In the first year of Belshazzar, Daniel himself dreams: the four winds of the heaven break forth upon the great sea, and four great beasts come up — a lion with eagle's wings, a bear raised up on one side, a leopard with four heads, and a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, with great iron teeth and ten horns, and among them a little horn with eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. 'I beheld till thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days did sit... thousand thousands ministered to him.' And 'there came with the clouds of heaven One like to a son of man... and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom — an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.' The interpretation is given: the fourth beast, the ten horns, the horn that made war with the saints — 'until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High; and the time came, and the saints possessed the kingdom.'
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In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed; then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.
verse value 4189
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 69 letters. The shortest word is "one" (חֲדָ֗ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Belshazzar" (לְבֵלְאשַׁצַּר֙, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·Belshazzar" (לְבֵלְאשַׁצַּר֙), "upon·his·bed" (עַֽל־מִשְׁכְּבֵ֑הּ), "sum·of" (רֵ֥אשׁ). The root חלם appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "told" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·his·bed', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Rashi
then he wrote the dream Then [he wrote the dream] and told the beginnings of the matters.
Ibn Ezra
In the first year of Belshazzar — now I begin to explain the prophecies. Told the sum of the matters — Yefet said: he told the main points of the matters, not everything. But in my opinion, [the phrase] simply means: this is the beginning of Daniel’s words.
Metzudat David
In the first year – In the first year of Belshazzar. Had a dream – Daniel saw a dream. And visions of his head – While he lay sleeping on his bed; this repeats the same idea in different words, for the dream comes by way of the visions of the mind, which is in the head. Then – Then he wrote down for himself, as a record, all the words of the dream; but to others he told only the main points, not all of them.
Malbim
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had A dream and visions of his head upon his bed; then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters — He has already related [events] down to the end of Belshazzar's days and the reign of Darius; but it is only here that the second part of this book begins. In the first part he related the history of Daniel, and from here he begins to relate his prophecies. And his words appear [aside from the first verse, which are the words of the Men of the Great Assembly, who wrote the Book of Daniel, as our Sages said] in the first person, for he himself wrote down everything just as it was. Abarbanel explained that since Jeremiah prophesied concerning Nebuchadnezzar that the nations would serve him, his son, and his son's son (Jeremiah 27:7), therefore, when Belshazzar, his son's son, reigned, Hashem showed him that the kingdom of Babylon would soon come to an end, and He also showed him the kingdoms that would arise after it, until the time of the end.
‘Daniel had a dream and visions’ — he does not say “dreamed a dream” (as was said above regarding Nebuchadnezzar), to indicate that this was a prophetic dream, and also because the essence of the dream lay in a vision — he saw the form of four beasts. ‘And visions of his head upon his bed’ — for there are dreams that come through the excitement of the rushing of the blood and the vital soul, whose source is in the heart; he informs us that the root of this dream was from the cords of the brain and the power of the intellect, for it was an intellectual influence from the world of the separate intellects. [In the language of the ancients, “separate intellects” means angels.]
‘Then he wrote the dream’ — that as soon as he awoke from his sleep he wrote the dream down, so that he would not forget anything of it. ‘He told the sum of the matters’ — because this writing has the status of Holy Scripture, he first spoke every word aloud, before putting it down in writing, for such is the law for one who writes Holy Scripture through the Holy Spirit, as stated elsewhere. It also means that the general content of the four kingdoms that appeared in this dream he already knew from Nebuchadnezzar's dream — only there, only the sum of the matters had come, not all the details of the matter. Concerning this he says that the sum of the matters of this dream had already been stated in the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
Ibn Yahya
The Eighth Section. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, etc., Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed – This means that the dream came at night, while he was asleep on his bed, and not during the day while awake, as sometimes happens with certain prophets. He then wrote the dream down as a sign for the last generation, so that they would believe in it upon seeing that the words of the dream were being fulfilled from time to time; and just as the beginning of the dream would be fulfilled, so too would its end be fulfilled.
Daniel spoke and said: I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven broke forth upon the great sea.
verse value 2588
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "spoke" (עָנֵ֤ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·the·night" (עִם־לֵֽילְיָ֑א, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "with·the·night" (עִם־לֵֽילְיָ֑א), "broke·forth" (מְגִיחָ֖ן), "to·the·sea" (לְיַמָּ֥א). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel); "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel). First appearance of the root ארו ("and·behold") in Daniel. First appearance of the root ים ("to·the·sea") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·the·night', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: עָנֵ֤ה [spoke] (125) + דָנִיֵּאל֙ [Daniel] (95) + וְאָמַ֔ר [and·said] (247) + חָזֵ֥ה [seeing] (20) + הֲוֵ֛ית [I·was] (421) + בְּחֶזְוִ֖י [in·my·vision] (33) + עִם־לֵֽילְיָ֑א [with·the·night] (191) + וַאֲר֗וּ [and·behold] (213) + אַרְבַּע֙ [four] (273) + רוּחֵ֣י [winds·of] (224) + שְׁמַיָּ֔א [the·heaven] (351) + מְגִיחָ֖ן [broke·forth] (111) + לְיַמָּ֥א [to·the·sea] (81) + רַבָּֽא [the·great] (203) = 2588.
Rashi
and behold [as translated,] and behold. the four winds of the heavens were stirring up, etc. four blowing winds coming from the four directions of the world and waging war with the Great Sea and stirring it up.
Ibn Ezra
Daniel spoke ... by night — [means] in a night vision. And, behold — is like [the Hebrew] ‘ve’ilu.’ And some say that, similarly, [the word] ‘almenotav’ (Isaiah 13:22) is [a variant form of] ‘armenotav’ (its palaces). Broke forth — like [the phrase] ‘the Jordan rushes forth’ (Job 40:23). Upon the great sea — means upon the great sea [i.e., the Mediterranean].
Metzudat David
Daniel spoke and said – He raised his voice and spoke, but he did not relate everything — only the substance of the matter did he tell to the people of his generation. I saw – I was seeing, in a vision, in the sleep of the night — meaning, while asleep. And behold – Meaning: and behold, from the four winds of heaven, winds were blowing and bursting forth from their place toward the great sea.
Metzudat Zion
And, behold — [the Aramaic 'va'aru'] is like 've'ilu,' meaning 'and behold.' Broke forth — a term denoting emergence, as in 'You who drew me forth from the womb' (Psalms 22).
Malbim
Daniel spoke and said: I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven broke forth upon the great sea — From here Daniel's own words begin. ‘I saw in my vision by night’ — that at the time he saw the dream, he also saw that it was night. Sometimes it seems to the dreamer that he is seeing [what he sees] by day, but he saw that it was night — this is to indicate that the prophecy concerned the great night, which is the exiles, as it is said, “Watchman, what of the night?” (Isaiah 21:11); and Zechariah, too, said, “I saw in the night” (Zechariah 1:8), as stated there.
