Daniel 8:5 Commentary and Bible Study

The second of the two middle kingdoms (kingdom three of the vision in chapter 7) is now introduced. This all agrees with the dream of chapter 2 and the vision of chapter 7, but we are pointed to new symbolism and a few extra details. ‘And as I was considering,’ – it is a waking vision, and Daniel now considers what he has seen; the picture is dying before his eyes, and he is thinking about it when suddenly it seems to come to life again and renew – ‘behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground’ – which anyone can see is about the speed of this he goat. The explanation will follow, but the goat is the empire of Greece; and the ‘notable horn between his eyes’ is Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great conquered massively, usually with smaller armies than the people he conquered. Why is it noted that the horn came out ‘between his eyes’? This might seem to symbolise his great intelligence, the way he went about his conquests. Alexander the Great was tutored by Aristotle. He carried out reconnaissance, he planned, and then he struck with great force at a weak point of the enemy, so that with considerably smaller armies he always conquered. ‘And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. ⁷ And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler [indignation] against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him.’ Alexander is seen to fly at the Medo-Persians who are in their place before the river of Ulai. In his aggression he runs at them and strikes them a blow from which they cannot recover and takes possession as ruler over their lands. Both of the two horns of the ram – the Medes and the Persians – are broken and unable to resist further. There was no other nation with which they could form an alliance to resist Alexander’s power. All that is exactly what ultimately came to pass.‘Therefore the he goat waxed very great’ – Alexander’s kingdom enlarged rapidly and extended into southern Europe, north Africa, and as far east as India. He fought several major battles with Persia, the first of which was in 334 BC, the battle of Granicus, fought across the Granicus River. ‘And when he was strong, the great horn was broken.’ He died a young man, aged 32 in June 323 BC, at a time of life when a man ought to be strong, and when he had already conquered much of the known world. He died of war wounds, drunkenness, and a dissolute life.‘And for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.’ Now that took time. It didn't happen immediately, but in due course four of Alexander’s generals – rivals with each other – more or less divided up the empire between them and became rulers over Thrace (Southern Europe) ruled by Cassander, Asia Minor or the kingdom of Pergamon under Antigonus, Egypt ruled by Ptolemy, and the eastern part of the empire under Seleucus.