Daniel 8:6

6 And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing before the river and ran against him in the fury of his power.

Daniel 8:6 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 8:6

And he came to the ram that had two horns
Alexander being chosen and made by the states of Greece captain general of all Greece against the Persians, marched from thence with his army, passed the Hellespont, and entered into the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, signified by the ram with two horns, and came up to Darius Codomannus, possessed of this large monarchy, and at the head of a numerous army: which I had seen standing before the river;
the river Ulai, near to Shushan, the royal seat of the kings of Persia; here Darius stood in his royal majesty and dignity, as the defender of his empire, and unconcerned at the attempt of Alexander, having nothing to fear, as he thought, from such a puny adversary: and ran unto him in the fury of his power;
or, "heat of his power" ^F2; which denotes the haste Alexander made with his army into Asia; his eager desire, and the fervour of his mind to engage with the Persians: the historian says, that he passed the Hellespont into Asia, "incredibli ardore mentis accensus"; fired with an incredible ardour of mind: and a little after, having conquered the rebels of Pisidia, he marched against Darius, "summo mentis ardore"; with the greatest ardour of mind, and with no less alacrity ^F3; which exactly agrees with the sacred text. The running of the he goat to the ram in a hostile way is described in allusion to the manner of those creatures when they fight with one another, or attack an enemy.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (wxk tmxb) "fervore virtutis suae", Munster; "cum ardore virium suarum", Cocceius; "in aestu robaris sui", Michaelis.
F3 Supplem. in Curt. l. 2. p. 26, 28.

Daniel 8:6 In-Context

4 I saw that the ram smote with the horns to the west, to the north, and to the south and that no beast could stand before him, nor could anyone escape from his hand; but he did according to his will and made himself great.

5 And as I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west upon the face of the whole earth and did not touch the earth: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

6 And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing before the river and ran against him in the fury of his power.

7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he rose up against him and smote him, and broke his two horns: because the ram did not have the strength to stand before him; therefore he cast him down to the ground and trod him under; and there was no one to deliver the ram out of his hand.

8 And the he goat made himself very great, and when he was at his greatest strength, that great horn was broken; and in its place came up another four marvellous ones toward the four winds of heaven.