‘And, behold, the four winds of the heaven broke forth upon the great sea’ — that four winds come from the four directions of the world and blow upon the great sea and make war upon it. I have already explained, in the prophecy of Zechariah, that the four kingdoms are represented by the four winds of the world, for each of the four kingdoms has dominion and a particular place within one of the four winds of the world. I also explained there that the four kingdoms are always in existence, only that at any given time one kingdom — that is, one wind of the world — grows dominant, and the rest of the kingdoms and winds are subsumed within it. And he saw the world in the likeness of the great sea, for the storm of the winds is more discernible upon the sea, and the creatures of the sea are larger than the creatures of the dry land — as though each [kingdom] were storming the sea to overpower it and seize dominion — and through this he saw [what follows].
Ibn Yahya
I saw in my vision by night – This comes to exclude that it was day, as he stated above. And behold, the four winds of the heaven were driving forth and uprooting the great sea from its place.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
verse value 1698
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "this" (דָּ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·four" (וְאַרְבַּ֤ע, 5 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·four" (וְאַרְבַּ֤ע), "beasts" (חֵיוָן֙), "came·up" (סָלְקָ֖ן). The root דא appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "diverse" (root שנה, 38x in Daniel); "beasts" (root חיוה, 20x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·sea', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאַרְבַּ֤ע [and·four] (279) + חֵיוָן֙ [beasts] (74) + רַבְרְבָ֔ן [great] (454) + סָלְקָ֖ן [came·up] (240) + מִן־יַמָּ֑א [from·the·sea] (141) + שָׁנְיָ֖ן [diverse] (410) + דָּ֥א [this] (5) + מִן־דָּֽא [from·this] (95) = 1698.
Rashi
And four beasts [as translated,] and four beasts. each one different from the other [as translated,] each one different from the other.
Ibn Ezra
And four [great beasts] — great beasts coming up out of the sea, each different from the other.
Metzudat David
And four great beasts – Four great beasts came up from the sea, and they differed from one another in their appearance.
Malbim
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another — That the four kingdoms emerged to seize dominion, one after another. Now, by “winds” he depicts the powers of the celestial princes that influence the nations, which stand at the four winds of the Chariot, as I explained there. Ezekiel saw them in the form of chayot [living creatures], while Daniel saw the beasts that issue from them in dominion over the lower world; he saw their likeness in a different form, corresponding to their activity in the lower world. He specifies that they were “great,” for besides them there are also other, smaller beasts — that is, smaller kingdoms — and these [four] grow greater than the other kings, and they come up out of the sea to reign over the whole world, ‘diverse one from another’ — and in their appearance he saw that they differed from one another, for each has a different character, conduct, and nature.
Ibn Yahya
By the power of these four winds, the beasts came up from the sea. Their being 'great' alludes to the five kingdoms mentioned earlier. Now, the text states that the cause of the coming-to-be of these four kingdoms is an earthly matter — from the 'wind' — and not a divine one: for the nations, being the portion of the idols they worship and not the portion of Hashem, are not watched over by Him, may He be blessed. The cause of their harm as well as their good follows the natural order, by which one is brought low and another raised up, through generation and decay — or according to what the stars of heaven and their constellations decree. This is the meaning of 'the winds of heaven': that is, the will of heaven, as in 'whither the spirit was to go' (cf. Ezekiel 1:12).
The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings; I beheld till its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon two feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
verse value 5164
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 88 letters. The shortest word is "to·it" (לַ֑הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·upon·feet" (וְעַל־רַגְלַ֙יִן֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 555: the·first, was·made·to·stand. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "like·lion" (כְאַרְיֵ֔ה), "and·wings" (וְגַפִּ֥ין), "of·eagle" (דִּֽי־נְשַׁ֖ר). The root גף appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "was·made·to·stand" (root קום, 36x in Daniel); "seeing" (root חזה, 30x in Daniel). First appearance of the root קדמי ("the·first") in Daniel. First appearance of the root גף ("and·wings") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 15 words.
Rashi
The first one was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle It was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle; that is the kingdom of Babylon, which was ruling at that time, and so did Jeremiah see it (4:7): “A lion has come up from its thicket,” and he says also (48:40): “like an eagle he shall soar.” until its wings were plucked Its wings were plucked, which is an allusion to its downfall and it was taken from the earth an expression of being removed from the earth, an allusion to the curtailment of the kingdom from the world. and the heart of a mortal Aram. וּלְבַב אֶנָשׁ, an expression of weakness, like (Psalms 9:21): “Let the nations know that they are forever mortal men (אֶנוֹשׁ)”.
Ibn Ezra
The first — was like a lion and had eagle’s wings; and I watched until its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
Metzudat David
The first – The first one had the form of a lion, and had wings like those of an eagle. I beheld – I was watching it standing firm in its place, until its wings were plucked off; then it was lifted up from the earth — that is, removed from the firm, strong stance it had held with the help of the flight of its wings, which had served to keep it from falling. And made to stand on two feet – And it stood on its feet alone, like a man, for from then on it no longer had the aid of its wings' flight to stand with great strength. And a man's heart – And a human heart was given to it, one that lacks the bold heart of a lion; and this alludes to Babylon, of which it is said, concerning Nebuchadnezzar, 'A lion has come up from his thicket' (Jeremiah 4:7), and of him too it is said, 'the great eagle' (Ezekiel 17:3); and its end was to be destroyed.
Metzudat Zion
Plucked off — [meaning] torn out, as in 'and I plucked out the hair of my head' (Ezra 9:3).
Malbim
The first was like A lion, and had eagle’s wings; I beheld till its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from The earth, and made stand upon two feet as A man, and A man’s heart was given to it — The first [beast] to come up from the sea [for they did not all come up together, but one after another] was in the form of a lion. Our Sages have already explained that this alludes to the kingdom of Babylon, which ruled at that time; and it reigned over the whole world like a lion, which is mighty among the animals and retreats before none, and is king over them all — for the other [kingdoms] were of lesser standing than it, as was explained regarding Nebuchadnezzar's dream, where it is called “the head of gold,” and as was explained regarding Ezekiel's Chariot-vision, where he too saw this creature, above, in the form of a lion — for indeed the emblem of Assyria and Babylon was the form of a lion: “A lion has gone up from his thicket” (Jeremiah 4:7); “Hashem shall roar like a lion” (Hosea 11:10), as stated there.
‘And had eagle's wings’ — this indicates its swift flight in conquering the world, like “an eagle hastening to devour” (Habakkuk 1:8); and Ezekiel likened it to an eagle “long of wing” (Ezekiel 17:3). ‘I beheld till its wings were plucked off’ — at the time he saw the kingdom of Babylon, its wings had already been plucked, for in the days of Belshazzar they no longer performed feats of might, nor did they spread their wings further to conquer lands; and Media and Persia fought at their very gates, and Babylon had no strength to withstand them, for their wings were already plucked by that time. ‘And it was lifted up from the earth’ — he saw the death of Belshazzar, that he was taken from the earth and killed. ‘And made to stand upon two feet as a man’ — then it was no longer a lion tearing prey and roaring, for it was set up on two feet, that is, Babylon and Chaldea alone, and no longer in the likeness of a lion, but in the likeness of a man's weak and feeble legs. And afterward, ‘a man's heart was given to it’ — they became weak and faint-hearted like human beings, for afterward all their might ceased, and they ceased to be counted any longer among the beasts.
