7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.
He will harass 1 the holy ones of the Most High continually.
His intention 2 will be to change times established by law. 3
They will be delivered into his hand
For a time, times, 4 and half a time.
“Three 15 more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth 16 king will be unusually rich, 17 more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against 18 the kingdom of Greece.
11:36 “Then the king 20 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 21 wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. 22
11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the south will attack 23 him. Then the king of the north will storm against him 24 with chariots, horsemen, and a large armada of ships. 25 He 26 will invade lands, passing through them like an overflowing river. 27
1 tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”
2 tn Aram “he will think.”
3 tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.
4 sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”
5 tn Heb “him.”
6 tn Heb “the ram.”
7 tn Heb “stand before him.”
8 tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 sn The goat of Daniel’s vision represents Greece; the large horn represents Alexander the Great. The ram stands for Media-Persia. Alexander’s rapid conquest of the Persians involved three battles of major significance which he won against overwhelming odds: Granicus (334
10 tn The Hebrew term has a primary meaning of “skill, insight,” but here it has the connotation “cunning, treachery.” See BDB 968 s.v. שֵׂכֶל, שֶׂכֶל.
11 tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”
12 tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”
13 tn Heb “in peace.” The Hebrew word used here is difficult. It may refer to the security felt by those who did not realize the danger of imminent attack, or it may refer to the condition of being unaware of the impending danger. The latter idea is reflected in the present translation. See further, BDB 1017 s.v. שַׁלְוָה.
14 tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”
15 sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522
16 sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465
17 tn Heb “rich with great riches.”
18 tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.
19 tn Heb “and unto a time.”
20 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.
21 tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.
22 tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.
23 tn Heb “engage in thrusting.”
24 tn The referent of the pronoun is most likely the king of the south, in which case the text describes the king of the north countering the attack of the king of the south.
25 tn Heb “many ships.”
26 tn This most likely refers to the king of the north who, in response to the aggression of the king of the south, launches an invasion of the southern regions.
27 tn Heb “and will overflow and pass over.”