Dan 8:8 | KingComments | STEP | When Greece has the power, that empire grows larger and larger. This is not only about the size of his area, but also about his arrogance. In his arrogance he has Greek culture imported into the conquered areas, including Judea. This entering of Greek culture into its entire empire is sometimes called ‘Hellenizing’, after the formal name for Greece, Hellas. Then comes the moment that “the large horn”, that is Alexander the Great, is broken. This means that he dies. It is known from non-biblical history that he started war at the age of twenty. When he is thirty-two or thirty-three years old, he “magnified [himself] exceedingly”. He is in the power of his life and at the height of his fame. Suddenly, however, Alexander dies. He is not killed in war. His death has been attributed to a sudden fever. Because Alexander has no son, his empire is divided among his four generals, all of whom gain power over a part of the great empire. They are represented in the four conspicuous horns. These four horns have the same meaning as the four heads of the leopard in the vision Daniel saw in the previous chapter ( ). The four areas are divided among the four generals as follows: 1. Seleucus got Syria in the east, 2. Lysimachus got Asia Minor in the north, 3. Ptolemy got Egypt in the south and 4. Cassander got Macedonia in the west.

‏ Daniel 8:8

The Large Horn and the Four Horns

When Greece has the power, that empire grows larger and larger. This is not only about the size of his area, but also about his arrogance. In his arrogance he has Greek culture imported into the conquered areas, including Judea. This entering of Greek culture into its entire empire is sometimes called ‘Hellenizing’, after the formal name for Greece, Hellas.

Then comes the moment that “the large horn”, that is Alexander the Great, is broken. This means that he dies. It is known from non-biblical history that he started war at the age of twenty. When he is thirty-two or thirty-three years old, he “magnified [himself] exceedingly”. He is in the power of his life and at the height of his fame. Suddenly, however, Alexander dies. He is not killed in war. His death has been attributed to a sudden fever.

Because Alexander has no son, his empire is divided among his four generals, all of whom gain power over a part of the great empire. They are represented in the four conspicuous horns. These four horns have the same meaning as the four heads of the leopard in the vision Daniel saw in the previous chapter (Dan 7:6 ; Dan 11:4).

The four areas are divided among the four generals as follows:

1. Seleucus got Syria in the east,

2. Lysimachus got Asia Minor in the north,

3. Ptolemy got Egypt in the south and

4. Cassander got Macedonia in the west.