Ibn Yahya
'The first was like a lion' — this is Nebuchadnezzar, who prevailed over the world like a lion. And by the swiftness of his movement in war and in victory, he seemed as though he had eagle's wings, the eagle being the bird that flies above all the others. 'I beheld till its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon two feet as a man' — this is a parable: that at the end of the kingdom it grew weak, and in place of the swiftness of movement of eagle's wings came a heaviness like the heaviness of a man walking on foot, by comparison to the flight of an eagle. And 'a man's heart was given to it,' in place of its having had the heart of a lion — this is a parable for Belshazzar, whose heart grew weak and turned to stone from fear of Media and Persia, after the hand had appeared and written on the wall.
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’
verse value 5593
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 83 letters. Notable word values: "to·bear" (לְדֹ֗ב) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·it" (לַ֔הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·to·one·side" (וְלִשְׂטַר־חַד֙, 7 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "second" (תִנְיָנָ֜ה), "resembling" (דָּמְיָ֣ה), "to·bear" (לְדֹ֗ב). The root קום appears 2 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "was·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "raised·itself·up" (root קום, 36x in Daniel); "between" (root בין, 32x in Daniel). First appearance of the root שן ("its·teeth") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'its·teeth', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 7 words.
Rashi
another [as translated,] another. second that emerged second from the sea. resembling a bear This represents the kingdom of Persia, which will reign after Babylon, who eats and drinks like a bear and is enwrapped in flesh like a bear. resembling a bear It is spelled לְדֹב [without a “vav,”] like דִיבָא, the Aramaic for זְאֵב, a wolf, for the kingdom of Persia was also called a wolf, as it is said: (Jer. 5: 6): “Therefore a lion smote them, a wolf of the deserts spoils them.” and it stood to one side and it stood to one side, indicating that when the kingdom of Babylon terminates, Persia will wait one year, when Media will reign. and there were three ribs in its mouth Aram. וּתְלָת עִלָעִין בְּפֻמַּהּ, three ribs. Our Sages explained that three provinces were constantly rebelling against it [i.e., Persia] and making peace with it; sometimes it would swallow them and sometimes spit them out. That is the meaning of “in its mouth between its teeth,” sometimes outside its teeth, sometimes inside (Kid. 72a), but I say that the three עִלָעִין are three kings who will rise from Persia: Cyrus, Ahasuerus, and Darius who built the Temple. much meat [as translated,] much meat.
Ibn Ezra
And behold — another beast, a second one, resembling a bear, was raised up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told: ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’
Metzudat David
And behold – another beast, a second one, appeared, resembling a bear; for a time it was raised up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was likewise said to it, 'Arise, devour much flesh.' This alludes to the kingdom of Persia, whose people eat and drink like a bear and are heavy with flesh like a bear. And the fact that it 'raised itself up on one side' alludes to this: that it would not attain full dominion immediately after Babylon's downfall, but would rule only within its own land throughout the years that Media ruled after Babylon and before it. And the three ribs allude to the three kings it would set up — Cyrus, Ahasuerus, and Darius, who built the Temple. And 'much flesh' alludes to abundant wealth, as it is said regarding Cyrus, 'And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hoards hidden away' (Isaiah 45:3).
Metzudat Zion
On one side — [meaning] a side; Targum Onkelos renders it 'sitar.'
Malbim
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear – this is the kingdom of Media and Persia, which conquered Babylon and reigned after it. It is likened to a bear because it did not have the might of the lion, since Media-Persia did not rule with total dominion the way Nebuchadnezzar ruled over Assyria, Persia, Media, and all twenty-seven nations that Jeremiah listed (Jeremiah 25). So too, in the dream of the image, Nebuchadnezzar saw Media and Persia in the form of silver, which is lesser than gold and not as strong. And our Sages said that they eat and drink like a bear, as Rashi, of blessed memory, explained. And it raised up itself on one side – for since Media and Persia were two separate kingdoms, and Darius the Mede received the kingship first, it is depicted as though the bear at first moved on two sides, once toward Media and once toward Persia, but afterward remained standing on one side; for after Darius died, his son-in-law Cyrus inherited the whole kingdom, and from then on it remained always in the hand of Persia, until the last Darius. And it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth – for it seized three kingdoms: the kingdom of Babylon, the kingdom of Assyria, and the kingdom of Media and Persia, which are three "flanks" of the world; Darius therefore appointed three presidents, each one in charge of one of these three flanks. And it is depicted as holding the ribs between its teeth because a bear does not feed on meat alone, but is nourished by other things as well; so too, at first the Persians did not destroy those they conquered, as Nebuchadnezzar did, who was like a lion that preys only on the flesh of the slain. And so it was said to it, Arise, devour much flesh – nevertheless, it was decreed upon it, through the prophets, that it devour much flesh — the flesh of the slain of Babylon — for the prophets prophesied that it would destroy and kill all the inhabitants of Babylon. This was not the nature of this bear, but came about only through Hashem's decree, as Isaiah and the other prophets prophesied.
Ibn Yahya
'And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side' — this is a parable for the kingdom of Media and Persia. It was likened to a bear, which does not fight as fiercely as a lion, because Darius the Mede had no need of eagle's wings, nor of the strength of a lion — only the strength of a bear — to defeat the Chaldeans; and by defeating them he conquered the whole world, which had been under the Chaldeans from the start. This is the meaning of 'on one side' alone: it was the side of the Chaldeans that it rose up to conquer. And as for its saying that it had 'three ribs in its mouth,' and that it was said to it, 'Arise, devour much flesh' — this alludes to the fact that Darius the Mede would pass the kingdom, after him, to Cyrus the Persian, his son-in-law; and after him to Artaxerxes, who is the Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther; and after him to Darius — these being three mighty kings who devoured much flesh of their enemies, and wherever they turned they dealt wickedly. He did not count the fourth king, also called Artaxerxes, because Alexander devoured his flesh and defeated him in war.
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the sides of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
verse value 4359
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 79 letters. The shortest word is "to·it" (לַֽהּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·four" (וְאַרְבְּעָ֤ה, 6 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "like·leopard" (כִּנְמַ֔ר), "wings" (גַּפִּ֥ין), "of·fowl" (דִּי־ע֖וֹף). The root לה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "this" (root דנה, 31x in Daniel); "seeing" (root חזה, 30x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·its·side', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 7 words.
Rashi
four wings...four heads They are the four rulers to whom Alexander of Macedon allotted his kingdom at his death, as is written in the book of Joseph ben Gurion (Book 3, ch. 14), for this third beast is the kingdom of Antiochus, and it is called נָמֵר because it issued decrees upon Israel [which were] spotted (מְנֻמָּרוֹת) and varied one from the other. and dominion was given it [as translated,] and dominion was given it.
Ibn Ezra
After this — I saw, and behold, another beast like a leopard, which had four wings like the wings of a bird. Upon the sides of it — like [the phrase] ‘upon the heights of the city’ (Proverbs 9:3); and this beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
Metzudat David
After this – After this I saw, and behold, another beast arose, like a leopard; on its body were four wings like those of a bird, and that beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. This alludes to the kingdom of Greece, in that they decreed against Israel decrees that differed one from another, like this leopard that is spotted with different-colored patches. And the four wings and the four heads allude to the fact that after the death of Alexander, king of Macedon, king of Greece, his kingdom was divided into four kingdoms: Rome, Egypt, the Land of Israel, and Persia.
