Daniel 8:5-8

8:5 While I was contemplating all this, ¹  a male goat ²  was coming from the west over the surface of all the land ³  without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn ⁴  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. ⁵  8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ⁶  and struck it ⁷  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ⁸  The goat hurled the ram ⁹  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  in its place, ¹²  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ¹³ 

[8:5]  ¹ tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[8:5]  ² tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”

[8:5]  ³ tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.

[8:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wrath of its strength.”

[8:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.