Synopsis: Daniel
received a vision of a “ram” overthrown by a “goat.” A “little horn” appeared
that attacked the saints - Daniel 8:1-14.
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By Paxson Woelber on Unsplash |
Next, Daniel received a vision of a “ram"
and a male “goat.” The ram represented the “Medes and
Persians.” The goat symbolized Greece and its first great king, who
conquered the Persian Empire. This is followed by the interpretation of the vision by an angel. The focus is on a later
king who reigned over one of the four lesser kingdoms that arose after the
death of the first king of Greece, the “goat” (Daniel 8:1-14, 8:15-27).
The visions recorded in chapters 7 and 8 of
the Book of Daniel are related - There are multiple structural, verbal,
and conceptual parallels between them. The imagery of Chapter 7 is “apocalyptic,”
cosmic, and, therefore, somewhat ambiguous. In contrast, the vision and interpretation
in Chapter 8 include clear historical references.
Two of the four kingdoms from Chapter 7 are
named explicitly in Chapter 8. Both visions occurred during the reign of
Belshazzar, both were interpreted by an angel and both end with Daniel “troubled”
by what he saw. A theme common to both is an assault against the “people of
the saints” by a malevolent figure, the “little horn” (Daniel
7:1,7:15, 7:28, 8:1, 8:27).
The vision of the Ram and Goat occurred in
550 B.C. in the reign of Babylon’s last ruler, and approximately at the same
time, Cyrus the Great annexed the kingdom of Media to his growing empire. Thus, his
realm became the “kingdom of the Medes and Persians”:
(Daniel 8:1-3):
“In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision, appeared unto me, Daniel, after
that which appeared unto me at the beginning. So then I sawˎ in the visionˎ and it came to passˎ when I saw that Iʹ was in Shusanj the fortress,
which is in Persia the province,—yea I saw it in a vision, when I was by the river Ulai. So then
I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and lo! a ram, standing before the river, and it had two horns,—and the two
horns
were
high, but, the one was higher than the other, and the
higher
had
come up last.”
– (From the Emphasized Bible).
In Verse 1, the original text reverts from the
Aramaic language back to Hebrew (Aramaic is used from Daniel 2:4 to
8:1). The change marks the start of the second half of the book. “Shushan”
or “Susa” was the ancient capital of the Median province of Elam, between Babylon and
Persia. “Ulai”
was the name of the waterway along which the city was built. It does not state
that Daniel was physically in Susa; possibly, he found himself “in Susa”
as part of a visionary experience. Susa became a prominent royal city in the
Persian Empire (Nehemiah 1:1, Esther 1:1-2).
Alongside the river, Daniel saw a ram with
two horns. One horn came up after the first and grew higher than it. This
corresponds to the image of the bear in which one side of the beast was
elevated higher than the other. The ram was pushing “westward, northward and
southward.” None could stand before it; it did according to its will. The
ram with two horns is identified as the “kings of Media and Persia” in
the vision’s interpretation (Daniel 7:5, 8:20).
This empire expanded rapidly in all
directions but, especially, to the south, west, and north. To the south it
conquered Babylonia, Egypt, and Libya, to the west it absorbed Lydia and most
of Asia Minor, including its Greek cities, and to the north it conquered
Armenia and the Scythians.
This the ram did “according to his will
and magnified himself.” This stresses its belief that its success was due
to its own prowess.
(Daniel 8:4-8):
“I
saw the ram pushing strongly westward and northward and southward so that no wild beast could
stand before him, and none could deliver out of his hand,—but he did according to his own pleasure and shewed himself great.
Now, I, was observingˎ when lo! a he-goat coming in out of the west over the face of all the earth,
but it meddled not with the earth,—and, the goat, had a conspicuous horn between
his eyes. So then he came up to the ram having the two horns, which I had seen standing before the river,—and
ran unto him in the fury of his strength. Yea I saw him coming close upon the
ram
and
he was enraged at him and smote the ram, and brake in pieces both his horns, and there
was no strength in the ram to stand before him,—but he cast him down to the
ground
and
trampled him underfoot, and there was none could deliver the ram out of his
power. But, the he-goat, shewed himself very great,—and, when he had become mighty, the great horn was broken in pieces,
and there came up afterwards four in its stead, towards the four
winds of the heavens.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
Daniel saw a male goat charging out of the
west so rapidly that its feet “touched not the ground.” The goat had a
prominent horn between its eyes and rushed headlong into the ram with great fury.
It cast the ram to the ground and broke both its horns. The ram was powerless
to resist.
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by Peter Neumann - Unsplash |
The goat is identified as the “king of
Greece” in the interpretation. Its prominent horn represents its “first
king,” who can be none other than Alexander the Great, the Macedonian
warlord who conquered the Persian Empire. At the height of its strength, the
prominent horn was broken and replaced by four “notable horns,” which
were aligned with the “four winds of heaven” (Daniel 11:1-4, 7:2,
Revelation 7:1-3).