Metzudat Zion
After — [the Aramaic 'ba'atar'] is like 'batar,' [written] without the aleph.
Malbim
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard – this is the kingdom of Greece. The leopard is of the lion's kind, but bolder and more brazen-faced than it; so too Alexander of Macedon was stronger and more brazen than all the kings before him. Which had upon the sides of it four wings of a fowl – for Alexander, too, flew to the four winds of the world like a bird of the sky, conquering all four directions of the inhabited world in a short span of time. The beast had also four heads – for after his death his kingdom was divided into four heads, as is stated further below (Daniel 8:22), that four kingdoms would arise from that nation. And dominion was given to it – but to it itself, that is, to Alexander, dominion was given over all four heads; for it was only after his death that they split into four, whereas in the beast itself they were all a single beast.
Ibn Yahya
'After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the sides of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it' — this alludes to Alexander of Macedon, who was strange in his form, having been born through the power of demons and sorceries, and was therefore likened to a leopard, strange in its spots. It says that it had four wings on account of its great swiftness in taking possession of the four winds of heaven by its power; and the beast's four heads allude to his dividing his kingdom, at the end, among four kings. And the great dominion was given to him alone, for after the kingdom was divided, none of them equaled him in rule.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
verse value 8965
Insights
Verse structure: 33 words, 154 letters. The shortest word is "to·it" (לַהּ֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·all·the·beasts" (מִן־כׇּל־חֵֽיוָתָא֙, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 416: and·teeth, and·horns. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·terrible" (וְאֵֽימְתָנִ֨י), "and·strong" (וְתַקִּיפָ֜א), "and·teeth" (וְשִׁנַּ֨יִן). The root חיוה appears 2 times in this verse. 28 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "diverse" (root שנה, 38x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'stamped', dividing the verse into phrases of 24 and 9 words.
Rashi
in the visions of the night on another night. The first three he saw on one night, and this one on another night, because it is equal to them all. In Leviticus Rabbah (13:5). and it had...iron teeth [as translated,] iron teeth. and crushed It crushed and ground finely. and...the rest what it left over from its eating. and...ten horns Aram. וְקַרְנַיִן עֲשַׂר. The angel explained to him that these are the ten kings who would ascend [the throne] of Rome before Vespasian, who would destroy the Temple.
Ibn Ezra
After this — I was watching in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible and exceedingly strong; it had great iron teeth, it devoured and crushed, and trampled the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.
Metzudat David
After this – After this I saw, in a vision of the night's sleep, and behold, a fourth beast arose, dreadful and terrifying, possessed of surpassing, abundant strength; it had great iron teeth, and it devoured and ground its prey fine, and trampled and trod underfoot whatever was left. And it was diverse – It was different from all the beasts that had arisen before it; and because the prophet could find nothing in the whole world to liken it to, he did not say, as he had said of the first three, what it resembled, but only said that it was different from them. And it had ten horns – It had ten horns on its head.
Metzudat Zion
Stamped — [meaning] it trampled, as in 'submitting itself for pieces of silver' (Psalms 68).
Malbim
After this I saw in the night visions – for in this he saw a long night, signifying a very dark exile. And behold a fourth beast – this is the kingdom of Rome, as Rashi, Ramban, and Rambam in his letters all agreed. Dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly – Abarbanel explained that Rome's success and its dominion depended on three things: on great cruelty, to strike fear into the hearts of the nations so that they would not rebel against it — and of this it says dreadful; on great understanding and wisdom in the ordering of their governance — and of this it says and terrible; and on might, to defeat their enemies — and of this it says and strong exceedingly. And since these same qualities are found also in the other beasts, as it is written, "they are dreadful and terrible" (Habakkuk 1:7), and as I explained there, Scripture therefore adds here exceedingly, to indicate that in this beast these qualities existed to a greater degree than in the others. And it had great iron teeth – since teeth grind food finely, and by this the food enters the body and is turned into the very substance that nourishes it, he uses this as a figure for what was Rome's practice of rule: to turn the kingdoms conquered beneath it into a single body with the kingdom of Rome. Only the distant kingdoms, which they did not bring within their own kingdom and which remained separate, to those they would send the commanders of their armies, who trampled the people and destroyed them. And corresponding to the great countries that it swallowed into itself, it says that it had great iron teeth, to swallow hard bones — and of this it says it devoured and broke in pieces; and corresponding to what it left over, which it did not bring into its own body and kingdom, it says and it stamped the residue with its feet. And it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it – meaning that it did not resemble the previous beasts in anything; for the previous beasts, though they too differed from one another in form, still resembled one another in some respects, but this beast is different in every respect — meaning that the conduct of its rule, its might, and the length of its days are utterly unlike the kingdoms before it. And also, once the peoples included within the kingdom of Rome later took up other beliefs, utterly unlike the beliefs of the previous kingdoms, who had been idol-worshippers, it became different in this respect as well; and so the angel says below that the fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the other kingdoms (Daniel 7:23). And it had ten horns – in my view, this itself is the ten toes of the feet that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream; and concerning this beast, I have written that in the end of days the kingdom of Rome will come to include within it ten great kingdoms, which will rule with total dominion over all four directions. And although at first they were all a single kingdom, they later split into two, until in the end they will be divided into ten kingdoms, to which the rest of the smaller kingdoms will be attached. Just as with the third beast he saw four heads — even though, while it stood in Alexander's own day, it was only a single head, and even after his death it was divided, by his testament, among twelve rulers — since in the end it had four heads, he saw it that way already in the vision; so too he saw Rome in the vision with the ten horns that would stand up at the end, in the footsteps of its feet, which are its ten toes: he saw their root already in the head of the beast, in that it bore ten horns immediately — meaning that all ten kingdoms destined to arise in the future were already included within it, gathered into a single head.
Ibn Yahya
'After this I saw in the night visions... and behold a fourth beast' — concerning this fourth beast, the text again states that he saw it in a vision, in the night visions, just as it had said with regard to the first three, because it is the principal one, greater than all of them; and it is 'dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth,' and it devours much flesh, grinding and crushing it, and whatever remains, it 'stamped with its feet'; and it is 'diverse from all the beasts that were before it,' and it has 'ten horns.'
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before 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 a mouth speaking great things.
verse value 8944
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 125 letters. Verse gematria: 8944 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "horn" (קֶ֣רֶן, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·the·horns" (מִן־קַרְנַיָּא֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 43: and·behold, and·behold. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "considering" (מִשְׂתַּכַּ֨ל), "in·the·horns" (בְּקַרְנַיָּ֗א), "little" (זְעֵירָה֙). The root קרן appears 4 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "from·before·it" (root קדם, 38x in Daniel); "among·them" (root בין, 32x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·before·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 9 words.
Rashi
and behold Aram. וַאֲלוּ, like וַאֲרוּ, an expression of “behold.” speaking arrogantly words of arrogance. That is Titus, about whom the Rabbis, of blessed memory, said (Gittin 56b) that he blasphemed and berated and entered the Heichal with brazenness.
