Daniel’s Vision and Interpretation: Medo-Persia and Greece

The bold faced kingdoms are those that many think to represent the 3 ribs in the bear’s mouth of Dan. 7:5

  • Shushan (v.2) = Royal seat of Persia (Esther 1:2)
  • Province of Elam (v. 2) – this is next to Babylon
  • Ulai River (v.2) = surrounded the city of Shushan, or Susa (as it is also known as)
  • Ram with 2 horns (v.3) = Medo-Persian Empire (v.20)
    • 2 horns were high = great power and authority
    • One horn higher = Persia became a greater kingdom than the kingdom of the Medes
    • The higher one came up later = until Cyrus came, the Median Kingdom was greater.
  • Ram pushes 3 directions (v.4) = perhaps refers to 3 ribs of bear’s mouth (Dan. 7:5)
    • West = Babylon, Syria, Greece, Asia the Less
    • North = Lydians, Armenians, Scythians
    • South = Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt
  • Goat (v. 5) = Greece (v.21), the majestic kingdom (Prov. 30:31)
    • Notable horn = Alexander the Great was the first king of Greece when it became a monarchy (v.21)
    • Came from the west = Greece is west of Persia
    • Across surface of whole earth = it is said that Alexander the Great wept when he heard there was no more land he could conquer
    • Not touching ground = this may represent the swiftness with which Greece overran the world (less than 12 years), or it may indicate that he was so powerful that no one in the world was able to touch him 
  • Goat ran at ram with fury (v.6) = Greece attacked Persia
    • Great fury = Alexander the Great was very eager in attacking Persia, which he did in haste
  • Goat conquered ram (v.7) = Greece conquered Persia
    • Moved with rage = Alexander was enraged with Persia
      • The Persians attacked Greece earlier, they treated them cruelly, and tried to convince Alexander’s soldiers to betray him.
    • Broke his 2 horns = first victory of Alexander over Persia – at Granicus River
    • Cast him to the ground = second victory – at Issus
    • Trampled him = third, and final, victory – “fought near Arbela, or rather at Gaugamela in Assyria” (John Gill, The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible)
  • Large horn broken, four horns arise (v.8) = 4 kingdoms that will rise from that nation after the first king dies (v.22)
    • Large horn broken – In 323 B.C., Alexander died when he was around 32 or 33 years old.  His death is attributed either to drunkenness or poisoning.
    • Four horns rising towards the four winds – Greece was divided into 4 kingdoms
      • North – Lysimachus was king of Asia, to which belonged Thrace, Bithynia, and other places
      • East – Seleucus was king of Syria, and of the eastern countries
      • South – Ptolemy was king of Egypt, to which belonged Lybia, Palestine, Arabia, and Caelesyria.
      • West – Cassander was king of Macedonia and Greece.  
  • A little horn rises out of one of the 4 kingdoms (v.9) – A king will arise in one of these empires (v.23): “All agree that this was Antiochus Epiphanes (so he called himself)–the illustrious, but others called him Antiochus Epimanes—Antiochus the furious.” (Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary)  Antiochus began to reign in 175 B.C.
    • Little horn – At the start of his reign, it was doubtful whether he would even be the ruler.
    • Great toward the south – He had much success over Egypt (the south kingdom)
    • Toward the east – toward Armenia and Persia
    • Glorious Land = Promised Land (Ezek. 20:6,15).
      • Antiochus ruled Israel ferociously for a short time
  • Overpowered the stars of heaven (v.10) – Antiochus triumphs over the Israelites (see Gen. 37:9-10 and Dan. 12:3)
    • Trampled them – Israelites were killed in Antiochus’ rage towards them (see Dan. 11:33)
  • Exalted himself as high as the prince (v.11) – The prince may refer to: (1) the High Priest Onias who Antiochus forced out of his office, (2) Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the Jewish revolt, (3) God Himself (Dan. 8:25; 11:36)
  • Daily sacrifice taken away (v.11) – Antiochus caused it to be temporarily suspended (see 11:31)
  • Sanctuary cast down (v.11) – Temple was not destroyed, but was profaned and made useless.  Its holy vessels were taken away and the service abandoned; it even had the image of Jupiter set up in it
  • Because of transgression…(v.12) – Author of 1 Maccabees attributes the cause of this desolation to  “wicked men, who obtained permission of Antiochus to introduce heathen customs into Jerusalem,” (Albert Barnes, Barnes on the Old Testament).
    • Army that opposed daily sacrifice – “army” is same word as “host” in Dan. 8:10, thus, this probably refers to the Jewish people, either in the sense that some who were apostate helped Antiochus in opposing the daily sacrifice, or in the sense that “the conquest over the people, and the command respecting the daily sacrifice, were simultaneous.” (Barnes)
    • Cast truth to the ground – the true religion of God was cast down (compare Isa. 59:14)
    • He prospered – He had great success, no one opposing him for awhile
  • 2,300 evenings and mornings (vv.13-14) – this siege would last for 2,300 days
    • The ending point: the sanctuary was “cleansed” by Judas Maccabeus on Dec. 25, 165 B.C. (Prideaux qtd. in Barnes).
