Daniel 8:21
in Daniel 8The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
KJV
And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
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This verse in Daniel 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the rough goat - See the notes at Dan 8:5. In Dan 8:5 he is called a he-goat. Here the word rough or hairy - שׂעיר s'â‛ı̂yr - is applied to it. This appellation is often given to a goat Lev 4:24; Lev 16:9; Gen 37:31. It would seem that either term - a he-goat, or a hairy-goat - would serve to designate the animal, and it is probable that the terms were used indiscriminately. Is the king of Grecia - Represents the king of Greece.
This site's exposition
the kings of Media and Persia
on Daniel 8:20-22
The ram is “the kings of Media and Persia”, the shaggy goat “the king of Greece”, and the large horn “the first king”. The older commentators read that king unanimously as Alexander, and the four kingdoms that rise from his nation “will not have the same power”.
This site's exposition
is the first king
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explained why Alexander is called the first king, though Philip reigned in Macedon before him. Alexander first led Greece in subduing Persia. Albert Barnes held that shaggy goat and male goat were used interchangeably for the same animal.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
That these things are true, just as has been said, Daniel himself testifies. For he spoke in this way, "And it happened when I saw the vision and I sought to understand, and behold, there stood before me an appearance of a man, and I heard the voice of a man above the midst of the Ubal, and he called and he said, 'Gabriel cause him to understand that vision.' And he came and stood holding me, and when he came, I was astounded and fell upon my face and he said to me, 'Understand son of man. For the vision is for the end of time.' And while he spoke with me I was astounded and I fell upon my face upon the ground and he touched me and stood me on my feet and he said, 'Behold, I myself make known to you what will be at the end of wrath. For the vision is of the end of time. The ram which you saw, who had horns, he is the king of the Persians and Medes. And the male goat is king of the Greeks. And the great horn which was above the midst of his eyes, he is the first king. And after he is shattered, four horns stood up after him, four kings from his nation shall arise and not in his strength. And at the end of their kingdom, when their sins are full, a king, shameless in countenance, shall arise, and who understands riddles. And his rule shall be strong and not in his own strength and he shall destroy wonderful things and he shall prosper and he shall practice and he shall destroy the mighty and the holy people, and the yoke of his chain shall prosper. Cunning is in his hand and in his heart he shall be magnified and in cunning he shall destroy many and he shall stand for the destruction of many and he shall shatter people as eggs in a hand. And the vision of evening and morning which was said is true. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:98%@v11-12
And the rough goat is the king of Grecia,....
The ram signified the succession of the kings of Media and Persia; the rough goat signified the kings of Greece; the great horn was Alexander; the four horns that rose in his room were the four kingdoms into which his conquests were cantoned, of which before,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the first king--Philip was king of Macedon before Alexander, but the latter was the first who, as a generalissimo of Greece, subdued the Persian empire.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַצָּפִ֥יר | vehatzafir | and the he-goat | H6842 → | 6 times |
| הַשָּׂעִ֖יר | hasair | <the> hairy | H8163 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [is] [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יָוָ֑ן | yavan | Greece | H3120 → | 11 times |
| וְהַקֶּ֤רֶן | vehakeren | and the horn | H7161 → | 76 times |
| הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ | hagedolah | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בֵּין־ | bein- | [is] between | H996 → | 407 times |
| עֵינָ֔יו | ʾeinav | eyes its | H5869 → | 887 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ | hamelekh | [is] the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָרִאשֽׁוֹן׃ | harishon | <the> first | H7223 → | 182 times |
וְהַצָּפִ֥ירand the he-goat
vehatzafirH6842 →6 times
הַשָּׂעִ֖יר<the> hairy
hasairH8163 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[is] [the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יָוָ֑ןGreece
yavanH3120 →11 times
וְהַקֶּ֤רֶןand the horn
vehakerenH7161 →76 times
הַגְּדוֹלָה֙<the> great
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בֵּין־[is] between
bein-H996 →407 times
עֵינָ֔יוeyes its
ʾeinavH5869 →887 times
ה֖וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ[is] the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הָרִאשֽׁוֹן׃<the> first
harishonH7223 →182 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 11:3Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
it leads to
- Daniel 7:6
Next, 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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 5:19
Because of the greatness that He bestowed on him, the people of every nation and language trembled in fear before him. He killed whom he wished and kept alive whom he wished; he exalted…
- Daniel 4:35
All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain…
- Daniel 7:6
Through
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…
it leads to
- 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.
- Daniel 11:2–4
Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth,…
- Isaiah 37:36
Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
- Daniel 8:5–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.27.1-2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.