Danielchapter 7
28 verses · Daniel, by tradition · 6th century BC · The Prophets
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.
Introduction
Daniel, by tradition, The Prophets, Daniel Overview.
This chapter turns the book from stories about Daniel to visions given to him, and it steps back in time to the first year of Belshazzar. It was kept for a people who had watched one empire after another rise over them, each harder than the last. It is the last chapter written in Aramaic, and it answers the king's dream of chapter 2 with a vision of its own. Listen for the change of scene from the sea to the throne. Listen too for the figure who comes with the clouds, whose title Jesus later took as His own.
Context
- Who
- Exiles who needed to know what came after Babylon, and who would be standing at the end
- What
- An apocalyptic vision of four beasts from the sea, the court of the Ancient of Days, the one like a son of man and the kingdom given to the saints.
- Where
- Babylon, in a vision Daniel saw on his bed at night.
- When
- The first year of Belshazzar, about 553 BC, earlier than the events of chapters 5 and 6.
- Why
- To assure God's people that the kingdoms of the earth are judged by God, and that the everlasting kingdom is given to the son of man and to His people.
Historical context
The book turns here. Chapters 1-6 are stories about Daniel; from chapter 7 on they are visions given to Daniel, and the mood changes from court drama to something far larger.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The imagery came out of a shared ancient vocabulary. In the myths of Israel's neighbors, the sea was chaos, the place monsters came from, and a great sea churned by four winds throwing up beasts was a picture any listener in Babylon would have read instantly as history going wrong.
The beasts are drawn from the world Daniel could see. A lion with eagle's wings was Babylon's own art: the Ishtar Gate and the palace throne room were covered in striding lions, and winged human-headed bulls guarded Assyrian and Babylonian doorways. A bear heavy on one side, a leopard with four wings, and finally something with iron teeth that no animal name fits.
Then the scene changes completely. Thrones are set, the Ancient of Days sits, books are opened, and one like a son of man comes with the clouds of heaven and is given a kingdom that will not pass away. In the ancient world, coming on the clouds was language for deity, and this figure receives worship from all peoples.
Significance
The exile's problem was that history seemed to be a conveyor belt of predators, each worse than the last, and Israel was always underneath. This vision says the predators are real, they will keep coming, and they are all on a leash, the court sits, the books open, and dominion is taken away from them.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The promise at the end is the one that carried: the kingdom is given to a human figure who receives it from God Himself, and it is shared with "the saints of the most High." For a people whose kingdom had been taken, that was everything. Jesus later used "the Son of man" as His own title more than any other.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
The vision of the four beasts is not read in the synagogue. Probed for this lane, the site's own table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts printed parashot total 0 and haftarah uses total 0 for Daniel, and no festival reading. The site's book dossier records that Daniel stands among the Writings in the Hebrew Bible rather than among the Prophets, so no weekly portion is drawn from it and no Haftarah either.
The chapter is met in the Talmud at the opening of tractate Avodah Zarah, which the corpus carries at 2b:7 under the fifth verse and 2b:2 under the twenty-third, and at Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1:1:18 under the sixteenth. Seder Olam Rabbah 28:1 stands under the first verse, the chronicle Rashi cites for his dates in chapters 2, 6 and 11.
How it is read
Rashi is the one commentator on this chapter in the corpus, quoted from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY at fifty words or fewer. He reads the four beasts as four kingdoms and names them.
The lion with eagle's wings is Babylon, "that is the kingdom of Babylon, which was ruling at that time", and he finds the same figures in Jeremiah (Rashi on Daniel 7:4:1). The third beast with its four wings and four heads is Greece after Alexander. "They are the four rulers to whom Alexander of Macedon allotted his kingdom at his death", and he takes the account from the book of Joseph ben Gurion (Rashi on Daniel 7:6:1). The fourth beast came on another night "because it is equal to them all.", a reading he gives from Leviticus Rabbah 13:5 (Rashi on Daniel 7:7:1).
The judgment scene is read as mercy for one people and justice for the rest. The thrones were set "one for judgment for the nations of the world and one for charity for Israel" (Rashi on Daniel 7:9:1). The angels are called standing ones "because they have no joints" (Rashi on Daniel 7:16:1).
