Discovery BoxDaniel 4:15 
Context4:15 But leave its taproot 1 in the ground,
with a band of iron and bronze around it 2
surrounded by the grass of the field.
Let it become damp with the dew of the sky,
and let it live with 3 the animals in the grass of the land.
Daniel 7:4
Context7:4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind 4 was given to it. 5
Daniel 8:7
Context8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram 6 and struck it 7 and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. 8 The goat hurled the ram 9 to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. 10
1 tn Aram “the stock of its root.” So also v. 23. The implication here is that although the tree is chopped down, it is not killed. Its life-giving root is spared. The application to Nebuchadnezzar is obvious.
2 sn The function of the band of iron and bronze is not entirely clear, but it may have had to do with preventing the splitting or further deterioration of the portion of the tree that was left after being chopped down. By application it would then refer to the preservation of Nebuchadnezzar’s life during the time of his insanity.
3 tn Aram “its lot be.”
4 tn Aram “heart of a man.”
5 sn The identity of the first animal, derived from v. 17 and the parallels in chap. 2, is Babylon. The reference to the plucking of its wings is probably a reference to the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (cf. chap. 4). The latter part of v. 4 then describes the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. The other animals have traditionally been understood to represent respectively Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, although most of modern scholarship identifies them as Media, Persia, and Greece. For a biblical parallel to the mention of lion, bear, and leopard together, see Hos 13:7-8.
6 tn Heb “him.”
7 tn Heb “the ram.”
8 tn Heb “stand before him.”
9 tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 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
