Daniel 8

• The author probably changes back to Hebrew because he focuses again (as with Daniel 1:1–2:4a) on the holy people, Israel, for the rest of the book.

• The third year of King Belshazzar’s reign was around 554 to 551 BC. This was about two years after the vision in Daniel 7 and over a decade before Babylon fell in 539 BC (Daniel 5:31).

This vision builds on the vision in Daniel 7, developing additional symbolism regarding the second and third beasts (Daniel 7:5–6). It describes a small horn that comes from the goat, similar to the "little horn" in Daniel 7:8, 20–25; the "prince" in 9:26–27; and the "despicable person" in 11:21–45.

• Susa was located in the lowlands southwest of the Zagros Mountains. It was one of Persia’s capital cities (compare Ezra 4:9; Nehemiah 1:1; Esther 1:2). Susa was a fortified capital with architecture decorated with glazed images of griffins (creatures with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle), winged bulls, and lions.

• The Ulai River was likely a human-made canal.

• Two long horns suggest there were two major nations in this kingdom, represented by a ram (see Daniel 8:20–21).

• God allowed the nation to act freely, but God remained in control (compare Isaiah 45:1–4).

Daniel 8:21–25 explains the symbolism.

The heavenly army might mean either:

1. actual divine beings, because the "small horn" tried to destroy Israel's religion, which God protected with His watchful eye and armies; and/or

2. the human defenders of Israel who fought for God's holy people and the temple. These events affected both the physical and spiritual realms.

• God commands heaven’s army (compare Joshua 5:13–15; 1 Samuel 4:4; 1 Kings 22:19). Daily sacrifices were offered to God in his temple, where his name dwelled, and Israel worshiped their King (Isaiah 18:7; Ezekiel 43:6–7).

• overthrew: The religious function of the temple was stopped.

• God restrained the heavenly army for reasons only he knows.

• The truth of God’s law, shown in true worship, was also overthrown (literally cast down).

• How long: God’s people were called to endure this difficult time until it ended.

• about the 2,300 evenings and mornings: This could either mean a period of 1,150 days (1,150 evenings and 1,150 mornings, about three and a half years) or 2,300 days (about seven years). These times match important events in history:

  • In 171 BC, Antiochus IV removed Onias III from his position as high priest.

  • In December 167 BC, he treated the temple with disrespect and offered unclean sacrifices.

  • In December 164 BC, the temple and the altar were cleansed and used again for proper worship. This was seven years after Onias lost his position, and just over three years after the temple was made unclean (see 1 Maccabees 1:54; 4:52–53; 2 Maccabees 10:5).

• The temple would then be made right for its proper religious use. It would not be rebuilt physically (see 8:11–12; study note on 8:26).

The name Gabriel means "man of God." He appeared as a man to Daniel (see also Daniel 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26).

Son of man means "human being," in contrast to a divine being, “a son of the gods” (compare Daniel 7:13; see, for example, Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8).

the appointed time of the end: There is a set time for history to conclude.

These verses explain the vision from Daniel 8:3–14.

The smaller horn represents Media, an independent kingdom starting in 670 BC. The larger horn represents Persia, which controlled Media during Cyrus’s reign (see Daniel 7:5).

• The large horn represents Alexander the Great, the mighty first king who established the Greek Empire. Two centuries after Daniel, Alexander quickly conquered the world (Daniel 8:5). He defeated Persia in 331 BC. Alexander died in 323 BC when he was 33 years old. But not before he allowed people to call him a god.

• Josephus records that some Jewish priests showed the book of Daniel to Alexander. However, Alexander treated Homer’s Iliad as his sacred book and relied on it for guidance.

After Alexander died in 323 BC, his kingdom was divided into four major kingdoms. His generals ruled these kingdoms (see “The Greeks” Profile).

The little horn (Daniel 8:9) was a fierce king. This description fits Antiochus IV, who was a ruler from the Seleucid dynasty from 175 to 163 BC (compare Daniel 11:21–45). He called himself "Epiphanes," which means "The Manifest Presence [of God]." But many people, including Jews, mockingly called him "Epimanes," which means "Mad Man."

By desecrating the temple and Jewish worship (Daniel 8:11–12), Antiochus tried to destroy Judaism and unify his kingdom under Hellenistic culture. Some Jews were influenced by Hellenism and adopted Greek customs.

• His power … will not be his own: God stayed in control of the events that led Antiochus IV to power.

• terrible destruction: See 1 Maccabees 1:10–63, which describes many of the evils that Antiochus IV caused.

• The Prince of princes is the king of Israel, the ruler of heaven and earth (Daniel 7:9–10, 13–14). At the time of his death, Antiochus exalted himself as God and aimed to destroy Jerusalem.

• he will be broken: Just as Antiochus IV rose to power not by his own strength (Daniel 8:24), he was destroyed by God's hand, not by human power. He met his end by being eaten by worms (1 Maccabees 6:7–16 and 2 Maccabees 9:4–28; compare Herod Agrippa, Acts 12:20–23).

seal up the vision: It would have been unwise for Daniel to share this vision at that time during Belshazzar’s reign. Sharing it might have looked like Daniel was planning to rebel or betray the king.