The figure who comes with the clouds is where Rashi is shortest. "That is the King Messiah" (Rashi on Daniel 7:13:1). The dominion given to him is given over the nations, and Rashi explains the images of the vision: the nations are likened to beasts, and "Israel he likens to a man because they are humble and innocent" (Rashi on Daniel 7:14:1). The holy ones of the Most High are "These are Israel, who will take the kingdom from the fourth one" (Rashi on Daniel 7:18:1).
The corpus carries twenty-four commentary entries on this chapter, the cap its fetch sets, and they stop at the twenty-fourth verse, so what the commentators say on the verses after it is not reported here.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries forty rabbinic locators on this chapter. Three of them stand in the Talmud and its minor tractates and the rest in the Midrash. The corpus carries the text of none, so each is cited by ref here and never quoted.
On the first verse it holds Midrash Lekach Tov, Exodus 19:3:5 and Seder Olam Rabbah 28:1. On the second verse it holds Devarim Rabbah 5:8 and Devarim Rabbah 9:3. On the span Daniel 7:2 to 6 it holds Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Vayehi Beshalach 2:21. On the third verse it holds Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Bereshit 14, Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Bereshit 17 and Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 15:7. On the fourth verse it holds Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Vayechi 32 and Esther Rabbah, Petichta 5. On the fifth verse it holds Avodah Zarah 2b:7 and Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Kiddushin 4:13.
On the sixth verse it holds Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 14:5. On the seventh verse it holds Aggadat Bereshit 36:1 and Bereshit Rabbah 44:17. On the eighth verse it holds Midrash Sekhel Tov, Bereshit 33:17:17. On the ninth verse it holds Aggadat Bereshit 14:1. On the span Daniel 7:9 to 10 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 20:2. On the tenth verse it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 11:7 and Bamidbar Rabbah 12:8.
On the eleventh verse it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 11:1 and Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Chukat 27:5. On the thirteenth verse it holds Aggadat Bereshit 14:3 and Aggadat Bereshit 23:1. On the fifteenth verse it holds Bereshit Rabbah 26:6 and Eikhah Rabbah 5:9. On the sixteenth verse it holds Bereshit Rabbah 65:21 and Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1:1:18. On the eighteenth verse it holds Midrash Lekach Tov on Song of Songs 7:6:2. On the nineteenth verse it holds Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Miketz 7 and Esther Rabbah 4:12.
On the twentieth verse it holds Bereshit Rabbah 99:2 and Eikhah Rabbah 2:6. On the twenty-first verse it holds Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 15:3. On the twenty-third verse it holds Avodah Zarah 2b:2 and Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Avodah Zarah 1:1. On the twenty-fourth verse it holds Bereshit Rabbah 76:6 and Midrash Lekach Tov, Genesis 1:1:33. On the twenty-fifth verse it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 11:45 and Midrash Lekach Tov, Deuteronomy 30:10:1.
What each locator teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and it is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one. The quotations wait on a fetch that carries the text.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Daniel 7:1:1 to Daniel 7:24:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/daniel/7.json, the 40 Talmud and Midrash locators of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for this book and printing daniel parashot total 0 and haftarah uses total 0, and src/components/book/dossier-content/daniel.ts on the place of Daniel among the Writings.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Four beasts out of the great sea, and a little horn
Daniel 7:1-3
the summary of his account: Daniel dates this vision to Belshazzar's first year, before the feast of chapter 5. The winds “churning up the great sea” and beasts “each one different from the others” set the pattern. Gill and Keil read the four as the kingdoms of the image in chapter 2.
Daniel 7:1
“In the first year of Belshazzar - This prophecy is written in Chaldee, to be a monument to him, of the reverence his father and grandfather shewed towards God, who had done such mighty works for them.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
the four winds of heaven: Readers differ on the great sea. Adam Clarke and Tregelles, cited by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, took it as the Mediterranean, while Hippolytus of Rome took it as the whole world. Jerome read the four winds as angelic powers set over the nations, and John Wesley as warring nations.
