7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions 5 a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. 6 It had two large rows 7 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.
7:19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning 8 of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.
1 tn Aram “said.”
2 tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.
3 tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.
4 tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.
5 tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.
6 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.
7 tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.
8 tn Aram “to make certain.”