Daniel 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel

Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...

 of the Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...

. This chapter concerns Daniel

Daniel

Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...

’s second vision. According to the text, Daniel received his vision in the third year of king Belshazzar

Belshazzar

Belshazzar, or Balthazar , was a 6th century BC prince of Babylon, the son of Nabonidus and the last king of Babylon according to the Book of Daniel . Like his father, it is believed by many scholars that he was an Assyrian. In Daniel Belshazzar, or Balthazar , was a 6th century BC prince of...

. In his vision, he saw himself at Susa

Susa

Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....

 (Heb: "Shushan"), the capital near the river Ulai

Ulai

Ulai was the Hebrew name for a river near the city of Susa. It is mentioned twice in the Bible:*Daniel 8:2 – "I had a second vision in which I was in Susa, the chief city of Babylonia`s Elam province...

. The canal is considered to have run along the north side of the fortress of Susa, a royal palace for the Persian kings of ancient Elam

Elam

Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...

, just east of Babylonia

Babylonia

Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...

. From a source critical

Source criticism

A source criticism is a published source evaluation . An information source may be a document, a person, a speech, a fingerprint, a photo, an observation or anything used in order to obtain knowledge. In relation to a given purpose, a given information source may be more or less valid, reliable or...

 perspective, visionary experiences are frequently associated with riverbank settings.

The ram

In verses 3 and 4 of Daniel’s second vision, a ram appears standing by the river Ulai having two horns, one higher than the other. The male ram is described as "pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor [was there any] that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great."^NKJV According to verse 20, the two horns represent the kings of Media

Medes

The MedesThe Medes...

 and Persia.

The male goat

In verses 5-7, a male goat then appears from the west having a notable horn between his eyes. He charges toward the ram with great anger, striking him and breaking both horns. It rendered the ram powerless, broken and in servitude to the goat. Verse 21 states that the male goat is the king of Greece. Scholars have associated this male goat with Alexander the Great and his armies.

The man Gabriel

After Daniel has seen the vision, a being resembling a man called Gabriel appears to tell Daniel the meaning of the vision, to give him "skill and understanding" regarding his visions. Daniel prostrates himself in fear. Gabriel tells Daniel that the vision concerns the time of the end, but Daniel soon passes out. Gabriel wakes him up and again tells him that the vision is about the time of the end.

Interpretations of the little horn

Scholars believe that Daniel 8 was written shortly prior to the death of Antiochus and the re-dedication of the temple of Jerusalem in 164 BCE. The writer, seeing the Seleucid persecution first hand, perceived that he was living in the end time. The little horn would come from one of them, understood as referring to one of the four horns that replaced the notable horn. Scholarly opinion, as well as modern Jewish and Christian commentaries, hold that the little horn refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, since he came from the Seleucid empire

Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

, which was one of the four empires

Diadochi

The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...

 that came to power after Alexander died. He seized the Seleucid Kingdom through intrigue, took away the daily sacrifice (the Tamid

Kodashim

Kodashim or Qodhashim is the fifth Order in the Mishna . Of the six Orders of the Mishna, it is the third longest...

) in 167 BC, and committed the Abomination of Desolation

Abomination of Desolation

The abomination of desolation is a term found in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Daniel. It also occurs in the book of 1 Maccabees and in the New Testament gospels....

. He made it illegal to follow the Judaic laws, with the penalty of death.

Because of parallel terminology found both in Daniel 11 and Daniel 8, scholars have long interpreted Daniel 8 by Daniel 11. Scholars see in Daniel 11 "predictions" of the whole sweep of events from the reign of Cyrus to what some believe is the unsuccessful effort of Antiochus Epiphanes to stamp out the Jewish faith.

Josephus

Josephus

Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...

 and Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

 as well as Jewish and Christian commentaries, also hold that Antiochus IV appears as the "little horn" in the prophetic writings of the Book of Daniel

Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...

, reading as a description of Antiochus' dealings with the Jewish people under his rule which ended with the Maccabean Revolt. In addition, Daniel 11, with references to Persia and Greece and two kings, is thought by some to refer to the Seleucids, and specifically to Antiochus Epiphanes, as "The King of the North" who conquers Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Egypt and who will exalt and magnify himself above every god (Verse 36).

