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.
1 tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”
2 tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”
3 tn See the corresponding Aramaic expression in 7:27. If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. One could translate, “people belonging to (i.e., protected by) the holy ones.” If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” One could translate simply “holy people.” For examples of a plural appositional genitive after “people,” see 11:15, 32. Because either interpretation is possible, the translation has deliberately preserved the ambiguity of the Hebrew grammar here.
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.