Dan 8:3 | KingComments | STEP | In the vision Daniel is an attentive spectator. He is not passive, but involved. That is clear from the remark ”I lifted my eyes”. He sees a ram which has two horns standing in front of the canal. A horn is a picture of power. If a horn is broken, it means the end of power. He also sees that both horns are long, that there is a difference in length, and that the length of one changes with respect to the other. We have also seen this with the bear, which is raised up on one side ( ). We do not have to guess for the meaning of the ram. In is the explanation: the ram with the two horns “are the kings of Media and Persia”. It is one ram with two horns. This suggests that it is one empire, with two distinct powers. I have been in uncertainty about the statement of “one [was] longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last”. I asked Gerard Kramer if he could help me. I know him as a reliable and competent Bible interpreter and historian, and I consult him more often. I am happy to pass on the clarification from his reply, which has given me the requested clarification: The Medes and the Persians have lived in the same area for centuries. First the Medes dominated that area and later the Persians. But both of them stayed to live there; the roles were literally reversed, however. The last king of the Medes, Astyages, had to his sorrow only a daughter, called Mandane. He deliberately married her to a Persian, called Cambyses, to prevent that a possible descendant (his grandson) could assert rights on the Medes’ throne. The descendant came; it was the later Cyrus – who at first would have been called differently. This boy was considered a Persian - because his father Cambyses was a Persian – and was also a foundling, so that he knew nothing of his royal ancestry. However, when he was an adult, his identity came to light and he rebelled against his grandfather Astyages; he won, and thus became the first Persian king. The empire of the Medes was now replaced by the Persian empire. In this Persian empire, ruled by the Persian kings, Medo vassal princes could occasionally be placed over certain areas to rule. Such a person was Darius the Mede. He “received the kingdom” at the age of 62, says Dn5:31 – according to some this expression indicates receiving the kingdom from a higher authority – in this case the Persian king Cyrus. Indeed he ruled, according to Dn9:1, over the Babylonian part. However, Cyrus was not first the most powerful, but permanently the most powerful: he ruled over the entire Persian empire, as did his successors. After that there was no Medo empire anymore. Alexander the Great put an end to the Persian empire. By the way, the Greeks, who fought 100 years prior to Alexander the Great against the Persians, always referred to these wars as the Medo wars, although they fought against two Persian kings; however, we refer to them as the Persian wars. I am only telling this to show that the Medes are always a recognizable constant factor in the empire dominated by the Persians. [End of quotation.] In short, it comes down to the fact that the moment the Medes and Persians are given world domination, the Persians are in power, with Cyrus at the head ( ). That is the moment when, to say it with the words of Daniel 7, the bear rises up on one side ( ), or to say it with the words of Daniel 8, one horn is longer than the other ( ). The ram, the Medo-Persian empire, was first very powerful. It exercised its power against Babylon, Syria, Greece and Asia Minor in the west, against the Lydians, Armenians and Scythians in the north and against Israel, Arabia, Ethiopia and Egypt in the south. This kingdom itself came from the east ( ). These three winds with the areas in them are possibly the three ribs in the mouth of the bear ( ). His power was so great that no one could hold out or free himself from his power. In all his conquests there was no thought of God. He acted only out of self-interest and seemed to succeed in his intention. He rose in power.

‏ Daniel 8:3

The Ram and its Performance

In the vision Daniel is an attentive spectator. He is not passive, but involved. That is clear from the remark ”I lifted my eyes”. He sees a ram which has two horns standing in front of the canal. A horn is a picture of power. If a horn is broken, it means the end of power. He also sees that both horns are long, that there is a difference in length, and that the length of one changes with respect to the other. We have also seen this with the bear, which is raised up on one side (Dan 7:5).

We do not have to guess for the meaning of the ram. In Dan 8:20 is the explanation: the ram with the two horns “are the kings of Media and Persia”. It is one ram with two horns. This suggests that it is one empire, with two distinct powers.

I have been in uncertainty about the statement of “one [was] longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last”. I asked Gerard Kramer if he could help me. I know him as a reliable and competent Bible interpreter and historian, and I consult him more often. I am happy to pass on the clarification from his reply, which has given me the requested clarification:

The Medes and the Persians have lived in the same area for centuries. First the Medes dominated that area and later the Persians. But both of them stayed to live there; the roles were literally reversed, however. The last king of the Medes, Astyages, had to his sorrow only a daughter, called Mandane. He deliberately married her to a Persian, called Cambyses, to prevent that a possible descendant (his grandson) could assert rights on the Medes’ throne. The descendant came; it was the later Cyrus – who at first would have been called differently. This boy was considered a Persian - because his father Cambyses was a Persian – and was also a foundling, so that he knew nothing of his royal ancestry. However, when he was an adult, his identity came to light and he rebelled against his grandfather Astyages; he won, and thus became the first Persian king. The empire of the Medes was now replaced by the Persian empire.

In this Persian empire, ruled by the Persian kings, Medo vassal princes could occasionally be placed over certain areas to rule. Such a person was Darius the Mede. He “received the kingdom” at the age of 62, says Dn5:31 – according to some this expression indicates receiving the kingdom from a higher authority – in this case the Persian king Cyrus. Indeed he ruled, according to Dn9:1, over the Babylonian part. However, Cyrus was not first the most powerful, but permanently the most powerful: he ruled over the entire Persian empire, as did his successors. After that there was no Medo empire anymore. Alexander the Great put an end to the Persian empire.

By the way, the Greeks, who fought 100 years prior to Alexander the Great against the Persians, always referred to these wars as the Medo wars, although they fought against two Persian kings; however, we refer to them as the Persian wars. I am only telling this to show that the Medes are always a recognizable constant factor in the empire dominated by the Persians. [End of quotation.]

In short, it comes down to the fact that the moment the Medes and Persians are given world domination, the Persians are in power, with Cyrus at the head (Ezra 1:2a). That is the moment when, to say it with the words of Daniel 7, the bear rises up on one side (Dan 7:5), or to say it with the words of Daniel 8, one horn is longer than the other (Dan 8:3).

The ram, the Medo-Persian empire, was first very powerful. It exercised its power against Babylon, Syria, Greece and Asia Minor in the west, against the Lydians, Armenians and Scythians in the north and against Israel, Arabia, Ethiopia and Egypt in the south. This kingdom itself came from the east (Isa 46:11a ; Isa 41:2). These three winds with the areas in them are possibly the three ribs in the mouth of the bear (Dan 7:5). His power was so great that no one could hold out or free himself from his power. In all his conquests there was no thought of God. He acted only out of self-interest and seemed to succeed in his intention. He rose in power.