Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ¹  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ²  It had two large rows ³  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.

Daniel 7:20

7:20 I also wanted to know ⁴  the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes ⁵  and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others. ⁶ 

Daniel 1:1

Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon

1:1 In the third ⁷  year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar ⁸  of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem ⁹  and laid it under siege. ¹⁰ 

[7:7]  ¹ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ² 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]  ³ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[7:20]  ⁴ tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:20]  ⁵ tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.

[7:20]  ⁶ tn Aram “greater than its companions.”

[1:1]  ⁷ sn The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be ca. 605 B.C. At this time Daniel would have been a teenager. The reference to Jehoiakim’s third year poses a serious crux interpretum, since elsewhere these events are linked to his fourth year (Jer 25:1; cf. 2 Kgs 24:1; 2 Chr 36:5-8). Apparently Daniel is following an accession year chronology, whereby the first partial year of a king’s reign was reckoned as the accession year rather than as the first year of his reign. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is following a nonaccession year chronology, whereby the accession year is reckoned as the first year of the king’s reign. In that case, the conflict is only superficial. Most modern scholars, however, have concluded that Daniel is historically inaccurate here.

[1:1]  ⁸ sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 B.C.

[1:1]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ sn This attack culminated in the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon. The second one occurred in 597 B.C. and included among many other Jewish captives the prophet Ezekiel. The third deportation occurred in 586 B.C., at which time the temple and the city of Jerusalem were thoroughly destroyed.