Seventh-day Adventists

The prophecy of 2,300 days in Verse 14 plays an important role in Seventh-day Adventist eschatology. The 2,300 days (a little over six years) are interpreted as 2,300 actual years, starting at the same time as the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

The Prophecy of Seventy Septets appears in the angel Gabriel's reply to Daniel, beginning with verse 22 and ending with verse 27 in the ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel, a work included in both the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Bible; as well as the Septuagint...

 in Chapter 9, on the grounds that the 70 weeks were "decreed" ("cut off") for the Jewish people from the 2,300-day prophecy. The beginning year is calculated to be 457 BC (see details here), so that the end of the 2,300 years, and the end of the world, would come in 1844. When the world failed to end in that year many Millerite Adventists

Millerites

The Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller who, in 1833, first shared publicly his belief in the coming Second Advent of Jesus Christ in roughly the year 1843.-Origins:...

 lost faith in their leaders and left the movement, but those who remained reached the conclusion that 1844 marked the beginning of a divine pre-advent judgment called "the cleansing of the sanctuary".

Chapter	Parallel sequence of prophetic elements as understood by Historicists
	Past				Present	Future
Daniel 2	Head Gold (Babylon)	Chest & 2 arms Silver	Belly and thighs Bronze	2 Legs Iron	2 Feet with toes Clay & Iron	Rock God's unending kingdom left to no other people
Daniel 7	Winged Lion	Lopsided Bear	4 Headed/4 Winged Leopard	Iron toothed beast w/Little Horn	Judgment scene Beast slain	A son of man comes in clouds Given everlasting dominion He gives it to the saints.
Daniel 8		2-horned Ram (Media-Persia)	Uni- / 4-horned Goat 4 Winds (Greece)	Little Horn A Master of Intrigue	Cleansing of Sanctuary Leads to:	(Kingdom of God)

Appendix

Over the centuries Bible scholars have identified specific kingdoms as fulfillment of the symbols from the tabernacle services as illustrated in the following table.

