Daniel 8:5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Daniel 8:1-14

Here is, I. The date of this vision, Dan. 8:1. It was in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, which proved to be his last year, as many reckon; so that this chapter also should be, in order of time, before the fifth. That Daniel might not be surprised at the destruction of Babylon, now at hand, God gives him a foresight of the destruction of other kingdoms hereafter, which in their day had been as potent as that of Babylon. Could we foresee the changes that shall be hereafter, when we... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 8:5

And as I was considering ,.... The ram, and the strange things done by him; wondering that a creature of so little strength, comparatively with other beasts, should be able to do such exploits: and thinking with himself what should be the meaning of all this, and what would be the issue of it, behold, an he goat came from the west ; which is interpreted of the king or kingdom of Grecia, which lay to the west of Persia; and a kingdom may be said to do what one of its kings did;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Daniel 8:5

Behold, a he-goat - This was Alexander the Great; and a goat was a very proper symbol of the Grecian or Macedonian people. Bp. Newton very properly observes that, two hundred years before the time of Daniel, they were called Aegeadae, the goats' people; the origin of which name is said to be as follows: Caranus, their first king, going with a multitude of Greeks to seek a new habitation in Macedonia, was advised by an oracle to take the goats for his guides; and afterwards, seeing a herd of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Daniel 8:5

Verse 5 Here another change is shown to the Prophet, namely, Alexander’s coming to the east and acquiring. for himself the mighty sway of the Persians, as afterwards happened. With the view, then, of procuring confidence for his prediction, he says, he was attentive He doubtless dwells upon the reverence with which he received the vision to exhort us to the pursuit of piety, and also to modesty and attention. The Prophet, therefore, was not carried away in imagination by a dream which could be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 8:1-12

The temporary triumph of violence. The good use of God's revelation leads to the impartation of further and clearer revelation. "To those who have, it shall be given." The former vision had well exercised Daniel's mind; now a more minute vision is vouchsafed. In the improvement of character is piety's reward. I. GOD 'S GOOD GIFTS ARE DESPISED BY THE CARNAL AMBITION OF MEN . Lands, cities, palaces, extensive provinces, all fail to satisfy the man in whose breast... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 8:1-14

The triumph of evil. I. THE DARK SIDE OF THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL . Evil is sometimes not only powerful, but ascendant and dominant, apparently sweeping all before it. 1 . Evil is destructive. Kingdoms under the sway of evil become mutually destructive. The successive visions of the world-empires represent them with increasingly destructive characteristics. The first brings before us a monstrous image of incongruous elements, but with a certain unity and peaceful relation of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 8:1-27

EXPOSITION THE RAM AND THE HE - GOAT This chapter marks the change from Aramaic to Hebrew. The character of the chapter is like that which immediately precedes it. It consists, like it, of the account of a vision, and the interpretation of it. The subject of this vision is the overthrow of the Persian monarchy by Alexander the Great, the division of his empire, and the oppression of Israel by Epiphanes. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 8:2-15

Modes of supersensual vision. "I saw in a vision" ( Daniel 8:2 ); "Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint" ( Daniel 8:13 ); "Behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man" ( Daniel 8:15 ). Of the next vision, the time should be noted—two years after the last, Belshazzar still living; and the place , viz. Shushan. Daniel seems not to have been there in reality, but only in vision. So Ezekiel from Babylon was "brought in the visions of God to Jerusalem." This... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 8:3-22

Two world-empires. "The ram which thou sawest," etc. ( Daniel 8:20 , Daniel 8:21 ). The only way in which the substance of the vision can be legitimately treated seems to us the expository. But be it remembered that the exposition of a chapter like this is really an explication of the gradual unfolding of a part of the history of the kingdom of God antecedent to the Incarnation. We set up here simply directing-posts to mark the way. Note particularly the partial character of this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 8:5

And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched net the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. The Septuagint, when completed from Paulus Tellensis, agrees in the main with the Massoretic, omitting only "whole" before "earth." The Christian MS . omits the clause, "and touched the ground," but it is in Paulus Tellensis. As I was considering. "Was" is here used much as an auxiliary verb—an Aramaic usage.... read more

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