[prophetic vision

in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.

3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

5 And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the

(L) Ver. 9-28. The establishment of Messiah's kingdom.-We now come to a fifth Monarchy, answerable to the stone that Nebuchadnezzar saw grow into a mountain. But it is here represented by a very different set of images. Heaven is opened, and presents a vision of the Eternal preparing his throne for judgment; not the universal judgment of the great day; but the judgment of the nations, preparatory to the establishment of Messiah's Mediatorial Sovereignty over all the earth. It seems to have special reference to his Ascension to glory, when it was said unto him, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." (Comp. Ps. ii. 6, &c.; lxviii. 17, 18.; cx.1.) The apparatus of Deity is similar to the descriptions of the Psalmist, and to the burning wheels that accompanied the chariot of the cherubim, (Ezek. ch. i.)

This scene is so admirably explained in a few lines by Bp. Chandler, that we cannot withhold the passage from our readers. "There is no doubt, that the Stone in the former vision (Nebuchadnezzar's) signifies the same person that is called the Son of Man in this, or that the Messiah is in

tended in both places. Here indeed, we have him only in one view, and that is, in his judicial capacity, or in the most conspicuous manifestation of his kingdom. Not that he then began to be, but to appear to be, so great. And his greatness was ex hibited only to the one purpose explained in this vision. It was newly explained, why the fourth beast was destroyed, and in so exemplary a manner; now the vision opens by whom, and how it was done; even by a man vested with royal diguity and power in heaven. The truth of the thing is set forth in the solemnity wherewith earthly princes were wont to associate the prince royal into sovereignty with themselves; or to delegate their whole authority for the execution of their justice. I beheld (saith he) till the thrones were placed, as they were on very great occasions, and the Ancient of days did sit;....and, behold, one like the Son of man, (the King's son) came in the clouds of heaven, and they brought him before Him (the Ancient of days), to take investiture of his new dignity [as mediator]....his universal and everlasting kingdom." (Bp. Chandler's Del, p. 130.)

CHAP. VIII. Ver. 1. In the third year, &c. With the preceding chapter ends the Chaldee part of the book; the rest is Hebrew.

Ver. 2. At Shushan, &c.—Commentators differ as to the fact, whether Daniel was personally there, as he might be, officially; or whether it was in vision only: the point is unimportant.

Ver. 4. A ram-Heb. "One ram." It is remarked by Ammianus Marcellinus, that a ram was the royal ensign of Persia; and it is said that figures of rams' heads, with horns of unequal height, are still to be seen in the ruins of Persepolis. Throughout the East, a horn was the emblem of power, as we have had frequent occasion to remark. See Orient. Lit. No. 1054.

Ibid. Pushing westward, to the bounds of Asia; northward, to Armenia and Cappadocia; and southnard, to Egypt. Bp. Newton."

Ver. 5. An he-goat.-This is a very proper emblem of the Greeks, or Macedonians, who were called the Ægeade, or people of the goat, from the following circumstance, as related by their owa historians. Caranus, their first king, going with a large party of Greeks to seek a habitation in Mace donia, was commanded by the oracle which they con sulted, to follow a herd of goats; this he did to Edessa, and there fixed his capital, which he called gea, or Goat's Town, and made the goat his standard. One of Alexander's sons was named Agus, and some of his successors are represented with goats' horns upon their coins-Amotable hera -Heb. "A horn of sight," or a conspicuous bara, which is afterwards explained in reference to Alexasder the Great and his successors, ver. 21.

face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

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

7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choder against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

8 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.

9 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.

10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

11 Yea, he magnified himself even o the prince of the host, and by him he daily sacrifice was taken away,

[and he-goat.

and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.

16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

Ver. 9. And out of one of them, &c.-From this orn increasing toward the south and east particurly, Sir Isaac Newton sagaciously infers, that it rose in the north-west part of the goat's dominions ; e. in Italy, which points directly to the Romans. -The pleasant land-means, undoubtedly, that f Judea. See Ezek. xx. 6.

