Daniel 8:3
in Daniel 8Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
KJV
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
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This verse in Daniel 8
Commentary
11 notes on this verseVerse 3. "And I lifted up my eyes and saw." Yet of course one only sees in dreams things which appear as shadowy representations, naturally, and as mere likenesses, rather than our being able to behold the reality of the objects themselves. "And behold, a ram stood in front of the swamp (or: in front of the gate - the word being UBAL in the Hebrew), having lofty horns, one of which was higher than the other and growing yet larger." He calls Darius, Cyrus's uncle, a ram. He reigned over the Medes after his father, Astyages.
This site's exposition
a ram with two horns
on Daniel 8:3-4
The ram with two horns, “the longer one” growing up later, is read by the older commentators as Media and Persia joined. The ram charges “toward the west and the north and the south,” the compass of the conquests of Cyrus, and none could stand against him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
He sees the Persian Empire in the form of a ram since it was flush with wealth and had a great abundance of resources.
He perceived two horns on the ram because Cyrus was the first to reign over it and transmitted the empire only to his sons; when his son Cambyses died, soothsayers held power for a few months, but shortly afterwards Darius son of Hystaspes, who passed …
He signifies Darius the Persian by saying "it had two horns," as Darius ruled the Medes and the Persians. "Both horns were long, but one was longer than the other": this is referred to the Persians, whose power was superior to that of the Medes …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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,
Then I lifted up mine eyes,.... To see what was to be seen in this place, where he in the vision was brought; he lifted up the eyes of his understanding, being enlightened by the vision of prophecy, and the eyes of his body, to which objects of corporeal things formed in the fancy were represented: and saw, and, behold; he saw something wonderful in a visionary way, and which struck his mind, and raised his attention: there stood before the river; the river Ulai, near Shushan, the palace, the seat of the kings of Persia, to the east: a ram, which had two horns; a symbol of the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, signified by the two horns, Dan 8:20, an emblem of power and dominion, and sometimes used to signify kings and kingdoms; see Dan 7:24 and these as united in one monarchy, under one monarch, Cyrus, and continued in his successors unto the times of Alexander; and therefore called "a ram", or "one ram" (m), as in the original; and which in sound has some likeness to Elam or Persia: and this kingdom or monarchy may be signified by it, partly because of its strength and power, and partly because of its riches, as some think, as well as because it is a fighting creature; and it may be chiefly because this monarchy was mild, and kind, and gentle to the Jewish nation: and it is very remarkable, that, according to Ammianus Marcellinus (n), the ram was the royal ensign of the Persians; whose kings used to wear for a diadem something made of gold, in the shape of a ram's head, set with little stones: and the two horns were high; grew straight up on high, and so were different from the usual horns of a ram, which are crooked; denoting the great power, authority, wealth, and riches, these two kingdoms rose up unto: but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last; I think the words might be rendered better, "and the first was higher than the second, but it asc […]
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This was the second monarchy, of which the kingdoms of Media and Persia were the two horns. The horns were very high; but that which came up last was the higher, and got the start of the former.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
two horns--The "two" ought not to be in italics, as if it were not in the original; for it is expressed by the Hebrew dual. "Horn" in the East is the symbol of power and royalty. one . . . higher than . . . other . . . the higher came up last--Persia, which was of little note till Cyrus' time, became then ascendant over Media, the more ancient kingdom.