Daniel 8:1

Daniel Has a Vision of a Goat and a Ram

8:1 ¹ In the third year ²  of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously. ³ 

[8:1]  ¹ sn Dan 8:1 marks the switch from Aramaic (= 2:4b-7:28) back to Hebrew as the language in which the book is written in its present form. The remainder of the book from this point on (8:1-12:13) is in Hebrew. The bilingual nature of the book has been variously explained, but it most likely has to do with the book’s transmission history.

[8:1]  ² sn The third year of King Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 551 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately 69 years old at the time of this vision.

[8:1]  ³ tn Heb “in the beginning.” This refers to the vision described in chapter seven.