Genesis 10:4

10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, ¹  Tarshish, ²  the Kittim, ³  and the Dodanim. ⁴ 

Isaiah 23:1

The Lord Will Judge Tyre

23:1 Here is a message about Tyre:

Wail, you large ships, ⁵ 

for the port is too devastated to enter! ⁶ 

From the land of Cyprus ⁷  this news is announced to them.

Daniel 7:19-20

7:19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning ⁸  of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet. 7:20 I also wanted to know ⁹  the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes ¹⁰  and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others. ¹¹ 

Daniel 8:5-8

8:5 While I was contemplating all this, ¹²  a male goat ¹³  was coming from the west over the surface of all the land ¹⁴  without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn ¹⁵  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. ¹⁶  8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ¹⁷  and struck it ¹⁸  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ¹⁹  The goat hurled the ram ²⁰  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ²¹  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 ²²  in its place, ²³  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ²⁴ 

Daniel 8:21

8:21 The male goat ²⁵  is the king of Greece, ²⁶  and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.

Daniel 10:20

10:20 He said, “Do you know why I have come to you? ²⁷  Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

Daniel 11:30

11:30 The ships of Kittim ²⁸  will come against him, leaving him disheartened. ²⁹  He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor ³⁰  those who forsake the holy covenant.

[10:4]  ¹ sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.

[10:4]  ² sn The descendants of Tarshish settled along the southern coast of what is modern Turkey. However, some identify the site Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3) with Sardinia or Spain.

[10:4]  ³ sn The name Kittim is associated with Cyprus, as well as coastlands east of Rhodes. It is used in later texts to refer to the Romans.

[10:4]  ⁴ tc Most of the MT mss read “Dodanim” here, but 1 Chr 1:7 has “Rodanim,” perhaps referring to the island of Rhodes. But the Qere reading in 1 Chr 1:7 suggests “Dodanim.” Dodona is one of the most ancient and revered spots in ancient Greece.

[23:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

[23:1]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for it is destroyed, from a house, from entering.” The translation assumes that the mem (מ) on בַּיִת (bayit) was originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. This assumption allows one to take בַּיִת as the subject of the preceding verb. It is used in a metaphorical sense for the port city of Tyre. The preposition min (מִן) prefixed to בּוֹא (bo’) indicates negative consequence: “so that no one can enter.” See BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b.

[23:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Kittim,” a designation for the people of Cyprus. See HALOT 504-05 s.v. כִּתִּיִּים.

[7:19]  ⁸ tn Aram “to make certain.”

[7:20]  ⁹ tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:20]  ¹⁰ tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.

[7:20]  ¹¹ tn Aram “greater than its companions.”

[8:5]  ¹² tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[8:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”

[8:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.

[8:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the wrath of its strength.”

[8:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[8:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the he-goat, the buck.” The expression is odd, and the second word may be an explanatory gloss.

[8:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Javan.”

[10:20]  ²⁷ sn The question is rhetorical, intended to encourage reflection on Daniel’s part.

[11:30]  ²⁸ sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).

[11:30]  ²⁹ sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.

[11:30]  ³⁰ tn Heb “show regard for.”