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 7:19

7:19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning ⁴  of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.

Daniel 8:4

8:4 I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal ⁵  was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. ⁶  It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly. ⁷ 

Daniel 8:25

8:25 By his treachery ⁸  he will succeed through deceit. ⁹  He will have an arrogant attitude, ¹⁰  and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. ¹¹  He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart – but not by human agency. ¹² 

[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.

[7:19]  ⁴ tn Aram “to make certain.”

[8:4]  ⁵ tn Or “beast” (NAB).

[8:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “hand.” So also in v. 7.

[8:4]  ⁷ 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.

[8:25]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term has a primary meaning of “skill, insight,” but here it has the connotation “cunning, treachery.” See BDB 968 s.v. שֵׂכֶל, שֶׂכֶל.

[8:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”

[8:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”

[8:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in peace.” The Hebrew word used here is difficult. It may refer to the security felt by those who did not realize the danger of imminent attack, or it may refer to the condition of being unaware of the impending danger. The latter idea is reflected in the present translation. See further, BDB 1017 s.v. שַׁלְוָה.

[8:25]  ¹² tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”