Daniel 8:12

And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression,.... Which some interpret of a garrison of soldiers placed by Antiochus, through his sin and wickedness, to hinder the

And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

By reason of transgression, i.e. either the transgression of the priests, for Jason perfidiously took away the priesthood from his brother Onias, and afterwards Menelaus did the like by him. Or else for the sin of the people about the worship of God. Or else Antiochus wickedly and in contempt of God put soldiers into the city to hinder or break up the meetings of God’ s people about his worship, /APC . It cast down the truth, i.e. the law of God, called the law of truth, , which Antiochus cut in pieces and burnt, /APC . This was his practice, and it succeeded for a time as he desired.

Daniel 8:12 And an host was given [him] against the daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.Ver. 12. And an host was given him.] Or, The host was given over, for the transgression against the daily sacrifice. The Jews were grown to a great height of profaneness, even in Malachi’ s days, as is to be seen Malachi 1:1-14; Malachi 2:1-17; Malachi 3:1-15, and by this time, doubtless, they were become much worse; God therefore, for punishment, turned this tiger loose upon them. And it cast down the truth to the ground.] The doctrine of truth, together with the professors thereof. The like whereunto is still done by the Romish antichrist, to whom some apply all this part of the chapter as the proper and genuine sense of the text. See the visions and prophecies of Daniel expounded by Mr Thomas Parker of Newbery, in New England, pp. 43, 44, &c. And it practised, and prospered.] Wicked practices against religion may prosper for the time. It was therefore no good argument that the Earl of Derby used to George Marsh, martyr, telling him that the Dukes of Northumberland and of Suffolk, and other of the new persuasion, had ill luck, and were either put to death, or in danger so to be. And again, he rehearsed unto him the good hap of the queen’ s highness, and of those that held with her, and said that the Duke of Northumberland confessed so plainly. Acts and Mon., 1421.

(12) An host . . .—The host is apparently the same as that which is mentioned in Daniel 8:10, and means some of the Jewish people. It is known that some of them lapsed under the persecutions of Antiochus, and joined in his idolatrous rites. These apostates were given into his hand, and on account of their apostasy the daily sacrifice also was taken away. (Comp. Daniel 8:13.) The truth—i.e., the word of God, as appears from 1Ma 1:43-52; 1Ma 1:56; 1Ma 1:60.

Verse 12. And a host was given him] That is, power; or perhaps the host of heaven - the priesthood - the whole sacrificial system, by reason of transgression. They had filled up the measure of their iniquities, in rejecting the Lord that bought them; and the daily sacrifice, being no longer of use, was given up with the rest to destruction. Cast down the truth] Probably the whole Jewish ritual and religion. Practised, and prospered.] Prosperity or success followed all their acts.

12. And a host, &c.] The first part of this verse is difficult and uncertain; but the most natural rendering is, ‘And a host was appointed [or, a warfare (Isaiah 40:2) was undertaken] against[324] the continual (burnt-offering), with transgression (i.e. wickedly).’ The allusion, with this rendering, will be to the violent measures adopted by Antiochus for the purpose of suppressing the sacred rites of the Jews—in particular, perhaps, to the armed garrison established by him in the ‘city of David’ with the object of overawing the worshippers, which remained there for many years (1Ma 1:33-38; cf. 8:51, 1Ma 2:15; 1Ma 2:31 f., 1Ma 4:41). R.V. has ‘And the host [better, with Meinhold, Keil, &c. an host]—i.e. an army of Israelites, the figure of Dan 8:10-11 being kept up—was given over to it (i.e. into the power of the horn) together with the continual (burnt-offering) through transgression (i.e. on account of the apostasy of the Hellenizing Jews): this has the advantage of taking ‘host,’ ‘give’ (i.e. give up, abandon[325]), and ‘transgression,’ in the same senses as in Daniel 8:13; but the rendering together with is not here very natural. [324] A.V. and the first marg. of R.V. do not differ in general sense; but ‘was appointed’ (absolutely) is better than ‘was given (to it).’ The 2nd marg. of R.V. renders (nearly as Ewald) ‘was set over the continual (burnt-offering)’—viz. to lay compulsion upon it, or to suppress it—also with no difference in the general sense. For the rendering appoint (or set) see 2 Chronicles 20:22, Nehemiah 9:17; and with over, 2 Chronicles 32:6, Nehemiah 9:37. [325] In Heb. to give may mean, according to the context, either to set, place (as Genesis 1:17, and frequently), or to give over, deliver (Deuteronomy 1:27, &c.), and abs. (though this usage is rare) to give up, abandon, Numbers 21:3; 1 Kings 14:16; Micah 5:3; Daniel 11:6.and it cast down truth to the ground] i.e. overthrew the true religion. ‘Truth’ is commonly used in Heb. subjectively of a moral quality; but here it denotes that which is true objectively, a body of true principles, i.e. true religion. So Daniel 9:13, Psalms 25:5. As pointed, the verb ‘and it cast down’ ought strictly to be construed as a future; but the rest of the description is in the past time; and probably the punctuation should be altered accordingly. The other two verbs in the verse may denote either future or past time; they must be rendered, therefore, so as to agree with the tense of ‘cast down.’ and it did, and prospered] cf. Daniel 8:24. ‘Did’ is used in a pregnant sense, acted (viz. with effect), carried through his purpose; hence R.V. ‘did (its pleasure)’. Cf. 2 Chronicles 31:21 ‘And in every work that he began …, he did (i.e. acted) with all his heart, and prospered;’ also the absolute use of ‘do’ of God, Psalms 22:31; Psalms 52:9 (there is no ‘it’ in the Heb.), Psalms 37:5 (lit. ‘and he will do’). Comp. ch. Daniel 11:28; Daniel 11:30; Daniel 11:32.

And a host was given him - The Vulgate renders this, “and strength - robur - was given him, etc.” Theodotion, “and sin was permitted - ἐδόθη edothē - against the sacrifice; and this righteousness

11, 12. The R.V. translates these difficult verses: “Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.