Daniel 8:2
in Daniel 8And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
KJV
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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This verse in Daniel 8
Commentary
9 notes on this verseVerse 2. "I saw in my vision while I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the region of Elam" (Vulgate: "city of Elam"). Or else we may render, as Symmachus has translated it, "...in the city of Elam," from which of course the region took its name, just as the Babylonians were named from Babylon. So also the Elamites were thus named from Elam, in consequence of which the Septuagint translates it: "the region of Elamais."
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 Fathers1 voice
"I saw in a vision" means I was not awake, nor did I see it during the day: the God of all showed it to me in a dream.
The Medieval Church1 voice
That is, before the vestibule and the gate where the river Ulai passed, that is, the gate that opens on the river Ulai.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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:
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,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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, Jer 49:35. 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.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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 (Ne 1:1;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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. 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. […]
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָֽאֶרְאֶה֮ | vaereh | and I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בֶּחָזוֹן֒ | bechazon | in the vision | H2377 → | 35 times |
| וַיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בִּרְאֹתִ֔י | biroti | when saw I | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וַאֲנִי֙ | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| בְּשׁוּשַׁ֣ן | beshushan | [was] in Susa | H7800 → | |
| הַבִּירָ֔ה | habirah | the citadel | H1002 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּעֵילָ֣ם | beeilam | [is] in Elam | H5867 → | |
| הַמְּדִינָ֑ה | hamedinah | the province | H4082 → | |
| וָאֶרְאֶה֙ | vaereh | and I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בֶּֽחָז֔וֹן | bechazon | in the vision | H2377 → | 35 times |
| וַאֲנִ֥י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| הָיִ֖יתִי | hayiti | I was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אוּבַ֥ל | ʾuval | [the] canal of | H180 → | 3 times |
| אוּלָֽי׃ | ʾulai | Ulai | H195 → |
וָֽאֶרְאֶה֮and I saw
vaerehH7200 →1300 times
בֶּחָזוֹן֒in the vision
bechazonH2377 →35 times
וַיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בִּרְאֹתִ֔יwhen saw I
birotiH7200 →1300 times
וַאֲנִי֙and I
vaaniH589 →874 times
בְּשׁוּשַׁ֣ן[was] in Susa
beshushanH7800 →
הַבִּירָ֔הthe citadel
habirahH1002 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּעֵילָ֣ם[is] in Elam
beeilamH5867 →
הַמְּדִינָ֑הthe province
hamedinahH4082 →
וָאֶרְאֶה֙and I saw
vaerehH7200 →1300 times
בֶּֽחָז֔וֹןin the vision
bechazonH2377 →35 times
וַאֲנִ֥יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
הָיִ֖יתִיI was
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אוּבַ֥ל[the] canal of
ʾuvalH180 →3 times
אוּלָֽי׃Ulai
ʾulaiH195 →
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
Esther 2:8When the king’s command and edict had been proclaimed, many young women gathered at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the palace and placed under the…
it leads to
- Esther 2:3
and let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom to assemble all the beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Esther 2:3
Through
Ezekiel 32:24Elam is there with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who once spread their terror in the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 49:34–39
This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 32:25
Among the slain they prepare a resting place for Elam with all her hordes, with her graves all around her. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword, although their terror was once…
- Jeremiah 49:34–39
Through
Esther 1:2In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:1
These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,
- 2 Samuel 7:1
After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
- Nehemiah 1:1
Through
Nehemiah 1:1These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,
it leads to
- Zechariah 7:1
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
- Nehemiah 10:1
Now these were the ones who sealed the document: Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah,
- Esther 1:2
In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.
- Zechariah 7:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies7
About Daniel
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; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER EIGHT; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:2.