Daniel 8:4

8:4 I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal ¹  was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. ²  It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly. ³ 

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ⁴  and struck it ⁵  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ⁶  The goat hurled the ram ⁷  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ⁸ 

[8:4]  ¹ tn Or “beast” (NAB).

[8:4]  ² tn Heb “hand.” So also in v. 7.

[8:4]  ³ tn In the Hiphil the Hebrew verb גָּדַל (gadal, “to make great; to magnify”) can have either a positive or a negative sense. For the former, used especially of God, see Ps 126:2, 3; Joel 2:21. In this chapter (8:4, 8, 11, 25) the word has a pejorative sense, describing the self-glorification of this king. The sense seems to be that of vainly assuming one’s own superiority through deliberate hubris.

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ⁸ sn The goat of Daniel’s vision represents Greece; the large horn represents Alexander the Great. The ram stands for Media-Persia. Alexander’s rapid conquest of the Persians involved three battles of major significance which he won against overwhelming odds: Granicus (334 B.C.), Isus (333 B.C.), and Gaugemela (331 B.C.).