I saw the vision. Now it was so, that when I saw, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
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I saw the vision. Now it was so, that when I saw, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
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And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
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And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the castle, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the stream Ulai.
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Daniel 8:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the palace,
- Esther 1:2 in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Susa the palace,
- Genesis 10:22 The sons of Shem were: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
- Genesis 14:1 In the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar; Arioch, king of Ellasar; Chedorlaomer, king of Elam; and Tidal, king of Goiim,
- Esther 2:8 So, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together to the citadel of Susa, to the custody of Hegai, Esther was taken into the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
- Jeremiah 25:25 and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;
- Ezekiel 32:24 “There is Elam and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit.
- Numbers 12:6 He said, “Now hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream.
- Esther 8:15 Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and was glad.
- Esther 9:11 On that day, the number of those who were slain in the citadel of Susa was brought before the king.
- Esther 9:15 The Jews who were in Susa gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and killed three hundred men in Susa; but they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder.
- Isaiah 11:11 It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isaiah 21:2 A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have stopped all of Media’s sighing.
- Jeremiah 49:34-39 Yahweh’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. I will bring on Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds. There will be no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not come. I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life. I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger,’ says Yahweh; ‘and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them. I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there king and princes,’ says Yahweh. ‘But it will happen in the latter days that I will reverse the captivity of Elam,’ says Yahweh.”
- Daniel 7:2 Daniel spoke and said, “I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the sky broke out on the great sea.
- Daniel 7:15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
- Daniel 8:3 Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. The two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
- Esther 3:15 The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa was perplexed.
- Esther 7:6 Esther said, “An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman!” Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
- Hebrews 1:1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Without any doubt, the Prophet here recognized a new…
Without any doubt, the Prophet here recognized a new empire as about to arise, which could not happen without Babylon being reduced to slavery. Hence it would tend in no slight degree to alleviate the cares of the pious, and to mitigate their sorrows, when they saw what they had previously thought incredible, namely, the approaching destruction of that horrible tyranny under which they had been so, cruelly oppressed. And if the liberty of returning to their country was not immediately granted to the people, it would be no small consolation to behold God’s judgment against the Chaldeans as foretold by the prophets. We must now examine the Prophet’s language. I have seen in a vision, says he. This word חזון, chezon, a “vision,” is added to show us that the ram of which mention is made was not seen by the eyes of the body. Hence this was a heavenly oracle, and ought to have raised the beholder above all human sensations, to enable him to discern from lofty watch-tower what was hidden from the rest of mankind. He did not see then what ordinary men might behold, but God showed in a vision things which no mortal senses could apprehend. He next adds, The vision was shewn to me, Daniel, and I happened, says he, when I saw it, to be in Shushan Some think Daniel to be then dwelling in Persia, bug this view is by no means probable; for who could persuade the holy Prophet of God, who had been led captive with the rest and was attached to the king of Babylon, to depart as if he had been entirely his own master, and to go into Persia when the Persians were then open enemies? This is not at all likely; and I wonder what can induce men to adopt this comment, so contrary to all reason. For we need not dispute about a matter by no means obscure if we weigh the Prophet’s words, as he removes all doubt by saying he was in Shushan when he saw, that is, when he was caught up by the prophetic spirit beyond himself and above the world. The Prophet does not say he dwelt in Shushan, or in the neighborhood, but he was there in the vision only. The next verse, too, sufficiently shews him to have then been in Chaldean in the third year, he says, of the reign of King Belshazzar. By naming the king, he clearly expresses that he then dwelt under his power and dominion. It is clearly to be gathered from these words, without the slightest doubt, that the Prophet then dwelt in Chaldea. And perhaps Babylon had been already besieged, as we saw before. He says he was in the palace at Shushan I know not how I ought to translate this word, הבירה, hebireh, as I see no reason for preferring the meaning “palace” to that of” citadel.” We are sure of the nobility and celebrity of the citadel which was afterwards the head of the East, for all nations and tribes received from thence their laws, rights, and judgments. At the same time, I think this citadel was not then built, for its empire over the Persian territory was not firmly established till the successors of Cyrus. We may perhaps distinguish Shushan from Persia at large, yet as it is usually treated as a part of that kingdom, I will not urge the distinction. The country is, however, far milder and more fertile than Persia, as it receives its name from being flowery and abounding in roses. Thus the Prophet says he was there in a vision.
He afterwards repeats this I saw in a vision, and behold I was near the river Ulai The Latin writers mention a river Eulaeus, and as there is a great similitude between the words, I have no hesitation in understanding Daniel’s language of the Eulaeus. The repetition is not superfluous. It adds certainty to the prophecy, because Daniel affirms it; not to have been any vanishing specter, as a vision might be suspected to be, but clearly and certainly a divine revelation, as he will afterwards relate. He says, too, he raised his eyes upwards This attentive attitude has the same meaning, as experience informs us how often men are deceived by wandering in erroneous imaginations. But Daniel here bears witness to his raising his eyes upwards, because he, knew himself to be, divinely called upon to discern future events.
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 That is, of Persia.
That is, of Persia.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Dan 8:2 And I saw in a vision; and…
Dan 8:2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I [was] at Shushan [in] the palace, which [is] in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
Ver. 2. I saw in a vision.] God revealed himself to men waking in vision, as well as in dreams, {Heb 1:1} wherein the prophets saw things actually done, which hereby they knew were to be done. {1Ki 22:17}
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I was at Shushan.] Which signifieth a lily, {a} so it was called for the pleasantness of the place: now it is called Valdac, of the poverty of the place. Here it was that Alexander found fifty thousand talents of gold, besides silver great store. It was once the royal seat of the kings of Persia, and gave name to the whole province Susiane. See Neh 1:1 Est 1:1.
And I was by the river of Ulai.] Called by heathen authors Eulaeus, but better ολυαιος. It compassed the temple of Diana at Shushan round, and, as some say, the whole city. Pliny {b} saith that the waters of this river were highly esteemed, so that the Persian kings drank thereof.
{a} Athenaeus.
{b} Pliny, lib. vi. cap. 27.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I was at Shushan; in his mind and thoughts,…
I was at Shushan; in his mind and thoughts, not bodily, and was by the river Ulai: some think he was locally there, being sent thither in embassy by Cyrus; but Daniel was now at Babylon, when it was besieged and taken, Da 5; he was only there in spirit, as the prophet Ezekiel saith he was in Jerusalem, Eze 8:3. Now Daniel had this vision at Shushan, because their deliverance was to come by Cyrus the Persian or Elamite, for Elam is Persia. This city was called Shushan, i.e. a lily, for the pleasantness of it: such names they give also their cities in China.
The river of Ulai; a river whose waters were so wholesome that they were carried far, and the king drank of no other.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And I saw in a vision,.... The following things:
And I saw in a vision,.... The following things:
and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; not in reality, but so it seemed to him in the vision; as Ezekiel, when in Babylon, seemed in the visions of God to be at Jerusalem, Eze 8:3. This city Shushan, or Susa, as it is called by other writers, and signifies a "lily", was so called from the plenty of lilies that grew about it, or because of the pleasantness of it; it was the metropolis of the country Susiana, which had its name from it, and was afterwards the royal seat of the kings of Persia. This was first made so by Cyrus; for Strabo (a) says, that he and the Persians having overcome the Medes, observing that their own country was situated in the extreme parts, and Susa more inward, and nearer to other nations, being, as he says, between Persia and Babylon, set his royal palace in it; approving both the nearness of the country, and the dignity of the city. Here the kings of Persia laid up their treasures, even prodigious large ones; hence Aristagoras told Cleomenes, that if he could take that city, he would vie, and might contend, with Jupiter for riches (b); for hither Cyrus carried whatever money he had in Persia, even forty thousand talents, some say fifty (c). Alexander (d), when he took this city, found a vast quantity of riches in it. It is called here a palace; and so it is spoken of by Herodotus (e), Diodorus Siculus (f), Pausanius (g), Pliny (h), and others, as a royal city, where were the residence and palace of the kings of Persia; but the royal palace was not in it at this time; the kings of Babylon had their palace and kept their court at Babylon, where Daniel was; but in vision it seemed to him that he was in Shushan, and which was represented to him as a palace, as it would be, and as the metropolis of the kingdom of Persia, which he had a view of in its future flourishing condition, and as destroyed by Alexander; for, as before observed, it was Cyrus that first made it a royal city; whereas this vision was in the third year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. Some versions render it, a "tower" or "castle"; and so several writers, as Strabo (i) Plutarch (k) and Pliny (l), speak of the tower or castle in it. Diodorus Siculus (m) says, when Antigonus took the tower of Susa, he found in it a golden vine, and a great quantity of other works, to the value of fifteen thousand talents; and out of crowns, and other gifts and spoils, he made up five thousand more. And Polybius (n) relates, that though Molon took the city, yet could not take the fortress, and was obliged to raise the siege, so strong it was. It must be a mistake of Pliny (o) that this city was built by Darius Hystaspes; he could only mean it was rebuilt, or rather enlarged, by him, since it was in being long before his time, and even a royal city in the times of Cyrus. Strabo (p) says it was built by Tithon the father of Merenon, was in compass a fifteen miles, of an oblong figure, and the tower was called after his father's name Mernnonia; and Shushan itself is called, by Herodotus (q), Susa Memnonia. At this day, with the common people, it goes by the name of Tuster (r). The east gate of the mountain of the house, which led to the temple at Jerusalem, was called Shushan. Some say (s) there was a building over this gate, on which the palace of Shushan was portrayed, from whence it had its name. The reason of this portrait is differently given; the Jewish commentators on the Misnah (t) commonly say that this was ordered by the kings of Persia, that the people of Israel might stand in awe of them, and not rebel against them. Their famous lexicographer (u) says, that this was done, that the Israelites, when they saw it, might remember their captivity in it. But a chronologer (w) of theirs gives this as the reason, that the children of the captivity made this figure, that they might remember the miracle of Purim, which was made in Shushan; and this, he says, is a good interpretation of it. This city was in the province of Elam; that is, Persia, as it is also called, Isa 21:6 for Josephus (x) says the Persians had their original from the Elamites, or Elameans; and Pliny (y) observes, that Elymais joined to Persia; and the country of Susiane, so called from Susa its chief city, was, according to Strabo (z) and Ptolemy (a1), a part of Persia: and here Daniel in vision thought himself to be; and a very suitable place for him to have this vision in, which so much concerned the affairs of Persia.
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And I saw in a vision, and I was by the river Ulai; that is, in vision; it seemed to the prophet that he was upon the banks of the river Ulai; the same with the Eulaeus of Strabo (b1), Pliny (c1), Ptolemy (d1), and others, which ran by, and surrounded, the city of Shushan, or Susa; the water of which was so light, as Strabo (e1) observes, that it was had in great request, and the kings of Persia would drink of no other, and carried it with them wherever they went. Herodotus (f1) and Curtius (g1) make mention of the river Choaspes, as running by Susa, and say the same things of its water; from whence it might be concluded it was one and the same river, called by different names; though Strabo takes notice of them together, as if they were distinct; yet he, from Polycletus (h1), makes them, with Tigris, to disembogue into the same lake, and from thence into the sea. The river which runs by Shushan, now called Souster, according to Monsieur Thevenot (i1), is Caron, and comes from the hills about it, and is thought to be the Choaspes of the ancients; near to which, as he was told, is a hill that now goes by the name of Choasp; so that, upon the whole, they seem to be one and the same river (k1). Josephus says (l1), that Daniel had this vision in the plain of Susa, the metropolis of Persia, as he went out with his friends, that is, out of the city: and the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "by the gate Ulai"; a gate of the city of Shushan so called: and so Saadiah Gaon interprets it a gate; but the former sense is best.
(a) Geograph. l. 15. p. 500. (b) Herodoti Terpsichore, sive l. 5. c. 48. (c) Strabo. ib. p. 502. (d) Curtius, l. 5. c. 2. Plutarch. in Vita Alexandri, Diador. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 540. (e) Terpsichore, sive l. 5. sect. 48. (f) Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 539. (g) Laconice, sive l. 3. p. 175. (h) Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. (i) Geograph. l. 15. p. 500. (k) In Vita Alexandri. (l) Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27.) (m) Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 540. (n) Hist. l. 5. p. 249. (o) Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27.) (p) Geograph. l. 15. p. 500. (q) Polymnia, sive l. 7. c. 151. (r) Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 658, 935. (s) Jarchi & Bartenora in Misn. Celim, c. 17. sect. 9. (t) Maimon & Bartenora in Misn. Kelim, c. 17. sect. 9. & Middot, c. 1. sect. 3. (u) R. Nathan, Sepher Aruch in voce fol. 160. 3. (w) R. Abraham Zacuth, Sepher Juchasin, fol. 65. 2. (x) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 4. (y) Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. (z) Geograph. l. 15. p. 500. (a1) Geograph. l. 6. c. 3. (b1) Geograph. p. 501, 505. (c1) Ut supra, (Nat. Hist.) l. 6. c. 23, 27. (d1) Geograph. l. 6. c. 3. (e1) Ut supra, (Geograph.) p. 505. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. (f1) Clio, sive l. 1. c. 188. Terpsichore, sive l. 5. c. 49, 52. (g1) Ut supra. (Curtius, l. 5. c. 2.) (h1) Geograph. l. 15. p. 501. (i1) Travels, part 2. B. 3. c. 9. p. 153. (k1) See the Universal History, vol. 5. p. 124. (l1) Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 7.
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 The river of Ulai - Which ran round the…
The river of Ulai - Which ran round the city.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. I saw in a vision] Daniel was…
Verse 2. I saw in a vision] Daniel was at this time in Shushan, which appears to have been a strong place, where the kings of Persia had their summer residence. It was the capital of the province of Elam or the Elymais; which province was most probably added to the Chaldean territories by Nebuchadnezzar; see Jer 49:34-35. Here was Daniel's ordinary residence; and though here at this time, he, in vision, saw himself on the banks of the river Ulai. This is the same as the river Euleus, which divided Shushan or Susiana from Elymais.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Dan 8:2. I saw in a vision — When…
Dan 8:2. I saw in a vision — When I was awake, and had my bodily senses: see Dan 8:3, and compare Dan 10:4-5. This was accounted a more perfect degree of revelation than the having a representation of things imprinted on the imagination during sleep. When I saw, I was at Shushan in the palace — This circumstance shows that Daniel continued in some post of honour, at least during the former part of the reign of Belshazzar. Which is in the province of Elam — The province of Elam, or Persia, properly so called, was taken from Astyages, king of Media, by Nebuchadnezzar, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah against Elam, Jer 49:34. And it was subject to the king of Babylon when Daniel saw this vision; though afterward the viceroy of that country revolted to Cyrus, and joined with him in taking Babylon. And I was by the river Ulai — Or, Eluæus, as it was called by the Greeks and Romans. This river divided Susiana from the province of Elam, properly so called: see Plin., lib. 6. cap. 27. Elam, however, is often taken in a larger sense, so as to comprehend Susiana under it. It was usual for the prophets to see visions by river sides, of which Daniel gives us another instance, chap. Dan 10:4; and Ezekiel likewise saw visions by the river Chebar, Eze 1:3; as if the Holy Spirit delighted to manifest himself in such retired scenes. And the gifts and graces of the Spirit are often, in Scripture language, described by the metaphors of springs and streams of water, than which nothing is more agreeable and refreshing in hot and dry countries.
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 And I saw in a vision - I looked…
And I saw in a vision - I looked as the vision appeared to me; or I saw certain things represented to me in a vision. On the word vision, see the notes at Dan 1:17. The meaning here would seem to be that a vision appeared to Daniel, and that he contemplated it with earnestness, to understand what it meant.
That I was at Shushan - As remarked in the introduction to this chapter, this might mean that he seemed to be there, or that the vision was represented to him as being there; but the most natural construction is to suppose that Daniel was actually there himself. Why he was there he has not informed us directly - whether he was on public business, or on his own. From Dan 8:27, however - “Afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business” - it would seem most probable that he was then in the service of the king. This supposition will not conflict with the statement in Dan 5:10-11, in which the queen-mother, when the handwriting appeared on the wall of the palace informs Belshazzar that there was “a man in his kingdom in whom was the spirit of the holy gods, etc.” - from which it might be objected that Daniel was at that time unknown to the king, and could not have been in his employ, for it might have been a fact that he was in the employ of the king as an officer of the government, and yet it may have been forgotten that he had this power of disclosing the meaning of visions.
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He may have been employed in the public service, but his services to the father of the king, and his extraordinary skill in interpreting dreams and visions may not at once have occurred to the affrighted monarch and his courtiers. Shushan, or Susa, the chief town of Susiana, was the capital of Persia after the time of Cyrus, in which the kings of Persia had their principal residence, Neh 1:1; Est 1:2-5. It was situated on the Eulaeus or Choaspes, probably on the spot now occupied by the village Shus. - Rennel, Geog. of Herodotus; Kinneir, Mem. Pers. Emp.; K. Porter’s Travels, ii. 4, 11; Ritter, Erdkunde, Asien, 9: 294; Pict. Bib. in loc. At Shus there are extensive ruins, stretching perhaps twelve miles from one extremity to the other, and consisting, like the other ruins in that country, of hillocks of earth, and rubbish, covered with broken, pieces of brick and colored tile. At the foot of these mounds is the so-called tomb of Daniel, a small building erected on the spot where the remains of Daniel are believed in that region to rest.
It is apparently modern, but nothing but the belief that this was the site of the prophet’s sepulchre could have led to its being built in the place where it stands - Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, i. 255, 256. The city of Shus is now a gloomy wilderness, inhabited by lions, hyenas, and other beasts of prey. - Kitto’s Cyclo., art. “Shushan.” Sir John Kinneir says that the dread of these animals compelled Mr. Monteith and himself to take shelter for the night within the walls that encompass Daniel’s tomb. Of that tomb Sir John Malcolm says, “It is a small building, but sufficient to shelter some dervishes who watch the remains of the prophet, and are supported by the alms of pious pilgrims, who visit the holy sepulchre. The dervishes are now the only inhabitants of Susa; and every species of wild beast roams at large over the spot on which some of the proudest palaces ever raised by human art once stood.” - Vol. i. pp. 255, 256. For a description of the ruins of Susa, see Pict. Bib. in loc. This city was about 450 Roman miles from Seleucia, and was built, according to Pliny, 6; 27, in a square of about 120 stadia. It was the summer residence of the Persian kings (Cyrop. 8, 6, 10), as they passed the spring in Ecbatana, and the autumn and winter in Babylon. See Lengerke, in loc. It was in this city that Alexander the Great married Stateira, daughter of Darius Codomanus. The name means a lily, and was probably given to it on account of its beauty - Lengerke. Rosenmuller supposes that the vision here is represented to have appeared to Daniel in this city because it would be the future capital of Persia, and because so much of the vision pertained to Persia. See Maurer, in loc.
In the palace - This word (בירה bı̂yrâh) means a fortress, a castle, a fortified palace. - Gesenius. See Neh 1:1; Est 1:5; Est 2:5; Est 8:14; Est 9:6, Est 9:11-12. It would seem to have been given to the city because it was a fortified place. The word applied not only to the palace proper, a royal residence, but to the whole adjacent city. It is not necessary to suppose that Daniel was in the palace proper, but only that he was in the city to which the name was given.
Which is in the province of Elam - See the notes at Isa 11:11. This province was bounded on the east by Persia Proper, on the west by Babylonia, on the north by Media, and on the south by the Persian Gulf. It was about half as large as Persia, and not quite as large as England. - Kitto’s Cyclo. It was probably conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, and in the time of Belshazzar was subject to the Babylonian dominion, Shushan had been doubtless the capital of the kingdom of Elam while it continued a separate kingdom, and remained the capital of the province while it was under the Babylonian yoke, and until it was subdued as a part of the empire by Cyrus. It was then made one of the capitals of the united Medo-Persian empire. It was when it was the capital of a province that it was visited by Daniel, and that he saw the vision there. Possibly he may have dwelt there subsequently, and died there.
And I was by the river of Ulai - This river flowed by the city of Shushan, or Susa, and fell into the united stream of the Tigris and the Euphrates. It is called by Pliny (Nat. Hist. vi. 81) Eulaeus; but it is described by Greek writers generally under the name of Choaspes. - Herod. v. 49; Strabo, xv. p. 728. It is now known by the name Kerah, called by the Turks Karasu. It passes on the west of the ruins of Shus (Susa), and enters the Shat-ul-Arab about twenty miles below Korna. - Kinneir, Geog. Mem. of the Persian Empire, pp. 96, 97. See Kitto’s Cyclo., art. “Ulai”
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 Castle; some read "city." Here the kings had a…
Castle; some read "city." Here the kings had a palace; and Hystaspes, &c. generally resided in it. Nabuchodonosor seems to have subdued Elam. Cyrus had it for his share; but Darius, the Mede, appears from Eschylus to have plundered Susa again. Daniel probably spent the latter part of his life in this city. (Calmet) --- Gate, or "stagnant water;" (paludem. ver. 3. Haydock) though most understand the river Euleus, on the side of Susiana. The prophets often sought retired places. (Chap. x. 4.; Ezechiel i. l.) (Calmet)
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 Shushan--Susa. Though then comparatively insignificant, it was destined to…
Shushan--Susa. Though then comparatively insignificant, it was destined to be the capital of Persia after Cyrus' time. Therefore Daniel is transported into it, as being the capital of the kingdom signified by the two-horned ram (Neh 1:1; Est 1:2-5).
Elam--west of Persia proper, east of Babylonia, south of Media. Daniel was not present there personally, but in vision.
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Ulai--called in PLINY Euloeus; by the Greeks, Choaspes. Now Kerah, or Karasu. So in Dan 10:4 he receives a vision near another river, the Hiddekel. So Ezekiel (Eze 1:1) at the Chebar. Perhaps because synagogues used to be built near rivers, as before praying they washed their hands in the water [ROSENMULLER], (Psa 137:1).
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 2. He dreams that he is in Shushan. This…
2. He dreams that he is in Shushan. This place is comparatively well known now. From ancient times it was the capital of Elam, and Persian kings who were successors of Cyrus, took it as their capital also (Meyer, Geschichte, ¶ 466). Bertholdt, De Wette, Graf, etc., thought the mention of a Babylonian imperial palace at this time in Elam was clearly an error, and proved the late authorship of this passage, and Reuss laughed at the idea that a courtier of Babylon could even dream of being in the capital of Persia (La Bible, 7:222); but recent researches make the accuracy of this statement less doubtful. If this vision is to be dated a year or two previous to the capture of Babylon by Cyrus it is quite natural that at this period all Babylonian statesmen would be seeking the friendship and alliance of every city which was not absolutely controlled by Cyrus. (Compare Dan_8:27.) Now, though Cyrus was king of Anzan (Elam), he never calls himself in his inscriptions king of Susa (Shushan), and high authorities believe that there is “no proof that Cyrus ever lived in Susa or looked upon himself as its king” (Billerbeck, Susa, 1893). Even if Cyrus did control Susa there is reason to believe from the inscriptions, that at certain times during his reign this city looked toward the Babylonian king as friend and helper, not as an enemy. In any case, diplomatic and other intercommunication between Shushan and Babylon at this period is most natural, and it is the contrary supposition which would now appear “incredible.” Several words in this passage appear archaic. The name Elam is seldom used by the successors of Cyrus, who instead of this use the word Persia. The Greeks also located Susa in Susiana, not in Elam. The word “palace” is thought to be the old Persian word commonly used by Darius and Artaxerxes, for the royal fortress or castle. Even the name Shushan for Susa is archaic, as, contrary to later usage, in the oldest texts this name is written Shusha, or Shushi, being probably pronounced Shoshan, having been named after the god Shushinak (Hilprecht, American Philological Society, 1893). Loftus in 1852 here found, near the reputed tomb of Daniel, the palace built by Darius (521-485 B.C.). M. Dieulafoy, 1882-1885, made many excavations, finding vast magnificent chambers, one of which was supported by thirty-six immense