Daniel 7:2
“The four winds - Probably by the four winds of the great sea is signified commotions of contrary nations, striving together by wars, and producing these four beasts successively.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
each one different from the others: Albert Barnes held that the beasts rose one after another. Theodoret of Cyrus set this vision beside Nebuchadnezzar's statue: the king saw metals, and the prophet sees beasts. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown held that these beasts show the kingdoms of the earth in their grovelling nature.
Daniel 7:3
“And so when the different beast was shown to the blessed prophet Daniel and it was shown that it differed from the others, it is necessary for us to consider that he does not discuss any of the beasts as mere animals, but in a model and image he portrays the kingdoms which have arisen in this world, just as he portrays the beasts destroying humanity. For the Great Sea indicates the whole world, he says; "The four winds of heaven," [Daniel 7:2] which signal the fourfold creation.”
Hippolytus of Rome · written before 235 · Commentary on Daniel 4.2.1-3patristic
Daniel 7:4-6
the wings of an eagle: Keil and Barnes, with the traditional reading, take the lion as Babylon: its wings the speed of Nebuchadnezzar's conquests. The bear raised on one side they read as Medo-Persia, Persia the stronger. The four-headed leopard is Greece under Alexander, split among his generals as chapters 8 and 11 describe.
looked like a bear: Adam Clarke read the bear as the kingdom of the Medes and Persians and Theodoret of Cyrus as Persia. Ephrem the Syrian took it for the Median kingdom of Darius. Jerome matched it to the silver chest of the great statue in the king's dream.
It was like a leopard: Jerome, Adam Clarke and John Wesley read the leopard as the Greek kingdom of Alexander, swift and at first smaller than the beast before it. Ephrem the Syrian read the leopard as Persia. Theodoret of Cyrus and Matthew Henry took the four heads as the kings who divided the kingdom.
Daniel 7:7-8
The fourth beast is likened to no animal; the traditional reading takes it as Rome. Of the little horn, the traditional and dispensational readings expect a future ruler from a revived fourth kingdom. The critical reading, following the case Porphyry made and Jerome answered, takes it as Antiochus.
another horn, a little one: Ephrem the Syrian read the little horn as Antiochus, a reading Jerome rejected when Porphyry held it. Theodoret of Cyrus and John Chrysostom saw the antichrist in the horn with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance. Adam Clarke reported that Protestant writers took it for the papacy.
Daniel 7:8
“The "mouth" and "eyes" are those of a man, while the symbol is otherwise brutish, that is, it will assume man's true dignity, namely, wear the guise of the kingdom of God (which comes as the "Son of man" from above), while it is really bestial, namely, severed from God.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The Ancient of Days and one like a son of man
Daniel 7:9-10
Ancient of Days took His seat: The scene turns from the beasts to a court where “thrones were set in place”, with a throne of fire, and “the books were opened”. The church reads the scene as preparing for the Son of Man of verse 13, who shares this glory.
Daniel 7:9
“Let him then be standing for you that you may not be afraid of him sitting; for when sitting he judges, as Daniel says, "the thrones were placed, and the books were opened, and the Ancient of Days did sit." But in Psalm 81 [82] it is written, "God stood in the congregation of gods and decides among the gods." So then when he sits he judges, when he stands he decides, and he judges concerning the imperfect but decides among the gods.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · LETTER 63:6patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 7:9
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down,.... On which the governors of the above monarchies sat; and those of the ten kings, signified by the ten horns; and also that of the little horn.”
the books were opened: Theodoret of Cyrus took the books that were opened as God's memory of each man's deeds. Jerome read the thousands and myriads as a multitude beyond counting. Adam Clarke placed this court at the judgment of the fourth beast, while Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tied it to the antichrist's condemnation.
Daniel 7:10
“A fiery stream issued - This is not spoken of the final judgment; but of that which he was to execute upon this fourth beast, the Roman empire; and the little boasting horn which is a part of the fourth beast, and must fall when the other falls.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Daniel 7:11-12
the beast was slain: The fourth beast is slain, while the other beasts lose their dominion yet receive “an extension of life for a season and a time”. Barnes notes that history ran this way: Babylon's people and institutions lived on under Persia, and Persia's under Greece.
