Daniel 8:9-12

8:9 From one of them came a small horn. ¹  But it grew to be very big, toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land. ²  8:10 It grew so big it reached the army ³  of heaven, and it brought about the fall of some of the army and some of the stars ⁴  to the ground, where it trampled them. 8:11 It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, ⁵  from whom ⁶  the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary ⁷  was thrown down. 8:12 The army was given over, ⁸  along with the daily sacrifice, in the course of his sinful rebellion. ⁹  It hurled ¹⁰  truth ¹¹  to the ground and enjoyed success. ¹² 

Daniel 8:23-25

8:23 Toward the end of their rule, when rebellious acts ¹³  are complete, a rash ¹⁴  and deceitful ¹⁵  king will arise. ¹⁶  8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ¹⁷  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ¹⁸  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ¹⁹  8:25 By his treachery ²⁰  he will succeed through deceit. ²¹  He will have an arrogant attitude, ²²  and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. ²³  He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart – but not by human agency. ²⁴ 

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¹ sn This small horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who controlled the Seleucid kingdom from ca. 175-164 B.C. Antiochus was extremely hostile toward the Jews and persecuted them mercilessly.

² sn The expression the beautiful land (Heb. הַצֶּבִי [hatsÿvi] = “the beauty”) is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel. Cf. 11:16, 41, where it is preceded by the word אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”).

³ tn Traditionally, “host.” The term refers to God’s heavenly angelic assembly, which he sometimes leads into battle as an army.

⁴ sn In prescientific Israelite thinking the stars were associated with the angelic members of God’s heavenly assembly. See Judg 5:20; Job 38:7; Isa 40:26. In west Semitic mythology the stars were members of the high god’s divine assembly (see Isa 14:13).

⁵ sn The prince of the army may refer to God (cf. “whose sanctuary” later in the verse) or to the angel Michael (cf. 12:1).

⁶ tn Or perhaps “and by him,” referring to Antiochus rather than to God.

⁷ sn Here the sanctuary is a reference to the temple of God in Jerusalem.

⁸ tc The present translation reads וּצְבָאָהּ נִתַּן (utsÿva’ah nittan) for the MT וְצָבָא תִּנָּתֵן (vÿtsava’ tinnaten). The context suggests a perfect rather than an imperfect verb.

⁹ tn Heb “in (the course of) rebellion.” The meaning of the phrase is difficult to determine. It could mean “due to rebellion,” referring to the failures of the Jews, but this is not likely since it is not a point made elsewhere in the book. The phrase more probably refers to the rebellion against God and the atrocities against the Jews epitomized by Antiochus.

¹⁰ tc Two medieval Hebrew MSS and the LXX have a passive verb here: “truth was hurled to the ground” (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV).

¹¹ sn Truth here probably refers to the Torah. According to 1 Macc 1:56, Antiochus initiated destruction of the sacred books of the Jews.

¹² tn Heb “it acted and prospered.”

¹³ tc The present translation reads הַפְּשָׁעִים (happÿsha’im, “rebellious acts”) for the MT הַפֹּשְׁעִים (happoshÿ’im, “rebels”). While the MT is understandable (cf. NIV, “when rebels have become completely wicked”), the filling up of transgressions is a familiar OT expression (cf. Gen 15:16) and fits this context well. Cf. the LXX, Theodotion, the Vulgate, and the Syriac.

¹⁴ tn Heb “strong of face.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “understanding riddles.” Possible meanings include “double-dealing” (BDB 295 s.v. חִידָה; cf. TEV, CEV) and “with a good knowledge of intrigue” (HALOT 309 s.v. חִידָה; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

¹⁶ tn Heb “stand” or “stand up.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

¹⁹ 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.

²⁰ 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.

²¹ tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”

²² tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”

²³ 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.

²⁴ tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”