Daniel 8

Daniel 8:1-14

In this chapter we have, 1. The vision of the ram, and the he-goat, and the little horn that should fight and prevail against the people of God for a certain limited time, vers. 1-14. 2. The interpretation of this vision by an angel, vers. 15-27.

1. IN the third year of the reign of king Belthazaar, a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me: at the first. 2. And I saw in a vision (and it came to pafs when I saw, that I was at Shufan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam) and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. 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. 4. I saw the ram: pushing well-ward, and north-ward, and south-ward: so that no beaft 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. 5. And as I was confidently behold, an he-goat came from the well, on the face of the whole earth, and a touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choke against him, and fmote the ram, and brake his two horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great, and when he was strong, the great horn was broken: and for it came up four notable ones, towards the four winds of heaven. 9. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the fourth, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. 10. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host, and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. 11. Yes, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 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. 13. Then I heard one faint speaking, and another faint said unto that certain faint which foke, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of defolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14. And he said unto me, unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

2. Chap. vii.

Johns Chath. 9. 1—14. This second vision is dated in the third year of Bethesda’s reign. The scene is laid in Shuffan, which was one of the royal palaces of the kings of Persia by the river Ulai. Daniel was now in Babylon; but he seemed to be there, near the monarch whom the vision chiefly concerned.

1. He saw a ram, the emblem of the second monarchy, having two very high horns, the nations of Medes and Persians, and one horn, which rose the laft, was higher than the other, the Persians under Cyrus taking the lead, though at first inferior to the Medes. This animal seemed to puffs himself, westward, northward, and southward, extending his conquests on every side, none of the nations being able to stand before him; so that he did as he pleased, and became great, rose to universal empire. But such is the perishing nature of all fashunary things, that the fields of corruption and ruin are ripening when a nation’s outward prosperity seems most established; for,

2. A he-gust attacks and overcome the ram. This represents the Grecian monarchy under Alexander: he came from the west, from Macedon, on the face of the whole earth, sweeping it with his victorious arms, and weeping, it is said, that he had not another world to conquer: and he touched not the ground; so rapid were his marches, that he rather seemed to do than walk: and the gun had a notable horn between his gun, descriptive of Alexander, the first founder of the monarchy; so eminent a conqueror, so sagacious a general, and attended by his father’s wild counselors. He came to the ram with two horns, the Persian monarch Darius Codomannus, then in possession of the kingdom, and ran unto him in the fury of his power, eager to engage, and furious in the attack he made; highly exasperated by the mottage of contempt Darius had first him, he came also to the ram, joined battle with him and smote him in three general engagements, at the Granicus, at Illius, and Arbela, and broke his ram horns, overthrew his armies, and so entirely destroyed the force of the Persian empire, that there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he could not be the ground and flumped upon him, quite subdued the whole kingdom of Persia; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand, but allies all falling with him. Thus the he-gust waxed very great; the Grecian monarchy being established through the greatest part of the then known world.

3. In this flourishing state of the new empire, a sudden stroke divides it into four parts. The great horn was broken: Alexanders, at thirty two or three years of age, was cut off suddenly, by a drunken debauch, as some say; or by poison, as others; and for it, in his room, came up four notable ones, his four captains, who divided his dominions among them, see chap. vii. 6. towards the four winds; Syria lying eastward, Macedonia to the west, left Asia to the north, and Egypt to the south. Note, Many take great pains, whilst others reap the fruit of their labours.

4. The principal thing intended in the vision, as what more immediately concerned the Jewish people, is the little horn coming out of one of these kingdoms, Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria, who had been a hostage at Rome, and, making his escape, seized the throne, in prejudice of his older brother’s son. He waxed exceeding great toward the south, subduing part of Egypt, and, but for the interposition of the Romans, would have vanquished the whole; and toward the east, invading Armenia and Persia, with the countries beyond the Euphrates, see 1 Mac. iii. 31. vi. 42. and toward the pirates’ land of Judea, which he ravaged; and it waxed great, even to the east of heaven, the people of God, his church militant on earth; and it could do so some of the best, and of the stars, to the ground, and flumped on them, perplexing some of them unto death, even the most eminent, as Ikezar and the seven brethren, 2 Mac. vi. 7. and prevailing on others, by threatenings, tortures, or flatteries, to overcome their holy profession. Yet, he magnified himself in the prince of the best, disposing of the king’s, and abounding his worship; and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, the altar being destroyed; and the place of his sanctuary was cast down; though the temple was not demolished, it was so profaned and plundered that the service utterly ceased, 1 Mac. i. 22. iii. 45—52. And an oath was given him against the daily sacrifice, a watch being set to prevent it, or a number of apostates joining him to abolish the worship of God: or it may be rendered, the oath was delivered into his hands, because of the other people against the daily sacrifice, God punishing the Jewish people for their sins, and giving them into the hands of this enemy; so that he cast the oath in the ground, destroying all the sacred writings he could seize; and he practised and proposed, being the rod of God’s indignation. Note, (1.) If God’s people suffer, their sins are surely the cause. (2.) The wicked persecutor can have no power but what the Lord permits, and therefore we are to acknowledge God’s hand in all the church’s calamities. (3.) They who flight or abude the privilege of the sanctuary, which they enjoy, justly deserve to be deprived of them.