Daniel 7:11
“He himself died of a miserable disease, his family was rooted out, the kingdom wasted by the Parthians and Armenians, and at length made a province of the Roman empire by Pompey. And the Roman empire itself (if we take that for the fourth beast), after it began to persecute Christianity, declined and wasted away, and the body of it was destroyed.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 7:11
“Here is set forth the execution on earth of the judgment pronounced in the unseen heavenly court of judicature (Da 7:9, 10). body . . . given to . . . flame-- (Re 19:20).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
an extension of life: Albert Barnes observed that the earlier beasts lose their power yet live on, unlike the fourth, which is destroyed. Ephrem the Syrian applied this to the Chaldeans, Medes and Persians, whose kings kept some strength. Matthew Henry compared it to sin no longer reigning.
Daniel 7:12
“The reason is: Christ's kingdom now is not of this world (Joh 18:36); and only at the second advent of Christ does it become an external power of the world. Hence Daniel, whose province it was to prophesy of the world powers, does not treat of Christianity until it becomes a world power, namely, at the second advent.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Daniel 7:13-14
One like the Son of Man: comes “with the clouds of heaven”, and receives “an everlasting dominion that will not pass away”. Jesus took this title and answered Caiaphas with this verse (Mark 14:62; Matthew 26:64). Keil and the Christian tradition read His approach as a sign of shared glory.
Daniel 7:13
“I saw in the night visions - Evidently in the same night visions, or on the same occasion, for the visions are connected. See Dan 7:1, Dan 7:7. The meaning is, that he continued beholding, or that a new vision passed before him. And, behold, one like the Son of man ... - It is remarkable that Daniel does not attempt to represent this by any symbol. The representation by symbols ceases with the fourth beast; and now the description assumes a literal form - the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah and of the saints.”
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 7:13
“A son of man - That is, the Messiah, he came with the clouds of heaven, gloriously, swiftly and terribly. And came - This relates to his ascension, at which time, he received his royal investiture, for the protection of his church, and curbing of their enemies.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Cross references
Daniel 7:13
- Quoted inMark 13:26“At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”
'the Son of man coming in the clouds'
- Quoted inMatthew 24:30“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”
'the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven'
an everlasting dominion: Albert Barnes stressed that the dominion is received from the Ancient of Days, as the New Testament says of Christ. Adam Clarke heard its echo in Matthew 28:18. John Chrysostom pointed to the words every nation and language as embracing the whole world.
Daniel 7:14
“And so as many of you all who reverently draw near to God, observe the person who long ago was shown to the people by Moses and was manifested on the mountain and was proclaimed by the prophets and was seen as a man by the blessed Daniel, concerning whom he says, "I was looking into the vision of the night, and behold, one was coming like a son of man with the clouds of heaven, and he reached the Ancient of Days and was brought near to him and to him was given power and honor and the kingdom…”
Hippolytus of Rome · written before 235 · Commentary on Daniel 4.11.1-5patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 7:14
“And there was given him dominion - This also is applied to our Lord Jesus by himself, after his resurrection, Mat 28:18. His dominion is an everlasting dominion - Christianity shall increase, and prevail to the end of the world. See the parallel passages in the margin.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The interpretation: the saints possess the kingdom
Daniel 7:15-18
grieved in my spirit: Troubled, Daniel asks for “the true meaning of all this”, and hears the outcome: the beasts are “four kings who will arise”. The doubled “forever and ever” sets the lasting kingdom of the saints against the passing reigns of the beasts.
Daniel 7:15
“I Daniel was grieved in my spirit - That is, I was troubled; or my heart was made heavy and sad. This was probably in part because he did not fully understand the meaning of the vision, and partly on account of the fearful and momentous nature of what was indicated by it. So the apostle John Rev 5:4 says, “And I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book.” In the midst of my body - Margin, as in the Chaldee, sheath.”
one of those who were standing: John Gill and Albert Barnes took the one standing there as one of the angels around the throne. Barnes compared the angels of Zechariah and John. Matthew Henry drew the lesson that those who would know the true meaning of what God shows must ask.
