Daniel 8

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Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ mistreatment of Jews began in 175 B.C.

Note that it is with chapter 8 that we switch from Aramaic to Hebrew.  A lot of Daniel 8 resemble prophecies in Ezekial.  

The Temple and it's fate is the overwhelming theme despite the history.  That being said, there is virtually no description given for the outcome of the Temple other than verse 14.

The period from 175 to 170 had already seen instability in the high-priestly succession, the assassination of the popular high priest Onias III at the instigation of the usurping high priest Menelaus, and the theft of golden vessels from the temple by Menelaus, events that were followed by a systematic plundering of the temple by Antiochus IV on his return from his first campaign in Egypt in 169.  Newsom, Carol A.. Daniel: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library) (p. 257). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. 

[Dan 8:1-2 LSB]  In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one which appeared to me previously. [2]  And I looked in the vision. And it happened that while I was looking, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal.

A lot of people make a big deal out of exactly where Daniel was... I don't care so much - I care about the vision.  Josephus claims he was in Susa (~225 miles east of Babylon) in fortress that Daniel apparently built himself.

This vision occurs after that of chapter 7 ("after the one which appeared to me previously") intentionally connecting the two visions.

[Dan 8:3 LSB]  Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram [Medo-Persia] which had two horns [Media & Persia] was standing in front of the canal [Ulai river/canal]. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other [Persia], with the longer one coming up last.

Most believe the vision takes place at the Ulai river/canal.  

Although the dream visions of Dan 2 and 7 treat these as separate kingdoms, the two peoples were closely related, as the alternating figures of Median and Persian nobles on the reliefs of Persepolis testify. Similarly, the book of Esther makes frequent references to “Persia and Media” (1:3, 14–19) and to “the annals of the kings of Media and Persia” (10:2).  Newsom, Carol A.. Daniel: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library) (p. 260). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. 

The Persians considered a ram with sharp-pointed horns their guardian spirit, and the king bore a ram's head instead of a crown when he led his armies into battle.

The Persians ultimately overcame, and displaced, the Medes as represented in the comparative length of the horns.

[Dan 8:4 LSB]  I saw the ram [Medo-Persia] butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before it, nor was there anyone to deliver from its power, but it did as it pleased and magnified itself.

The Persian/Median Empire mainly expanded to the North, West, and South due to geographical barriers in the East. This expansion is symbolically represented by the three ribs in Daniel 7:5.

Medo-Persia is displayed as very powerful and dominant as it storms out.  In contrast to chapter 7, where the beasts were subject to Divine powers, the Ram appears to be acting on its own as "it did as it pleased". 

[Dan 8:5-7 LSB]  And while I was considering, behold, a male goat [Greece - yavan (Turkey)] was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn [Alexander the Great] between its eyes. [6]  Then it came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and ran at it in his strong wrath. [7]  And I saw it reach the side of the ram, and it was enraged at it; and it struck the ram and broke its two horns in pieces, and the ram had no strength to stand in opposition to it. So it threw it down to the ground and trampled on it, and there was none to deliver the ram from its power.

The speed at which Alexander absolutely dominated the entire region made a profound impact on the ancient world.

[1Ma 1:1-3 KJVA]  And it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece, [2]  And made many wars, and won many strong holds, and slew the kings of the earth, [3]  And went through to the ends of the earth, and took spoils of many nations, insomuch that the earth was quiet before him; whereupon he was exalted and his heart was lifted up.

[Dan 8:8-9 LSB]  Then the male goat magnified itself exceedingly. But as soon as it was mighty, the large horn was broken [death of Alexander - 323 BC in Babylon]; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns [Diadochi] toward the four winds of heaven. [9]  And out of one of them came forth a rather small horn [Antiochus IV Epiphanes]. And it grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land.

Four horns:

[1]  Ptolemy I Soter (Egypt - South)
[2]  Cassander (Macedonia - North /West)
[3]  Lysimachus (Asia Minor - East)
[4]  Seleucus I Nicator (Mesopotamia/Syria - Far East).

[Dan 8:10 LSB]  Then it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down.

The passage discusses the persecution of the people of God, referred to as the "host of heaven," throughout history.

Although Antiochus' actions were in Jerusalem, according to the author's viewpoint, the assault was on the Heavenly realm.  

"The stars to the ground." The stars imply God's chosen people, "Israel." His stars are cast down and trampled upon by many nations, e.g., Pharoah of Egypt, Haman, Hilter, and evil leaders of the past and future by Antichrist until the return of Christ. God has spoken to Abraham concerning the numerical increase of the people of God in Genesis.  Furtick. Jr., Dr. Odell. The Book of Daniel: The Last Gentile Empire on Earth (pp. 121-122). Pine Book Writing . Kindle Edition. 