columns in rows of six. The roof of this royal hall was of cedar brought from Phoenicia. The tall, slender pilasters with their beautiful capitals were carved to represent the lotus, the brick walls were painted with colored stucco, the doorways were supported by an Egyptian cornice carved in the form of a double row of lotus leaves, the great pylons at each side of the entrance were decorated with enameled buds. Many beautiful scenes were painted on the palace walls, where, for example, the Indian bodyguard of the Persian king could be seen in all the glory of their gorgeous uniforms. This was the very palace mentioned in Esther, and the successor of the palace spoken of in Daniel’s vision. M. Dieulafoy has tried to reconstruct this marvelous building, with its portals of marble and porphyry columns; its magnificent gateways guarded by double-headed bulls; its banquet halls where the emblematic designs upon the stucco stand out “like heavy lace;” the cornices covered with enameled tiles of turquoise; its thick carpets and splendid drapery. The earlier palace referred to in Daniel must have been very similar to this. Sardanapalus (650 B.C.) says of it: “I conquered Shushan, the great city, the dwelling of the gods… by the command of Ashur and Ishtar I entered into the palaces and sojourned there with joy. I opened their treasures in which gold, silver, and other possessions were stored, which the ancient kings of Elam had collected and on which no other enemy had laid his hand. I brought it out and accounted it my booty.” Then he speaks of silver and gold which the kings of Elam, in seven expeditions, had brought from Babylon, and “costly treasure” of jewels which former kings of Babylon had sent to Elam “to make alliance” with its kings, and of the splendid spoil of garments, weapons of war, chariots, horses, and a great many statues of kings and deities which he had carried away. For a popular general description see Evetts’s New Light on the Bible, 1892. Assurbanipal mentions the river Uai (Eulaeus) in close connection with Shushan.
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 2. And I saw in the vision; and it…
2. And I saw in the vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in Elam, the province; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the stream Ulai] The verse is awkwardly worded, and in part tautologous; its object is to describe where Daniel seemed to find himself in the vision. ‘Elam’ is the Heb. form of the Sumerian (or ‘Accadian’) Êlam-ma, ‘highland,’ which in Ass. assumed the fem. term. and became Êlamtu: it denoted originally (Delitzsch, Paradies, p. 320 f.) ‘the mountainous region beginning N. and E. of Susa, and corresponding roughly to the modern Khusistan.’ Persia proper was S. E. of it. It is mentioned frequently both in the O.T. (Gen_10:22; Isa_11:11; Jer_49:34, &c.), and also in the Assyrian Inscriptions: Anshan, or Anzan, the home of Cyrus, was the district in the S.-W. of Elam, bordering on what is now the lower course of the Tigris, but what in ancient times was the upper part of the Persian Gulf (called by the Assyrians the Nâr Marratum, or Bitter (salt) River)[318]. Shushan (Susa) was the capital of Elam. Asshurbanipal (b.c. 668–626) invaded Elam more than once, and has left a full and vivid account of the occasion on which he stormed and sacked Shushan (KB[319], ii. 203 ff.). Darius Hystaspis appears to have been the first Persian king who erected palaces at Shushan, or held his court there[320]; and from his time onwards, as the principal residence of the Persian kings (cf. Neh_1:1; Est_1:2, and passim), it held for nearly two centuries a commanding position in the ancient world. ‘From Susa, during this period, the peoples of W. Asia and E. Europe awaited their destiny; in the Apadâna tributary princes, ambassadors, and satraps, including the noblest of the Greeks, as Antalkidas (387 and 372), Pelopidas and Ismenias (367), did homage at the feet of the Great King. In the palaces of the citadel were enacted bloody harem-tragedies, in which eunuchs and women were the actors (Esther, Amytis, Amestris, Parysatis, Statira). Here Xerxes fell under the daggers of Artabanus and Aspamithras, and here Bagoas poisoned two kings’ (Billerbeck, Susa, p. 154). Susa was thus a suitable spot at which the seer should find himself in a vision that pourtrayed with some prominence both the rise and the fall of the Persian power (Dan_8:3-7). See further, on Susa, p. 125 f.
[318] Maspero, Struggle of the Nations (with Map), p. 30 f.
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[319] B. Eb. Schrader, Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek (transliterations and translations of Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions), 1889–1900.
[320] Billerbeck, Susa (1893), pp. 128, 129, 133 ff.
For other instances of visionary transference to a distant locality, see Eze_8:3 to Eze_11:24, Eze_40:2 ff.
Shushan, the citadel] the standing title of Shushan in the O. T. (Neh_1:1; Est_1:2; Est_1:5; Est_2:3; Est_2:5; Est_2:8; Est_3:15; Est_8:14; Est_9:6; Est_9:11-12). The word rendered ‘citadel’ (birah) is peculiar to the later Hebrew, being found otherwise only in 1Ch_29:1; 1Ch_29:19; Ezr_6:2; Neh_2:8 (see Ryle’s note), vii. 2. It is probably the Ass. birtu, ‘castle’ (Delitzsch, Ass. Handwörterbuch, p. 185), and denotes a castellated building or enclosure, a castle, citadel, or acropolis.
