Zechariah 1:18-19

Vision Two: The Four Horns

1:18 (2:1) ¹  Once again I looked and this time I saw four horns. 1:19 So I asked the angelic messenger ²  who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns ³  that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ⁴ 

Daniel 2:38-40

2:38 Wherever human beings, ⁵  wild animals, ⁶  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ⁷  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold. 2:39 Now after you another kingdom ⁸  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth. 2:40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom, one strong like iron. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces ⁹  all of these metals, ¹⁰  so it will break in pieces and crush the others. ¹¹ 

Daniel 7:3-7

7:3 Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another.

7:4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind ¹²  was given to it. ¹³ 

7:5 “Then ¹⁴  a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs ¹⁵  in its mouth between its teeth. ¹⁶  It was told, ¹⁷  ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’

7:6 “After these things, ¹⁸  as I was watching, another beast ¹⁹  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ²⁰  This beast had four heads, ²¹  and ruling authority was given to it.

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ²²  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ²³  It had two large rows ²⁴  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.

Daniel 8:22

8:22 The horn that was broken ²⁵  and in whose place there arose four others stands for four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, though they will not have his strength.

[1:18]  ¹ sn This marks the beginning of ch. 2 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 1:18, the verse numbers through 2:13 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:18 ET = 2:1 HT, 1:19 ET = 2:2 HT, 1:20 ET = 2:3 HT, 1:21 ET = 2:4 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:5 HT, etc., through 2:13 ET = 2:17 HT. From 3:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[1:19]  ² tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in v. 9.

[1:19]  ³ sn An animal’s horn is a common OT metaphor for military power (Pss 18:2; 75:10; Jer 48:25; Mic 4:13). The fact that there are four horns here (as well as four blacksmiths, v. 20) shows a correspondence to the four horses of v. 8 which go to four parts of the world, i.e., the whole world.

[1:19]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:38]  ⁵ tn Aram “the sons of man.”

[2:38]  ⁶ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

[2:38]  ⁷ tn Aram “hand.”

[2:39]  ⁸ sn The identity of the first kingdom is clearly Babylon. The identification of the following three kingdoms is disputed. The common view is that they represent Media, Persia, and Greece. Most conservative scholars identify them as Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

[2:40]  ⁹ tc Theodotion and the Vulgate lack the phrase “and as iron breaks in pieces.”

[2:40]  ¹⁰ tn The Aramaic text does not have this word, but it has been added in the translation for clarity.

[2:40]  ¹¹ tn The words “the others” are supplied from the context.

[7:4]  ¹² tn Aram “heart of a man.”

[7:4]  ¹³ sn The identity of the first animal, derived from v. 17 and the parallels in chap. 2, is Babylon. The reference to the plucking of its wings is probably a reference to the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (cf. chap. 4). The latter part of v. 4 then describes the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. The other animals have traditionally been understood to represent respectively Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, although most of modern scholarship identifies them as Media, Persia, and Greece. For a biblical parallel to the mention of lion, bear, and leopard together, see Hos 13:7-8.

[7:5]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “and behold.”

[7:5]  ¹⁵ sn The three ribs held securely in the mouth of the bear, perhaps representing Media-Persia, apparently symbolize military conquest, but the exact identity of the “ribs” is not clear. Possibly it is a reference to the Persian conquest of Lydia, Egypt, and Babylonia.

[7:5]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX lacks the phrase “between its teeth.”

[7:5]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “and thus they were saying to it.”

[7:6]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

[7:6]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

[7:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “sides.”

[7:6]  ²¹ sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.

[7:7]  ²² tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[8:22]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the broken one.” The word “horn” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.