Daniel 2:41
in Daniel 2And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
KJV
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
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This verse in Daniel 2
Commentary
9 notes on this verseBut its feet and toes are partly of iron and partly of earthenware, a fact most clearly demonstrated at the present time. For just as there was at the first nothing stronger or hardier than the Roman realm, so also in these last days there is nothing more feeble, since we require the assistance of barbarian tribes both in our civil wars and against foreign nations.
This site's exposition
arise another kingdom, inferior to yours
on Daniel 2:39-43
The traditional reading, as old as Jerome's reply to Porphyry, takes the silver as Medo-Persia, the bronze as Greece, and the fourth as Rome. A critical reading ends the fourth kingdom in the divided Hellenistic states after Alexander. Both read the iron “mixed with clay,” as a divided final state.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
And so since the blessed Daniel described the vision and was not silent about its interpretation, he left behind some questions for those who possess a keen mind, so that again what was spoken by Daniel may be explained by another. Yet it is necessary for the lovers of truth, to not merely read cursorily, but to seek to say the obscure and to understand what was spoken by the prophets. For Daniel sees a great image, and the head of this he likens to be as pure gold. Next, the shoulders and chest he describes as being silver. Then, the stomach and thighs are bronze. Next, the legs are iron. Likewise also the toes of the feet are clay and iron which has been mixed together. Then, a stone, which is cut from a mountain without hands, strikes the image and grinds it. And the same stone became a great mountain and filled all the earth. After saying these things concerning the image, he afterwards divides the image, in accordance with its sections, into kingdoms and he explains each part of the statue, proceeding to each part, saying that the gold is king Nebuchadnezzar himself, describing him to be the golden head of the image. Next, he names a second kingdom, implying that it is inferior, saying that it is silver. Next, a third which is bronze. Then, a fourth strong kingdom, which is iron. Next, the clay and iron, having been mixed together, exhibit the tips of the feet of the image. For I have begun from the head because it displays the gold. Next, the chest and arms and he names them silver. Then, the stomach and thighs, and he indicates them to be bronze. Next, he describes the legs, and he shows them to be iron. […]
In all events Scripture says, "You, O king, were looking, and behold, one image: Great was that image and its appearance was fearful. The head of the image was of pure gold, its hands and chest and its arms were silver, the stomach and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, the feet were part iron, part clay. You were looking until you saw a stone, which was cut without hands and it struck the image at the iron and clay feet and crushed it completely. Then once for all, the clay, iron, bronze, silver and gold were ground and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor. And the greatness of the wind carried them away and no place was found for them. And the stone which struck the image became a great mountain and it filled all the earth. This is the dream and we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a strong, mighty, and honorable kingdom in every place where the sons of men dwell, and he has given into your hand beasts of the field and birds of heaven and he has ordained you Lord of all. You are the head of gold. And after you another kingdom shall arise, which is lesser than you. And a third kingdom shall arise which is bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron. In the way which iron grinds and subdues all, in this way it will grind and subdue all. And because you saw the feet and the toes, part of which were iron, part of which were clay, the kingdom shall be divided, and in it there shall be from the nature of iron, in which manner, you saw iron mixed with clay. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Divided - Partly strong, and partly weak; the Roman kingdom was divided, partly by their civil wars, partly when conquered provinces and kingdoms cast off the Roman yoke, and set up king's of their own, and so the empire was divided into ten kingdoms or toes.
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron,....
But to Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen prince, they were represented by a gay and pompous image of a man, for he was an admirer of the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them. To him the sight was so charming that he was impatient to see it again.
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)
NEWTON, who understands the Roman empire to be parted into the ten kingdoms already (whereas TREGELLES makes them future), explains the "clay" mixture as the blending of barbarous nations with Rome by intermarriages and alliances, in which there was no stable amalgamation, though the ten kingdoms retained much of Rome's strength.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay and part of iron - Dan 2:33. The Chaldee is, “of them clay of the potter, and of them iron;” that is, part was composed of one material and part of the other. The sense is, not that the feet were composed entirely of one, and the toes of the other, but that they were intermingled.
