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 ¹  was given to it. ² 

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ³  and struck it ⁴  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ⁵  The goat hurled the ram ⁶  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ⁷ 

Daniel 8:13

8:13 Then I heard a holy one ⁸  speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain – this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?”

Daniel 9:24

9:24 “Seventy weeks ⁹  have been determined

concerning your people and your holy city

to put an end to ¹⁰  rebellion,

to bring sin ¹¹  to completion, ¹² 

to atone for iniquity,

to bring in perpetual ¹³  righteousness,

to seal up ¹⁴  the prophetic vision, ¹⁵ 

and to anoint a most holy place. ¹⁶ 

[7:4]  ¹ tn Aram “heart of a man.”

[7:4]  ² 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.

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.).

[8:13]  ⁸ sn The holy one referred to here is presumably an angel. Cf. 4:13[10], 23 [20].

[9:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “sevens.” Elsewhere the term is used of a literal week (a period of seven days), cf. Gen 29:27-28; Exod 34:22; Lev 12:5; Num 28:26; Deut 16:9-10; 2 Chr 8:13; Jer 5:24; Dan 10:2-3. Gabriel unfolds the future as if it were a calendar of successive weeks. Most understand the reference here as periods of seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years.

[9:24]  ¹⁰ tc Or “to finish.” The present translation reads the Qere (from the root תָּמַם, tamam) with many witnesses. The Kethib has “to seal up” (from the root הָתַם, hatam), a confusion with a reference later in the verse to sealing up the vision.

[9:24]  ¹¹ tc The present translation reads the Qere (singular), rather than the Kethib (plural).

[9:24]  ¹² tn The Hebrew phrase לְכַלֵּא (lÿkhalle’) is apparently an alternative (metaplastic) spelling of the root כָּלָה (kalah, “to complete, finish”), rather than a form of כָּלָא (kala’, “to shut up, restrain”), as has sometimes been supposed.

[9:24]  ¹³ tn Or “everlasting.”

[9:24]  ¹⁴ sn The act of sealing in the OT is a sign of authentication. Cf. 1 Kgs 21:8; Jer 32:10, 11, 44.

[9:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “vision and prophecy.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:24]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the most holy place” (NASB, NLT); or “a most holy one”; or “the most holy one,” though the expression is used of places or objects elsewhere, not people.