Prophecy of the Ram, Goat, & Horn in Daniel 8
Biblical Expositors of the Early Church Period: 100-457 AD
		Ram-Goat	Notable Horn	4 Horns	Exceeding Great Horn	2300 Days BC - AD
Josephus Josephus Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...	c. 100	PG	[Alexander]	4 Divisions	Antiochus
Irenaeus Irenaeus Saint Irenaeus , was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire . He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology...	c. 202				Antichrist
Hippolytus	d. 238	PG	Alexander	4 Divisions	Antiochus	Literal
Tertullian Tertullian Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...	c. 240			4 Divisions
Julius Africanus Julius Africanus Julius Africanus was a celebrated orator in the reign of Nero, and seems to have been the son of the Julius Africanus, of the Gallic state of the Santoni, who was condemned by Tiberius in 32 AD. Quintilian, who had heard Julius Africanus, spoke of him and Domitius Afer as the best orators of their...	c. 240	PG				Months
Origen Origen Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...	c. 254	[Allegorizes	all	Prophecies]	Antichirst
Aphrahat Aphrahat Aphrahat was a Syriac-Christian author of the 4th century from the Adiabene region of Northern Mesopotamia, which was within the Persian Empire, who composed a series of twenty-three expositions or homilies on points of Christian doctrine and practice...	c. 350	PG			Romans
Ephrem Ephrem the Syrian Ephrem the Syrian was a Syriac and a prolific Syriac-language hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, and especially in the Syriac Orthodox Church, as a saint.Ephrem wrote a wide variety of hymns, poems, and sermons in verse, as well as...	373	[PG]			Antiochus
John Chrysostom John Chrysostom John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...	347-407	PG	Alexander	4 Divisions
Jerome Jerome Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...	w. 420	PG	Alexander	Successors		Literal
Polychronius	430	PG				1150 days
Biblical Expositors of the Early Medieval Period: 400-1200 AD
		Ram-Goat	Notable Horn	4 Horns	Exceeding Great Horn	2300 Days BC - AD
Benjamin Nahawandi Benjamin Nahawandi Benjamin Nahawandi or Benjamin ben Moses or Benyamin ben Moshe al-Nahawendi was one of the greatest of the Karaite scholars of the early Middle Ages. His influence was so far-reaching that some regard him as the proper originator of Karaism as it has come down through the ages. The Karaite...	8th-9th Centuries					2300 Years
Saadia Saadia Saadia is a Jewish name and Arabic name. it can refer to several people:*Saadia Gaon - Ninth century rabbi, philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.*Saadia Afzaal - Pakistani journalist and television news anchor....	d. 942					2300 years / 2
Hakohen	10 Century					2300 years
Jephet ibn Ali	10th Cent.				Mohammedanism	Literal
Rashi Rashi Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...	d. 1105					Years +
Abraham ibn Ezra Abraham ibn Ezra Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....	d. 1167					Uncertain
Joachim of Floris	d. 1202	Alexander
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...	d. 1274				Antiochus Antichrist	Literal
Biblical Expositors of the Reformation Era: 1522-1614 AD
		Ram-Goat	Notable Horn	4 Horns	Exceeding Great Horn	2300 Days BC - AD
Martin Luther Martin Luther Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...	1522	PG			Antiochus & Papacy	Literal
Johann Oecolampadius	1530					Years
Philipp Melanchthon Philipp Melanchthon Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...	1543	PG			Papacy	Literal
Georg Joye	1545	PG
Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger was a Swiss reformer, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Zurich church and pastor at Grossmünster...	1557				Papacy
John Calvin John Calvin John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...	c. 1560	PG	Alexander	Successors	Antiochus	Literal
Nikolaus Selnecker Nikolaus Selnecker Nikolaus Selnecker was a German musician and theologian. He is now known mainly as a hymn writer. He is also known as one of the principal authors of the Formula of Concord along with Jakob Andreä and Martin Chemnitz.At a young age he was an organist in Nuremberg...	1579	PG
John Napier John Napier John Napier of Merchiston – also signed as Neper, Nepair – named Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, astronomer & astrologer, and also the 8th Laird of Merchistoun. He was the son of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston. John Napier is most renowned as the discoverer...	1593					Literal Days
Biblical Expositors of the Counter-Reformation: 1590-1604 AD
Francisco Ribera Francisco Ribera Francisco Ribera was a Spanish Jesuit theologian, identified with the Futurist Christian eschatological view.-Life:He was born at Villacastín. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1570, and taught at the University of Salamanca. He acted as confessor to Teresa of Avila...	1590					Literal
Biblical Expositors of the Post-Reformation Era—Europe: 1600-1800 AD
		Ram-Goat	Notable Horn	4 Horns	Exceeding Great Horn	2300 Days BC - AD
George Downham	1603				Papacy	1150 Years