Ibn Ezra
I considered — [the word ‘mishtakal’] is from the root of ‘sekhel’ (understanding); I was considering and contemplating the horns, and behold, one little horn came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it; and behold, this horn had eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Metzudat David
I considered – I was contemplating the horns, and behold, another horn, a small one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And, behold – And behold, this horn had eyes like the eyes of a man, and also a mouth speaking great and wondrous things. This alludes to the kingdom of Ishmael, which is extremely powerful, rules for a long time, and enslaves others with crushing, harsh labor. And the ten horns allude to the fact that the kingdom of Ishmael will hold sway over most of the inhabited world, comprising ten mighty kingdoms: Khurasan, Isfahan, Yemen, Mecca, Egypt, Ifriqiya, the kingdom of the Ishmaelites who dwell in tents, the Philistines, the Berbers, and Cush. And the small horn alludes to something destined to occur close to the coming of the redeemer: a people will go forth from the east and adopt the religion of Ishmael, and will destroy three of these kingdoms; and the king of that people, coming from the east, will be wise and discerning, and will speak wondrous things against God.
Malbim
I considered the horns — he pondered and understood a great deal about these horns, for from there a horn of salvation would sprout. and, behold, there came up among them another horn, A little one — Abarbanel explained that this alludes to the rule of the Pope, which began in Rome and was small and slight at first; and the Caesars who ruled the kingdom of Rome (which encompassed under it all ten horns destined to sprout from it) thought nothing of it. Afterward this horn grew strong in the days of the Emperor Constantine, who took Sylvester the Pope — who had been hiding in a cave — brought him to Rome, and placed the imperial crown in his hand, [decreeing] that he and those who came after him would rule over Rome and Italy, while the emperor himself went to Constantinople, built it, and made it the seat of the emperors. before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots — over this the commentators were greatly perplexed. Abarbanel's own explanation, following his approach, is likewise very strange — see it there. In my view, [Daniel] saw that three of the horns — that is, three of the kings destined to raise up a horn within the general kingdom of Rome — cast off the yoke of the Pope's rule from themselves. And if you look for them, you will find three mighty, wise, and understanding kings who broke away from the Pope's rule some several hundred years ago; this is what is meant by their having been uprooted from his dominion (which encompasses the whole kingdom of Rome). Or, if you also reckon the kingdom of Ishmael, which is included within the general kingdom of Rome, you will see that those who broke away from his rule split into three divisions of belief: the religion of Muhammad, and two further divisions among those who introduced changes into that religion — all of whom were uprooted from the little horn and dispute its religious and political authority. And in the angel's own account it is said, 'and three fell before me,' meaning that they would fall away and separate from his rule. Hence it says afterward, 'and three kings shall be humbled' — for there would come a time when they would be uprooted from him, and afterward would fall away from him entirely and separate from his rule forever, while he strives to bring them low. The keri reads it in the singular — 'was uprooted' and 'fell' — because they would not all break away from him at one time, for there was a troubled interval between each of them, as is known. — There is also room to explain that the little horn alludes to Muhammad, who arose several hundred years after this, and who is the little horn that set forth his faith and religion before the children of Ishmael; he too was small at first, and afterward grew very powerful and conquered Asia and the rest of the world. By this what is stated — that three of the first horns were uprooted before it — is explained: that three governments which had ruled of old, among the four heads of the Greek kings who reigned after Alexander, were uprooted before it and came under its dominion, as is known. And it is possible that both [interpretations] are included in his vision, since both are included within the fourth beast; the little horn stood [as a figure] within each of the two, in that the authority which grew powerful in matters of faith is the little horn, according to how he marked it out by its signs, as will be explained. and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of A man — he saw that this little horn was unlike the other horns, which have no mouth and no eyes and whose power lies only in goring — a physical power exercised by shield, sword, and war; for the power of this horn works through eyes and mouth. The eyes signify intellect and wisdom, in that they would grow wise and gain understanding, whether through theoretical study, and would also lift their eyes to gaze into the books of the Torah and the words of the Prophets, growing wise in the holy writings, like 'the sons of man' — that is, like the children of Israel. And a mouth speaking great things — its power would be in its mouth — whether in that they would be perfected in the wisdom of speech and disputation, as will be explained further on, or in that the power of this horn lies not in sword and war but in its mouth, binding and loosing everything by the breath of its lips. And by this it waged war in earlier days with mighty kings and prevailed over them, until they submitted before it and begged its pardon, as is known from the annals of ancient days — so that this horn was victorious through its mouth that speaks great things.
Ibn Yahya
While I was looking closely at the horns, I saw that another, little horn was coming up from among them, and before it three of the first horns were uprooted; and behold, this horn had eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
I beheld Till thrones were placed, And one who was ancient of days did sit: His raiment was as white snow, And the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire.
verse value 6214
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 88 letters. Verse gematria: 6214 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֣ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "its·wheels" (גַּלְגִּלּ֖וֹהִי, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 256: were·placed, fire. 13 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "thrones" (כׇרְסָוָן֙), "were·placed" (רְמִ֔יו), "and·ancient·of" (וְעַתִּ֥יק). The root כרסא appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "days" (root יום, 33x in Daniel). First appearance of the root עתיק ("and·ancient·of") in Daniel. First appearance of the root יתב ("did·sit") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'did·sit', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 13 words.
Rashi
until thrones were set up Thrones were set up and established to sit in judgment, one for judgment for the nations of the world and one for charity for Israel. and the Ancient of Days sat The Holy One, blessed be He, was sitting in judgment on this kingdom and on those before it, who provoked Him and oppressed His children. as white as snow to whiten the iniquities of His people. and the hair of His head was like clean wool He cleanses Himself of the merits that the nations have before Him, and He pays them all their reward in this world. In Lev. Rabbah.
Ibn Ezra
I beheld — I was watching until the thrones were set, and the Ancient of Days sat; His raiment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire.
Metzudat David
I beheld – I saw all this, until a throne was thrown down and set in place, and an aged one, advanced in days, sat upon it; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool. His throne – The throne was made of sparks of fire; the wheels of the throne were blazing fire.
Metzudat Zion
Ancient — a term meaning aged, as in 'and the records are ancient' (1 Chronicles 4).
Malbim
I beheld Till thrones were placed — meaning, I saw the beast in the vision, until the time would come when the thrones would be cast down. Our sages explained in the Tanchuma that these are the thrones of the idol-worshiping nations, which the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to overturn. Note that it is not written ‘until the thrones sat,’ but rather ‘were cast down’ — and so it says, ‘And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms’ (Haggai 2:22), meaning that the throne represents dominion; and he saw the overturning of the thrones of the idol-worshiping nations, as it is written in Haggai: ‘And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the kingdoms of the nations, and I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them, and the horses and their riders shall come down, every man by the sword of his brother’ (Haggai 2:22). He explains that this will come about through the upheaval that will arise among the nations themselves, each man by the sword of his brother — or, according to the second explanation of Abarbanel, this speaks of the thrones of the highest princes, the princes of the nations, whose power and influence will be cut off.
And one who was ancient of days did sit — meaning the Holy One, blessed be He, who is beyond days and time, that is, who is not subject to time, as it is written, ‘and they who know Him do not see His days’ (Job 24:1), as I explained there. He sits on His throne to judge the earth, for this is what ‘sitting’ means, as it is written, ‘But Hashem sits enthroned forever; He has established His throne for judgment’ (Psalms 9:8).