Ver. 10. And it waxed great even to- that is, till" be imagined himself immortal, and ranked imself among the gods. See Isa. xiv. 12-14. Anochus Epiphanes, to whom this has been generally pplied, abolished the Jewish sacrifices, and, after acrificing a swine upon the altar of burnt-offering, pollute it, he placed there an image of Jupiter lympius. It cast down some: Antiochus desed the high priest, and persecuted to death those ho adhered to the Jewish worship. See 1 Mac. i. Mac, vi, and vii.; also Joseph. Antiq. b. xii. 6. Ver. 11. The prince of the host-namely, the Lord hosts. And by him-Marg. "From him;" i. e. e prince of the host. So Wintle and Boothroyd. Ver. 12. And an host was given-Antiochus placed host," or garrison, in the temple, to prevent the wish worship. The word him is not in the Heew. By reason of transgression-Wintle, "By bold transgression;" more literally, "in wickeds," or rebellion.- -Cast down the truth-by deroying the sacred books, 1 Mac. i. 56.

What Antiochus did, however, in the suppression the Jewish worship and persecution of the Jews,

18 Now as he was speaking with

will be found but little, compared with what the Romans did, for which we must refer to our Exposition of our Lord's prophecies respecting the destruction of Jerusalem. Matt. xxiv.

Ver. 13. That certain saint-Heb. (Palmoni) a certain one, or such an one. Ruth iv. 2. It is a compound word, but there seems no sufficient authority for the marginal gloss," a numberer of secrets." See Gesenius.- How long shall be the vision concerning?-In this question it may be remarked that the word concerning is supplied by our translators in Italics, and, as Bp. Newton thinks, improperly; he therefore reads, "How long shall the vision last, the daily sacrifice (be taken away), and the transgression of desolation (or transgression making desolate) continue? (See Matt. xxiv. 15.) Wintle and Boothroyd to the same eflect.

Ver. 14. Days-Heb. "Evenings and mornings," See Gen. i. 5, 8, 13, &c. Those who apply this prediction to Antiochus, must confine it to the last six years of his life: but those who take the days for years, bring down the period nearly to the supposed time of the millennium. See on chap. xii.-Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed-Marg. "Justified;" i. e. (says Gesenius) " its honour be maintained."

Ver 17. At the time-“ To (lamed) the time; i. e. the vision extends to the end." Boothroyd renders it," At the appointed time shall the vision be accomplished." But is not this rather an expository paraphrase than a translation? See ver. 19.

me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.

23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

[latter days.

24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vi sion; for it shall be for many days.

27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. (M)

CHAP. VIII.

(M) The Vision of the Ram and Hegoat. This vision is, in the latter part of the chapter, explained by a celestial expositor, to refer to the Persian and Greek monarchies. The propriety of the emblems may be seen in our notes; we shall only here observe, that the ram was the royal ensign of Persia, and the goat the accredited emblem of the Greeks, two centuries before the time of Daniel. The ram had two horns of unequal height, representing the Medo-Persian Empire, and answering to the former emblem of the bear (ch. vii. 5.) which raised itself on one side; i. e. the Persian Empire under Cyrus raised itself above the Medes, and pushed its conquests on every side as far as possible. A he-goat, however, is seen coming from the west, evidently pointing to the Greek or Macedonian Empire. The rapidity of its advance is well described by his flying, or skimming as it were, over the ground, so as not to touch it; and the energy of this attack upon the ram may well describe the fury with which the Grecian

army, under Alexander the Great, rushed against him and broke his horns.

This goat is said to have a third and notable horn between his eyes, which is explained as referring to the first kingdom, or to the dynasty of Alexander himself (ver. 21); and it is remarkable, that when he went to Jerusalem with an hostile inten tion, but was pacified by meeting the High Priest, Josephus tells us (Antiq. Bk. s. 8.) that these prophecies were shown to him in the temple, in the Greek transla tion, as predicting the conquest of the Medes and Persians by a Greek, which be applied to himself, and was not a little ani mated thereby.

This horn was soon broken by the death of Alexander and the murder of his heirs a few years after this, however, four borts of inferior strength arose instead of one. From four of his commanders, as mentioned in chap. vii., proceeded the kingdoms of Greece, Thrace, Syria and Egypt. Out of one of these arose another "little hors," which many writers, both ancient and modern, have interpreted of Antiochus Epi

Ver. 18. A deep sleep-Wintle and Boothroyd, "I sunk flat into a deep swoon." Set me uprightHeb. "Made me stand upon my standing."

Ver. 19. At the time appointed the end shall beWintle, "There shall be an end."

Ver. 23. When the transgressors are come to the full-Heb. "Accomplished." See Matt. xxiii. 32. -Of fierce countenance-Deut. xxviii. 5.—Understanding dark sayings-the Romans were a lite

Daniel's prayer]

IN

CHAP. IX.

N the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the LORD my 3 God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by depart ing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and

[and confession.

that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face; to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words,: which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD, our God, is righteous

phanes, who persecuted the Jews with great cruelty but some important objections have been raised to this hypothesis; and Mr. Hartwell Horne says, that "Sir Isaac Newton, Bp. Newton, and Dr. Hales, have clearly shown that the Roman temporal power and no other is intended.... It was the Roman power that destroyed the polity and temple of the Jews, and left the uation and holy city in that state in which they are to remain to the end of 2300 prophetic days" or years,

A discourse is here introduced between two angels, or holy ones, (ch. iv. 13-23.) as to the duration of these calamities, and the answer is given to Daniel himself, on which he faints and is sick; as well he might be, as a Jewish Patriot, if the interpretation of years for days be adopted; but if he had understood the period to he about six years only, this is not so easy to be accounted for, since he had himself lived to survive the 70 years' captivity.

CHAP. IX. Ver. 2. Seventy years. See Jer. XXV. 11, 12; xxix. 10. He had doubtless copies of these prophecies.

Ver.11. By departing, &c. Wintle, "So as to revolt from hearkening to thy voice." And the

oath that is written-namely, Deut. xxx. 15–19; xxxi. 17, 18; xxxii. 19, &c.

Ver. 13. As it is written.-Levit. xxvi. 14, &c.Yet made we not our prayer before, &c.—Heb. "Yet entreated we not the face of," &c.

Gabriel sent to]

in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

20 And whiles I was speaking, and

[comfort Daniel. praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

23 At the beginning of thy suppli cations the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore

Ver. 15. Gather thee renown-Heb. " Made thee a name."

Ver. 18. Which is called by thy name-Hebrew, "Whereupon thy name is called."- -Not presentHeb. "Not cause to fall." See Note on Jer. xxxvi.7. Ver. 21. The man Gabriel-that is, the angel in human form. See ch. viii. 16.

Ver. 23. The commandment-Heb. " Word." Ver. 24. Seventy weeks-that is, of years, or 490 years. To finish Margin, "Restrain;" Dr. Stonard, "Put a stop to."— To make an end-Marg. "To seal up," which is literal, and refers to sealing up any thing in a bag.And to make reconciliation for iniquity.—So Boothroyd, and Dr. Stonard; but Dr. Blayney reads, "to make atonement," and Mr. Wintle, "to expiate;" all referring to the atonement of our Saviour on the cross. Everlasting righteousness - So Boothroyd; but Wintle, Faber, and Stonard read, "the righteousness of ages," i. e. to come; and Blayney (on the contrary) "of ancient times."-To seal up the vision and prophecy-Heb. " prophet:" So Wintle and Stonard.

And to anoint the most holy-Wintle and Stonard, "The holy of holies;" Blayney, "The most holy things;" Faber, "The Most Holy One." A barbanel is quoted as applying this to the Messiah.Unto Messiah the Prince Stonard, "Until Messiah shall be leader." Strictly, perhaps, a prince,

or nobleman of sufficient rank, or merit, to stand before kings. See Prov. xxii. 29, Seest thou a man diligent, &c.....he shall stand before kings."

Ver. 25. From the going forth of the commandment-that is, as we reckon, following the Index to our anthorized version, which is adopted by Bp. Lloyd, Mr. Wintle, and Mr. Horne. But it should be remarked here, that it is almost impossible, at this distance of time, to fix these dates to a month, or even a year, since the Jews had two years, one beginning in the spring, and the other in Autema. (See the Calendar in our first volume, p.310.) Nor are we certain of the exact length of their year: be side which, before the commencement of the New Testament Chronology, there is an kiatus of three or four years. The date of our Lord's passion is, however, astronomically settled by Mr. Ferguson, at A. D. 33.

The way of dividing a greater number into two r three smaller, as in this verse, is quite in the oriental taste. See Ezek. xlv. 12. and Note.

The

Ibid. To restore and to build-Marg. " To build again." See 2 Sam. xv. 25; Ps. Ixxi. 20.the wall Marg. "The breach;" Stonard, lanes."Even in troublous times-Heb. In strat times;" i. e. times of straitness or distress, which appears throughout the books of Ezra and Nebemiah.