Daniel 8:21-25
8:21 a The large horn represents Alexander the Great, the mighty first king who forged the Greek Empire. Two centuries after Daniel, Alexander would swiftly conquer the world (8:5 b); he overcame Persia in 331 BC. Alexander died in 323 BC at the age of thirty-three, but not before he arrogantly allowed himself to be called a god.• Josephus records that some Jewish priests showed the book of Daniel to Alexander, but Alexander treated Homer’s Iliad as his Bible and relied on it for guidance.
8:22 c After Alexander’s death in 323 BC, his kingdom was divided into four major kingdoms, ruled by his generals (see profile for The Greeks at end of chapter).
Summary for Dan 8:23-25: 8:23-25 d The small horn (8:9 e) was a fierce king. The description matches Antiochus IV (175–163 BC), one of the Seleucids (cp. 11:21-45 f). He bore the name “Epiphanes” (“The Manifest Presence [of God]”), but many, including Jews, mockingly called him “Epimanes” (“Mad Man”). By desecrating the Temple and Jewish worship (8:11-12 g), Antiochus tried to destroy Judaism and unify his kingdom under the cult of Hellenistic culture. Some Jews were swept up in the program of Hellenism and adopted Greek ways.
8:24 h not by his own power: God remained in sovereign control of the seemingly fortuitous events of history that brought Antiochus IV to power.
• a shocking amount of destruction: See 1 Maccabees 1:10-63, which describes many of the evils that Antiochus IV instigated.
8:25 i The Prince of princes is the King of Israel, the ruler of heaven and earth (7:9-10 j, 13-14 k). Antiochus, at the time of his death, exalted himself as God and intended to destroy Jerusalem.
• he will be broken: Just as Antiochus IV’s rise was not by his own power (8:24 l), so he was destroyed by God’s hand rather than by human power. His end was to be eaten by worms (1 Maccabees 6:7-16 and 2 Maccabees 9:4-28; cp. Herod Agrippa, Acts 12:20-23 m).
Copyright information for
TNotes