DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 8.3

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

Chapter Eight

The Ram, He-goat, and Little Horn

 

Prologue

God’s prophet Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams (2:17). While Daniel was in Babylonian captivity he recorded a dream and two visions of the same prophetic event. Chapter 8 documents a vision of Daniel during the third year of Belshazzar’s regency. Recall, that his second vision came in the first year of the King’s reign (7:5). And, the first was of a giant statue in a dream by Nebuchadnezzar (2:32).

 

Each predictive vision or dream was a different revelation from God for the prophet Daniel to interpret regarding the Times of the Gentiles, i.e., from Babylonian captivity to the Second Coming of Christ. Be assured, that God makes it a point to tell the same events three times through different images so the reader does not miss, discount, or diminish the significance of His prophetic word.

 

The Setting

Two years after his first vision, Daniel envisions himself being transported to the city of Shushan in the province of Elam (the area of modern Iran and Southern Iraq), and standing by the River Ulai. What the prophet witnessed were events that would befall 200 years after his time. Hence, fulfillment of prophecy is a testament to the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. 

 

 

1. The Revelation of the Vision (Vv. 1-2)

2. The Presentation of the Vision (Vv. 3-14)

 (Verse 3)

 

Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

 

A Ram

As Daniel was standing by the River Ulai he looked up and saw an unusual image of a two-horned ram. Notice, it was a single ram. But the common spectacle is to see a flock of sheep and several rams.

 

But in verse 3, the angel Gabriel (8:16) informed Daniel the ram with two horns was a representation of the kings of Media and Persia, Darius I and Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great) respectively. This would be in agreement with the lopsided bear (7:5) and the breast and arms of silver of Nebuchadnezzar’s figure (2:32).

 

The horned ram was a male sheep such as the one used by Abraham to replace Isaac as a sacrifice unto the Lord (cf. Genesis 22:13). The ram was also considered the guardian spirit of the Persian Empire. In addition, the image of a ram or goat’s head was adopted to be stamped on their silver coins. This practice was first introduced and used by the Persians.

 

Ancient Near East Astrology

One of the oldest religions, Zoroastrianism (a division between light and darkness), was that of ancient Persia founded by Zoroaster in the 6th century B.C. From this occultic practice, an astrological chart (the Zodiac) was obtained. The signs of the Zodiac essentially formed a celestial star coordinate system.

 

As earlier stated Babylonia divided their kingdom into provinces and categorized them according to the Zodiac. The province known as Elam, absorbed by Persia (now Iran), was under the sign of Aries which had the symbol of the ram.

 

A ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last

Characteristics of the Ram

1. The ram had two horns – this was symbolic of two rulers

 

2. The two horns were high – a high horn embodied great power

 

3. The one horn was higher than the other - its imagery states one ruler was stronger than the other

 

4. The higher horn came up last – signifying the superiority of Persia over Media. It is also an indication of the raised bear on one side of Daniel's first vision (7:5).

 

In 550 B.C. Cyrus the Great rebelled against the Medes and became the dominant power of the duel Empire. This occurred at the time when Daniel was prophesying.

 

Horns

Horns are symbolic of strength, power, and royalty. It was an ensign of kings and kingdoms in the Old Testament (cf. 1 Samuel 2:1, 10).

 

A fourth-century Roman historian, Ammianus Marcellinus writes that Persian kings first practiced wearing the head of a ram with big golden horns instead of diadems denoting arrogant might as they went into battle (see Psalm 75:4ff; 92:10; 112:9). This was considered their insignia.

 

Interestingly, the horn of a ram was used by the Hebrews for the shofar calling everyone to battle or worship. Also, the brazen sacrificial alter horns were sprinkled with blood by the priests, and the sacrificial animals were tied to its four corners (cf. Exodus 27:2; 38:2; Leviticus 4:17-18; Psalm 118:27).

 

 

(Verse 4)

 

I (Daniel) saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

 

The Persian Military

From 550 to 330 B.C., the Persians held military supremacy. Well over 2 million strong, their massiveness alone instilled fear in the enemy. The Greek historian Herodotus recounts much of their history. At the height of their power, they spread over three continents, Asia, Europe, and Africa.