    • The starting point: reckoning backwards, we arrive at Aug. 5, 171 B.C.  During this year, Antiochus began his aggressions toward the Jews.
      • Others have fixed this period of time to different events, all of which roughly equal 2,300 days: (1) From the apostasy of the high priest, Menelaus, to the reestablishment of God’s true religion, (2) From neglecting the daily sacrifices due to influence of Greek customs to Antiochus’s death, (3) From Antiochus setting up an idol altar in place of God’s altar to a decided victory of the Jews over Antiochus.
  • Gabriel reveals the vision (v. 16) – On only 3 occasions in the Bible does Gabriel appear: (1) To reveal this vision, (2) To reveal the vision of Dan. 9, (3) To reveal Christ’s birth (Luke 1:19,26).
  • Time of end (v.17) – perhaps this refers to the time of the end of the Jewish church (Henry), yet also foretells the events of Antichrist and his fall upon Christ’s return, at the end of the world, of which Antiochus is a type for Antichrist (Gill, Jamieson, Faussett, Brown).
    • Other opinions: (1) The words should read “a time is the end of the vision”, thus showing the vision to have a set and fixed period (Gill), (2) These words simply are a prophetic phrase for the time of fulfillment (see Gen. 49:1; Num. 24:14) (Jamieson, Faussett, Brown), (3) This vision will only be understood at the end of these calamities (Henry), (4) This vision refers to the time of the end of the world as they know it and the end of the then current dispensation (see 1 Cor. 10:11; Heb. 1:2) (Barnes)   
  • The indignation (v.19) – Referring to the Jews’ apostasy and Antiochus’s conquest
    • At the appointed time will it end – after 2,300 days
  • The transgressors reach their fullness (v.23) – “when the degenerate Jews have filled up the measure of their iniquity, and are ripe for this destruction, so that God cannot in honour bear with them any longer then shall stand up this king” (Henry)
    • The king has fierce features – Antiochus had no shame or fear of God or man
    • Understands sinister schemes – Antiochus prevailed largely due to his schemes and deceptions (e.g. Dan. 11:21,23)
  • He will have a power that is not his own (v.24) – This could refer to God helping him (see Is. 42:24; Dan. 4:17), or the help he received from his allies and even from the Jews themselves
    • He will destroy the mighty – the mighty secular powers
    • And the holy people – the “stars” of v.10
  • He will prosper by deceit (v.25) – Antiochus destroyed many by professing “peace” where others did it by direct attacks
  • He will rise against the Prince of princes (v.25) – he spoke blasphemies against Him (Dan. 11:36), “profaned his [God’s] temple at Jerusalem, forbid his worship, persecuted and destroyed his people, and set up the image of Jupiter in his house” (Gill)
    • Broken without human means – In 160 B.C., Antiochus died of worms that began after he pledged to massacre Jerusalem, when the Jews had reinstated worship (see Usher’s Annals and 1 and 2 Maccabees)
  • The vision refers to many days in the future (v.26) – Daniel lived during the time of Nebuchadnezzar, which was more than 300 years before the events of this chapter
    • Daniel affirms that he lived in the time of Babylon and had this vision (e.g. Dan. 8:1)
    • Jesus confirms the authenticity of Daniel (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14)
    • Ezekiel, writing around the same time period, refers to Daniel (Eze. 14:14,20; 28:3)
    • The N.T. book of Hebrews authenticates the events of Daniel (see Heb. 11:33-34)
    • John’s Revelation references Daniel multiple times, implying it to be an authentic book inspired by God
    • Internal historic references affirm Daniel’s authenticity
      • He knows Belshazzar is not the highest in command, yet he reigned as king for a time in Babylon (Dan. 5:7)
        • Later historical evidence revealed that Belshazzar ruled in Babylon during the time of his father’s absence.
      • He knows that Syria was not a flourishing and established kingdom at the beginning of Persia’s rule, but, instead, became established much later
        • In Dan. 11, “The designation, ‘king of the north’ and ‘of the south,’ is given in relation to Judea, as the standpoint. Egypt [kingdom of the south] is mentioned by name (Da 11:8, 42), though Syria [kingdom of the north] is not; because the former was in Daniel’s time a flourishing kingdom, whereas Syria was then a mere dependency of Assyria and Babylon: an undesigned proof of the genuineness of the Book of Daniel.” (Jamieson, Faussett, Brown)
    • Josephus, a highly renowned Jewish historian, says that the book of Daniel was written and greatly esteemed before the time of Alexander the Great (c. 350 B.C.).
    • Prominent Jews in the era of Antiochus (the Maccabbean Era) speak of Daniel as authentic.
    • If the book of Daniel was written by someone else claiming to be him, the Jews’ mass acceptance of this book would be unlikely to happen in light of their high regard for Scripture.