Daniel 8:5
in Daniel 8As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
KJV
And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
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This verse in Daniel 8
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"Touched not . . . ground," implies the incredible swiftness of his conquests; he overran the world in less than twelve years. The he-goat answers to the leopard (Da 7:6). Caranus, the first king of Macedonia, was said to have been led by goats to Edessa, which he made the seat of his kingdom, and called Æge, that is, "goat-city."
This site's exposition
a goat with a prominent horn
on Daniel 8:5-8
The goat crossing the earth “without touching the ground” pictures the speed of Alexander, and the older commentators take the prominent horn as Alexander himself. His rage against the ram pictures the fall of Persia. The horn broken “at the height of his power” is the sudden death of Alexander.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
But the male goat who comes from the south, he says is Alexander the Macedonian king of the Greeks.
The dream's riddle here suggested the Macedonian Empire, calling it a "goat" because of its speed and fleetness of foot, a goat being faster than a ram. He said it came from the southwest: since it had previously subjugated Egypt, it thus advanced into the …
By the "one horn visible," in the sense of famous and illustrious, he refers to Alexander; he says the horn was growing between its eyes on account of the shrewdness, intelligence and sagacity of Alexander's thinking.
Verse 5. "And I myself understood..." On the basis of the previous visions which had symbolized the second kingdom by the ram and the he-goat, Daniel now also understood that he was looking at the empire of the Medes and Persians. "And behold, there was a he-goat which was coming from the West above the surface of the whole earth, and yet without touching the ground..." So that no one will think that I am attaching a private interpretation to this, let us simply repeat the words of Gabriel as he explained the prophet's vision.
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,
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This was Alexander the Great, the son of Philip king of Macedonia. He came from the west, from Greece, which lay west from Persia. He fetched a great compass with his army: he came upon the face of the whole earth; he did in effect conquer the world, and then sat down and wept because there was not another world to be conquered.
And as I was considering,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Behold, a he-goat - This was Alexander the Great; and a goat was a very proper symbol of the Grecian or Macedonian people. Bp. Newton very properly observes that, two hundred years before the time of Daniel, they were called Aegeadae, the goats’ people; the origin of which name is said to be as follows: Caranus, their first king, going with a multitude of Greeks to seek a new habitation in Macedonia, was advised by an oracle to take the goats for his guides; and afterwards, seeing a herd of goats flying from a violent storm, he followed them to Edessa, and there fixed the seat of his empire, and made the goats his ensigns or standards; and called the place Aege or Aegea, the goats’ town; and the people Aegeadae, the goats’ people; names which are derived from αιξ, αιγος, a goat. The city Aege or Aegea, was the usual burying-place of the Macedonian kings; and, in reference to this origin, Alexander called his son by Roxana, Alexander Aegus, Alexander the goat. All this shows the very great propriety of the symbol here used. Came from the west - Europe lies westward of Asia. On the face of the whole earth - Carrying every thing before him. Touched not the ground - Seemed to fly from conquest to conquest. By the time Alexander was thirty years of age he had conquered all Asia: and, because of the rapidity of his conquests, he is represented as a leopard with four wings, in the preceding vision. A notable horn between his eyes - This, says the angel, is the first king, Dan 8:21, that is, the first kingdom of the Greeks in Asia, which was erected by Alexander; and continued some years in his brother Philip Aridaeus, and in his two young sons, Alexander Aegus and Hercules. See Newton.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And as I was considering - As I was looking on this vision. It was a vison which would naturally attract attention, and one which would not be readily understood. It evidently denoted some combined power that was attempting conquest, but we are not to suppose that Daniel would readily understand what was meant by it. The whole scene was future - for the Medo-Persian power was not yet consolidated in the time of Belshazzar, and the conquests represented by the ram continued through many years, and those denoted by the he-goat extended still much further into futurity.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲנִ֣י׀ | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| הָיִ֣יתִי | hayiti | I was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מֵבִ֗ין | mevin | observing | H995 → | 170 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֤ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| צְפִיר־ | tzefir- | [the] he-goat of | H6842 → | 6 times |
| הָֽעִזִּים֙ | haizim | the goats | H5795 → | |
| בָּ֤א | ba' | [was] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַֽמַּעֲרָב֙ | hamaarav | the west | H4628 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and not | H369 → | 789 times |
| נוֹגֵ֖עַ | nogea' | [it was] touching | H5060 → | 150 times |
| בָּאָ֑רֶץ | baaretz | <in> the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְהַ֨צָּפִ֔יר | vehatzafir | and the he-goat | H6842 → | 6 times |
| קֶ֥רֶן | keren | a horn of | H7161 → | 76 times |
| חָז֖וּת | chazut | conspicuousness | H2380 → | |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | [was] between | H996 → | 407 times |
| עֵינָֽיו׃ | ʾeinav | eyes its | H5869 → | 887 times |
וַאֲנִ֣י׀and I
vaaniH589 →874 times
הָיִ֣יתִיI was
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
מֵבִ֗יןobserving
mevinH995 →170 times
וְהִנֵּ֤הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
צְפִיר־[the] he-goat of
tzefir-H6842 →6 times
הָֽעִזִּים֙the goats
haizimH5795 →
בָּ֤א[was] coming
ba'H935 →2568 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַֽמַּעֲרָב֙the west
hamaaravH4628 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְאֵ֥יןand not
veeinH369 →789 times
נוֹגֵ֖עַ[it was] touching
nogea'H5060 →150 times
בָּאָ֑רֶץ<in> the earth
baaretzH776 →2504 times
וְהַ֨צָּפִ֔ירand the he-goat
vehatzafirH6842 →6 times
קֶ֥רֶןa horn of
kerenH7161 →76 times
חָז֖וּתconspicuousness
chazutH2380 →
בֵּ֥ין[was] between
beinH996 →407 times
עֵינָֽיו׃eyes its
ʾeinavH5869 →887 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 7:6Next, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was…
it leads to
- Revelation 13:2
The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
- Daniel 8:5–8
As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 13:2
Through
Daniel 11:3Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
it leads to
- Daniel 11:36
Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the…
- Daniel 11:16
The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.
- Daniel 8:21
The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
- Daniel 11:36
Through
Daniel 8:8Thus 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…
it leads to
- Daniel 7:2
Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
- Daniel 7:2
Through
Daniel 8:21The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
it leads to
- Daniel 10:20
“Do you know why I have come to you?” he said. “I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece…
- Daniel 10:20
Through
Daniel 2:39But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.
it leads to
- Daniel 5:28–31
PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
- Daniel 5:28–31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.26.3; 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 (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:5.