Daniel 7:16
“I came near unto one of them that stood by - That is, to one of the angels who appeared to stand near the throne. Dan 7:10. Compare Dan 8:13; Zec 4:4-5; Rev 7:13. It was natural for Daniel to suppose that the angels who were seen encircling the throne would be able to give him information on the subject, and the answers which Daniel received show that he was not mistaken in his expectation. God has often employed angels to communicate important truths to men, or has made them the medium of communicating his will.”
four kings who will arise: Albert Barnes and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown took the four kings to mean four dynasties or kingdoms, and Barnes noted that the Vulgate has kingdoms. Which four kingdoms is contested. Ephrem the Syrian counted Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece, while Hippolytus of Rome made the fourth beast Rome.
Daniel 7:17
“These great beasts, which are four, are four kings - Four kings or four dynasties. There is no reason for supposing that they refer to individual kings, but the obvious meaning is, that they refer to four dominions or empires that would succeed one another on the earth. So the whole representation leads us to suppose, and so the passage has been always interpreted. The Latin Vulgate renders it regna; the Septuagint βασιλεῖαι basileiai; Luther, Reiche; Lengerke, Konigreiche.”
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 7:17
“Compare Da 7:23, "fourth kingdom"; Each of the four kings represents a dynasty. Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Antiochus, and Antichrist, though individually referred to, are representatives of characteristic tendencies.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the saints of the Most High: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown noted that the kingdom the vision gives to the Son of Man is received by the saints. They reasoned Christ and His people share it. Jerome held that the kingdom of the saints is heavenly, while Adam Clarke rendered the Aramaic as the supreme holy ones.
Daniel 7:18
“But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom - I doubt whether this be the true sense of the original Chaldee, ויקבלון מלכותא קדשי עליונון vikabbelun malcutha kaddishey elyonin, “But the supreme holy ones shall receive the kingdom;” or, “they shall receive the kingdom of the supreme saints.” Properly translated by Montanus, Et suscipient regnum sanctorum altissimorum. Whatever we may think of the patriarchs and the Jews in their best times, there has never been so much holiness of heart possessed, and so much righteousness practiced, as by the genuine disciples of Christ.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 7:18
“Here, in the interpretation, "the saints," but in the vision (Da 7:13, 14), "the Son of man," takes the kingdom; for Christ and His people are one in suffering, and one in glory.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Daniel 7:19-22
Daniel asks again about the fourth beast, and the retelling adds that its horn “was waging war against the saints and prevailing against them”. That lasts “until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints”, so the saints endure the conflict.
Daniel 7:19
“To Balaam's "Asshur" correspond Daniel's two eastern kingdoms, Babylon and Medo-Persia; to "Chittim," the two western kingdoms, Greece and Rome (compare Ge 10:4, 11, 22). In Babel, Nimrod the hunter (revolter) founds the first kingdom of the world (Ge 10:8-13). The Babylonian world power takes up the thread interrupted at the building of Babel, and the kingdom of Nimrod.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
more imposing than the others: The horn was called little in verse 8 and is now more imposing. Albert Barnes rendered the phrase literally as an aspect greater than its companions, and read the horn as growing after it first appeared. Theodoret of Cyrus also saw no conflict between the two descriptions.
Daniel 7:20
“And of the ten horns ... - See the notes at Dan 7:7-8. Whose look was more stout than his fellows - literally, “whose aspect was greater than that of its companions.” This does not mean that its look or aspect was more fierce or severe than that of the others, but that the appearance of the horn was greater - רב rab. In Dan 7:8, this is described as a “little horn;” and to understand this, and reconcile the two, we must suppose that the seer watched this as it grew until it became the largest of the number.”
waging war against the saints: Adam Clarke reported that readers who see Antiochus take the saints as the Jewish people, while those who see the papacy think of the Protestants. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown noted that the word until in verse 22 sets the time when the horn stops prevailing.
Daniel 7:21
“Paul says further, "who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called god or that is worshiped," that is, above every divinity, so that antichrist will be the bitter foe of the idolatrous cults. He continues, "so that he sits in the temple of God." What temple is that? Paul says it is the destroyed temple of the Jews. For God forbid that it should be that temple of God in which we are! Why should I suggest such a thing? Lest you should think me complacent about us Christians.”