 

Persian Military Strategy

This verse describes the exact expansion of the Persian army over 200 years in advance. The direction of attack was systematically fourfold:

1. Westward

To the west, Persia conquered Babylonia, and Asia Minor, including Thrace and the Macedonian Kingdoms

 

2. Northward

To the north, Persia conquered Colchis, Armenia, and Iberia

 

3. Southward

To the south, Persia conquered Palestine, Arabia, Egypt, and Ethiopia

 

4. Eastward  (not mentioned)

Persia was in the East and did not cross into the Far East, i.e., India and the Orient

 

So, the three directions of movement coordinated with the three ribs seen in the mouth of the bear in Daniel’s first vision (7:5). And, historically it matches the precise order when conquering the world. Significantly, in the days of Ahasuerus, the Persian Empire consisted of 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia, boundaries of the known world at that time (cf. Esther 1:1).

 

No beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand

Because of the consolidation and strength of his Empire:

1. No one was able to oppose Cyrus the Great

2. No one was able to escape from his control

 

He did according to his will and became great

Because of the acquired territories of Cyrus the Great:

1. He did anything and everything  that pleased him

2. He waxed great, I.e., he exalted himself by pride

 

 

(Verse 5)

 

And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

 

A He-goat

As Daniel was contemplating the ram aspect of his vision, another unusual animal came into view, the he-goat. Found in some translations, the he-goat is a young male goat, literally, the buck of the goats. Later, the angel Gabriel interprets the he-goat as a symbol for the king or kingdom of Greece:

Daniel 8:21a – And the rough goat is the [a] king[dom] of Grecia.

 

According to context, goats are symbolic of many things in the Bible. In the ancient history of Greece and Macedonia (a province of Greece), the goat was also the early symbol of the inhabitants (or goat peoples) of the isles and the land west surrounding the Aegean Sea.

 

Astrology

Capricorn, also an early symbol for Grecia and Macedonia, is derived from two Latin words, caper, referring to a goat, and cornus, meaning a horn. According to the zodiac, Capricorn is the tenth on the astrological chart, and the goat is its sign in the constellation.

 

Archaeology

Historical drawings discovered depict a one-horned goat as the emblem of ancient Greek armies. 

Greece

Greece in Hebrew is Javin (melek, Strong’s H4428), a grandson of Noah (cf. Genesis 10:2, 4; Isaiah 66:19). Greece and Macedonia, therefore, is the location of the descendants of Japheth.

 

Historically, about 200 years before Daniel's prophecy, much of Greece lay within the boundaries of the ancient Macedonian Kingdom. King Phillip II ruled this area from 359 until he died in 336 B.C.

 

Alexander the Great, Philip’s son, succeeded the throne as king at the early age of 20. Taking on his father’s dream, he defeated the Persians in 334, 333, and finally in 331 B.C.

 

He-goat Characteristics

Next, Daniel goes on to describe three features of this he-goat:

1. He came from the west

2. He touched not the ground

3. He had a notable horn between his eyes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

An he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth

From the west, Alexander’s army consisting of 35,000 men moved east to defeat the army of the Persian Empire which was well over two million strong.

 

And [the-he goat] touched not the ground

Touched not the ground is a Hebraic idiom. Without precedent, Alexander’s Greco-Macedonian army viciously swept across the Eastern Continent with incredible speed.

 

And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes

The word notable is translated as conspicuous, distinctive, powerful, or great. Gabriel identifies the notable horn in this fashion:

Daniel 8:21b - And the great horn that is between his eyes is the first [in rank a] king.

 

Notice there was only one horn and it was positioned between the goat’s eyes. The animal with one horn on its head is indicative of a unicorn, an infant constellation known as Monoceros in the Milky Way. So, the notable horn is understood to be the first king of the Macedonian Empire, Alexander the Great.

 

 

The narrative of Daniel’s dream continues in the next study as a great battle takes place between the ram and the he-goat.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. When did Daniel receive his second vision?

2. Who further interpreted the vision for Daniel?

3. What did the ram symbolize?

4. What were some of the ram’s characteristics?

5. What is the significance of horns in the Bible?

6. What were some of the characteristics of the he-goat?

7. What is the meaning of a notable horn?

 

 

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