His raiment was as white snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool — garments signify the actions and the attributes with which He, so to speak, clothes Himself at the time of acting, for attributes are called ‘garments,’ as is known; and the head signifies thought, as it is written, ‘For He put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and a helmet of salvation upon His head’ (Isaiah 59:17), as I explained there. The hair signifies the bursting forth outward of the hidden depths of thought, just as hair grows out from the surplus matter of the brain (as I wrote in my commentary on Song of Songs, on the verse ‘his locks are curled,’ and on the verse ‘your hair is like a flock of goats’). The meaning is that Hashem Himself, blessed be He, is full of kindness and compassion, and that His garments — that is, the attributes by which He acts — will then be only righteousness and compassion; this is depicted by the white color, the opposite of red, which signifies judgment and bloodshed, as it is written, ‘Who is this who comes from Edom, with crimsoned garments’ (Isaiah 63:1) — which I explained there to mean that he comes in white garments, in compassion. So too His hidden thoughts, once revealed, will be only righteousness and salvation, for with Him there is no judgment and no evil, only good and kindness before Him.
His throne was fiery flames — the burning, consuming fire — that is, the harsh judgment — goes out from the Throne, downward, as it is written, ‘Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne… fire goes before Him, and burns up His adversaries round about’ (Psalms 97:2–3). And I explained that the fire does not go out from Hashem Himself, for ‘Hashem reigns, let the earth rejoice’ (Psalms 97:1) — before Him is only kindness and compassion — rather, the fire goes out from the foundation of His throne. I have already explained, in my commentary on Ezekiel’s Chariot, that at the time of miraculous governance, the governance descends from the world of the Throne to the world of the wheels by means of the Living Creatures, the movers of the wheels: the Living Creatures receive from the Throne, and they direct the wheels according to whatever the higher spirit and the will of Hashem may be there. Accordingly, he depicted seeing sparks and flashes of the fire of judgment going out from the Throne to the wheels —
And its wheels burning fire — a fire burning in anger and wrath to consume the wicked. Now he explains in what way the sparks of fire travel from the Throne to the wheels — it is this:
Ibn Yahya
I saw that the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days alone sat upon His throne, which was not cast down; His raiment was as white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool, His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire.
A fiery stream issued And came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered to him, And ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; The judgment was set, And the books were opened.
verse value 4717
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 85 letters. The shortest word is "river" (נְהַ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·before·him" (מִן־קֳדָמ֔וֹהִי, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 255: river, from·before·him. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "river" (נְהַ֣ר), "and·came·forth" (וְנָפֵק֙), "thousands" (אַלְפִין֙). The root אלף appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·before·him" (root קדם, 38x in Daniel); "stood" (root קום, 36x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'stood', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Rashi
of fire [as translated,] of fire. a burning fire [as translated,] a burning fire. was flowing and emerging [as translated,] was flowing and emerging. serve Him i.e., the Ancient of Days. justice was established The judgment is established before Him. and the books were opened The books were opened; the book of the transgressions and the evils that they committed.
Ibn Ezra
A fiery stream — some say the word should be read ‘nehor esh’ (‘a light of fire’), and this seems correct to me. Issued — [meaning] drawn forth, coming out from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
Metzudat David
A fiery stream – A stream of fire flowed and issued forth from before him; a thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment – The court of judgment sat, with open books before them. This is because he saw the Divine Presence in the likeness of an elder, to show that it is full of mercy; and its raiment being 'as snow' alludes to the fact that it would whiten the sins of His people, and 'the hair of its head like pure wool' alludes to the fact that it would cleanse them of their transgressions. And the heavenly court sat in judgment, with the books recording the deeds of mankind open before them.
Metzudat Zion
Ten thousand — [the Aramaic 'ribo'] means ten thousand.
Malbim
A fiery stream issued And came forth from before him — meaning, from the Throne the fire is drawn to the wheels by way of a river of fire that runs through the Living Creatures, who draw the fire toward the wheels. Our sages already said: ‘From where does it come forth? R. Yirmeya said: From the sweat of the Living Creatures.’ He now explains what this ‘river of fire’ is. thousand thousands ministered to him — the Living Creatures and the holy Seraphim who stand ready to serve the Throne and to bring its flow down to the world of the wheels are the ‘thousand thousands.’ And ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him — those who stand before Him are the Seraphim who stand before the Throne, the higher princes within the world of the Throne who cause the flow to descend below, ranking higher than the mere attendants; they are the ‘ten thousand times ten thousand,’ a number greater than the ‘thousands’ — and this is the meaning of ‘a fiery stream issued and came forth,’ that is, it draws forth and goes out: the ‘ten thousand times ten thousand’ is the fire flowing within the world of the Throne, while the ‘thousand thousands’ is what goes forth from before it to the world beneath it.
The judgment was set, And The books were opened — upon the Throne the Judgment sits to judge the world, as it is written, ‘and I will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat’ (Joel 4:2); and the books are open, to examine their deeds and their sentence.
Ibn Yahya
A river of fire flows and issues forth from before Him; a thousand thousands minister to Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before Him; He sits to render judgment, with the books open. Here Daniel saw that the thrones of the heavenly princes would be cast down to the earth, and that nothing would endure in loftiness and glory except Hashem, King of Israel, who sits enduring and eternal upon His throne, and shall be the last. Now he hints, in saying ‘the Ancient of Days,’ at His pre-existence, blessed be He, and at His being the Necessary Existent and the First — as in the verse, ‘I am the first, and I am the last’ (Isaiah 44:6). And it says, ‘His raiment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool,’ to hint that Hashem emanated the light from Himself, just as hairs are vapors that go forth from a person; and the kingship is the semblance of the body, while neither the hair nor the garment belong to the essence of the body — so too the light is emanated from Him, blessed be He, and yet is related to Him, for through it Hashem sends forth His powers to sustain the world and maintain it. Further it says, ‘His throne was fiery flames,’ etc., meaning that His throne, on which He sits, and the wheels beneath His throne — which, when He wishes to go from place to place, He rides upon, after the fashion of the chariot of kings — are all fire. And this hints that when the divine powers depart from Him, blessed be He, to be sent forth into the worlds, they travel by way of sparks of fire; and these are, so to speak, the bearer of His powers — that is, they carry His powers — not that Hashem literally sits upon a throne, Heaven forbid. Further it says, ‘A fiery stream,’ etc. — this is the world of the angels, who bear the Throne and serve Hashem. The hint is that when He wishes to send forth His powers into the worlds — powers that consist of divine light — the angels bear that divine light and carry out His will with that very light; the meaning being that they are His emissaries, as it says of them, ‘mighty in strength, who perform His word’ (Psalms 103:20). Isaiah, too, saw them in this way, as it says, ‘And I saw Hashem sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,’ etc., ‘Seraphim stood above Him’ (Isaiah 6:1–2). Now, it says that the substance of these attendants just mentioned is fire, as it says here, ‘A fiery stream,’ etc.; and there [in Isaiah] he called them ‘Seraphim,’ meaning ‘a burning coal.’ The intent is that they are of the substance of that divine light, which is of the same kind as the Throne of Glory; and since they are the bearers of the Throne, which is burning fire, they must be akin to it and be of fire — that is, of pure light. But there is no doubt that the light of the Throne itself is a far more sublime light, since it is close to Him, blessed be He, and was the very first thing emanated from Him; only afterward were the angels created and became Seraphim, [giving rise to] the ‘fiery stream’ — that is, a light drawn forth from that first light. This is the meaning of ‘a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him’ — because the angels are outside Him, blessed be He, and are not close to Him the way the Throne of Glory is. And he explains that they number in the thousands and the ten thousands, contrary to the view of the Philosopher, who limited them to ten, arranged in a chain of causes and effects. And by means of this order, Hashem watches over His world and sits in judgment with the books open.
