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Daniel 7:22

in Daniel 7

until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

KJV

Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

This verse in Daniel 7

Commentary

11 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

diverse from all the others

on Daniel 7:19-22

Daniel presses further specifically on the fourth beast and its horn, and the angel's answer adds a detail the first telling did not give: the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came and judgment was given to the saints, who then possess the kingdom. Gill reads the horn's temporary success against the saints as the vision's honest acknowledgment that the kingdom's arrival does not mean the saints are spared conflict beforehand, only that the conflict does not have the last word. The until marks the turning point structurally the same way but if not marks chapter 3, a hinge on which the whole scene's outcome turns.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers4 voices

1. In speaking of a "lioness from the sea," he meant the rising of the kingdom of Babylon, and that this was the "golden head of the image." And in speaking of its "eagle wings," be meant that king Nebuchadnezzar was exalted and that his glory was lifted up against God. Then he says "its wings were plucked off," i.e., that his glory was destroyed; for he was driven out of his kingdom. And the words, "A man's heart was given it, and it was made stand upon the feet of a man," mean that he came to himself again, and recognised that he was but a man, and gave the glory to God. Then after the lioness he sees a second beast, "like a bear," which signified the Persians. For after the Babylonians the Persians obtained the power. And in saying that "it had three ribs in its mouth," he pointed to the three nations, Persians, Medes, and Babylonians, which were expressed in the image by the silver after the gold. Then comes the third beast, "a leopard," which means the Greeks; for after the Persians, Alexander of Macedon had the power, when Darius was overthrown, which was also indicated by the brass in the image. And in saying that the beast "had four wings of a fowl, and four heads," he showed most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was parted into four divisions. For in speaking of four heads, he meant the four kings that arose out of it. For Alexander, when dying, divided his kingdom into four parts. Then he says, "The fourth beast (was) dreadful and terrible: it had iron teeth, and claws of brass." Who, then, are meant by this but the Romans, whose kingdom, the kingdom that still stands, is expressed by the iron? "for," says he, "its legs are of iron." 2. After this, then, what remains, beloved, but the toes of the feet of the image, in which "part shall be of iron and part of clay mixed together? […]

A commentator

Eznik of Kolb

ON GOD 118 · Written before 449.

proposed

And [God] himself would appear like an old man, sometimes like a youth, for one or another manifestation of providence, having taken the form for a cherished man. And in this way by [God's] own appearances and those of his servants as well, he would …

A commentator

Justin Martyr

Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter XXXI · Written before 165.

proposed

But if so great a power is shown to have followed and to be still following the dispensation of His suffering, how great shall that be which shall follow His glorious advent! For He shall come on the clouds as the Son of man, so Daniel foretold, and His angels shall come with Him. These are the words: [quotes Daniel 7:9-28]

A commentator

Hippolytus of Rome

Commentary on Daniel 4.14.3 · Written before 235.

proposed

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.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Until the Ancient of days came,....
5 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Belshazzar's name here is, in the original, spelt differently from what it used to be; before it was Bel-she-azar--Bel is he that treasures up riches.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

God shall judge the world by his Son, to whom he has committed all judgment, and, as an earnest of that, he comes for the deliverance of his oppressed people, comes for the setting up of his kingdom in the world. [2.] The judgment shall sit,

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

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).

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Saints of the Most High - To the supereminent saints; see the note on Dan 7:18 (note).
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.

The words behind it

14 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.

  • עַ֣דuntil

    ʾadH570535 times

  • דִּֽי־that

    di-H1768345 times

  • אֲתָ֗הhe came

    ʾatahH85816 times

  • עַתִּיק֙[the] [one] ancient of

    ʾatikH62683 times

  • יֽוֹמַיָּ֔א<the> days

    yomaiya'H311816 times

  • וְדִינָ֣אand <the> judgment

    vedina'H17805 times

  • יְהִ֔בit was given

    yehivH305228 times

  • לְקַדִּישֵׁ֖יfor [the] holy [ones] of

    lekadisheiH692213 times

  • עֶלְיוֹנִ֑ין[the] Most High

    elyoninH59464 times

  • וְזִמְנָ֣אand appointed time the

    vezimna'H216611 times

  • מְטָ֔הit arrived

    metahH42918 times

  • וּמַלְכוּתָ֖אand kingdom the

    umalkhuta'H443757 times

  • הֶחֱסִ֥נוּthey took possession of

    hechesinuH2631

  • קַדִּישִֽׁין׃[the] holy [ones]

    kadishinH692213 times

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

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Revelation 3:21

    To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

    it leads to

    • 2 Timothy 2:12

      if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Matthew 19:28

      Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Revelation 2:26–27

      And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • John 16:33

      I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

  • Through

    Revelation 20:4

    Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for…

    it leads to

    • Daniel 7:27

      Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all…

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • Daniel 7:18

      But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Corinthians 6:2–3

      Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?

  • Through

    Revelation 5:10

    You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”

    it leads to

    • Revelation 1:6

      who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

Where this verse is studied

About Daniel

Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Eznik of Kolb, ON GOD 118; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments - Of the visions of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.14.3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter XXXI and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.