Daniel 6:17

6:17 Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening ¹  to the den. The king sealed ²  it with his signet ring and with those ³  of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel.

Daniel 7:4

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 ⁴  was given to it. ⁵ 

Daniel 9:15

9:15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power ⁶  and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day – we have sinned and behaved wickedly.

[6:17]  ¹ tn Aram “mouth.”

[6:17]  ² sn The purpose of the den being sealed was to prevent unauthorized tampering with the opening of the den. Any disturbance of the seal would immediately alert the officials to improper activity of this sort.

[6:17]  ³ tn Aram “the signet rings.”

[7:4]  ⁴ tn Aram “heart of a man.”

[7:4]  ⁵ 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.

[9:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “with a powerful hand.”