7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions 4 a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. 5 It had two large rows 6 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.
7:8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. 7 This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant 8 things.
11:36 “Then the king 12 will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of 13 wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. 14
1 tn Aram “one is your law,” i.e., only one thing is applicable to you.
2 tn Aram “a lying and corrupt word.”
3 tn Aram “I will know.”
4 tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.
5 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.
6 tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.
7 tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”
8 tn Aram “great.” So also in vv. 11, 20.
9 tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.
11 tn Aram “greater than its companions.”
12 sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.
13 tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.
14 tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.