Daniel 8:9
in Daniel 8From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
KJV
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
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This verse in Daniel 8
Commentary
12 notes on this verseVerse 9. After he had been a hostage to Rome, and had without the knowledge of the Senate obtained rule by treachery, Antiochus fought with Ptolemy Philometor, that is, "against the South" and against Egypt; and then again "against the East," and against those who were fomenting revolution in Persia. At the last he fought against the Jews and captured Judea, entering into Jerusalem and setting up in the Temple of God the statue of Jupiter Olympius. "...and against the power of heaven," that is, against the children of Israel, who were protected by the assistance of angels.
This site's exposition
a little horn emerged
on Daniel 8:9-12
A little horn grows toward “the Beautiful Land”, the land of Israel. Keil and Barnes, with near unanimity among the older commentators, identify it as Antiochus IV. It removes “His daily sacrifice” and overthrows the sanctuary, and the older commentators read “the rebellion” as the unfaithfulness of Israel.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
This is Antiochus, who was born from the family of Seleucus Nicanor. "It grew great toward the south and toward the east." Antiochus extended his empire especially in these two parts of the world.
The first and second books of the Maccabees inform us of this more clearly, and the historian Josephus made a precise record of it, and we shall outline concisely the facts about him. When the Jews of the high-priestly family rebelled against the high priest …
A commentator
John ChrysostomDISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 5:8.7 · Written before 407.
proposed
As Josephus told the story, Daniel saw a smaller horn rise up from these, and it grew strong. God, who showed Daniel the vision, was telling him that war would come on his nation, that Jerusalem would be taken by storm, the temple would be pillaged, the sacrifices would be hindered and cut short, and this would last for 1, days.
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. For Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, being from the race of Alexander, was king. And having reigned over Syria and seizing all Egypt under himself, later he came to Jerusalem and he entered into the Most Holy Place and took all the treasures which were in the house of the Lord and the golden lampstand and the table and the altar and he committed great murder in the land and he spoke immoderate words and prevented sacrifice and offering, and he built a sacred grove and built idols in the city, and sacrificed a pig, even a common animal.
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,
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
A little horn - This little horn was Antiochus Epiphanes. The south - Egypt where he besieged and took many places. The east - In Syria, Babylon, Armenia.
And out of one of them came forth a little horn,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And out of one of them, came forth a little horn - Emblematic of new power that should spring up. Compare the notes at Dan 7:8. This little horn sprang, up out of one of the others; it did not spring up in the midst of the others as the little horn, in Dan 7:8, did among the ten others. This seemed to grow out of one of the four, and the meaning cannot be misunderstood.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Hence the need of prophecy to prepare them for Antiochus. The struggle of the Maccabees was a fruit of Daniel's prophecy (1 Maccabees 2:59). He is the forerunner of the final Antichrist, standing in the same relation to the first advent of Christ that Antichrist does to His second coming.
Out of one of them came forth a little horn - Some think that Antiochus Epiphanes is meant; but Bp. Newton contends that it is the Roman government that is intended; and although very great at its zenith, yet very little in its rising. Waxed - great toward the south - The Romans made Egypt a province of their empire, and it continued such for some centuries. Toward the east - They conquered Syria, and made it a province. Toward the pleasant land - Judea, so called Psa 106:24; Jer 3:19; Dan 11:16, Dan 11:41. It is well known that they took Judea, and made it a province; and afterwards burnt the city and the temple, and scattered the Jews over the face of the earth.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
until the host of heaven They are Israel, who were compared to the stars.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִן־ | umin- | and from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָאַחַ֣ת | haachat | the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵהֶ֔ם | mehem | of them | ||
| יָצָ֥א | yatza' | it came out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| קֶֽרֶן־ | keren- | a horn | H7161 → | 76 times |
| אַחַ֖ת | ʾachat | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִצְּעִירָ֑ה | mitzeirah | from a small [thing] | H6810 → | |
| וַתִּגְדַּל־ | vatigdal- | and it became great | H1431 → | 117 times |
| יֶ֛תֶר | yeter | excess | H3499 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַנֶּ֥גֶב | hanegev | the south | H5045 → | 112 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמִּזְרָ֖ח | hamizrach | the east | H4217 → | |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַצֶּֽבִי׃ | hatzevi | the beauty | H6643 → | 33 times |
וּמִן־and from
umin-H4480 →1188 times
הָאַחַ֣תthe one
haachatH259 →971 times
מֵהֶ֔םof them
mehem
יָצָ֥אit came out
yatza'H3318 →1067 times
קֶֽרֶן־a horn
keren-H7161 →76 times
אַחַ֖תone
ʾachatH259 →971 times
מִצְּעִירָ֑הfrom a small [thing]
mitzeirahH6810 →
וַתִּגְדַּל־and it became great
vatigdal-H1431 →117 times
יֶ֛תֶרexcess
yeterH3499 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַנֶּ֥גֶבthe south
hanegevH5045 →112 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
הַמִּזְרָ֖חthe east
hamizrachH4217 →
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
הַצֶּֽבִי׃the beauty
hatzeviH6643 →33 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
Psalms 48:2Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.
it leads to
- Psalms 50:2
From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
- Matthew 5:35
or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
- Lamentations 2:15
All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the…
- Hebrews 12:22
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
- Psalms 50:2
Through
Daniel 7:8While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a…
it leads to
- Revelation 13:5–6
The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
- Revelation 13:5–6
Through
Ezekiel 20:6On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:22
You gave them this land that You had sworn to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Ezekiel 20:15
Moreover, with an uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory…
- Exodus 3:8
I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and…
- Jeremiah 32:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; 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 8:9; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.26.6-7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER EIGHT; John Chrysostom, DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 5:8.7; 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 8:10.