I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke, I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire.
verse value 5277
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 81 letters. The shortest word is "which" (דִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "great" (רַבְרְבָתָ֔א, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 421: I·was, I·was. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "from·voice·of" (מִן־קָל֙), "spoke" (מְמַלֱּלָ֑ה), "was·slain" (קְטִילַ֤ת). The root חזה appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "then" (root אדין, 46x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'spoke', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 11 words.
Rashi
from the sound of the arrogant words From the sound of the haughty words that the horn was speaking, the wrath of the Ancient of Days was aroused. until the beast was slain and its body was destroyed and given [as translated,] and its body was destroyed. to a flame of fire to a flame of fire; this refers to Jacob’s fire etc.
Ibn Ezra
I beheld — I was watching, then, because of the sound of the great words that the horn spoke; I watched until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire; and as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken from them, but a lengthening of life was given to them for a set time.
Metzudat David
I beheld – I was watching, then, on account of the voice of the great words that the small horn spoke. I beheld – I watched until, because of this, the beast was slain, its body destroyed, and it was given over to be burned with fire.
Malbim
I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke — he saw that the essence of the judgment, and the guilt recorded in the books, concerns the voice of the great words that the horn speaks; and likewise the horn of the Ishmaelites — that is, their prophet, who gave them their teaching — speaks rebellion against the true faith and against Hashem. It is over this that the essence of the judgment falls. I beheld even till the beast was slain — and I saw its sentence: that the power of the Ishmaelites would be stripped away, and its body destroyed, and so on.
Ibn Yahya
‘I beheld,’ etc. — I was watching, then, because of the voice of the great words that the horn was speaking, that the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and given over to be burned with fire; and this hints at the destruction of the fourth kingdom after a very long time had passed.
And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
verse value 2608
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "and·rest·of" (וּשְׁאָר֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "their·dominion" (שׇׁלְטָנְה֑וֹן, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·rest·of" (וּשְׁאָר֙), "their·dominion" (שׇׁלְטָנְה֑וֹן), "and·prolongation" (וְאַרְכָ֧ה). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·beasts" (root חיוה, 20x in Daniel); "was·given" (root יהב, 20x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·dominion', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּשְׁאָר֙ [and·rest·of] (507) + חֵֽיוָתָ֔א [the·beasts] (425) + הֶעְדִּ֖יו [was·taken·away] (95) + שׇׁלְטָנְה֑וֹן [their·dominion] (450) + וְאַרְכָ֧ה [and·prolongation] (232) + בְחַיִּ֛ין [in·lives] (80) + יְהִ֥יבַת [was·given] (427) + לְה֖וֹן [to·them] (91) + עַד־זְמַ֥ן [until·a·season] (171) + וְעִדָּֽן [and·time] (130) = 2608.
Rashi
But as for the other beasts, their dominion was removed And from the other kingdoms, their dominion was removed by Heaven. and they were given an extension of life And He gave them time to live until a set day in the future, the wars of Gog and Magog. an extension Aram. אַרְכָה, waiting.
Metzudat David
And as for the rest of the beasts – The rest of the beasts are the first three. Their dominion was taken away – Their dominion was removed, but an extension of time to remain alive was given them 'for a season and a time,' meaning until a fixed time. This alludes to the fact that, on account of the words of the king of the east, God will destroy the entire kingdom of Ishmael, while the other idolatrous kingdoms will each have their dominion removed in its own time; but they will remain alive until they come to wage war against Gog, king of Magog, and then they will fall among the fallen.
Metzudat Zion
Were prolonged — a term denoting waiting and an extension of time. A season and a time — these are simply nouns [i.e., two synonymous terms for a period].
Malbim
And as for the rest of the beasts — the remaining kingdoms. their dominion was taken away — ‘dominion’ means rule by a strong and cruel hand, like the rule of the Roman Caesars at the time of the destruction; this will be removed then. yet their lives were prolonged — they will remain in existence, continuing to govern without that harsh dominion, that is, calmly and benevolently, not by way of violence, for a season And A time — until the appointed end of days arrives.
Ibn Yahya
‘And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time’ — this hints at the limited and brief span of time during which the three previous kingdoms ruled, after which their dominion was taken away.
I saw in the night visions, And, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven One like to a son of man, And he came even to the Ancient of days, And he was brought near before Him.
verse value 3680
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 72 letters. The shortest word is "seeing" (חָזֵ֤ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·until·the·Ancient·of" (וְעַד־עַתִּ֤יק, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 351: the·heavens, man. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "with·clouds·of" (עִם־עֲנָנֵ֣י), "and·until·the·Ancient·of" (וְעַד־עַתִּ֤יק), "and·before·Him" (וּקְדָמ֖וֹהִי). The root הוה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "and·before·Him" (root קדם, 38x in Daniel); "days" (root יום, 33x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'was', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Rashi
one like a man was coming That is the King Messiah. and...up to the Ancient of Days Who was sitting in judgment and judging the nations. came arrived, reached.
Ibn Ezra
I saw — I was watching in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming; and he came to the Ancient of Days, and was brought near before Him.
Metzudat David
I saw – I saw, in the visions of the night's sleep, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one in the likeness of a son of man; and this alludes to the King Messiah. And he came even to the Ancient of Days – He reached the aged one, advanced in days, and he was brought near before Him.
Malbim
I saw in the night visions — Now he saw a new vision, and this one too he saw together with the night, for the darkness of the exile would still be present at the very time when the dawn was about to break and burst forth from among the clouds of gloom. “And, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man” — for in the first vision he had seen four beasts rising up out of the sea that was stirred up by the winds; in place of the beasts’ rising from the depths of the great abyss, he now saw the coming of the kingdom of heaven from the clouds of heaven, from on high. And in place of those that had come in the shape of predatory beasts, the chosen one of Hashem now came in the guise of a son of man — for the beasts had emerged through wars and storms, and their whole business was prey: they tore their prey and devoured man; whereas the kingdom of Hashem will come through the wisdom found in the Torah of Hashem and through the performance of His commandments, a quality attributed to an enlightened human being. And the beasts had come up out of the great abyss, but this “son of man,” who inherits the kingdom of heaven, comes with the clouds — for clouds are fine vapors, filled with a light air, that rise up from the waters and the moisture to the heights, and from there pour down a bountiful rain upon the earth. So too will his coming be by way of the spiritual dew that rises through his Torah and his deeds, matters that are exalted above matter — whereas physical rain is what comes down below, to the earth — as it is written, “for Your dew is as the dew of light” (Isaiah 26:19). And his coming is therefore attributed to the heavens, not to the great abyss, for he rises up out of materiality to the higher, spiritual realms; and he himself is the one of whom it is said, “humble, and riding upon a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9), for he subdues matter and physicality. “And he came even to the Ancient of Days” — he saw that through his good deeds he would rise ever higher, until he draws near to God and walks with God. “And he was brought near before Him” — for once he has raised himself through his deeds and through his good preparation to draw near to God, help from above will also come to him, and he will be brought near to God, as it is written, “I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight” (Exodus 33:12).
