2:25 So Arioch quickly ushered Daniel into the king’s presence, saying to him, “I 1 have found a man from the captives of Judah who can make known the interpretation to the king.”
5:17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its 14 interpretation.
7:6 “After these things, 15 as I was watching, another beast 16 like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. 17 This beast had four heads, 18 and ruling authority was given to it.
“And with 19 the clouds of the sky 20
one like a son of man 21 was approaching.
He went up to the Ancient of Days
and was escorted 22 before him.
7:28 “This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. 26 But I kept the matter to myself.” 27
8:5 While I was contemplating all this, 35 a male goat 36 was coming from the west over the surface of all the land 37 without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn 38 between its eyes.
8:19 Then he said, “I am going to inform you about what will happen in the latter time of wrath, for the vision 39 pertains to the appointed time of the end.
“O Lord, 40 great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant 41 with those who love him and keep his commandments,
9:20 While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my request before the LORD my God concerning his holy mountain 42 –
10:7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it. 45 On the contrary, they were overcome with fright 46 and ran away to hide.
1 sn Arioch’s claim is self-serving and exaggerated. It is Daniel who came to him, and not the other way around. By claiming to have found one capable of solving the king’s dilemma, Arioch probably hoped to ingratiate himself to the king.
2 tn Aram “not for any wisdom which is in me more than [in] any living man.”
3 tn Aram “they might cause the king to know.” The impersonal plural is used here to refer to the role of God’s spirit in revealing the dream and its interpretation to the king. As J. A. Montgomery says, “it appropriately here veils the mysterious agency” (Daniel [ICC], 164-65).
4 tn Aram “heart.”
5 sn The phrase like that of a god is in Aramaic “like that of a son of the gods.” Many patristic writers understood this phrase in a christological sense (i.e., “the Son of God”). But it should be remembered that these are words spoken by a pagan who is seeking to explain things from his own polytheistic frame of reference; for him the phrase “like a son of the gods” is equivalent to “like a divine being.”
6 tn Aram “from me is placed an edict.”
7 tn Aram “speaks negligence.”
8 tn Aram “from me there was placed a decree.”
9 tn The Aramaic infinitive here is active.
10 sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.
11 tn Aram “house.”
12 tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”
13 tn Aram “walk.”
14 tn Or “the.”
15 tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.
16 tn Aram “and behold, another one.”
17 tn Or “sides.”
18 sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.
19 tc The LXX has ἐπί (epi, “upon”) here (cf. Matt 24:30; 26:64). Theodotion has μετά (meta, “with”) here (cf. Mark 14:62; Rev 1:7).
20 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
21 sn This text is probably the main OT background for Jesus’ use of the term “son of man.” In both Jewish and Christian circles the reference in the book of Daniel has traditionally been understood to refer to an individual, usually in a messianic sense. Many modern scholars, however, understand the reference to have a corporate identity. In this view, the “son of man” is to be equated with the “holy ones” (vv. 18, 21, 22, 25) or the “people of the holy ones” (v. 27) and understood as a reference to the Jewish people. Others understand Daniel’s reference to be to the angel Michael.
22 tn Aram “they brought him near.”
23 tn Aram “what is certain.”
24 tn Aram “and made known.”
25 tn Aram “matter,” but the matter at hand is of course the vision.
26 tn Aram “my brightness was changing on me.”
27 tn Aram “in my heart.”
28 tn Heb “lifted my eyes.”
29 tn Heb “and behold.”
30 tn Heb “one.” The Hebrew numerical adjective occasionally functions like an English indefinite article. See GKC 401 §125.b.
31 tn Heb “high” (also “higher” later in this verse).
32 tn Or “beast” (NAB).
33 tn Heb “hand.” So also in v. 7.
34 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.
35 tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
36 tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”
37 tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
38 tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.
39 tn The Hebrew text does not actually state the referent (the vision Daniel saw in vv. 8-12; cf. also v. 13), which has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some Greek witnesses add “the vision” here.
40 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
41 tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.
42 tn Heb “the holy mountain of my God.”
43 tn Or “a precious treasure”; KJV “greatly beloved”; NASB, NIV “highly esteemed.”
44 tn This sentence is perhaps a compound hendiadys (“give serious consideration to the revelatory vision”).
45 tn Heb “the vision.”
46 tn Heb “great trembling fell on them.”
47 tn Heb “and behold.”
48 tc The Greek version of Theodotion reads “I left him [i.e., Michael] there,” and this is followed by a number of English translations (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT).