king will be unusually rich, ²²  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ²³  the kingdom of Greece. 11:3 Then a powerful king ²⁴  will arise, exercising great authority and doing as he pleases. 11:4 Shortly after his rise to power, ²⁵  his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky ²⁶  – but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.

[7:6]  ¹ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

[7:6]  ² tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

[7:6]  ³ tn Or “sides.”

[7:6]  ⁴ 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.

[8:5]  ⁵ tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[8:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”

[8:5]  ⁷ tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.

[8:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “the wrath of its strength.”

[8:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ¹² tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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.).

[8:8]  ¹⁵ tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[8:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the he-goat, the buck.” The expression is odd, and the second word may be an explanatory gloss.

[8:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Javan.”

[11:2]  ²⁰ sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522 B.C.), Pseudo-Smerdis (ca. 522 B.C.), and Darius I Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.).

[11:2]  ²¹ sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.

[11:2]  ²² tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ²³ tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.

[11:3]  ²⁴ sn The powerful king mentioned here is Alexander the Great (ca. 336-323 B.C.).

[11:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and when he stands.”

[11:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.