CHAPTER VIII. [Hebrew.]
B.C. 539-8.
1. In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
2. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
3. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high;
the Medo-Persian Empire
but one
Persia
was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
4. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward;
The Medo-Persian Empire embraced all the civilized nations of Asia
so that no beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he
Cyrus, and his descendants and next of kin
did according to his will, and became great.
5. And as I was considering, behold a he-goat
The Hellenes (Greece and her colonies)
came from the West on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river and ran unto him in the fury of his power
Battles of Marathon B.C. 490, Salamis and Plataea B.C. 480 and 479.
7. And I saw him
Alexander the Great, after Greece was conquered by the Macedonians B.C. 334
come close unto the ram
Battles of Granicus and Issus.
and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand before him;
Alexander was greatly pleased when shown this prophecy—Josephus 11. 8. 5.
but he cast him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
B.C. 331 Alexander defeated the Persians on the plain of Babylon. He then pushed on to India and conquered the Punjaub, land of the five rivers.
8. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great:
Alexander the Great also conquered Egypt, Palestine, Phœnicia and Tyre. He built Alexandria and ruled from Greece to the Ganges.
and when he was strong, the great horn was broken;
Alexander died in India of intemperance and left no successor.
and for it came up four notable ones toward the 4 winds of heaven.
Alexander’s kingdom fell to his 4 generals:
Antigonus took Persia,
Seleucus took Syria,
Ptolemy took Egypt,
Cassander took Macedon.
9. And out of one of them
Seleucus
came forth a little horn
kingdom of the Seleucidæ
which waxed exceeding great, toward the south
Egypt
and toward the east
between the Hellespont and the Indus
and toward the pleasant land.
Palestine.
10. And it waxed great
under Antiochus III, the Great
even to the host of heaven;
the Jewish nation
and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground,
Judah and Benjamin
and stamped upon them.
11. Yea it
under king Antiochus Epiphanes
magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host;
Judah, and the capital city Jerusalem
and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his Sanctuary was cast down.
R.V.
12. And the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt offering through transgression;
Antiochus also set up heathen altars in every village and town, on which the Jews were obliged to sacrifice swine’s flesh daily
and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
R.V.
13. Then I heard one saint speaking and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake:—
“How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation, to give both the Sanctuary and the host
the National government
to be trodden under foot?”
14. And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The period amounted to 308 yrs. 6 mos. 21 days and extended from Oct. 14th B.C. 450 to May 4th B.C. 141, at which time the TEMPLE was CLEANSED by Simon Maccabeus. For a full explanation see Notes C. and D.
15. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
16. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
17. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
18. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.
19. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
21. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Alexander the Great who united Greece and Macedon (verse 8).
22. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full,
the Jewish people
a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences shall stand up.
Antiochus III, the Great, who subjected Judea and greatly oppressed the Jewish people. His times were noted for corruption and crime.
24. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;
the Roman Empire had no kings and therefore its rulers were spoken of as Princes. It was a favorite term for a king to designate himself as “King of Kings.” The same thought could be expressed as regards the Romans, by the words “Prince of Princes”
but he shall be broken without hand.
Antiochus died from intemperance.
26. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
27. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.