John Tillinghast John Tillinghast John Tillinghast was an English clergyman and Fifth-monarchy man. He is known for his confrontation with Oliver Cromwell, and millenarian writings.-Life:...	1655					Cyrus - 1710
William Sherwin William Sherwin (minister) William Sherwin was an English minister. The Dictionary of National Biography suggests that he was either silenced in 1660 or ejected in 1662. He wrote a number of works on biblical and theological themes. His son became a notable engraver.-References:...	1670					? - 1700
Thomas Beverly	1684	[2300 Years	to Sanctuary]			Per to End
Johannes Cocceius	1701					Literal
George Her. Geblehr	1702					453 - 1760
William Whiston William Whiston William Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...	1706					[522 - 1716]
Heinrich Horch	1712	PG				Cyrus - End
Sir Isaac Newton	1727	PG			Rome	2300 Years
Thomas Newton Thomas Newton Thomas Newton was an English cleric, biblical scholar and author. He served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1761 to 1782....	1754	PG			Rome	Years
Johann Ph. Petri	1768					453 - 1847
James Purves	1777	PG				534 - 1766
Hans Wood	1787					480 - 1880
James Ebenezer Bicheno James Ebenezer Bicheno James Ebenezer Bicheno was a British author and colonial official.Bicheno was the son of the Rev. James Bicheno, minister of the Baptist Church in Newbury, Berkshire. He was called to the bar in 1822 but seems to have spent most of his time until 1832 in writing and natural history pursuits,...	1793					481 - 1819
Edward King	1798	PG				538 - 1762
Richard Valpy Richard Valpy -Biography:He was born the eldest son of Richard and Catherine Valpy in Jersey. He was sent to schools in Normandy and Southampton, and completed his education at Pembroke College, Oxford. In 1777 he took orders. After holding a mastership at Bury, in 1781 he became head master of Reading grammar...	1798	PG
Jean G. de la Flechere	1800	PG			Papacy	550 - 1750
Biblical Expositors of the 19th Century Advent Awakening: 1800-1845 AD
		Ram-Goat	Notable Horn	4 Horns	Exceeding Great Horn	2300 Days BC - AD
William Hales William Hales William Hales was an Irish clergyman and scientific writer.He was born in Cork, Ireland, the son of Samuel Hales, the curate at the cathedral church there....	1803					420 - 1880
George Stanley Faber George Stanley Faber George Stanley Faber was an Anglican theologian and prolific author....	1804	PGM				? - 1866
Thomas Scott Thomas Scott (commentator) The Rev. Thomas Scott was an influential preacher and author who is principally known for his best-selling work A Commentary On The Whole Bible and The Force of Truth, and as one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society.- Life :...	1805	PG				Years. Are closing
Adam Clarke Adam Clarke Adam Clarke was a British Methodist theologian and Biblical scholar, born in the townland of Moybeg Kirley near Tobermore in Ireland...	1810					334 - 1966
Captain Maitland	1813	PGR				515 -
William Cuninghame	1813	PGR				457 - 1843
James H Frere	1815	PGM				553 - 1847
Lewis Way	1818					509 - 1791
W. C. Davis	1818					509 - 1791
Francis Mason (archdeacon) Francis Mason (archdeacon) Francis Mason was an English churchman, archdeacon of Norfolk and author of Of the Consecration of the Bishops in the Church of England , a defence of the Church of England and the first serious rebuttal of the Nag's Head Fable put about as denigration of Matthew Parker and Anglican...	1820					457 - 1843
Jonathan Bayford	1820	PGM				481 - 1819
Joseph Wolff Joseph Wolff Joseph Wolff , Jewish Christian missionary, was born at Weilersbach, near Bamberg, Germany. He travelled widely, and was known as the Eccentric Missionary, according to Fitzroy Maclean's Eastern Approaches...	1822	PGR				453 - 1847
John Fry	1822	PGM				457 - 1844
Edward Cooper	1825	PGM				Years
S. R. Maitland	1826	Not Mohammed				Literal Days
Edward Irving Edward Irving *For Edward Irving, the Canadian geologist, see Edward A. Irving.Edward Irving was a Scottish clergyman, generally regarded as the main figure behind the foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church.-Youth:...	1826	PGR				533 - 1847
Edward T. Vaughan	1828	PGM				? - 1843
Thomas Keyworth	1828	PGM				457 - 1843
Alexander Keith	1828	PGM				480 - 1820
Alfred Addis	1829	PG				457 - 1843/4
Jonathon Hooper	1829					453 - 1847
William W. Pym	1829					453 - 1847
Henry Drummond (1786–1860)	1830					453 - 1847
Edward N. Hoare	1830	PGM				457 - 1843
William Anderson	1830					457 - 1843
William Digby	1831					457 - 1843
Joshua W. Brooks	1831	PGM				457 - 1843
John Cox	1832	PGM
Matthew Habershon	1834	PGM				457 - 1843/4
Bp Dan Wilson	1836	PGR				453 - 1847
Edward Bickersteth	1836					457 - 1844
François Samuel Robert Louis Gaussen	1837	PGM				Years
J. H. Richter	1839					453 - 1847
Thomas Rawson Birks Thomas Rawson Birks Thomas Rawson Birks , theologian and controversialist, was born on 28 September 1810 at Staveley in Derbyshire, England. He figured in the debate to try to resolve theology and science. He rose to be a Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy...	1843	PGR				457 - 1843
Jonathan Cumming	1843	PGR				481 - 1821
E. B. Elliot	1844	PGM				480 - 1820
PGR=Media/Persia-Greece-Rome. M=Mohammed. [BPGR]=Implies...