Daniel 8:1
in Daniel 8In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, subsequent to the one that had appeared to me earlier.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
KJV
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
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This verse in Daniel 8
Commentary
10 notes on this verseIn the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar,.... Which some say (t) was the last year of his reign; but, according to Ptolemy's canon, he reigned seventeen years; and so says Josephus (u); however, this, as well as the preceding vision, were seen before what happened recorded in the "fifth" and "sixth" chapters. The following vision was seen by Daniel, according to Bishop Usher (w) and Dean Prideaux (x) in the year of the world 3451 A.M., and 553 B.C.
This site's exposition
the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar
on Daniel 8:1-2
The vision comes in the third year of Belshazzar, two years before the writing on the wall that ends his reign, and Daniel is carried in vision to Shushan by the river Ulai, a city he had likely never seen, which will become the winter capital of the Persian kings a lifetime after this vision is given. The bench marks the irony the text does not: God shows Daniel the empire's future seat before Persia has taken a single province from Babylon. The vision is Daniel's own, seen after the first vision of chapter seven, and he records it as an eyewitness, even unto me Daniel.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Now, it is not without purpose that he indicates the time: it is to inform us that long before these things happened, he received foreknowledge of them from the God of all.
Verse 1. "In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me. I, Daniel, after what I had seen at the first..." This vision came two years after the previous revelation, for the latter was beheld in the first year of Belshazzar, whereas this was beheld in the third year. And so he informs us: "...after that which I had seen at the first."
And so the prophet, after ceasing from what lies before, teaches us the certainty of what will be with all precision, he passes again to the kingdom of the Persians and Greeks, describing another vision to us which happened and was fulfilled in his own times, in order that in this he may furnish us faithful and that he may be able to inspire us to be more faithful to God for what is destined to come. For he speaks in this way, "In the third year of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at first. And I was in Susa, in the palace, which is in the land of Elam, and I was upon the Ubal." [Daniel 8:1-2]
The Reformation1 voice
For God wished to show him first what various changes should happen before Christ's advent. The second redemption was the beginning of a new life, since God then not only restored afresh his own Church, but as it were created a new people; and hence the departure from Babylon and the return to their country are called the second birth of the Church.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The interpretation of this vision by an angel, showing that the ram signified the Persian empire, the he-goat the Grecian, and the little horn a king of the Grecian monarchy, that should set himself against the Jews and religion, which was Antiochus Epiphanes,
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Could we foresee the changes that shall be hereafter, when we are gone, we should the less admire, and be less affected with, the changes in our own day; for that which is done is that which shall be done, Eccl. i.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In the third year of the reign of - Belshazzar - We now come once more to the Hebrew, the Chaldee part of the book being finished. As the Chaldeans had a particular interest both in the history and prophecies from Dan 2:4 to the end of chap. 7, the whole is written in Chaldee, but as the prophecies which remain concern times posterior to the Chaldean monarchy, and principally relate to the Church and people of God generally, they are written in the Hebrew language, this being the tongue in which God chose to reveal all his counsels given under the Old Testament relative to the New.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar - In regard to Belshazzar, see Intro. to Dan. 5 Section II. A vision appeared unto me - This vision appears to have occurred to him when awake, or in an ecstasy; the former one occurred when he was asleep, Dan 7:1. Compare Dan 8:17-18, where the prophet represents himself as overpowered, and as falling down to the earth on account of the vision. The representation would seem to have been made to pass before his mind in open day, and when he was fully awake.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּשְׁנַ֣ת | bishnat | in year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| שָׁל֔וֹשׁ | shaloosh | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| לְמַלְכ֖וּת | lemalkhut | of [the] reign of | H4438 → | 91 times |
| בֵּלְאשַׁצַּ֣ר | beleshatzar | Belshazzar | H1112 → | |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| חָז֞וֹן | chazon | a vision | H2377 → | 35 times |
| נִרְאָ֤ה | nirah | it appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֵלַי֙ | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| דָנִיֵּ֔אל | daniyel | Daniel | H1840 → | 24 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֛י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | |
| הַנִּרְאָ֥ה | hanirah | the [one] which it appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֵלַ֖י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בַּתְּחִלָּֽה׃ | batechilah | at the beginning | H8462 → | 22 times |
בִּשְׁנַ֣תin year
bishnatH8141 →877 times
שָׁל֔וֹשׁthree
shalooshH7969 →432 times
לְמַלְכ֖וּתof [the] reign of
lemalkhutH4438 →91 times
בֵּלְאשַׁצַּ֣רBelshazzar
beleshatzarH1112 →
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
חָז֞וֹןa vision
chazonH2377 →35 times
נִרְאָ֤הit appeared
nirahH7200 →1300 times
אֵלַי֙to me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
דָנִיֵּ֔אלDaniel
daniyelH1840 →24 times
אַחֲרֵ֛יafter
ʾachareiH310 →
הַנִּרְאָ֥הthe [one] which it appeared
hanirahH7200 →1300 times
אֵלַ֖יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
בַּתְּחִלָּֽה׃at the beginning
batechilahH8462 →22 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Daniel 9:2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:10
For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
- Jeremiah 25:11–12
And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
- 2 Chronicles 36:21
So the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation, until seventy years were completed, in fulfillment of the word of the LORD through Jeremiah.
- Zechariah 7:5
“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
- Revelation 1:3
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
- Jeremiah 29:10
Through
Daniel 10:2In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:4
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
- Nehemiah 1:4
Through
Daniel 11:4But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the…
it leads to
- Daniel 8:22
The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation, but will not have the same power.
- Daniel 8:8
Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of…
- Daniel 8:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies7
About Daniel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.25.1-2; Jerome, Commentary on Daniel; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:1.