Cyril of Jerusalem · written before 386 · Catechetical Lecture 15:15patristic
until the Ancient of Days arrived: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observed that Scripture speaks of the Son coming, never the Father. Albert Barnes held that the verse places this coming at some later period, after the war on the saints. Hippolytus of Rome placed it at the Judge's coming from heaven.
Daniel 7:22
“Until the Ancient of days came - Notes, Dan 7:9. That is, this was to occur after the horn grew to its full size, and after the war was made with the saints, and they had been overcome. It does not affirm that this would occur immediately, but that at some subsequent period the Ancient of days would come, and would set up a kingdom on the earth, or would make over the kingdom to the saints.”
3 more voices on this verse
Daniel 7:22
“For, "the time approached," [Daniel 7:22] that is, all at once the time was fulfilled and the saints possessed the kingdom, when the Judge of judges and the King of kings in the future comes from heaven, who shall remove every chief and power which opposes him and shall consume all in an eternal fire, punishing the unrighteous, but he shall give to his slaves both prophets and martyrs and to all who fear him the eternal kingdom.”
Hippolytus of Rome · written before 235 · Commentary on Daniel 4.14.3patristic
Daniel 7:22
“The Father is never said to "come"; it is the Son who comes. judgment was given to . . . saints--Judgment includes rule; "kingdom" in the end of this verse (1Co 6:2; Christ first receives "judgment" and the "kingdom," then the saints with Him (Da 7:13, 14).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Daniel 7:22
“Saints of the Most High - To the supereminent saints; see the note on Dan 7:18 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The fourth beast, times and law changed, and the end
Daniel 7:23-25
devour the whole earth: The fourth kingdom will “devour the whole earth”, then after its ten kings another will subdue three and “oppress the saints of the Most High”. Traditional and dispensational readers place this king, the horn of verse 8, in the future; others see Antiochus, and this note sets no date.
Daniel 7:23
“Thus he said ... - That is, in explanation of the fourth symbol which appeared - the fourth beast, and of the events connected with his appearing. This explanation embraces the remainder of the chapter; and as the whole subject appeared difficult and momentous to Daniel before the explanation, so it may be said to be in many respects difficult, and in all respects momentous still.”
2 more voices on this verse
Daniel 7:23
These doctrines are not the fruit of ingenuity but are derived from the sacred Scriptures read in the church, particularly as gathered out of the prophecy of Daniel, in today's lection, and according to the interpretation given by the archangel Gabriel, who spoke as follows, "the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth, which shall surpass all kingdoms."
Cyril of Jerusalem · written before 386 · Catechetical Lecture 15:13patristic
Daniel 7:23
“These things were once taught people through riddles, but we ourselves have learned these very things by experience. We see the fulfillment of the prophecy; we behold daily that tributes are exacted, poverty oppresses many people, and other such things happen.”
Theodoret of Cyrus · written before 458 · Commentary on Daniel 7:23patristic
ten kings who will rise: John Gill, following Mede, listed ten kingdoms that would rise as the Roman empire broke apart about the year 476. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown held this king is future. His war against the saints runs to Christ's return, they argued, and he denies the Father and the Son.
Daniel 7:24
“He will not merely, as Popery, substitute himself for Christ in Christ's name, but "deny the Father and the Son" (1Jo 2:22). The persecution is to continue up to Christ's second coming (Da 7:21, 22); the horn of blasphemy cannot therefore be past; for now there is almost a general cessation of persecution.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
times, and half a time: Hippolytus of Rome counted the period as three and a half years. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, following Tregelles, took a time as one year, and also set out the year-day reading from Ezekiel 4:6. John Wesley saw these numbers agree with John's in Revelation.
