Daniel 8

Daniel 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. This chapter concerns Daniel’s second vision. According to the text, Daniel received his vision in the third year of king Belshazzar. In his vision, he saw himself at Susa (Heb: "Shushan"), the capital[1] near the river Ulai. The canal is considered to have run along the north side of the fortress of Susa, a royal palace for the Persian kings of ancient Elam, just east of Babylonia.[2] From a source critical perspective, visionary experiences are frequently associated with riverbank settings.[1]

Contents

Second vision

Chapters of the Book of Daniel

1: Induction into Babylon
2: Nebuchadnezzar's dream of an image
3: The fiery furnace
4: The madness of Nebuchadnezzar
5: Belshazzar's feast
6: Daniel in the lions' den
7: Daniel's first vision
8: Vision of the ram and goat
9: Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
10: Vision of a man
11: Kings of the North and South

12: Epilogue

The ram

In verses 3 and 4 of Daniel’s second vision, a ram appears standing by the river Ulai having two horns, one higher than the other. The male ram is described as "pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor [was there any] that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great."NKJV According to verse 20, the two horns represent the kings of Media and Persia.[1]

The male goat

In verses 5-7, a male goat then appears from the west having a notable horn between his eyes. He charges toward the ram with great anger, striking him and breaking both horns. It rendered the ram powerless, broken and in servitude to the goat. Verse 21 states that the male goat is the king of Greece. Scholars have associated this male goat with Alexander the Great and his armies.[3]

The man Gabriel

After Daniel has seen the vision, a being resembling a man called Gabriel appears to tell Daniel the meaning of the vision, to give him "skill and understanding" regarding his visions. Daniel prostrates himself in fear. Gabriel tells Daniel that the vision concerns the time of the end, but Daniel soon passes out. Gabriel wakes him up and again tells him that the vision is about the time of the end.[Dan. 8:15-19]

Interpretations

See also: Prophetic beasts of Daniel (Appendix)#Daniel chapter 8

Interpretations of the little horn

Scholars believe that Daniel 8 was written shortly prior to the death of Antiochus and the re-dedication of the temple of Jerusalem in 164 BCE. The writer, seeing the Seleucid persecution first hand, perceived that he was living in the end time. The little horn would come from one of them, understood as referring to one of the four horns that replaced the notable horn. Scholarly opinion,[4] as well as modern Jewish and Christian commentaries,[5][6] hold that the little horn refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, since he came from the Seleucid empire, which was one of the four empires that came to power after Alexander died. He seized the Seleucid Kingdom through intrigue, took away the daily sacrifice (the Tamid) in 167 BC, and committed the Abomination of Desolation. He made it illegal to follow the Judaic laws, with the penalty of death.[7]

Because of parallel terminology found both in Daniel 11 and Daniel 8, scholars have long interpreted Daniel 8 by Daniel 11. Scholars see in Daniel 11 "predictions" of the whole sweep of events from the reign of Cyrus to what some believe is the unsuccessful effort of Antiochus Epiphanes to stamp out the Jewish faith.[8]

Josephus and Thomas Aquinas[9] as well as Jewish and Christian commentaries,[10][11] also hold that Antiochus IV appears as the "little horn" (Daniel 8:9) in the prophetic writings of the Book of Daniel, reading Daniel 8:10–14 as a description of Antiochus' dealings with the Jewish people under his rule which ended with the Maccabean Revolt. In addition, Daniel 11, with references to Persia and Greece and two kings, is thought by some to refer to the Seleucids, and specifically to Antiochus Epiphanes,[12][13] as "The King of the North" who conquers Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Egypt and who will exalt and magnify himself above every god (Verse 36).[14]

Historicist views

Seventh-day Adventists

The prophecy of 2,300 days in Verse 14 plays an important role in Seventh-day Adventist eschatology. The 2,300 days (a little over six years) are interpreted as 2,300 actual years, starting at the same time as the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks in Chapter 9, on the grounds that the 70 weeks were "decreed" ("cut off") for the Jewish people from the 2,300-day prophecy. The beginning year is calculated to be 457 BC (see details here), so that the end of the 2,300 years, and the end of the world, would come in 1844. When the world failed to end in that year many Millerite Adventists lost faith in their leaders and left the movement, but those who remained reached the conclusion that 1844 marked the beginning of a divine pre-advent judgment called "the cleansing of the sanctuary".

Chapter Parallel sequence of prophetic elements as understood by Historicists[15][16]
Past Present Future
Daniel 2 Head
Gold
(Babylon)		 Chest & 2 arms
Silver		 Belly and thighs
Bronze		 2 Legs
Iron		 2 Feet with toes
Clay & Iron		 Rock
God's unending kingdom
left to no other people
Daniel 7 Winged Lion Lopsided Bear 4 Headed/4 Winged
Leopard		 Iron toothed beast
w/Little Horn		 Judgment scene
Beast slain		 A son of man comes in clouds
Given everlasting dominion
He gives it to the saints.[17]
Daniel 8 2-horned Ram
(Media-Persia)		 Uni- / 4-horned Goat
4 Winds (Greece)		 Little Horn
A Master of Intrigue		 Cleansing of Sanctuary
Leads to:		 (Kingdom of God)

See also

Appendix

Over the centuries Bible scholars have identified specific kingdoms as fulfillment of the symbols from the tabernacle services as illustrated in the following table.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Coogan, Michael D.; Brettler, Marc Z.; Newsom, Carol A. et al., eds (2007). The new Oxford annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books: New Revised Standard Version (Augm. 3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1269, See footnote 8.1-14. ISBN 0195288807. 
  2. ^ Singer-Towns, Brian (2005). The New American Bible. (Basic youth ed.). Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's Press. p. 969, See footnote 8,2. ISBN 0884898636. 
  3. ^ Michael D. Coogan, ed (2007). p. 1269-70, See footnote 8.5. 
  4. ^ Boyer 1994, pp. 28–31
  5. ^ Christian commentaries on Daniel 8:9
  6. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Book of Daniel
  7. ^ 1 Maccabees 1:20-63
  8. ^ Gaeblein 1984, p. 143
  9. ^ Boyer, Paul (1994). When Time Shall be No More. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 28–31. 
  10. ^ Christian commentaries on Daniel 8:9
  11. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Book of Daniel
  12. ^ H. H. Rowley, The Growth of the Old Testament, Harper: 1950, p. 158))
  13. ^ Livius.org:Daniel 11 in Context
  14. ^ New American Bible
  15. ^ Smith 1944
  16. ^ Anderson 1975
  17. ^ Daniel 7:13-27 see verses 13, 14, 22, 27
  18. ^ After table in Froom 1950, pp. 456–7
  19. ^ After table in Froom 1950, pp. 894-75
  20. ^ a b After table in Froom 1948, pp. 528–9
  21. ^ After table in Froom 1948, pp. 784–5
  22. ^ After table in Froom 1946, pp. 744–5

References