[Gen 15:5 LSB]  And He brought him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your seed be.”

[Gen 22:17 LSB]  indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.

Antiochus, with his puffed up ego, thought that he could actually reach the stars.  I love the way they mention that no man could deal with his "intolerable stink".

[2Ma 9:10 KJVA]  And the man, that thought a little afore he could reach to the stars of heaven, no man could endure to carry for his intolerable stink.

[Dan 8:11 LSB]  And it even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.

Verse 11 carries on the "intolerable stink" of Antiochus.  He believed himself to be equal with Yahweh.

Even though Antiochus’s edict outlawed all traditional burnt offerings, sacrifices, and drink offerings (1 Macc 1:45), substituting instead offerings considered to be unfit abominations (1 Macc 1:59; 2 Macc 6:5), the author of Daniel focuses on the tāmîd, or daily whole offering, because it was the most frequent and the most important of the required sacrifices at the temple.  Newsom, Carol A.. Daniel: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library) (p. 265). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. 

Definition of tamid:

[Exo 29:38-42 LSB]  Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one year old lambs each day, continuously. [39]  The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the second lamb you shall offer at twilight; [40]  and there shall be one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering with the one lamb. [41]  The second lamb you shall offer at twilight, and you shall offer with it the same grain offering and the same drink offering as in the morning, for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Yahweh. [42]  It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before Yahweh, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.

[Dan 8:12 LSB]  And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will throw truth down to the ground and do its will and succeed.

These times have been decreed.  Meaning, the course of history, as determined by Yahweh, in relation to Divine versus human sovereignty.

[Dan 8:13-14 LSB]  Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes desolation, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?” [14]  He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be made righteous.”

Verse 13 gives the definition of the "transgression" in verse 12.  We recognize it as the "abomination of desolation".

One angel asks "How long?" and the other replies "2,300 evenings and mornings (days)". 

[Gen 1:5 LSB]  And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Some see this as 2,300 days, from when the sacrifice begins (during the 70th week), until the Holy Place will be made Righteous at the end of the 70th week.

Modern scholars see this as 2,300 sacrifices (one in the morning, one in the evening) equaling 1,150 days (~3.25 years).  Which is close to the calculation given in Maccabees in which sacrifices were resumed:

[1Ma 4:52-54 KJVA]  Now on the five and twentieth day of the ninth month, which is called the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose up betimes in the morning, [53]  And offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt offerings, which they had made. [54]  Look, at what time and what day the heathen had profaned it, even in that was it dedicated with songs, and citherns, and harps, and cymbals.

The strongest and most common conservative interpretation today is 1,150 literal days (≈ 3 years, 2 months) covering the period from the outlawing of the daily sacrifice in December 167 BC to the rededication of the Temple on 25 Kislev 164 BC — exactly the historical period of the worst Seleucid persecution that Daniel 8 is describing.

The Bible predicted these events to the actual day of Antiochus IV Epiphanies. Desolate the sanctuary or temple began to perpetuate the atrocities and persecution of the Jews from 6 December 171 B.C. to 25 December 165 B.C. After 25 December, the temple was cleansed and rededicated to God. Conservative scholars agreed that this double reference prophesies referred to Antiochus Epiphanies IV and the future Antichrist. "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter" (Jn. 10:22).  Furtick. Jr., Dr. Odell. The Book of Daniel: The Last Gentile Empire on Earth (p. 123). Pine Book Writing . Kindle Edition. 

This doesn't quite equate to the 3.5 years we read about throughout Scripture.  Whatever the 2,300 means, it's pointing to a Divine calendar and strictly determined.

[Dan 8:15-16 LSB]  Now it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who had the appearance of a man. [16]  And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of what has appeared.”

Daniel sees someone in human form which is a traditional way of introducing the angelic, or divine messengers.  Jews, including Jerome, claim the first is Michael commanding the second, Gabriel, to explain the vision to Daniel.  Whoever the first is, Gabriel, throughout Scripture, is seen as the deliverer of Divine messages (Daniel, Zechariah, and Mary).  As we'll see in chapter 10, he also has a military function.

[Dan 8:17-19 LSB]  So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was terrified and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.” [18]  Now while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand upright. [19]  Then he said, “Behold, I am going to let you know what will happen at the final [H319 - אַחֲרִית] period [H319 - אַחֲרִית] of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.

Here we have our first eschatological dictate in chapter 8... "the vision pertains to the time of the end" and "the appointed time of the end".

Notice above that Daniel uses [H319 - אַחֲרִית - feminine noun meaning the end, last time, latter time] twice, in a row... this vision pertains to the final eschatological climax.

A literal, word-for-word rendering is:

“Behold, I am making known to you what will be in the latter time of the indignation, for to the appointed-time belongs the end / the latter time.”

Why twice in a row?  

Virtually all conservative (and many moderate) commentators see this as a deliberate signal that the vision has two horizons - a near fulfillment and a far-distant, ultimate one.

Gabriel also says that he is explaining to Daniel what will happen at the close of the wrath, or "final period of the indignation".

[Dan 8:20-22 LSB]  The ram which you saw with the two horns is the kings of Media and Persia. [21]  Now the shaggy goat is the king of Greece [H3120 - yavan], and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king [Alexander the Great]. [22]  And the broken horn and the four horns that stood in its place are four kingdoms which will take their stand from his nation, although not with his power.

Gabriel takes all the guesswork out for us... he explicitly names the kingdoms.

Jewish and Christian interpreters, who often tried to contemporize the visions to include references to Rome, were not able to reassign these symbols.  Neither am I.  If you've read my other blogs, Rome has no place in reference to Nebuchadnezzar's statue (Daniel 2) or of the four beasts (Daniel 7).  Above, you'll remember that the text of verse actually connects the visions - meaning, what is true in chapter 8 is also true of chapter 7.  Rome cannot be equated with any of the four beasts.

[Dan 8:23-25 LSB]  In the latter period of their reign, When the transgressors have run their course [ultimately - the times of the Gentiles], A king will stand, Insolent and skilled in intrigue [Antichrist]. [24]  His power will be mighty, but not by his own power [Satan - Rev 13:4], And he will destroy to an astonishing degree [Rev 13:7 for example] And succeed and do his will ["it was given to him" - Rev 13:7]; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people [Israelites]. [25]  And through his insight He will cause deceit [deceives the whole world - Rev 12:9] to succeed by his hand; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even stand against the Prince of princes [Yeshua], But he will be broken without hands [Rev 19].

(Zech. 12:2-6, 14:12-15; Ezek. 38:21; 2 Thess. 1:7-10).

Since I'm convinced this vision deals with end-time events, I will skim over the historical fulfillments and try to relate this to end-time events above in the bracketed notes.  I will also mention that Antiochus died of a foul disease.

Note that, here in Daniel, the appearance of Antiochus signals the beginning of the end of this period.  Here, Antiochus is cast in much the same light as the King of Assyria in Isaiah.

[Dan 8:26-27 LSB]  And what had appeared about the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true; But as for you, conceal [H5640- סָתַם] the vision, For it pertains to many days in the future. [27]  Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I rose up again and did the king’s work; but I was appalled at what had appeared, and there was none to make me understand it.

First, I would no doubt be physically, mentally, and Spiritually exhausted, after an angelic event, like this myself.

Second, as I'm sitting here reading this, I wonder...

Could all of the dating issues, associated with the Book of Daniel, be a result of him "concealing the vision", or hiding it?  Almost unanimously, the Book is not deemed to not be 6th century BC writing.  It is widely accepted as mid-2nd century BC (around the time of Antiochus).

[H5640- סָתַם] literally means: śāṯam: A verb meaning to stop, to stop up. It means to plug up, to stop the function of a well by filling the well cylinder with dirt and debris (Gen_26:15, Gen_26:18). It describes the filling in of springs as well (2Ki_3:19, 2Ki_3:25); or gaps in a broken wall (Neh_4:7 [1]). It is used, with be on the front, as an adverb to mean secretly, in secret (Psa_51:6 [8]). It means to hide or to keep something hidden, secret (Dan_8:26; Dan_12:4).

I'm just thinking out loud really... the textual criticism seems to indicate that the compilation of the Book of Daniel absolutely did not occur until mid-2nd century.  Maybe something will turn up... maybe Daniel's hidden texts will be found somewhere. 

The visions and prophecies were recorded for the benefit of future generations rather than for Daniel himself. Unlike the previous instance when Daniel was the interpreter of visions and dreams, he became the recorder without understanding everything he wrote.

When the book was compiled matters not to me... Yeshua deemed it authoritative for us, and that's good enough for me:

[Mat 24:15 LSB]  Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)...

Some of these excerpts are from my personal notes copied from 30+ years of studying... some of these notes are direct copies of various sources - I do not claim to have authored every word of this... it's just a mass collection I've tucked away over the years for my own personal studies... I didn't consider a bibliography at the time I directly copied small excerpts from various authors.  Also, any emphasis (underlines, bold text, all CAPS, etc.) noted above was only meant to capture my personal attention as I studied...