Elam, the province] Cf. Ezr_6:2, ‘Media, the province.’ It is, however, extremely doubtful whether Elam, especially after the rise and successes of Cyrus, was a ‘province’ (Dan_3:2-3) of the Babylonian empire: the word seems rather a reminiscence of the time when the district in which Susa lay was a principal ‘province’ of the Persian empire.
the stream Ulai] The word rendered stream occurs only here and Dan_8:3; Dan_8:6; but it appears to differ only phonetically from the one found in Jer_17:8, and (in a slightly different form) in Isa_30:25; Isa_44:4. The Ulai is the Ass. U-la-a-a—the waters of which Asshurbanipal, on his first invasion of Elam, states that he ‘coloured with blood like wool’ (KB[321] ii. 183)—the Eulaeus of the classical writers, which Pliny (H. N. vi. 27) says flowed close by Susa. The difficulties which were formerly felt in identifying the Eulaeus have been cleared up by the surveys of Loftus and Dieulafoy. There are at present three rivers flowing near Susa, from the mountains on the north, into the Persian Gulf. On the S.-W. of Susa, some four or five miles from the site of the ancient acropolis, flows the Kerkha (the ancient Choaspes): on the east is the Abdizful (the Coprates), which runs into the Karun (the Pasitigris); and the Eulaeus was a large artificial canal some 900 feet broad, of which traces remain, though it is now dry, which left the Choaspes at Pai Pul, about 20 miles N.-W. of Susa, passed close by the town of Susa on the N. or N.-E., and afterwards joined the Coprates.
[321] B. Eb. Schrader, Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek (transliterations and translations of Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions), 1889–1900.
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 (2) At Shushan—i.e., Susa. At this time (see Records…
(2) At Shushan—i.e., Susa. At this time (see Records of the Past, vol. 1, p. 71, &c.) Susa was, as Daniel describes it, in the province of Elam; at a later period it became the capital of the Persian empire. Daniel was at Susa only in vision, he was not bodily transported thither. The Ulai is the river Eulæus, and is mentioned in connection with Susa in the inscription cited above.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And I saw in a vision; and it came…
And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. The LXX presents several slight differences, "And I saw in the vision of my dream, when I was in the city Susa, which is in the province Elymais, and I seemed in my vision to be at the gate Ailam." Theodotion renders more briefly, "And I was in Susa the palace (Sousoiv th Barei), in the province Ailam, and I was on the Ubal." The Syriac is in close agreement with the Massoretic. even to the transcription of the doubtful word Ubal. The transcription is carried so far that medeenatha, "a city," is used to translate mdeena, "a province." Jerome renders mdeena, cicitas, and uval, portam, and beera, castrum. The word lbWa (oobal) is nearly a hapax legomenon, absolutely so if we do not admit joobal , in Jer_17:8, to be the same word. There is, as will have been seen above, great differences among the versions. The LXX and Jerome seem to have read (oolam) "porch" or "gate," instead of oobal. Ewald would make the word mean "riverbasin," Stromgebeit a view supported also by Zockler. In many respects "marsh" might be a more suitable rendering. To the south-west of the present ruins of Susa there is an extensive marsh, which may have been of old date. The preposition liphnee, which occurs in ver. 3, is all but meaningless applied to a river, if we use it in its ordinary meaning, "before." If we take it as meaning "eastward," the ram would be "westward" from Shushan, ie. between Shushan and the river; but as Daniel was in Shushan, he would naturally state the position of the "ram" in relation to it rather than to the river. The preposition l (al) is nearly as meaningless with regard to a river, unless a bridge or a boat is intended. We are inclined to read oolam as "porch." At the same time, we know that there was the river Ulai (Eulaeus) near Shushan. It is mentioned in one of the inscriptions of Asshurbanipal in connection with Shushan (Smith"s "Asshurbanipal," p. 130). The palace. Bcera really seems to mean "fortress." It occurs ten times in Esther, and always as the appellation of Shushan. In Nehemiah it is once used with this connotation, but twice in regard to some building in Jerusalem, probably the temple; in Chronicles it is used for the temple. Inliv, Ezr_6:2 it is used of Achmetha, equivalent to Ecbatana. From the fact that the LXX translates po it might be reasoned that the translator had ry before him, but the translation probably was due to ignorance of the precise meaning of the word. In Esther this word is rendered poliv. In Nehemiah it is once rendered poliv, once it is rendered abira, and once bira. The derivation of the word seems to be from the Assyrian birtu. It really means "citadel" or "fortress," and thus may be compared with the Carthaginian byrsa. Jerome"s translation, castrum, suits this. It is not necessary to maintain that at this time Daniel was in Shushan. All that is implied is that in his dream he was there. Shushan is first referred to in the inscriptions of Asshur-bani-pal as the capital of Elam. In the history of that monarch there is an inscription of his given in which he says, "Shushan, the great city, the seat of their gods, the place of their oracle, I captured." Then follows a description of the plunder he took from it. We do not know when it recovered from that overthrow. The name is said to be derived from the number of lilies growing in the neighbourhood; but shushan, "a lily," is a Shemitie word, and the Elamites are usually regarded as an Aryan people. The association of Babylon with Elam and Media must have been intimate, if any credit is to be placed on the Greek accounts of the marriage of Nebuchadnezzar. Hence, even if Elam was not, at the date specified, a province of the Babylonian Empire, perhaps never was, yet the Babylonian. court might well have envoys visiting the court of Elam. We find from the well-known inscription of Nabunahid, that he regarded Cyrus at first as a friend and deliverer from the formidable Astyages, King of Umman-Manda. Daniel may have been sent to Elam, although there is no necessity for maintaining that this was the case. It was not until he had conquered Astyages that Cyrus held possession of Shushan.
