When I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. Then behold, there stood before me something like the appearance of a man. I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end.”
Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright.
He said, “Behold, I will make you know what will be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongs to the appointed time of the end. The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. The rough male goat is the king of Greece. The great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms will stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
“In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding dark sentences, will stand up. His power will be mighty, but not by his own power. He will destroy awesomely, and will prosper in what he does. He will destroy the mighty ones and the holy people. Through his policy he will cause deceit to prosper in his hand. He will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many in their security. He will also stand up against the prince of princes; but he will be broken without hand.
“The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision, for it belongs to many days to come.”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv15–26 Daniel again confirms his original statement. But before he…
Daniel again confirms his original statement. But before he descends to the interpretation, he makes a preface concerning the faithfulness and certainty of the oracle, lest the Church should hesitate to embrace his utterance as really proceeding from God. In doing this, he uses no artifice as rhetoricians do; but God wished to stir up both him and all the pious to meditate upon this prophecy, the knowledge of which was then so peculiarly necessary and useful. He says, therefore, when he sought the understanding of this vision, there appeared to him a form like that of a man Now God had anticipated this desire of the Prophet, by the answer which the angel received from Christ, who in reply had partly explained the sense of this vision. Now Daniel, finding himself anticipated by God who did not wait for his inquiry, gathers courage, and trusting in God’s readiness to furnish an answer, he wishes to learn the matter more clearly; not that he was altogether ignorant of the subject, but he did not yet perceive with sufficient clearness what was useful to himself and the whole Church. We see then, how the answer of Christ only afforded him a taste of the vision, and only urged him forwards towards the full comprehension of it. Many are immediately satisfied with but moderate information, and as soon as they understand a portion of any subject, they reject every addition, and many too often settle down at the first elements, and their obstinacy prevents that complete knowledge which is necessary. Daniel therefore shews himself to be far distant from such fastidiousness, as he was rendered more attentive by hearing from Christ’ lips the rea1 object of the vision. When I was attentive 1 sought to understand it, says he, behold! there stood before my face (or near it) like the aspect of a man We ought probably to interpret this passage of Christ, who is now called like a man, as formerly. (Daniel 7:13.) For he had not yet put on our flesh, so as to be properly entitled to the name of a man; but he was here like a man, because he wished to allow the holy fathers a taste from which they might understand his future coming as Mediator, when he should put on human nature as God manifest in flesh:. (1 Timothy 3:16.) Thus Daniel speaks suitably as before when he says, Christ appeared to him under the aspect of a man But this adds to the same purpose, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Which was Christ who in this manner declared himself…
Which was Christ who in this manner declared himself to the old fathers, how he would be God manifest in flesh.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–26 Dan 8:15 And it came to pass, when I,…
Dan 8:15 And it came to pass, when I, [even] I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
Ver. 15. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel.] Not another, as that black-mouthed Porphyry {a} slanderously affirmed, that not the prophet Daniel saw and uttered these prophecies so long before they happened, but another who lived after the reign of Antiochus wrote a history of things past, and entitled it falsely to Daniel, as a prophecy of things to come. Os durum! Harsh mouth.
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Then, behold, there stood before me.] They who seriously and sedulously seek after divine knowledge, shall find means to attain unto it. {Rev 13:1}
{a} Porphyry, Cont. Christian, lib. xii.; Jerome.
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv15–26 Having obtained the favour of knowing something, he longed…
Having obtained the favour of knowing something, he longed for a more clear discovery of those things; and he had his desire granted.
As the appearance of a man; either the angel Gabriel or Michael, who appeared often in the shape of men, and are the messengers of God in the great things concerning his church, Heb 1:14; others will have this angel to be Christ.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v15 Here we have,
Here we have,
I. Daniel's earnest desire to have this vision explained to him (Dan 8:15): I sought the meaning. Note, Those that rightly know the things of God cannot but desire to know more and more of them, and to be led further into the mystery of them; and those that would find the meaning of what they have seen or heard from God must seek it, and seek it diligently. Seek and you shall find. Daniel considered the thing, compared it with the former discoveries, to try if he could understand it; but especially he sought by prayer (as he had done Dan 2:18), and he did not seek in vain.
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II. Orders given to the angel Gabriel to inform him concerning this vision. One in the appearance of a man (who, some think, was Christ himself, for who besides could command angels?) orders Gabriel to make Daniel understand this vision. Sometimes God is pleased to make use of the ministration of angels, not only to protect his children, but to instruct them, to serve the kind intentions, not only of his providence, but of his grace.
