Daniel 7:2

7:2 Daniel explained: ¹  “I was watching in my vision during the night as ²  the four winds of the sky ³  were stirring up the great sea. ⁴ 

Daniel 7:1

Daniel has a Vision of Four Animals Coming up from the Sea

7:1 In the first ⁵  year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had ⁶  a dream filled with visions ⁷  while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. ⁸ 

[7:2]  ¹ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[7:2]  ² tn Aram “and behold.”

[7:2]  ³ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[7:2]  ⁴ sn The referent of the great sea is unclear. The common view that the expression refers to the Mediterranean Sea is conjectural.

[7:1]  ⁵ sn The first year of Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 553 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately 67 years old at the time of this vision.

[7:1]  ⁶ tn Aram “saw.”

[7:1]  ⁷ tn Aram “and visions of his head.” The Aramaic is difficult here. Some scholars add a verb thought to be missing (e.g., “the visions of his head [were alarming him]”), but there is no external evidence to support such a decision and the awkwardness of the text at this point may be original.

[7:1]  ⁸ tn Aram “head of words.” The phrase is absent in Theodotion. Cf. NIV “the substance of his dream.”