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A ram which had two horns - In the former vision there were four beasts, pointing out four empires; in this we have but two, as only two empires are concerned here, viz., the Grecian and the Persian. The Babylonish empire is not mentioned; its fate was before decided, and it was now at its close. By the ram, the empire of the Medes and Persians was pointed out, as explained by the angel Gabriel, Dan 8:20; and particularly Cyrus, who was the founder of that empire. Cyrus was the son of Cambyses, king of Persia; and grandson of Astyages, king of Media, by his daughter Mandane, who had been given in marriage to Cambyses. Cyrus marrying Roxana, the daughter and only child of his uncle Cyaxares, called in Scripture Ahasuerus, succeeded to both crowns, and thus united Media and Persia. A ram was the symbol of the Persians; and a ram’s head with two horns, one higher than the other, appears as such in different parts of the ruins of Persepolis. See the plates of these ruins in the supplement to the seventh volume of the ancient part of the Universal History. This ram had two horns; that is, two kingdoms, viz., Media and Persia; but one was higher than the other; and the higher came up last. Media, signified by the shorter horn, was the more ancient of the two kingdoms. Persia, the higher horn, had come up but lately, and was of little historic or political consequence till the time of Cyrus; but in the reigns of this prince and his immediate successors, Persia attained a political consequence greatly superior to that possessed at any time by the kingdom of Media; therefore, it is said to have been the higher, and to have come up last.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then I lifted up mine eyes and saw - And saw in vision, or there seemed to be before me. There stood before the river - On the bank of the river. A ram which had two horns - There can be no error in explaining the design of this symbol, for in Dan 8:20 it is expressly said that it denoted the two kings of Media and Persia. The united power of the kingdom was denoted by the ram itself; the fact that there were two powers or kingdoms combined, by the two horns of the ram.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶשָּׂ֤א | vaesa' | and I lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עֵינַי֙ | ʾeinai | eyes my | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וָאֶרְאֶ֔ה | vaereh | and I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֣ה׀ | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אַ֣יִל | ʾayil | a ram | H352 → | 187 times |
| אֶחָ֗ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| עֹמֵ֛ד | ʾomed | [was] standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֻבָ֖ל | hauval | the canal | H180 → | 3 times |
| וְל֣וֹ | velo | and [belonged] to it | ||
| קְרָנָ֑יִם | keranayim | two horns | H7161 → | 76 times |
| וְהַקְּרָנַ֣יִם | vehakeranayim | and the two horns | H7161 → | 76 times |
| גְּבֹה֗וֹת | gevohot | [were] high | H1364 → | 41 times |
| וְהָאַחַת֙ | vehaachat | and the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| גְּבֹהָ֣ה | gevohah | [was] high | H1364 → | 41 times |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַשֵּׁנִ֔ית | hashenit | the second | H8145 → | |
| וְהַ֨גְּבֹהָ֔ה | vehagevohah | and the high [one] | H1364 → | 41 times |
| עֹלָ֖ה | ʾolah | [was] growing up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בָּאַחֲרֹנָֽה׃ | baacharonah | at the last | H314 → |
וָאֶשָּׂ֤אand I lifted up
vaesa'H5375 →656 times
עֵינַי֙eyes my
ʾeinaiH5869 →887 times
וָאֶרְאֶ֔הand I saw
vaerehH7200 →1300 times
וְהִנֵּ֣ה׀and there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
אַ֣יִלa ram
ʾayilH352 →187 times
אֶחָ֗דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
עֹמֵ֛ד[was] standing
ʾomedH5975 →521 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאֻבָ֖לthe canal
hauvalH180 →3 times
וְל֣וֹand [belonged] to it
velo
קְרָנָ֑יִםtwo horns
keranayimH7161 →76 times
וְהַקְּרָנַ֣יִםand the two horns
vehakeranayimH7161 →76 times
גְּבֹה֗וֹת[were] high
gevohotH1364 →41 times
וְהָאַחַת֙and the one
vehaachatH259 →971 times
גְּבֹהָ֣ה[was] high
gevohahH1364 →41 times
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַשֵּׁנִ֔יתthe second
hashenitH8145 →
וְהַ֨גְּבֹהָ֔הand the high [one]
vehagevohahH1364 →41 times
עֹלָ֖ה[was] growing up
ʾolahH5927 →890 times
בָּאַחֲרֹנָֽה׃at the last
baacharonahH314 →
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 10:5I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.
it leads to
- Daniel 12:6–7
One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”
- Ezekiel 9:2
And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a weapon of slaughter in his hand. With them was another man clothed in linen who…
- Revelation 1:13–15
and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.
- Jeremiah 10:9
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.
- Daniel 12:6–7
Through
Isaiah 13:17Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.
it leads to
- Daniel 5:28–31
PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
- Jeremiah 51:11
Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of…
- Daniel 5:28–31
Through
Ezra 1:2“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at…
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:12–13
It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
- Isaiah 45:12–13
Through
Zechariah 6:1And again I lifted up my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze.
it leads to
- Ephesians 1:11
In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,
- Ephesians 1:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies7
About Daniel
This page draws on 9 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); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:3; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:3.