Daniel 8:21

8:21 The male goat ¹  is the king of Greece, ²  and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.

Daniel 10:20

10:20 He said, “Do you know why I have come to you? ³  Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

Daniel 11:2

11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ⁴  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ⁵  king will be unusually rich, ⁶  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ⁷  the kingdom of Greece.

[8:21]  ¹ tn Heb “the he-goat, the buck.” The expression is odd, and the second word may be an explanatory gloss.

[8:21]  ² tn Heb “Javan.”

[10:20]  ³ sn The question is rhetorical, intended to encourage reflection on Daniel’s part.

[11:2]  ⁴ sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522 B.C.), Pseudo-Smerdis (ca. 522 B.C.), and Darius I Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.).

[11:2]  ⁵ sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.

[11:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ⁷ tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.