Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ¹  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ²  It had two large rows ³  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

Numbers 12:6

12:6 The Lord ⁴  said, “Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, ⁵  I the Lord ⁶  will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.

Job 4:13

4:13 In the troubling thoughts ⁷  of the dreams ⁸  in the night

when a deep sleep ⁹  falls on men,

Job 33:15-16

33:15 In a dream, a night vision,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they sleep in their beds.

33:16 Then he gives a revelation ¹⁰  to people,

and terrifies them with warnings, ¹¹ 

Matthew 2:12-13

2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ¹²  they went back by another route to their own country.

The Escape to Egypt

2:13 After they had gone, an ¹³  angel of the Lord ¹⁴  appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod ¹⁵  is going to look for the child to kill him.”

[7:7]  ¹ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ² sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ³ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[12:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “he.”

[12:6]  ⁵ tn The form of this construction is rare: נְבִיאֲכֶם (nÿvi’akhem) would normally be rendered “your prophet.” The singular noun is suffixed with a plural pronominal suffix. Some commentators think the MT has condensed “a prophet” with “to you.”

[12:6]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew syntax is difficult here. “The Lord” is separated from the verb by two intervening prepositional phrases. Some scholars conclude that this word belongs with the verb at the beginning of v. 6 (“And the Lord spoke”).

[4:13]  ⁷ tn Here too the word is rare. The form שְׂעִפִּים (sÿ’ippim, “disquietings”) occurs only here and in 20:2. The form שַׂרְעַפִּים (sar’appim, “disquieting thoughts”), possibly related by dissimilation, occurs in Pss 94:19 and 139:23. There seems to be a connection with סְעִפִּים (sÿ’ippim) in 1 Kgs 18:21 with the meaning “divided opinion”; this is related to the idea of סְעִפָּה (sÿ’ippah, “bough”). H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 47) concludes that the point is that like branches the thoughts lead off into different and bewildering places. E. Dhorme (Job, 50) links the word to an Arabic root (“to be passionately smitten”) for the idea of “intimate thoughts.” The idea here and in Ps 139 has more to do with anxious, troubling, disquieting thoughts, as in a nightmare.

[4:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “visions” of the night.

[4:13]  ⁹ tn The word תַּרְדֵּמָה (tardemah) is a “deep sleep.” It is used in the creation account when the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam; and it is used in the story of Jonah when the prophet was asleep during the storm. The LXX interprets it to mean “fear,” rendering the whole verse “but terror falls upon men with dread and a sound in the night.”

[33:16]  ¹⁰ tn The idiom is “he uncovers the ear of men.” This expression means “inform” in Ruth 4:4; 1 Sam 20:2, etc. But when God is the subject it means “make a revelation” (see 1 Sam 9:15; 2 Sam 7:27).

[33:16]  ¹¹ tc Heb “and seals their bonds.” The form of the present translation, “and terrifies them with warnings,” is derived only by emending the text. Aquila, the Vulgate, Syriac, and Targum Job have “their correction” for “their bond,” which is what the KJV used. But the LXX, Aquila, and the Syriac have “terrifies” for the verb. This involves a change in pointing from יָחְתֹּם (yakhtom) to יְחִתֵּם (yÿkhittem). The LXX has “appearances of fear” instead of “bonds.” The point of the verse seems to be that by terrifying dreams God makes people aware of their ways.

[2:12]  ¹² sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

[2:13]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.