5. The time limited for the expiration of this tyranny is intimated. Then I heard one faint freaking, the subject of his discourse being probably this vision; and another faint said unto

that certain faint that flakes, or unto Palmini that flakes, to him who hath all fevers numbered, as the word is by some translated, the Lord Jesus, to whom we must apply it we would know the mind of God. The question put was, how long the daily sacrifice should be interrupted, the transgression of defecation, the image of Jupiter, stand in the holy place, the sanctuary and oath be treated under feet? The answer is, unto 2800 days, being six years, three months, and eighteen days, which some compare from the 15th of the month Cifreu, in the 145th year of the Seleucid, when the abomination was set up, 1 Mac. i. 57. to the victory obtained by Judas Maccabeus over Nicanor, Antiochus’s general, on the 13th of Athe, 151, which is just 2500. Others begin from the defection of Menelaus in 141. to the purifying the altar by Judas Maccabeus on the 25th of Cifreu, 148. see 1 Mac. iv. 52. The time of the sufferings of God’s people may be long, and the trial severe; but the issue is certain, they shall have peace at the last: let them only with faith and patience wait for it.

15. ¶ And it came to pass when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and ’tough for the meaning, then behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16. And I heard a man’s voice ‘between the hands of Ulai, which called, and said, ‘Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. 17. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and ‘fell upon my face: but he laid unto me, Understand, O son of man; for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 18. ‘Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but ‘he touched me, and set me upright. 19. And ‘he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for ‘at the time appointed the end shall be. 20. ‘The ram which thou sawest having two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia. 21. And ’the rough goat is the king of Grecia, and the great horn that is between his eyes,’ is the first king. 22. ‘Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, ‘four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. 23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, ‘when the transgression are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark features, shall stand up. 24. And his power shall be mighty, ‘but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, ‘and shall prosper and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand, and ‘he shall magnify himself in his heart,’ and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the prince of princes, but ‘he shall be broken without hand. 26. And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, ‘is true, ‘wherefore shut thou up the vision, for it shall be for many days. 27. ‘And I Daniel fainted and was five certain days; afterward I rose up, ‘and did the king’s business, and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

16. 15—27. The vision he had seen excised in the prophet a great desire to know the meaning of it; and whilst in his own mind he pondered what he had seen and heard, God graciously orders one of his angels to explain the particulars to him. Note, When, in God’s appointed ways, we are earnestly desiring to know his mind and will, he will enlighten our minds, and lead us in the right way. We have,

17. The deep impression made on Daniel by the approach of the heavenly messenger. Overpowered with his glory, he trembled, and fell at his feet as in a swoon, and a deep sleep came upon him, v. 18. The spirit is sometimes willing, when the flesh is weak.

18. The angel gently raises him from the dust, and sets him on his feet, bidding him attend to and understand the explication he was about to give concerning what shall be in the last end of the indignation; for at the time of the end shall be the vision, or the end of the vision is for a time, fixed by the divine decree, when the troubles of God’s people should cast, and his indignation be removed from them, at the time appointed. Note, All the sufferings of God’s people have their bounds and limits, and by faith and patience they shall be enabled with comfort to see their end.

