Daniel 8:6

6 And he came to the ram that had two karnayim, which I had seen standing before the stream, and he ran against him with the wrath of his koach (strength).

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 the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no chayyot (beasts) might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and made a great display of strength.

5 And as I was considering, hinei, a he-goat was coming from the west on the face of kol ha’aretz, and it was not touching the earth; and as to the goat it had a conspicuous keren (horn) between its eyes.

6 And he came to the ram that had two karnayim, which I had seen standing before the stream, and he ran against him with the wrath of his koach (strength).

7 And I saw him approaching the ram, and he was enraged against him, and he smote the ram, broke his two karnayim, and there was no koach in the ram to stand before him, and he cast him down to the ground, and trampled him; there was none to deliver the ram from him.

8 Therefore the he-goat was acting very presumptuously; and when he was powerful, the keren hagedolah (great horn, [i.e., Alexander’s Empire]) was broken; and in the place of it came up conspicuously four, toward the arbah ruchot HaShomayim (the four winds of Heaven).