There are conceptual links to the third beast
from Chapter 7, the leopard with the four wings that symbolized swift conquests.
Likewise, the goat moved so swiftly that its feet did not touch the ground.
Alexander conquered the entire Persian Empire within three years, an
astonishing feat, especially, considering the vast distances his army covered
on foot and horseback.
The leopard had four heads, just as the
prominent horn of the goat was broken and replaced by four “notable horns.”
(Daniel 8:9-14):
“And,
out of the first of them, came forth a little horn,—which became exceedingly great against the south and against
the east
and
against the beautiful land; yea it became great as far as the host of the
heavens,—and caused to fall to the earth some of the host and some of the stars and trampled them underfoot;
even
as far as the ruler of the host, shewed he his greatness,—and, because of him, was taken away the continual ascending-sacrifice,
and the place of the sanctuary was cast down; and a host was set over the continual ascending-sacrifice by transgression,—and
faithfulness was cast down to the ground, and so he acted with effect and succeeded.
Then heard I a certain holy one speaking,—and another holy one
said
to
that certain holy one who was speaking—
How long is the vision of the continual ascending-sacrifice as taken away
and the transgression which astoundeth, for both sanctuary and host to
be given over to be trampled underfoot?
And he said unto him,
Until two thousand and three hundred
evening-mornings,—then shall the sanctuary be vindicated.” – (From the Emphasized Bible).
The four “notable horns” replaced the prominent
one. From one of the four emerged a “little horn,” which “waxed great”
towards the south, the east, and the “glorious land.” It is a verbal
link to the “little horn” of the previous vision.
“The beauty” may mean
the “beautiful land,” though “land” is not present in the Hebrew text (See - Daniel
11:16, 11:41). It may refer to Mount Zion where the Sanctuary was situated.
The “little horn” waxed great against “the beauty…against the
host of heaven,” and it “removed the daily burnt-offering and cast down
the Sanctuary.” This describes an assault against the Temple and its
rituals, not Judea or the land of Palestine (Compare - Psalm 48:1-2, 50:2)..
The overthrow of the Sanctuary and assault
against the saints are described in mythological terms. The “little horn”
waxed great, even to “the host of heaven” - it cast down stars and “trampled
them underfoot.” These are additional links to the “little horn” of Chapter
7 where the horn “made war with the saints and prevailed against them…and
spoke words against the Most-High to wear out His saints” (Daniel 7:21-25).
The “little horn” exalted itself over against the “Prince of the Host.” Elsewhere in the Old Testament, Yahweh is the Lord of hosts, therefore, this designation probably refers to Him. That is, the “little horn” attempted to trespass on things that are God’s prerogative.
Then Daniel heard one angelic being ask, “How
long shall be the vision concerning the daily burnt-offering and the
transgression that desolates, to give both the Sanctuary and the host to be
trodden under foot?” This introduces a thematic phrase that links this vision
with the remaining visions of the book of Daniel - The “transgression”
or “abomination that desolates.” “Desolates” translates a
participle form of the Hebrew verb shamem, meaning, “desolate, make
desolate, devastate, appall” (Compare - Daniel 8:13, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11).
The question of the angel highlights the concern
of the vision: The removal of the daily burnt offering and its restoration. In
other words, the disruption of the sacrificial system and the desecration of
the Temple in Jerusalem.
The “little horn” is a malevolent
figure that acts wickedly, however, it does not do so of its own accord. Note the
first question: “How long is the vision…for both Sanctuary and host to be
given over to be trampled?” This implies a divine purpose in this event. The
Sanctuary is given to the “little horn” to be “trampled underfoot.”
In part, this is Divine judgment on the Sanctuary and the people of God (Daniel 7:20-22).
A second angel responded, “Until two
thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then will the Sanctuary be
cleansed.” The goal is stated - the cleansing of the Sanctuary. The
preposition rendered “until” confirms this profanation is according to a
divine decree. The attack of the “little horn” will end at a
predetermined time.
The Sanctuary will be vindicated and
restored, not destroyed, which points to divinely appointed judgment for a
specific period. The purpose is purgation and restoration, not
destruction. In the end, the “little horn” is “broken
without hand,” but the Sanctuary is to be restored (Daniel 8:25).
The expression, “evening-morning,” is
used in the creation story in Genesis to represent a full day.
Accordingly, some interpretations conclude 2,300 “literal” solar days are intended.
But the phrase has no conjunction between the two nouns; there is no “and,” the
two words form a single unit of measure, “evening-morning.” The
description in Genesis is fuller and more specific: “So it was
evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5-31).
The passage concerns the cessation of the
daily burnt offering, not the original creation. “Evening-morning” is
better explained by the context – it refers to the daily burnt-offering. In the
“law of the burnt offering,” sacrifices were laid on the altar “from
evening until morning” (Leviticus 6:8-18).
If this is the correct background, the two
thousand three hundred “evenings-mornings” equates to one thousand
eleven hundred and fifty days (1,150). The vision will be interpreted by an
angel in the last half of Chapter 8.
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