19. He gives the interpretation of the vision, mentioned before, v. 3—14. The ram represents the kings of Media and Persia; the he-gust the Grecian empire; the great horn Alexander; the four horns the captains who divided his dominions, who were not at all equal to him in power and greatness. On the decline of the Grecian empire, a king would arise in the kingdom of Syria, whose character and exploits are more largely insisted up-

on Before Chief

on, as they more nearly concerned the people of Israel, whose transcriptions being come to the fact, God would raise up this concept to punish them. He is represented as a king of fierce countenance, saving and benefit, neither leaving God or man; and understanding dark sentences, crafty, politic, and of consummate dissimulation; and his power shall be mighty, raised to the throne of Syria; but not by his own power, being supported by Eumenes king of Pergamus, and Attalus his brother, in his usurpation; he shall destroy wonderfully, making a dreadful havoc among the mighty, the Egyptians, whom he invaded, and the holy people the Jews, who were such by profession, whom he harrassed dreadfully; and God suffers him to prosper and practise. Craft is his grand engine, and by policy he shall succeed; thus he robbed his nephew of his kingdoms, and under pretence of friendship seized upon Egypt: and he shall magnify himself in his heart, be filled with pride on his success; and by peace shall destroy many, under the cloak of treaties and specious professions, he shall encroach on his neighbours, as he did in Egypt and Judea; or in peace, surprising them by an unprepared and unexpected attack in the midst of profound security. And he shall stand up against the Prince of prisons, the most high God, eroding an idol in his temple, and putting a flop to his worship; but he shall be broken without hand, not by any outward enemy, but by the secret hand of God, who struck him with a disease in his bowels; and in his body the worms bred so fall, that his flesh rotted on him, and the stench was intolerable, 1. Mar. vi. 8. 2. Mar. ix. 5—9. So that he died a dreadful monument of divine vengeance; confessing, it is said, the judgment of God, and swearing himself unqualified. And the vision of the evasion and of the morning, the 2300 days, v. 14. is true, so long the sanctuary shall be defiled: wherefore that thou up the vision from the Chaldeans, whose ruin approached; or the Persian, whose destruction would in its feaion follow; for it shall be for many days, it being upwards of three hundred years from the time of the prophecy, to the death of Antiochus. Note, (1.) Whatever God decrees, though the fulfilment be distant, it is sure. (2.) They who magnify themselves against God, shall by death be made to know they are but men.

Luffy, The vision left a deep impression upon him. He fainted on the view of the terrible sufferings his people were to measure, and he was sick certain days, could not recover from the distress into which the vision had thrown him. Afterwards I rose up, from his bed, to which he had been confined, and did the king’s business, according to the duty of his place; and I was astonished at the vision, at the awful contents of it, but none understood it; he either kept the whole quite a secret, or if he told the vision, he mentioned not the interpretation, shutting it up as he was commanded. Note, (1.) The distress of God’s people cannot but deeply affect every gracious soul. (2.) Our grief must never be so inordinate as to disable us from the duties of our Nation.

Daniel 8:5-20

8 Vei. 4 v. 4 v. Or, much uprightable, occupied condition. § Heb. His reproach. Bibl. 4 v. 5. 8 Vei. 10. 5 v. Or, place, Vae. 4 v. Heb. One that preach to medlinto pall over.

5. ¶ And the king of the South shall be strong, and one of his princes, and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion: his dominion shall be a great dominion. 6. And in the end of years they shall be join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the South shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm, neither shall be stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and the that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. 7. But out of a branch of her root shall see stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: 8. And shall also carry captives into Egypt: their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. 9. So the king of the South shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. 10. But his sons are not to be a great man, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, * even to his fortress. 11. And the king of the South shall be moved with chaser, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand. 12. And when he hath taken away the multitude his heart shall be lifted up, and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it. 13. For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come (after certain years) with a great army and with much riches. 14. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the South: also the robbers of the people shall exalt themselves to establish the vishou, but they shall fall. 15. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, * and take the most fenced cities, and the arms of the South shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. 16. But he that cometh against him, * shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. 17. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him: thus shall he do, and he shall give him the daughter of women corrupting her: but she shall not stand as his fate, neither he for him. 18. After this shall be turn his face unto the iftes, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. 19. Then he shall turn his face towards the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, * and not be found: so. Then shall stand up in his estate * a raise of taxes in the glory of the kingdom; but within

few days he shall be destroyed, neither in danger, nor in battle.

