Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ¹  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ²  It had two large rows ³  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

Daniel 8:8

8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns ⁴  in its place, ⁵  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ⁶ 

[7:7]  ¹ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ² sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ³ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[8:8]  ⁴ tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ⁵ sn The four conspicuous horns refer to Alexander’s successors. After his death, Alexander’s empire was divided up among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt.

[8:8]  ⁶ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.