III. The consternation that Daniel was in upon the approach of his instructor (Dan 8:17): When he came near I was afraid. Though Daniel was a man of great prudence and courage, and had been conversant with the visions of the Almighty, yet the approach of an extraordinary messenger from heaven put him into this fright. He fell upon his face, not to worship the angel, but because he could no longer bear the dazzling lustre of his glory. Nay, being prostrate upon the ground, he fell into a deep sleep, (Dan 8:18), which came not from any neglect of the vision, or indifference towards it, but was an effect of his faintness and the oppression of spirit he was under, through the abundance of revelations. The disciples in the garden slept for sorrow; and, as there, so here, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. Daniel would have kept awake, and could not.
IV. The relief which the angel gave to Daniel, with great encouragement to him to expect a satisfactory discovery of the meaning of this vision. 1. He touched him, and set him upon his feet, Dan 8:18. Thus when John, in a similar case, was in similar consternation, Christ laid his right hand upon him, Rev 1:17. It was a gentle touch that the angel here gave to Daniel, to show that he came not to hurt him, not to plead against him with his great power, or with a hand heavy upon him, but to help him, to put strength into him (Job 23:6), which God can do with a touch. When we are slumbering and grovelling on this earth we are very unfit to hear from God, and to converse with him. But, if God design instruction for us, he will be his grace awaken us out of our slumber, raise us from things below, and set us upright. 2. He promised to inform him: "Understand, O son of man! Dan 8:17. Thou shalt understand, if thou wilt but apply thy mind to understand." He calls him son of man to intimate that he would consider his frame, and would deal tenderly with him, accommodating himself to his capacity as a man. Or thus he preaches humility to him; though he be admitted to converse with angels, he must not be puffed up with it, but must remember that he is a son of man. Or perhaps this title puts honour upon him: the Messiah was lately called the Son of man (Dan 7:13), and Daniel is akin to him, and is a figure of him as a prophet and one greatly beloved. He assures him that he shall be made to know what shall be in the last end of the indignation, Dan 8:19. Let it be laid up for a comfort to those who shall live to see these calamitous times that there shall be an end of them; the indignation shall cease (Isa 10:25); it shall be overpast, Isa 26:20. It may intermit and return again, but the last end shall be glorious; good will follow it, nay, and good will be brought out of it. He tells him (Dan 8:17), "At the time of the end shall be the vision; when the last end of the indignation comes, when the course of this providence is completed, then the vision shall be made plain and intelligible by the event, as the event shall be made plain and intelligible by the vision." Or, "At the time of the end of the Jewish church, in the latter days of it, shall this vision be accomplished, 300 or 400 years hence; understand it therefore, that thou mayest leave it on record for the generations to come." But is he ask more particularly, "When is the time of the end? And how long will it be before it arrive?" let this answer suffice (Dan 8:19): At the time appointed the end shall be; it is fixed in the divine counsel, which cannot be altered and which must not be pried into.
V. The exposition which he gave him of the vision.
1. Concerning the two monarchies of Persia and Greece, Dan 8:20-22. The ram signified the succession of the kings of Media and Persia; the rough goat signified the kings of Greece; the great horn was Alexander; the four horns that rose in his room were the four kingdoms into which his conquests were cantoned, of which before, Dan 8:8. They are said to stand up out of the nations, but not in his power; none of them ever made the figure that Alexander did. Josephus relates that when Alexander had taken Tyre, and subdued Palestine, and was upon his march to Jerusalem, Jaddas, who was them high priest (Nehemiah mentions one of his name, Neh 12:11), fearing his rage, had recourse to God by prayer and sacrifice for the common safety, and was by him warned in a dream that upon Alexander's approach he should throw open the gates of the city, and that he and the rest of the priests should go forth to meet him in their habits, and all the people in white. Alexander, seeing this company at a distance, went himself alone to the high priest, and, having prostrated himself before that God whose name was engraven in the golden plate of his mitre, he first saluted him; and, being asked by one of his own captains why he did so, he said that while he was yet in Macedon, musing on the conquest of Asia, there appeared to him a man like unto this, and thus attired, who invited him into Asia, and assured him of success in the conquest of it. The priests led him to the temple, where he offered sacrifice to the God of Israel as they directed him; and there they showed him this book of the prophet Daniel, that it was there foretold that a Grecian should come and destroy the Persians, which animated him very much in the expedition he was now meditating against Darius. Hereupon he took the Jews and their religion under his protection, promised to be kind to those of their religion in Babylon and Media, whither he was now marching, and in honour of him all the priests that had sons born that year called them Alexander. Joseph. lib. 11.
2. Concerning Antiochus, and his oppression of the Jews. This is said to be in the latter time of the kingdom of the Greeks, when the transgressors are come to the full (Dan 8:23); that is, when the degenerate Jews have filled up the measure of their iniquity, and are ripe for this destruction, so that God cannot in honour bear with them any longer then shall stand up this king, to be flagellum Dei - the rod in God's hand for the chastising of the Jews. Now observe here, (1.) His character: He shall be a king of fierce countenance, insolent and furious, neither fearing God nor regarding man, understanding dark sentences, or (rather) versed in dark practices, the hidden things of dishonesty; he was master of all the arts of dissimulation and deceit, and knew the depths of Satan as well as any man. He was wise to do evil. (2.) His success. He shall make dreadful havoc of the nations about him: His power shall be mighty, bear down all before it, but not by his own power (Dan 8:24), but partly by the assistance of his allies, Eumenes and Attalus, partly by the baseness and treachery of many of the Jews, even of the priests that came into his interests, and especially by the divine permission. it was not by his own power, but by a power given him from above, that he destroyed wonderfully, and thought he made himself a great man by being a great destroyer. He destroys wonderfully indeed, for he destroys, [1.] The mighty people, and they cannot resist him by their power. The princes of Egypt cannot stand before him with all their forces, but he practises against them and prospers. Note, The mighty ones of the earth commonly meet with those at length that are too hard for them, that are more mighty than they. Let not the strong man then glory in his strength, be it ever so great, unless he could be sure that there were none stronger than he. [2.] He destroys the holy people, or the people of the holy ones; and their sacred character does neither deter him from destroying them nor defend them from being destroyed. All things come alike to all, and there is one event to the mighty and to the holy in this world. [3.] The methods by which he will gain this success, not by true courage, wisdom, or justice, but by his policy and craft (Dan 8:25), by fraud and deceit, and serpentine subtlety: He shall cause craft to prosper; so cunningly shall he carry on his projects that he shall gain his point by the art of wheedling. By peace he shall destroy many, as others do by war; under the pretence of treaties, leagues, and alliances, with them, he shall encroach on their rights, and trick them into a subjection to him. Thus sometimes what a nation truly brave has gained in a righteous war a nation truly base has regained in a treacherous peace, and craft has been caused to prosper. [4.] The mischief that he shall do to religion: He shall magnify himself in his heart, and think himself fit to prescribe and give law to every body, so that he shall stand up against the Prince of princes, that is, against God himself. He will profane his temple and altar, prohibit his worship, and persecute his worshippers. See what a height of impudence some men's impiety brings them to; they openly bid defiance to God himself though he is the Kings of kings. [5.] The ruin that he shall be brought to at last: He shall be broken without hand, that is, without the hand of man. He shall not be slain in war, nor shall he be assassinated, as tyrants commonly were, but he shall fall into the hand of the living God and die by an immediate stroke of his vengeance. He, hearing that the Jews had cast the image of Jupiter Olympius out of the temple, where he had placed it, was so enraged at the Jews that he vowed he would make Jerusalem a common burial-place, and determined to march thither immediately; but no sooner had he spoken these proud words than he was struck with an incurable plague in his bowels; worms bred so fast in his body that whole flakes of flesh sometimes dropped from him; his torments were violent, and the stench of his disease such that none could endure to come near him. He continued in this misery very long. At first he persisted in his menaces against the Jews; but at length, despairing of his recovery, he called his friends together, and acknowledged all those miseries to have fallen upon him for the injuries he had done to the Jews and his profaning the temple at Jerusalem. Then he wrote courteous letters to the Jews, and vowed that if he recovered he would let them have the free exercise of their religion. But, finding his disease grow upon him, when he could no longer endure his own smell, he said, It is meet to submit to God, and for man who is mortal not to set himself in competition with God, and so died miserably in a strange land, on the mountains of Pacata near Babylon: so Ussher's Annals, A.M. 3840, about 160 years before the birth of Christ.
3. As to the time fixed for the continuance of the cessation of the daily sacrifice, it is not explained here, but only confirmed (Dan 8:26). That vision of the evening and morning is true, in the proper sense of the words, and needs no explication. How unlikely soever it might be that God should suffer his own sanctuary to be thus profaned, yet it is true, it is too true, so it shall be.
VI. Here is the conclusion of this vision, and here, 1. The charge given to Daniel to keep it private for the present: Shut thou up the vision; let it not be publicly know among the Chaldeans, lest the Persians, who were now shortly to possess the kingdom, should be incensed against the Jews by it, because the downfall of their kingdom was foretold by it, which would be unseasonable now that the edict for their release was expected from the king of Persia. Shut it up, for it shall be for many days. It was about 300 years from the time of this vision to the time of the accomplishment of it; therefore he must shut it up for the present, even from the people of the Jews, lest it should amaze and perplex them, but let it be kept safely for the generations to come, that should live about the time of the accomplishment of it, for to them it would be both most intelligible and most serviceable. Note, What we know of the things of God should be carefully laid up, that hereafter, when there is occasion, it may be faithfully laid out; and what we have not now any use for, yet we may have another time. Divine truths should be sealed up among our treasures, that we may find them again after many days. 2. The care he took to keep it private, having received such a charge, Dan 8:27. He fainted, and was sick, with the multitude of his thoughts within him occasioned by this vision, which oppressed and overwhelmed him the more because he was forbidden to publish what he had seen, so that his belly was as wine which has no vent, he was ready to burst like new bottles, Job 32:19. However, he kept it to himself, stifled and smothered the concern he was in; so that those he conversed with could not perceive it, but he did the king's business according to the duty of his place, whatever it was. Note, As long as we live in this world we must have something to do in it; and even those whom God has most dignified with his favours must not think themselves above their business; nor must the pleasure of communion with God take us off from the duties of our particular callings, but still we must in them abide with God. Those especially that are entrusted with public business must see to it that they conscientiously discharge their trust.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv15–26 And it came to pass, when I, even I…
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision,.... The whole of the preceding vision, concerning the ram, he goat, and little horn, and what were done by them; the prophet not only affirms he saw this vision, but repeats the affirmation, expressing his own name, partly for the sake of emphasis, and partly for the greater confirmation of his words; wherefore it was a most impudent thing Porphyry to say, that the true Daniel never saw this vision; but what is here related was written after Antiochus's reign, and falsely ascribed to him. It being so clear a prophecy concerning Alexander, and the destruction of the Persian empire by him, this acute spiteful Heathen had no other way of evading the evidence of it in favour of true religion but by this false and lying assertion:
and I sought for the meaning; that is, of the vision; for a more perfect, clear, and explicit meaning of it; something he had learnt concerning the latter part of it, relating to the desolation of the temple, and the continuance of it, from what passed between the two saints or angels; but he was desirous of knowing more; which he either signified by making application to the angel that stood near him; or rather by secret ejaculations in prayer to God; and he, who is afterwards described as a man, though the eternal God that knows all things, knew the secret desires of his soul, and immediately took care they should be answered:
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then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man: not really a man, but in form and appearance; not Gabriel, or any created angel in human form, in which angels sometimes appeared but the eternal Son of God, who was to be incarnate, and was often seen in the form of a man before his incarnation; in like manner he was now seen by Daniel, right
over against (k) whom he stood; this is the same with the speaking saint, or Paimoni the wonderful One, in Dan 8:13. Jacchiades says, this is the holy blessed God; as it is indeed the Immanuel, God that was to be manifested in the flesh.
(k) "ex adverso mei", Michaelis.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26 The meaning - A more clear discovery of those…
The meaning - A more clear discovery of those things. The appearance of a man - Probably Gabriel.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Verse 15. As the appearance of a man.] Supposed…
Verse 15. As the appearance of a man.] Supposed to be the Messiah.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26 Dan 8:15-16. When I had seen the vision, and…
Dan 8:15-16. When I had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning — Here we are informed of Daniel’s earnest desire to have the vision explained to him. For those that rightly know the things of God, cannot but desire to be led still further into the mystery of them. And those who desire to know the meaning of what they have seen or heard from God, must seek it, and that diligently, namely, by earnest prayer and close meditation. Then there stood before me as the appearance of a man — The Scriptures frequently represent the angels as appearing in human forms, which it is likely they do, because, perhaps, there is nothing visible to us that so much resembles what they really are, as the human form does. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai — That is, between me and the river Ulai. Which said, Gabriel, make this man understand the vision — Explain it more clearly to him, if there be any thing in it which he does not perfectly understand. He who spake this seems to be the same angel who is spoken of Dan 8:13, and called there that certain saint, by way of distinction; for he here speaks as one that had authority over the angel Gabriel.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv15–26 And it came to pass ... - Daniel saw…
And it came to pass ... - Daniel saw the vision, but was unable to explain it.
And sought for the meaning - Evidently by meditating on it, or endeavoring in his own mind to make it out.
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There stood before me as the appearance of a man - One having the appearance of a man. This was evidently Gabriel Dan 8:16, who now assumed a human form, and who was addressed by the voice from between the banks of the Ulai, and commenced to make known the meaning of the vision.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Man. So Ezechiel is usually styled, to shew that…
Man. So Ezechiel is usually styled, to shew that the human nature is different from that of angels, and would be greatly honoured by Jesus Christ, who takes this appellation. (Worthington) --- Of the end, or determined. This shall take place, (Calmet) but the period is distinct. (Grotius ver. 26.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Gabriel--meaning, "the strength of God."
Gabriel--meaning, "the strength of God."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26 15, 16. This is the first time in Scripture…
15, 16. This is the first time in Scripture that an angel is given a name. This one, having the appearance of a man (Dan_7:13; Eze_1:26), is called Gabriel — “Man of God,” or “Hero of God.” He appears again Dan_9:21, and probably Dan_10:18. He is always in Scripture the bearer of good news to prayerful hearts. (Compare Luk_1:11; Luk_1:26.) He ever appears as God’s representative and mediatorial revelation of divine wisdom and comfort. The connection of this “archangel” with any of the seven amshaspands of Zoroastrianism, the seven Babylonian planets, or the seven counselors at the Persian court (Ezr_7:14) has not been made out (see article “Gabriel” in Hastings’s Dictionary of the Bible, 2:1899). It was formerly supposed that at least the names of these angels came from Babylon, but the cuneiform texts so far offer no confirmation of this theory. In the Zend-Avesta angels are supposed to be spoken of as symbols of God’s attributes, while the archangels are merely the Good Mind’s “thoughts and beneficent intentions” (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxxi). In the Scripture they appear as personal messengers of Jehovah. After considering the whole question of the angelology of Daniel, Behrmann reaches the conclusion that “we meet here no conception which had not been intimated or begun in earlier or contemporary biblical books.” (See also Dan_10:13.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv15–26 15–27. Daniel seeks to know the meaning of the…
15–27. Daniel seeks to know the meaning of the vision, which is imparted to him, as in Dan_7:16 ff., by an angel.
15 that I sought to understand (it), and, behold, &c.] cf. Dan_7:19.
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there was standing in front of me] appearing suddenly, some little way off (see Dan_8:17, ‘came near’).
as the appearance of a man] The expression ‘as the appearance of’ is borrowed from Ez. (Eze_1:13-14; Eze_1:26-28, Eze_8:2, Dan_10:1, Eze_40:3, Eze_42:11), and recurs below, Dan_10:6; Dan_10:18. The word for man (geber)—different from that in Dan_10:18—is evidently chosen with allusion to the name ‘Gabriel,’ ‘man of God’ [not the word used in the common phrase, ‘man of God,’ for a prophet].
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 (15) Appearance of a man.—From Dan_8:16 it appears that…
(15) Appearance of a man.—From Dan_8:16 it appears that this was the angel Gabriel. The “man’s voice” mentioned in Dan_8:16 proceeded from Him Who alone has authority to command angels. (Comp. Dan_12:6-7.)
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The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv15–26 And it came to pass, when I, even I…
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. The versions here are unimportant. Daniel desires to understand the meaning of this vision. From this we see that, at the time when this book was written, it was understood that prophets might be ignorant of the meaning of the revelations made to them. This is at variance with the assumption of even believing critics, that if a prophecy were given to a prophet, he must have understood the reference of the message. On the accuracy of this assumption, they found the rejection of any interpretation of a prophecy which sees more in it than the prophet could have seen. This latest critical date of Daniel is separated by approximately two centuries and a half from prophecy in actual existence in Malachi. The tradition of the conditions of the phenomenon would still be vital. The phrase before us probably means that Daniel applied the various Babylonian formulae to the dream, to find the interpretation, but, suspicious of them, he still continued his search. In answer to Daniel"s search, there stood before him one having "the appearance of a man (gaber) an angelic being in human form. The H,.brew word translated "man" is gaber, which suggests the name given to the angel, "Gabriel."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv19, 25 At the time appointed the end shall be.
Dan_8:19
At the time appointed the end shall be.
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A Safe Prospective
Human nature anxiously desires to know something of the future. If we were told to-night that we could repair to a certain spot, where we might lift the veil of our own history, and foresee the course of our own lives during the next few years, I am afraid very few of us could be trusted to absent ourselves from such a place, or miss such an opportunity. Be persuaded, however, that with the exception of some grand feature, some magnificent outline which God has revealed, the future is absolutely shut from human eye; and as to the details which concern your life or mine, it is utterly impossible that we should over become acquainted with them by any manner of horoscope, or soothsaying, or bibliomancy. Why is it that the future is thus shut out from our view? Is it not because the present is enough to occupy our talents? Rightly to serve our God in this present hour will take all the strength we have, and all the strength we can obtain from God. Sufficient unto the day is not only the evil thereof, but the service thereof. Men who live too much in the past, and go beyond that which is rightly conservative, become of little service in the world; and men who are tempted to regulate their movements by forecasts of the future, will always become abstracted, speculative, empirical, full of sentiment, and void of assiduity, but certainly of no service whatever in the stern battle of to-day. God has concealed the future from us, probably, with a view to relieve our career through the world of dull monotony, and infuse into it new phases of stirring interest. Life would not wear such a lively aspect if it were all spread out in a map before us on the day of the commencement of our pilgrimage. Much of the pleasantness of a journey lies in unexpected views and scenes which burst upon the traveller as he climbs a hill or descends into a dale. If he could see all at once, one long, unvariegated avenue, it would become weary walking for him; but the very freshness and novelty of the events, adventures, and contingencies constantly occurrent, help to make life exciting, if not happy. Has not God also hid the future from us that we may not labour under the sense of being like dumb driven cattle, who have no will and no freedom, but both do and suffer what they are compelled by an agency irresistible? Moreover, is it not to be counted for a thousand mercies in one that all the future is concealed from us, since that future is of a very chequered character, casting, as one hath said, beams of hope and shadows of fear over the stage both of active and contemplative life? Some of it is bright with pleasure; much of it is dim with sorrow. What then if we knew the pleasure would come, should we not begin to reckon upon it? Surely the current of time would flow on heavily until the pleasant day arrived. Perhaps we should be really drawing bills at a very heavy discount upon the future if we knew it sufficiently to forestall the season of prosperity. And as for the troubles, the perils, and the afflictions that await us, if we knew of them beforehand, we should be pretty sure, with our natural tendency to graceless unbelief and morbid anxiety, to begin to carry the burden before the day came for us to carry it in. No, my Lord, it would be a fatal gift if thou wouldst bestow upon any one of us the power to know his own future.
I. First, then, it is well for us to remember that EVERYTHING IN THE FUTURE IS APPOINTED. Nothing shall happen to us which God has not foreseen. No unexpected event shall destroy His plans; no emergency shall transpire for which He has not provided; no peril shall occur against which He has not guarded. There shall come no remarkable event which shall take Him by surprise. He seeth the end from the beginning, and the things that are not, as though they were. To Gods eye there is no past and no future. We may derive no small comfort from this fact; for, suppose one goes to sea under the most skilful captain; that captain cannot possibly know what may occur during the voyage, and with the greatest foresight he can never promise an absolutely safe passage. There may be dangers which he has never yet encountered. But when you come into the ship of Providence, He who is at the helm is the Master of every wind that shall blow, and of every wave that shall break its force upon that ship; and He foresees as well the events that shall happen at the harbour for which we make, as those that happen at the port from which we start. How safe are we, then, when embarked in the good ship of Providence, with such a Captain who has fore-arranged and fore-ordained all things from the beginning even unto the end. And, furthermore, how much it becomes us to put implicit confidence in His guidance! It should always be remembered in connection with this subject that we are no believers in fate--seeing that fate is a different doctrine altogether from predestination. Fate says the thing is and must be; so it is decreed. But the true doctrine is--God has appointed this and that, not because it must be, but because it is best that it should be. Fate is blind, but the destiny of Scripture is full of eyes. Fate is stern and adamantine, and has no tears for human sorrow; but the arrangements of Providence are kind and good. The greatest good for the greatest number, and the glory of God above all, are the ends that are therein subserved. All the appointments of His providence, especially towards His people, are ruled in mercy, in tenderness, in love, and in wisdom, and all are conducive to their highest interest and their greatest happiness. Oh! but this is a blessed truth; oh! it is sweet, to be able to say, From this day forth, whatever happeneth to me, be it little or be it great, I am content. Though I am altogether unaware what it shall be, I am not sorry that I am unaware of it; for this one thing I know, there shall happen nothing but what God permits; I shall be left to no demons power; I shall not be cast away like an orphan; I shall not be beyond my Fathers eye, and my Fathers hand. If one could think that there was somewhere one grain of dust floating in the atmosphere that was not under Divine superintendence, one might wish to escape from it as from a plague. If one could believe that there was an hour of the night, or say a single second throughout the livelong year, in which the hand of God was withdrawn from nature, or a single event in which God was not concerned, and His will was not consulted, one might tremble till that black hour had passed, or till that dread event, like a vial full of evil, had been effectually poured out and put away. But now each hour is safe, for God has made it so. I would, with special earnestness, beg you to believe that God is in little things. It is the little troubles of life that annoy us the most. The little stones in the sandal make the traveller limp; while great stones do him little hurt, for he soon leaps over them. Believe that God arranges the littles. Take the little troubles as they come; remember them to your God, because they come frown God. Believe that nothing is little to God which concerns His people.
II. But now there is A SPECIAL APPOINTMENT WITH REGARD TO CERTAIN ENDS. I am not going to pursue the connection, but the text itself will suffice me, for it saith at the time appointed the end shall be. Now, there are certain ends to which you and I are looking forward with great expectancy. There is the end of the present trouble--let us think of that. Whatever submission we may have to the Divine will, it is not natural for us to love affliction; we desire to reach the end and come forth from the trial. At the time appointed the end shall be. You have been slandered in your character--a very frequent trial to Gods servants--and you are irritated and vexed, and in a great haste to answer it, to rebut the calumny and to vindicate your reputation. Be very quiet, and patient. Bear it all. Stand still and see the salvation of God, for light is sown for the righteous, and He will bring forth your righteousness like the light, and your judgment as the noonday. At the time appointed the end shall be. When the dogs are tired they will leave off barking, and when the Lord bids them be still, they shall not dare to move a tongue against you. You are in poverty. It is some time since you had a situation in which you could earn your dally tread. Are you a child of God? Have you learned to cast your burden upon the Lord? Then, At the time appointed the end shall be. There shall yet be deliverance for you. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. It may be that the end you are desiring is greater usefulness, and you have been panting after this for years. You keep to your work still, for At the time appointed the end shall be. God will not suffer the faithful worker to work in vain; your labour of love shall not be in vain in the Lord. You are looking forward, some of you, to the end of your lifes battle. Life is to the genuine Christian an incessant fight. The moment we are converted the battle begins. But, glory be to God, in the time appointed the end of this warfare shall be. So, too, with the service of our lives. I think no servant of God is tired of serving his Master; we may be tired in the service, though not tired of it. It shall be all finished. The topstone of your life-work shall be brought out with shouting of Grace, grace, unto it You shall lay your crown at His feet from whom you received it, and yon shall hear him say, Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. In the time appointed the end shall be. With many a child of God life is not merely a warfare spiritually, and a work for God outwardly, but it is attended with much of suffering. Ah! I know many servants of God whose every breath seems to be a pang; their poor bodies are in such a condition that life is like protracted death. Well, weary sufferer, in the time appoint the end shall be.
III. All things are appointed, and especially these sacred and blessed ends; but remember that besides the ends ALL THE MEANS TO THE ENDS are also appointed--all that intervenes is appointed too. Balance this thought with the other. My trouble appointed! Yes, but there is an appointed portion of grace that shall sustain me under it--grace exactly according to the measure of my necessity while under the tribulation. Temptation appointed! Yes, but there is appointed extraordinary help to deliver the soul from going down into the pit, and to pluck the foot out of the net, lost by any means one sheep of Christ should be devoured by the lion of hell. Thou fearest sickness, because that may be appointed, but it is also appointed, I will make all his bed in his sickness, and that appointment carries you over the other. And now, there is nothing in this truth that can give any comfort to those who are not reconciled to God. It is a great and terrible truth to those who are not Gods friends. At the time appointed the end shall be. What a winding up awaits those who will encounter the doom of the impenitent, no tongue can describe. Why rebel against the King of Heaven? Why set up thy will against the Divine will? (C. H. Spureon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 a man
a man
The theophanies. Dan 10:6; Dan 10:10; Dan 10:18; Eze 40:3; Gen 12:7; Rev 1:9.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v15 The Explanation of the Vision
The Explanation of the Vision
v. 15. And it came to pass when I, even I, Daniel, had seen the vision and sought for the meaning, pondering over it, viewing it from every angle, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man, the apparition coming with startling suddenness.
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v. 16. And I heard a man’s voice, the speaker being invisible to Daniel, between the banks of Ulai, coming from between the two branches of the Eulaeus River, which called and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So the being who appeared to Daniel in the aspect of a man, was one of the Lord’s angel princes. Cf Luk 1:19.
v. 17. So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, the close proximity of a holy being filled him with fear, and fell upon my face; but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man, the address reminding Daniel of his human weakness, without, however, humiliating him; for at the time of the end shall be the vision, that is, it gives information concerning occurrences at the end of time, the final period of the earth’s history.
v. 18. Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground, in a state of numbness or ecstasy, which shut off his senses from earthly things; but he touched me and set me upright, strengthening him for the time being, that he might witness the rest of the vision.
v. 19. And he said; Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation, when the wrath of God would be poured out upon the godless world; for at the time appointed the end shall be, or, "it [the vision] pertains to the period of time of the end. " It is indicated, even at this point, that the tribulation suffered by the Jews at the time of the Maccabees, especially by the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes, is symbolical of the afflictions to be expected at the end of the Messianic era.
v. 20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia, the Medo-Persian monarchy in its entire historical development. This empire subdued, under Persian leadership: toward the west, Babylon, Mesopotamia, Syria, and the countries of Asia Minor; toward the north, Colchis, Armenia, Iberia, and the states along the Caspian Sea; toward the south, Judea, Egypt, Ethiopia, and India.
v. 21. And the rough goat, moving eastward across Asia Minor in victorious advance, is the king of Grecia, literally, "of Javan," Macedonia, Greece, and the Ionian colonies being included in the term; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king, Alexander the Great, the founder of this world-power.
v. 22. Now, that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, or, "concerning the horn, that it was broken, and that four then took its place," this is the meaning: four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, out of the world of nations united under the rule of the first king, but not in his power, not equal to the founder, neither singly nor all taken together. These four are the dynasties of the Diadochi, of whom indeed five, Antigonus, Antipater, Ptolemeus, Cassander, and Lysimachus, adopted the title of king; but Antigonus was soon defeated in battle, so that there were really four monarchies, Lysimachus taking Thrace and Bithynia, Cassander Macedonia and Greece, Seleucus Syria, Babylonia, and the eastern countries, and Ptolemeus Egypt, Palestine, and Arabia Petraea. Antipater had meanwhile died.
v. 23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, that is, after these dynasties had been in existence for some time, when the transgressors are come to the full, when the apostate Jews would once more have fulfilled the measure of their wickedness, a king of fierce countenance, shameless, without the slightest regard for God and men, and understanding dark sentences, hiding his true purposes behind ambiguous statements, shall stand up, coming into power as the ruler of that section of the Greek Empire.
v. 24. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power, rather on account of his cunning dissimulation, with the permission of God; and he shall destroy wonderfully, so that men would be astonished at his activities in this respect, and shall prosper and practice and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people, venting his spite both upon the warlike enemies opposing him and upon the congregation of the Lord’s saints.
v. 25. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand, that is, in accordance with his cunning he would succeed in his deception, in various hypocritical plans which he had decided upon; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, becoming proud by reason of these successful maneuvers, and by peace shall destroy many, while they were living in care-free security, the suddenness of the attack causing them to yield without a struggle; he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, presuming to set himself even against God. But he shall be broken without hand, God Himself taking his punishment in hand.
v. 26. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told, concerning the length of the time of the affliction, is true; wherefore shut thou up the vision, to preserve it for such later day, for it shall be for many days, the vision, being concerned with things of the distant future, would retain its prophetic value and should therefore not be revealed generally at this time.
v. 27. And I, Daniel, overcome by the startling and overwhelming character of the revelation, fainted and was sick certain days. Afterward I rose up and did the king’s business, attending to the duties of his office as before; and I was astonished at the vision, he kept his counsel concerning it, but none understood it, for the full significance of the revelation he received would be possible only with its fulfillment. Antiochus Epiphanes is rightly regarded in history as a type of Antichrist, the papacy of Rome, for he made every effort to drive out the worship of the true God in the Holy Land and to substitute instead a veneration of himself.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 a man's voice calling between the banks of the…
a man's voice calling between the banks of the Ulai Canal
Here a man is being referred to by his voice. AT: "a man calling from the Ulai Canal" (See: Synecdoche)
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Ulai Canal
A canal is a narrow man-made waterway. See how you translated this name in Daniel 8:2.
prostrated myself on the ground
This is an act of worship in which someone lies flat on the ground. (See: Symbolic Action)
the time of the end
"the final days" or "the end of the world." This does not refer to the final moment in time, but rather to the events that will happen immediately before the end.
translationWords
Daniel
vision
Gabriel
Son of Man
time
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 8:15-16 The name Gabriel means “man of God”; he…
8:15-16 The name Gabriel means “man of God”; he appeared like a man to Daniel (see also 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.