Daniel 4:16

4:16 Let his mind ¹  be altered from that of a human being,

and let an animal’s mind be given to him,

and let seven periods of time ²  go by for ³  him.

Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ⁴  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ⁵  It had two large rows ⁶  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

[4:16]  ¹ tn Aram “its heart.” The metaphor of the tree begins to fade here and the reality behind the symbol (the king) begins to emerge.

[4:16]  ² sn The seven periods of time probably refer to seven years.

[4:16]  ³ tn Aram “over” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).

[7:7]  ⁴ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ⁵ sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ⁶ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.