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Daniel 2:33

in Daniel 2

its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.

KJV

His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

This verse in Daniel 2

Commentary

10 notes on this verse
"His feet," etc. Hippolytus: In the vision of the prophet, the ten horns are the things that are yet to be.

This site's exposition

a great image

on Daniel 2:31-33

The image's four metals descending in value, gold, silver, brass, iron mixed at the last with clay, are read by the whole bench as a decline in nobility even as the empires grow harder and more crushing in their power, gold's softness giving way to iron's strength and iron's own inability finally to hold. The form terrible and the brightness excellent together describe something meant to awe before it is ever explained, an image built the way empire itself is built, magnificent to look at and unstable at the foundation.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

Hippolytus of Rome

Commentary on Daniel 2.11 · Written before 235.

proposed

And so since the blessed Daniel described the vision and was not silent about its interpretation, he left behind some questions for those who possess a keen mind, so that again what was spoken by Daniel may be explained by another. Yet it is necessary for the lovers of truth, to not merely read cursorily, but to seek to say the obscure and to understand what was spoken by the prophets. For Daniel sees a great image, and the head of this he likens to be as pure gold. Next, the shoulders and chest he describes as being silver. Then, the stomach and thighs are bronze. Next, the legs are iron. Likewise also the toes of the feet are clay and iron which has been mixed together. Then, a stone, which is cut from a mountain without hands, strikes the image and grinds it. And the same stone became a great mountain and filled all the earth. After saying these things concerning the image, he afterwards divides the image, in accordance with its sections, into kingdoms and he explains each part of the statue, proceeding to each part, saying that the gold is king Nebuchadnezzar himself, describing him to be the golden head of the image. Next, he names a second kingdom, implying that it is inferior, saying that it is silver. Next, a third which is bronze. Then, a fourth strong kingdom, which is iron. Next, the clay and iron, having been mixed together, exhibit the tips of the feet of the image. For I have begun from the head because it displays the gold. Next, the chest and arms and he names them silver. Then, the stomach and thighs, and he indicates them to be bronze. Next, he describes the legs, and he shows them to be iron. […]

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 2:40 · Written before 373.

proposed

The iron is Alexander, the conqueror of all nations. Indeed, as iron submits all bodies, so he broke the forces of all princes and kings, and subjected their authorities. And the toes … these are the ten Hellenistic kings which originated from Alexander's empire: some …

A commentator

Hippolytus of Rome

Commentary on Daniel 2.7 · Written before 235.

proposed

In all events Scripture says, "You, O king, were looking, and behold, one image: Great was that image and its appearance was fearful. The head of the image was of pure gold, its hands and chest and its arms were silver, the stomach and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, the feet were part iron, part clay. You were looking until you saw a stone, which was cut without hands and it struck the image at the iron and clay feet and crushed it completely. Then once for all, the clay, iron, bronze, silver and gold were ground and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor. And the greatness of the wind carried them away and no place was found for them. And the stone which struck the image became a great mountain and it filled all the earth. This is the dream and we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a strong, mighty, and honorable kingdom in every place where the sons of men dwell, and he has given into your hand beasts of the field and birds of heaven and he has ordained you Lord of all. You are the head of gold. And after you another kingdom shall arise, which is lesser than you. And a third kingdom shall arise which is bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron. In the way which iron grinds and subdues all, in this way it will grind and subdue all. And because you saw the feet and the toes, part of which were iron, part of which were clay, the kingdom shall be divided, and in it there shall be from the nature of iron, in which manner, you saw iron mixed with clay. […]

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

His legs of iron,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

But to Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen prince, they were represented by a gay and pompous image of a man, for he was an admirer of the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them. To him the sight was so charming that he was impatient to see it again.
3 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The clay, in Da 2:41, "potter's clay," Da 2:43, "miry clay," means "earthenware," hard but brittle (compare Ps 2:9; Re 2:27, where the same image is used of the same event); the feet are stable while bearing only direct pressure, but easily broken to pieces by a blow (Da 2:34), the iron intermixed not retarding, but hastening, such a result.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

His legs of iron - The Roman government. His feet part of iron and part of clay - The same, mixed with the barbaric nations, and divided into ten kingdoms. See at the end of the chapter.
His legs of iron - The portion of the lower limbs from the knees to the ankles. This is undoubtedly the usual meaning of the English word “legs,” and it as clearly appears to be the sense of the original word here. Iron was regarded as inferior to either of the other metals specified, and yet was well adapted to denote a kingdom of a particular kind - less noble in some respects, and yet hardy, powerful, and adapted to tread down the world by conquest. On the application of this, see the notes at Dan 2:

The words behind it

10 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Where this verse is studied

About Daniel

Daniel in the Lions' Den, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Daniel in the Lions' Den, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 2:40; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments - Scholia on Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.11; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.