HOMILIES BY H.T. ROBJOHNS Vers. 2, 13, 15.
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Modes of supersensual vision.
saw in a vision" (ver. 2); "Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint" (ver. 13); "Behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man" (ver. 15). Of the next vision, the time should be noted two years after the last, Belshazzar still living; and the place, viz. Shushan. Daniel seems not to have been there in reality, but only in vision. So Ezekiel from Babylon was "brought in the visions of God to Jerusalem." This vision concerned the overthrow of Persia, and so the prophet was placed at the centre of the empire, whence he might see the desolation coming. This vision develops dramatically:
1. We have symbols. (Vers. 1-12.) Then:
2. Answering voices. (Vers. 13, 14.)
3. Communication from God through Gabriel. (Vers. 15-27.) This may suggest discourse on some modes of coming to the vision of supersensual truth. By
I CONTEMPLATING PICTURES IN THE WORLD OF SENSE. Daniel was brought first into contact with symbol picture of power and action, the ram, the goat; destruction of the ram; certain transformations of the goat. So man"s first lesson now comes through the sense-pictures of the world. This depends, as a fact, on the truth that the world is one transparency, through which is ever shining supersensual truth. Behind all phenomena of space and time lie luminous eternal truths. Consider how much we can see in and learn from:
1. Our present home of the material world
2. The life-forms with which it is crowded.
3. Common employment.
4. Social relations. How much of spiritual truth may be seen, e.g., in paternity, the family, civil constitution, law, etc.!
5. Our training through the successive incidents of life.
II LISTENING TO ANSWERING VOICES. "Then I heard one saint," etc. (ver. 13). Here we pass to a higher realm than that of sense-pictures, into the arena of pure intelligence. An angel-voice addressed Daniel, or was about to address him, when another, interrupting, requested the first angel to afford Daniel definite information on certain points; which he did. We may learn much:
1. From the colloquy of the angels. True, we cannot hear this; but much of angel-discourse is recorded in the book. Think of Stier"s "Words of the Angels.
2. From the controversies of the Church. Present and past. What have they been but contentions, out of which truth has come with a clearer definition and more resplendent aspect"?
3. From the assaults of unbelief. The indebtedness of the Church to disbelief, misbelief, and non-belief can never be accurately reckoned. Scepticism often has:
1. Stripped the Church of untenable positions.
2. Driven her back on deeper foundations.
3. Corrected the interpretation of supersensual truth.
We may go a step further:
4. From the continuities of infidelities among themselves.
III DEVOUT ATTENTION TO MAN INFORMED BY GOD. (Ver. 15.) Daniel looking on the vision, behold, the apparition of a man! Gabriel the man (the vir. not the homo) of God. To Gabriel a voice not that of the genius of the river Ulai, but of God. Here we have intimated another way in which supersensual truth may be uncovered to man; i.e. by man, but by man informed by God. We use the word "informed" in two senses:
(1) in the grand old sense the form filled out with spirit and power;
(2) in the more modern sense, of being instructed simply. The name "Gabriel," equivalent to "Vir Dei," suggests that revelation may come:
1. Through manhood. Through man at his highest, noblest, best. Through holiness unfallen, as in the case of Gabriel. Or through holiness restored, as in the case of a man. Through power, virility, genius sanctified.
2. Vitalized by God. Filled with God.
3. Spoken to by God. (Ver. 16.) Note: The Divine voice has a human tone in it. We may take, as examples of this mode of revelation, the case of the text, Gabriel; any real prophet ; Christ, the Divine Man; the true preacher of modern times. The first effect of Divine revelation, as with Daniel, may be consternation (ver. 17); but that effect may be relieved and softened by sympathy (ver. 18): "but he touched me." Think of Christ"s healing touch. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 8:2 Susa, located in the lowlands southwest of the…
8:2 Susa, located in the lowlands southwest of the Zagros Mountains, was one of Persia’s capital cities (cp. Ezra 4:9; Neh 1:1; Esth 1:2). It was a fortified capital whose architecture was decorated with glazed griffins, winged bulls, and lions. • The Ulai River was probably a man-made canal.
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