7:5 “Then 1 a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs 2 in its mouth between its teeth. 3 It was told, 4 ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’
8:5 While I was contemplating all this, 5 a male goat 6 was coming from the west over the surface of all the land 7 without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn 8 between its eyes.
1 tn Aram “and behold.”
2 sn The three ribs held securely in the mouth of the bear, perhaps representing Media-Persia, apparently symbolize military conquest, but the exact identity of the “ribs” is not clear. Possibly it is a reference to the Persian conquest of Lydia, Egypt, and Babylonia.
3 tc The LXX lacks the phrase “between its teeth.”
4 tn Aram “and thus they were saying to it.”
5 tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
6 tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”
7 tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
8 tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.