The angel proceeds with the account of those events in two of these divided kingdoms, with which the people of the Jews were more nearly concerned. He foretells,

1. That two kingdoms shall arise: The king of the South, Ptolemy Lagoa, shall be strong, reigning over Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, Ethiopia, Arabia, Phamucas, Coelo-Syria, Cyprus, several islands in the Ægean Sea, and divers cities in Greece; and one of his princes, of Alexander’s captains, Seleucus Nicanor, or the conqueror, the king of Syria, shall be strong above him, being the most powerful of the successors of Alexander, and possessing the largest dominions. By these two kingdoms the Jewish people were by turns miserably harassed.

2. An attempt should be made, after some years, to unite these kingdoms by marriage: Antiochus Theos, the third king of Syria, marrying Berence, the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphaus, in order thereby to put an end to the wars, wherewith the two kingdoms had been harassed; but the design would prove abortive; the shall not refuse the power of his arm: on the death of her father, Antiochus dismissed Berence, and took his former wife Laodice, whom he had divorced; neither shall be found, nor his arm; Laodice getting Antiochus poisoned, and Berence, with all her Egyptian attendants, and her infant son, whom she brought forth, as it is in the margin, instead of him that begat her, being given up to Callimicus, Laodice’s son, were murdered, and he that strengthened her in these times; her brother, who set out to her assistance, came too late.

3. A war hereupon will ensue. A branch from the same root, Ptolemy Evergents, Berence’s brother, to reemerg his sister’s death, shall invade Syria, defeat Callimicus, seize his fortresses, plunder his country, and return laden with prisoners and spoil into Egypt; whether he was recalled by a sedition, which prevented him from entirely subduing the kingdom of the Seleucidæ. He should continue longer than the king of the north, surviving him, as Dr. Prideaux remarks, about four years.

4. The sons of Seleucus Callimicus, Ceraunus and Antiochus, shall raise a vast army to recover what their father had lost: and one of them, Antiochus, whose brother was murdered or poisoned, having now the sole command, marched his army against the king of Egypt, bearing down at full all before him; overrunning Coelo-Syria, and part of Arabia, and laying siege to the fortress of Raphia on his return, v. 10. There the king of Egypt, exasperated by his ravages, met him with his army. The forces of both the combatants, according to Polybius, were prodigious, and a bloody battle was fought; in which the army of Antiochus was utterly routed, and vast multitudes slain and taken prisoners, v. 11. Elated with this victory, the Egyptian monarch’s heart was filled with pride, and forcing his way into the temple, he offered sacrifice in the hoffelf of all for his success. But though he had cast down so many thousands, he was not strengthened by it; neglecting to improve his advantages, and returning in security to the enjoyment of his pleasures, v. 12. Dying about fourteen years after, Antiochus took advantage of the minority of his infant son Ptolemy Egyptians, and sailing a larger army than before, and collecting vast wealth, invaded the kingdom of Egypt, v. 13. and was succeeded in the attempt by many powerful allies: among the rest a lawless band of Jewish bandits, taking advantage of the feeble state of Egypt, fought to establish the vishou, and help forward its accomplishment by their cometh, but they shall fall. Some interpret this of the apostates, who had joined the king of Egypt, but were cut off by Antiochus when he took Jerusalem, v. 14. Advancing with his army, the king of Syria befuged and took the fenced cities of Phamucas and Coelo-Syria; and after defeating Scopus, the Egyptian general, Ptolemy was unable to make head against him, v. 15. But at his will the conqueror ravaged the country without opposition, and the Jews voluntarily submitting, he stood in the glorious land, which his numerous forces cut up and confessed; or, by his hand it was perfected; they being taken under his protection, and on account of their ready surrender, obtaining many privileges, v. 16. Pushing on his ambitious designs, he purported outing Egypt with all his forces; among which were many Jews, the upright ones: and under a pretence of alliance, giving his beautiful daughter Cleopatra in marriage to Ptolemy, he thought by corrupting her to induce her to betray her husband; but his poileaks deceived him, for the took part with her husband, and disappointed his hopes, v. 17. Hereupon he turned his arms to the iftes in the Ægean Sea; many of which he took. But the Romans, whom he inflicted by invading their allies, and treating their ambassadors with contempt, shopped his cause, and after many shameful defeats, obliged him to quit Lesser Asia, pay all the expenses of the war, and give his own son for an hostage. Thus the reproach he had cast on them, was turned upon himself, v. 18. Resting now to his own land, probably to Antioch, his capital, he set himself to collect the money, stipulated by treaty to be paid to the Romans; in order to which, he attempted to rob