The words behind it
27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְדִֽי־ | vedi- | and that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| חֲזַ֜יְתָה | chazaytah | you saw | H2370 → | 31 times |
| רַגְלַיָּ֣א | raglaiya' | feet the | H7271 → | 7 times |
| וְאֶצְבְּעָתָ֗א | veetzbeata' | and toes the | H677 → | 3 times |
| מִנְּהֵ֞ן | minehen | some of them | H4481 → | 109 times |
| חֲסַ֤ף | chasaf | clay | H2635 → | 9 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| פֶחָר֙ | fechar | a potter | H6353 → | |
| וּמִנְּהֵ֣ין | uminehon | and some of them | H4481 → | 109 times |
| פַּרְזֶ֔ל | parzel | iron | H6523 → | 20 times |
| מַלְכ֤וּ | malkhu | a kingdom | H4437 → | 57 times |
| פְלִיגָה֙ | feligah | divided | H6386 → | |
| תֶּהֱוֵ֔ה | teheveh | it will be | H1934 → | 71 times |
| וּמִן־ | umin- | and some of | H4481 → | 109 times |
| נִצְבְּתָ֥א | nitzbeta' | firmness the | H5326 → | |
| דִ֥י | di | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| פַרְזְלָ֖א | farzela' | iron the | H6523 → | 20 times |
| לֶֽהֱוֵא־ | leheve'- | it will be | H1934 → | 71 times |
| בַ֑הּ | vah | in it | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | as to | ||
| קֳבֵל֙ | kovel | because | H6903 → | 29 times |
| דִּ֣י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| חֲזַ֔יְתָה | chazaytah | you saw | H2370 → | 31 times |
| פַּ֨רְזְלָ֔א | parzela' | iron the | H6523 → | 20 times |
| מְעָרַ֖ב | mearav | mixed | H6151 → | 4 times |
| בַּחֲסַ֥ף | bachasaf | with [the] clay of | H2635 → | 9 times |
| טִינָֽא׃ | tina' | clay the | H2917 → |
וְדִֽי־and that
vedi-H1768 →345 times
חֲזַ֜יְתָהyou saw
chazaytahH2370 →31 times
רַגְלַיָּ֣אfeet the
raglaiya'H7271 →7 times
וְאֶצְבְּעָתָ֗אand toes the
veetzbeata'H677 →3 times
מִנְּהֵ֞ןsome of them
minehenH4481 →109 times
חֲסַ֤ףclay
chasafH2635 →9 times
דִּֽי־of
di-H1768 →345 times
פֶחָר֙a potter
fecharH6353 →
וּמִנְּהֵ֣יןand some of them
uminehonH4481 →109 times
פַּרְזֶ֔לiron
parzelH6523 →20 times
מַלְכ֤וּa kingdom
malkhuH4437 →57 times
פְלִיגָה֙divided
feligahH6386 →
תֶּהֱוֵ֔הit will be
tehevehH1934 →71 times
וּמִן־and some of
umin-H4481 →109 times
נִצְבְּתָ֥אfirmness the
nitzbeta'H5326 →
דִ֥יof
diH1768 →345 times
פַרְזְלָ֖אiron the
farzela'H6523 →20 times
לֶֽהֱוֵא־it will be
leheve'-H1934 →71 times
בַ֑הּin it
vah
כָּל־as to
kol-
קֳבֵל֙because
kovelH6903 →29 times
דִּ֣יthat
diH1768 →345 times
חֲזַ֔יְתָהyou saw
chazaytahH2370 →31 times
פַּ֨רְזְלָ֔אiron the
parzela'H6523 →20 times
מְעָרַ֖בmixed
mearavH6151 →4 times
בַּחֲסַ֥ףwith [the] clay of
bachasafH2635 →9 times
טִינָֽא׃clay the
tina'H2917 →
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
Revelation 13:1Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
it leads to
- Revelation 12:3
Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 17:3
And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten…
- Daniel 7:23–25
This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth, trample it down,…
- Revelation 11:7
When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.
- Revelation 12:3
Through
Daniel 7:7After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot…
it leads to
- Revelation 13:1
Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 13:1
Through
Revelation 12:3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
it leads to
- Revelation 17:12
The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings, along with the beast.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 7:24
And the ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. After them another king, different from the earlier ones, will rise and subdue three kings.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 17:16
And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 17:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
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About Daniel

This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, Daniel the Prophet; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.11; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TWO; Jerome, Commentary on Daniel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