Daniel 7:25
“He shall speak great words against the Most High - Sermones quasi Deus loquetur; “He shall speak as if he were God.” So St. Jerome quotes from Symmachus. To none can this apply so well or so fully as to the popes of Rome. They have assumed infallibility, which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive sins, which belongs only to God. They profess to open and shut heaven, which belongs only to God. They profess to be higher than all the kings of the earth, which belongs only to God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 7:25
“The original word for "time" denotes a stated period or set feast; or the interval from one set feast to its recurrence, that is, a year [TREGELLES]; Le 23:44, "feasts." The passages in favor of the year-day theory are Eze 4:6, where each day of the forty during which Ezekiel lay on his right side is defined by God as meaning a year.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Daniel 7:26-27
the court will convene: When the court convenes, the kingdoms “under all of heaven” are given to “the people, the saints of the Most High”. The older commentators read verse 27 as a restatement of verse 14. Against the empires the chapter has shown, this alone is called “an everlasting kingdom”, as Calvin observes.
Daniel 7:26
“All Christ's enemies shall be made his footstool, and shall be consumed and destroyed to the end: these were the apostle uses concerning the man of sin, 2 Thess. ii. He shall be consumed with the spirit of Christ's mouth and destroyed with the brightness of his coming. [4.] Judgment is given to the saints of the Most High.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the kingdoms under all of heaven: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown took under all of heaven to mean a kingdom on earth. Jerome read the verse as the everlasting kingdom of Christ and elsewhere called the saints' kingdom heavenly. Adam Clarke applied it to a church never destroyed.
Daniel 7:27
“He is said to come with the clouds of heaven. Some refer this to his incarnation; he descended in the clouds of heaven, came into the world unseen, as the glory of the Lord took possession of the temple in a cloud. The empires of the world were beasts that rose out of the sea; but Christ's kingdom is from above: he is the Lord from heaven.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The chapter closes on Daniel himself: his thoughts troubled him, his face “turned pale”, and he “kept the matter to myself”. The King James says he kept it in his heart, and the older writers compare Mary keeping what she did not understand (Luke 2:19).
How this psalm is built
The form: An apocalyptic vision of four kingdoms and the kingdom of God, closing the Aramaic half of the book and mirroring the dream of chapter 2, as guide classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The same four kingdoms, twice | Chapter 2 gives the four kingdoms as metals in a king's dream, and this chapter gives them as beasts in Daniel's vision. In both a fifth kingdom from God ends them and stands forever. The site's book guide draws chapters 2 and 7 as the outer pair of the Aramaic chapters.This site's published book guide, src/components/book/guides/daniel/DanielGuide.tsx, the chiasm table of chapters 2 to 7 and the language bands. | Daniel 7:17, Daniel 7:18, Daniel 7:27 |
| The vision told, then explained | Verses 1 to 14 give the vision in the order Daniel saw it. Verses 15 to 28 give its meaning through one who stood by, and Daniel asks a second time about the fourth beast and the horn. The explanation goes over the same ground and adds the war against the saints. | Daniel 7:16, Daniel 7:19, Daniel 7:21 |
How this chapter is built
1 more paragraph on the patterns
The vision comes first, in verses 1 to 14, and its meaning follows in verses 15 to 28. Within the vision the scene moves from the sea and the four beasts to the thrones and the court, and then to the one like a son of man. The explanation returns to the fourth beast and its horn at Daniel's own request and ends on the kingdom given to the saints. The site's book guide reads this chapter as the partner of chapter 2 in the mirrored arrangement of chapters 2 to 7. It is the last chapter written in Aramaic, and chapter 8 returns to Hebrew.
Keep studying
Studies26
- Antichrist: the Word and the Figure
- Revelation: the Canon's Closing Scroll
- The Son of Man in 1 Enoch
- Angelology
- Apocalyptic Literature
- The Beast and the False Prophet
Show the next 6 titles
- The Major Prophets
- Daniel the Prophet
- Fire
- Jesus on Himself
- Jesus: Titles & Roles
- John on Patmos, Revelation 1
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People and groups1
Places1
Words12
Subjects2
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
C. F. Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The form and classifications
This site's published book guide, src/components/book/guides/daniel/DanielGuide.tsx, the chiasm table of chapters 2 to 7 and the language bands.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Ephrem the Syrian; Hippolytus of Rome; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 7:10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome; John Calvin, Commentary on the Prophet Daniel; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus.