8 beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns pluckt up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

will be that of Alexander the Great: comp. viii. 5, 21, xi. 3. Cf. the description of the fourth kingdom in ii. 40, as 'strong as iron,' and breaking in pieces and bruising.'

and it had ten horns] A horn is commonly in the O.T. the figure of strength to attack and repel (e.g. Deut. xxxiii. 17; Mic. iv. 13); but in the imagery of Daniel's visions it represents either a king (see v. 24; and cp. viii. 5, 8a, 9, 21), or a dynasty of kings (viii. 3, 6, 7, 86, 20, 22), rising up in, or out of, the empire symbolized by the creature to which the horn belongs. Here the reference is apparently to the ten successors of Alexander on the throne of Antioch (see more fully the Additional Note, p. 101). Cf. the 'ten toes of the feet' in the corresponding part of ch. ii. (vv. 41, 42).

8. I considered the horns, and] I was contemplating the horns, when, &c. The force of the verb is apparent from its use in the Targ. of Onk., as Ex. iii. 6, ‘he feared to gaze upon the glory of Jehovah,' and Num. xxi. 9, 'when he looked attentively at (or contemplated) the serpent of brass.'

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another little horn, &c.] R.V. (avoiding a possible ambiguity in the English) another horn, a little one, before which, &c. With 'little' cf. viii. 9. No doubt the meaning is, little in its beginning, but soon increasing in power, till three of the first horns were rooted up from before it. If the fourth beast symbolizes the empire of Alexander, the 'little horn' will be Antiochus Epiphanes, whose persecution of the Jews (B.C. 168-165) forms certainly the subject of viii. 10—14, 24, 25, and xi. 31-33, and who, in viii. 9 (see viii. 23), is also represented by a 'little horn.' The descriptions at the end of the present verse, and in vv. 21, 25, also suit Antiochus Epiphanes. For further particulars respecting the events of his reign, see the notes on xi. 21 ff., 30—35, 36 ff., and p. 194 f.

and behold, in this horn, &c.] Another marvel: the horn had the eyes and mouth of a man. The eyes like the eyes of a man imply the faculty of keen observation and insight, and so indirectly the possession of intellectual shrewdness.

and a mouth speaking great things] i. e. proud, presumptuous things, especially against God, or His people. Cf. Ps. xii. 3, 'the tongue that speaketh great things,' Obad. 12, lit. neither make thy mouth great,' Rev. xiii. 5, where the beast with ten horns is given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.' Comp. xi. 36, where it is said of Antiochus Epiphanes that he will 'speak marvellous things against the God of gods'; and 1 Macc. i. 24, where it is stated that, after despoiling the Temple (B.C. 170), he went away, and 'spake great presumptuousness” (ἐλάλησεν ὑπερηφανίαν μεγάλην).

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the 9 Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

9-14. The judgement on the Gentile powers. The scene is majestically conceived. Thrones are set for the heavenly powers, the assessors of the Judge: the Almighty Himself appears in the likeness of an aged man, seated on a throne of flame: angels in countless myriads stand in attendance around Him: and the books recording the deeds of the Gentile rulers are opened. The four beasts are given over to destruction: while a figure in human form is brought before the Almighty in the clouds of heaven, and receives from Him an everlasting dominion.

9. till thrones were placed (R.V.)] for the angelic assessors of the Judge, who are not further mentioned, but who are naturally to be distinguished from the hosts which 'stand,' ministering before Him, in V. 10. A.V. means, 'till the thrones of the Gentile powers were overthrown'; but the rendering of R.V. is much preferable. Exactly the same expression occurs in the Targ. of Jer. i. 15, and they shall cast down (i.e. set down, place) each his throne in front of the gates of Jerusalem.' Cf. Rev. iv. 2 (KELTO).

the Ancient of days] The expression does not mean what the English words seem to imply, one who had existed from the days of eternity; it means simply an aged man; and the R.V., one that was ancient of days, is meant to indicate this. Exactly the same expression occurs in the Syriac version of Wisd. ii. 10 for an 'old man,' and in Ecclus. xxv. 4 (in the plural) for 'elders.' 'What Daniel sees is not the eternal God Himself, but an aged man, in whose dignified and impressive form God reveals Himself: cf. Ez. i. 26' (Keil).

his raiment was white as snow] symbolizing purity (Is. i. 18; Ps. li. 7). The white hair would have the same symbolism, though this would be natural independently in an aged man. The imagery of Rev. i. 14 is derived from the present passage.

like pure wool] The imagery of the visions in the Book of Enoch is based largely upon that of the present passage of Daniel. With the words quoted, cf. Enoch xlvi. 1 (cited below, p. 106), and lxxi. 10.

his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire] in accordance with the usual representation of God as surrounded by, or manifested in, fire, the most immaterial of elements, and at the same time the agency best suited to represent symbolically His power to destroy all that is sinful or unholy: cf.-in different connexions— Gen. xv. 17; Ex. iii. 2; Numb. xvi. 35; Deut. iv. 24; Ps. xviii. 12, 13, 1. 3, xcvii. 3; Is. xxx. 27; Ez. i. 4, 13, x. 2, 6, 7 (fire between the cherubim supporting the Divine throne), i. 27, viii. 2 (fire representing the Divine form). With the description itself, comp. also Enoch xiv. 18-22 (in the Greek text, p. 347 of Charles' edition): 'And I beheld, and saw a lofty throne...And underneath the throne there came forth rivers of flaming fire; and I could not look thereon. And the Great

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TO A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgement was I set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because

Glory sat thereon, and His raiment was brighter than the sun, and whiter than any snow...Fire burnt round about, and a great fire stood beside Him, and no one approacheth Him round about: thousand thousands stand before Him, and every word of His is deed.'

the wheels thereof] The throne is pictured implicitly as a chariot, as in Ez. i. 15-28. The representation of the throne and wheels as being fire is, however, more than is found even in the visions of Ezekiel.

10. a stream of fire...from before him] For 'from before,' cf. v. 24; and on vi. 10. Comp. also Rev. i. 14, 'his eyes were as a flame of fire.'

thousand thousands] Cf. Deut. xxxiii. 2, R.V. (if the existing Heb. text of line 4 is correct); also 1 Ki. xxii. 19; Zech. xiv. 5 end, R.V.; Enoch i. 9 (cited, with slight verbal differences [see Charles' ed. p. 327], in Jude 14, 15 [for 'saints' in v. 14, A.V., see the note on Dan. viii. 13]). The present passage is doubtless the source of Enoch xiv. 22 (cited on v. 9), xl. 1 (cited below, p. 106); cf. lx. 1, lxxi. 8, 13; and of Rev. v. II.

ministered...stood] Better, were ministering...were standing, the tenses being as in iv. 12.

stood before him] viz. in attendance: cf. for the idiom 1 Ki. x. 8.

the judgement was set] i.e. (in accordance with the old English sense of the expression) was seated: the Aram. is lit. sat, 'judgement' being used here in a concrete sense for the judges; cf. LXX., Theod., TO κpTýριov éкáliσεv, Vulg. judicium sedit; and see v. 26, 'shall sit'. The Almighty is represented as holding a court of judgement. For was set in this sense see in A.V., Matth. v. 1 ('when he was set,' i.e. was seated), xxvii. 19; Heb. viii. 1 (R.V. sat down); Ps. ix. 4 (P.B.V), 'thou art set (i.e. hast seated thyself) in the throne that judgest right.' W. A. Wright quotes, from an old writer, 'When they were sette' (viz. at table).

and the books were opened] the books in which the deeds of men are recorded-in particular the deeds of the four 'beasts,' representing the four empires. Cf. Rev. xx. 12, 'And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne; and books were opened;...and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works:' also 2 Esdras vi. 20; Apoc. of Baruch xxiv. 1; Ascension of Isaiah (ed. Dillmann, 1877), ix. 22; Enoch xlvii. 3 (cited on p. 106), lxxxix. 70, 71, 76, 77, xc. 20, xcviii. 7, 8, civ. 7,-all passages speaking of the deeds of men being recorded in books, which are afterwards opened in heaven. See further Charles's note on Enoch xlvii. 3; and comp. Abhoth ii. 1, 'Know what is above thee, a seeing eye, and a hearing ear, and all thy deeds written in a book.' The germ of the representation is to be found most probably in the figurative

of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest 12 of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet

expressions in Is. lxv. 6 ('Behold, it is written before me': cf. Jer. xvii. 1); Mal. iii. 16 (cf. Est. vi. 1); Ps. lvi. 8.

11. The beast representing the fourth empire is slain, and utterly destroyed, on account of the blasphemies of Antiochus Epiphanes (v. 8), the idea being that the guilt of the empire culminated in him. The writer thinks of empires only, not of individuals; and it is impossible to say what he pictured to himself as being the fate of the individuals of whom the fourth empire consisted.

I beheld, &c.] The second 'I beheld' is resumptive of the first, after the intervening clause introduced by because-a construction of which there are many examples in Hebrew (e.g. Lev. xvii. 5; Jud. xi. 31; Zech. viii. 23). I beheld till, as v. 9. The clause because, &c., though apparently giving the reason for 'I beheld,' gives in reality the reason for 'the beast was slain,' &c.

and his body destroyed] The empire being represented by an animal, its 'body' will correspond to the fabric, or political organization, of the State. This is to be utterly brought to an end.

and he was given to be burned with fire (R.V.)] lit. to the burning of fire (cf. Is. lxiv. 11, lit. 'has become for the burning of fire), i.e. to complete destruction. It is hardly likely that there is any allusion here to the torments of the wicked after death, for though in parts of Enoch, written probably within 50 years of Daniel (x. 13, xxi. 7—10, xc. 24— 27), mention is made of a fiery place of punishment for wicked angels and men, had that been intended here it is probable that it would have been indicated more distinctly,- -to say nothing of the fact that, as remarked just above, it is the fate of empires, not of individuals, that the writer has in view. Rev. xix. 20, xx. 10 are not sufficient proof that the author of Daniel had the idea here in his mind.

12. the rest of the beasts] Commentators are divided as to whether the three beasts of vv. 4-6, or the seven horns left after the three had been rooted up (v. 8), are intended: but the expression used ('beasts') strongly favours the former interpretation. In the abstract, it is true, the latter interpretation might be deemed the more probable; for, as the 'beasts' represent successive kings, or kingdoms (vv. 17, 23), the dominion of the first three would naturally be at an end long before the period of the judgement on the fourth, whereas the seven 'horns' might well be conceived as subsisting still. In point of fact, however, the kingdoms, though in reality successive, are in the vision represented as contemporaneous: nothing is said in vv. 3-7 about the disappearance of one beast when a second appears; all continue visible, side by side. So in ch. ii. the four kingdoms represented by the image are destroyed simultaneously: the entire image remains intact until the stone falls upon the feet (representing the fourth and last kingdom), when the whole of it breaks up together,

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10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgement was II set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because

Glory sat thereon, and His raiment was brighter than the sun, and whiter than any snow...Fire burnt round about, and a great fire stood beside Him, and no one approacheth Him round about: thousand thousands stand before Him, and every word of His is deed.'

the wheels thereof] The throne is pictured implicitly as a chariot, as in Ez. i. 15-28. The representation of the throne and wheels as being fire is, however, more than is found even in the visions of Ezekiel.

10. a stream of fire...from before him] For 'from before,' cf. v. 24; and on vi. 10. Comp. also Rev. i. 14, 'his eyes were as a flame of fire.'

thousand thousands] Cf. Deut. xxxiii. 2, R.V. (if the existing Heb. text of line 4 is correct); also 1 Ki. xxii. 19; Zech. xiv. 5 end, R.V.; Enoch i. 9 (cited, with slight verbal differences [see Charles' ed. p. 327], in Jude 14, 15 [for 'saints' in v. 14, A.V., see the note on Dan. viii. 13]). The present passage is doubtless the source of Enoch xiv. 22 (cited on v. 9), xl. 1 (cited below, p. 106); cf. lx. 1, lxxi. 8, 13; and of Rev. v. II.

ministered...stood] Better, were ministering...were standing, the tenses being as in iv. 12.

stood before him] viz. in attendance: cf. for the idiom 1 Ki. x. 8.

the judgement was set] i.e. (in accordance with the old English sense of the expression) was seated: the Aram. is lit. sat, judgement' being used here in a concrete sense for the judges; cf. LXX., Theod., TO KρLTýρLOV EKάOLEV, Vulg. judicium sedit; and see v. 26, 'shall sit'. The Almighty is represented as holding a court of judgement. For was set in this sense see in A.V., Matth. v. I ('when he was set,' i.e. was seated), xxvii. 19; Heb. viii. 1 (R.V. sat down); Ps. ix. 4 (P.B.V), 'thou art set (i.e. hast seated thyself) in the throne that judgest right.' W. A. Wright quotes, from an old writer, 'When they were sette' (viz. at table).

and the books were opened] the books in which the deeds of men are recorded-in particular the deeds of the four 'beasts,' representing the four empires. Cf. Rev. xx. 12, 'And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne; and books were opened;...and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works:' also 2 Esdras vi. 20; Apoc. of Baruch xxiv. 1; Ascension of Isaiah (ed. Dillmann, 1877), ix. 22; Enoch xlvii. 3 (cited on p. 106), lxxxix. 70, 71, 76, 77, xc. 20, xcviii. 7, 8, civ. 7,-all passages speaking of the deeds of men being recorded in books, which are afterwards opened in heaven. See further Charles's note on Enoch xlvii. 3; and comp. Abhoth ii. 1, 'Know what is above thee, a seeing eye, and a hearing ear, and all thy deeds written in a book.' The germ of the representation is to be found most probably in the figurative