Discovery BoxDaniel 8:7-9
Context8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram 1 and struck it 2 and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. 3 The goat hurled the ram 4 to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. 5 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 6 in its place, 7 extending toward the four winds of the sky. 8
8:9 From one of them came a small horn. 9 But it grew to be very big, toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land. 10
[8:7] 3 tn Heb “stand before him.”
[8:7] 4 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] 5 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
[8:8] 6 tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
[8:8] 7 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] 8 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[8:9] 11 sn This small horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who controlled the Seleucid kingdom from ca. 175-164
[8:9] 12 sn The expression the beautiful land (Heb. הַצֶּבִי [hatsÿvi] = “the beauty”) is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel. Cf. 11:16, 41, where it is preceded by the word אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”).
