Daniel 7:1-8

Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts

1 In the first year of ¹Belshazzar king of Babylon, ²Daniel saw a dream and ³visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.

2 Daniel declared, ^[a]“I saw in my vision by night, and behold, ⁴the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.

3 And four great beasts ⁵came up out of the sea, different from one another.

4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.

5 And behold, ⁶another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh. ’

6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a ⁷leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and ⁸dominion was given to it.

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ⁹terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ¹⁰it devoured and broke in pieces ¹¹and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ¹²it had ten horns.

8 I considered the horns, and behold, ¹³there came up among them another horn, a little one, ¹⁴before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and ¹⁵a mouth speaking great things.

Daniel 7:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 7

This chapter contains Daniel's vision of the four beasts, The time, place, manner, writing, and declaration of the vision, Da 7:1, the rise of the beasts, and the description of them, Da 7:2-8, the judgment of God upon them, especially the last, and the delivery of universal monarchy to his Son, Da 7:9-14, the interpretation of the vision at the request of Daniel, being greatly affected with it, Da 7:15-18, a particular inquiry of his about the fourth beast, concerning which a full account is given, Da 7:19-27, all which caused in him many thoughts of heart, and reflections of mind, Da 7:28.

Cross References

• 1. 7:1 See ch. 5:1
• 2. 7:1 [ch. 1:17]
• 3. 7:1 ver. 15; ch. 2:28; 4:5
• 4. 7:2 ch. 8:8; 11:4; [Ezek. 37:9; Zech. 2:6; Rev. 7:1]
• 5. 7:3 [Rev. 13:1]
• 6. 7:5 [ch. 2:39]
• 7. 7:6 [Hab. 1:8; Rev. 13:2]
• 8. 7:6 [ch. 11:5]
• 9. 7:7 ver. 19, 23
• 10. 7:7 ver. 19, 23
• 11. 7:7 ver. 19, 23
• 12. 7:7 ver. 20; [Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:12]
• 13. 7:8 [ver. 20, 21, 24; ch. 8:9]
• 14. 7:8 [ver. 20, 21, 24; ch. 8:9]
• 15. 7:8 ver. 20; [Rev. 13:5, 6]

Footnotes

• [a] 7:2 Aramaic 'answered and said'