Daniel 8:8
in Daniel 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 heaven.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven.
KJV
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
⋯
This verse in Daniel 8
Commentary
14 notes on this verseNext after the male goat was exalted, "his great horn was shattered, and four horns arose under him to the four winds of heaven." [Daniel 8:8] For after Alexander ruled all the land of Persia and subjected them, later he died, dividing his kingdom to his four Chiefs as is shown above, that is to Seleucus, to Demetrius, to Ptolemy, and to Philip, from whom one horn was exalted and grew great unto the power of heaven.
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.
This site's exposition
his large horn was broken off
Adam Clarke noted that the large horn, Alexander, was broken off and that his brother and two sons were later murdered. The four prominent horns are named differently. Theodoret of Cyrus named Ptolemy, Seleucus, Antigonus and Antipater, while Hippolytus of Rome named Seleucus, Demetrius, Ptolemy and Philip.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Despite that great conquest, Alexander met the common fate of humankind.
By "four horns" he hints at the four kings who succeeded Alexander at the one time: Ptolemy son of Lagus took control of Egypt; Seleucus Nicanor got possession of Babylon and the other parts bordering on Syria; Antigonus was in charge of Asia; Antipater, Macedonia—or, …
After the defeat of Darius, Alexander extended the empire of the Greeks in every direction and made it firm with strong garrisons. In the meantime "the great horn was broken," that is, Alexander died, "and in its place there came up four horns." Indeed, since …
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,
8 ), a little horn, because he was in his original contemptible; there were others between him and the kingdom, and he was of a base servile disposition, had nothing in him of princely qualities, and had been for some time a hostage and prisoner at Rome, whence he made his escape, and, though, the youngest brother, and his elder living, got the kingdom.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They are said to stand up out of the nations, but not in his power; none of them ever made the figure that Alexander did. Josephus relates that when Alexander had taken Tyre, and subdued Palestine, and was upon his march to Jerusalem, Jaddas, who was them high priest (Nehemiah mentions one of his name, ch. xii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Was broken - When Alexander was greatest, then was he broken, and that to pieces, for he, his mother, son, brother, and all his kindred were destroyed.
Therefore the he goat waxed very great,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The he-goat waxed very strong - He had subdued nearly the whole of the then known world. The great horn was broken - Alexander died in the height of his conquests, when he was but about thirty-three years of age. His natural brother, Philip Aridaeus, and his two sons, Alexander Aegus and Hercules, kept up the show and name of the Macedonian kingdom for a time; but they were all murdered within fifteen years; and thus the great horn, the Macedonian kingdom, was broken, Alexander’s family being now cut off.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when he was strong . . . great horn was broken--The empire was in full strength at Alexander's death by fever at Babylon, and seemed then least likely to fall.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Therefore the he-goat waxed very great - The Macedonian power, especially under the reign of Alexander. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken - In the time, or at the period of its greatest strength. Then an event occurred which broke the horn in which was concentrated its power. It is easy to see the application of this to the Macedonian power. At no time was the empire so strong as at the death of Alexander. Its power did not pine away; it was not enfeebled, as monarchies are often, by age, and luxury, and corruption; it was most flourishing and prosperous just at the period when broken by the death of Alexander. Never afterward did it recover its vigour; never was it consolidated again. From that time this mighty empire, broken into separate kingdoms, lost its influence in the world. And for it came up four notable ones - In the place of this one horn in which all the power was concentrated, there sprang up four others that were distinguished and remarkable. On the word notable, see the notes at Dan 8:5. This representation would lead us to suppose that the power which had thus been concentrated in one monarchy would be divided and distributed into four, and that instead of that one power there would be four kingdoms that would fill up about the same space in the world, occupy about the same territory, and have about the same characteristics - so that they might be regarded as the succession to the one dynasty. […]
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּצְפִ֥יר | utzefir | and [the] he-goat of | H6842 → | 6 times |
| הָעִזִּ֖ים | haizim | the goats | H5795 → | |
| הִגְדִּ֣יל | higdil | it magnified itself | H1431 → | 117 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | up to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | muchness | H3966 → | |
| וּכְעָצְמ֗וֹ | ukheatzemo | and just as became mighty it | H6105 → | 20 times |
| נִשְׁבְּרָה֙ | nishberah | it was broken | H7665 → | 147 times |
| הַקֶּ֣רֶן | hakeren | the horn | H7161 → | 76 times |
| הַגְּדוֹלָ֔ה | hagedolah | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וַֽתַּעֲלֶ֜נָה | vataalenah | and they grew up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| חָז֤וּת | chazut | conspicuousness | H2380 → | |
| אַרְבַּע֙ | ʾarba' | four | H702 → | 318 times |
| תַּחְתֶּ֔יהָ | tachteiha | in place its | H8478 → | 505 times |
| לְאַרְבַּ֖ע | learba' | to [the] four | H702 → | 318 times |
| רוּח֥וֹת | ruchot | [the] winds of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
וּצְפִ֥ירand [the] he-goat of
utzefirH6842 →6 times
הָעִזִּ֖יםthe goats
haizimH5795 →
הִגְדִּ֣ילit magnified itself
higdilH1431 →117 times
עַד־up to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מְאֹ֑דmuchness
meodH3966 →
וּכְעָצְמ֗וֹand just as became mighty it
ukheatzemoH6105 →20 times
נִשְׁבְּרָה֙it was broken
nishberahH7665 →147 times
הַקֶּ֣רֶןthe horn
hakerenH7161 →76 times
הַגְּדוֹלָ֔ה<the> great
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
וַֽתַּעֲלֶ֜נָהand they grew up
vataalenahH5927 →890 times
חָז֤וּתconspicuousness
chazutH2380 →
אַרְבַּע֙four
ʾarba'H702 →318 times
תַּחְתֶּ֔יהָin place its
tachteihaH8478 →505 times
לְאַרְבַּ֖עto [the] four
learba'H702 →318 times
רוּח֥וֹת[the] winds of
ruchotH7307 →378 times
הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 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
Revelation 7:1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:31
And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
- 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.
- Jeremiah 49:36
I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s exiles…
- Mark 13:27
And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
- Ezekiel 7:2
“O son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says to the land of Israel: ‘The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
- Matthew 24:31
Through
Daniel 8:5As 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.
it leads to
- Daniel 8:21
The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
- Daniel 8:21
Through
Daniel 7:2Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
it leads to
- Revelation 7:1
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
- Revelation 7:1
Through
Daniel 5:20But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 17:14
But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.
- 2 Kings 17:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
On this chapter
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:8; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.26.5-6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:8.