Ibn Yahya
‘And I saw in the night visions’ — because the fifth kingdom is a great and enduring matter, it says of it ‘in the night visions,’ just as it said of the fourth kingdom; for on account of its importance, it was not grouped in the vision together with the three previous beasts. And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he reached the Ancient of Days, and was brought near before Him.
And there was given him dominion, And glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and languages Should serve him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
verse value 4199
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 81 letters. Verse gematria: 4199 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "to·him" (לֵ֣הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·his·kingdom" (וּמַלְכוּתֵ֖הּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 389: dominion, dominion·of. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "shall·pass·away" (יֶעְדֵּ֔ה). The root שלטן appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which·not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "and·a·kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel); "and·all" (root כל, 41x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·serve', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 8 words.
Rashi
And He gave him dominion And to that man He gave dominion over the nations, for the heathens he likens to beasts, and Israel he likens to a man because they are humble and innocent. which will not be removed [as translated,] will not be removed.
Ibn Ezra
And to him — dominion, glory, and a kingdom were given, and all peoples, nations, and languages must serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. Now, we have seen that the angel explained to him [Daniel] only the fourth beast, and so it was, for the discerning reader can learn about the first three beasts from the later prophecies of Daniel. You should also know the reason there are four beasts: it is because the four kingdoms were located in different directions. But I do not know the reason for the great sea, since all of them were, in fact, on dry land — perhaps because the vitality of a creature that moves in the great sea is greater than the vitality of a creature that lives on dry land. This prophecy was [given] at the death of Evil-merodach and the beginning of [the reign of] Belshazzar; and indeed, the lion is the kingdom of the Chaldeans. Rav Saadia Gaon said that this vision refers to something that had already occurred — namely, the episode of Nebuchadnezzar — and that ‘a man’s heart was given to it’ means that he [Nebuchadnezzar] returned to his senses, which is the same as ‘my understanding returned to me’ (Daniel 4). But this does not seem right to me, for what point would there be in seeing something that had already happened, and what benefit would there be in mentioning it? Rather, this is the [correct] explanation: the first [beast], like a lion, is Nebuchadnezzar. And had eagle’s wings — [these are] his son Evil-merodach and his grandson Belshazzar, who was killed. And it was lifted up from the earth — it had already been raised up at that time, once its wing was plucked; and in Hebrew [such a form] is [understood as] plural. And the meaning of ‘made stand upon two feet as a man, and a man’s heart [was given to it]’ is that a lion’s heart is bolder than a man’s heart; and the point is that the Chaldeans were, at first, predatory like a lion, but once their king was killed, the Chaldeans were humbled and acquired understanding, and became like all other people. Yefet said that the meaning of ‘made stand … as a man’ is that the whole world would see its disgrace — and he interpreted well. The second beast is the kingdom of Persia, which destroyed the kingdom of the Chaldeans, and it is the one likened to silver in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. And the meaning of ‘raised up itself on one side’ is that on one flank of the kingdom of the Chaldeans, Cyrus and Darius destroyed three great cities — I also saw this recorded in a book of the kings of Persia forty years ago, though I have forgotten the names of the cities — and this is [the meaning of] ‘Arise, devour much flesh,’ [spoken] against the kingdom of the Chaldeans. Rav Saadia Gaon said that this alludes to Ahasuerus, who wrote letters to destroy Israel, who are called a great and mighty people. But what sense does this interpretation make, since Ahasuerus did not first seize the kingdom of the Chaldeans? The third beast, likened to a leopard, is the kingdom of Greece — [namely,] the beginning of the kingdom of Alexander, who ruled over them — and it is the one likened, in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, to bronze; and there it is written, ‘which shall bear rule over all the earth’ (Daniel 2:39), and so too it is written in this prophecy, ‘and dominion was given to it.’ And this is the meaning of ‘four wings of a fowl’: they are the four kings who ruled over Alexander’s kingdom [after him] — this is a well-known matter. And so too it says, ‘there came up the appearance of four horns … toward the four winds of heaven’ (Daniel 8:8), just as it says here, ‘the beast had also four heads’ — and there [in my commentary on that chapter] I will explain it further. The fourth beast, as it appears, is the kingdom of Ishmael, which is the one likened in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to iron, and in this prophecy it is written, ‘and it had iron teeth.’ This fourth [kingdom] is not mentioned in the second prophecy [ch. 8] nor in the fourth [ch. 10–12], but only in this prophecy [ch. 7] are its affairs explained, up to the coming of the redeemer. In the second prophecy, the matter of the third beast is explained, and all its details are carried through to the coming of the redeemer, for it is in the days of these two kingdoms that he will come, as is mentioned in the [earlier] dream: ‘and in the days of those kings’ (Daniel 2:44). And the meaning of ‘and it had ten horns’ is that the kingdom of Ishmael spread over most of the inhabited world. These are the horns: the kingdom of Khurasan, the kingdom of Isfahan, the kingdom of Yemen — that is, Sheba — and the kingdom of Mecca, which is [the same as the place called] Mesha, according to Rav Saadia Gaon; and the kingdom of Egypt, and the kingdom of Ifriqiya [North Africa], and the kingdom of the Ishmaelites who dwell in tents in the east and in the west, and the kingdom of the Philistines, who are the Almoravids, and the kingdom of the Berbers, who are descended from Ham yet are light-skinned, and the kingdom of the Cushites, who are divided among many kings — and all of these share one law [religion]. The matter of the little horn is still to come, for it will occur close to the coming of the redeemer, as I shall explain: this horn is a people that will emerge from the east and adopt the religion of these [other] horns, and it will destroy three kingdoms; and this king will be wise and will speak great things. Then the thrones of all the idol-worshipping kings will be cast down, and this will happen when Michael, the great prince, arises, as will be explained. And He — that is, God — is the Ancient of Days, whom [Daniel] saw in the visions of the prophecy as an old man. His throne — that is, his throne. And its wheels — these are the wheels [of the throne], and from the intensity of their motion sparks of fire go out, because the sphere of fire lies beneath the sphere of the moon, according to conclusive proofs. And do not wonder at [the phrase] ‘thousand thousands ministered to him,’ for everything happens by the command of the honored, exalted Name. Do you not see that Michael is called ‘the great prince,’ and that beneath him are ministering [angels], who are the host of heaven, who are the host of Hashem? So too it is written, ‘I am captain of the host of Hashem’ (Joshua 5:14) — for the awesome Name is joined to ‘hosts,’ which endure continually and are never depleted, as I explained in the Book of the Honored Name. I will further reveal a little of the secret of the holy angels, for those who will understand. Now, he [Daniel] saw that Hashem would render judgment and judge the whole earth, and that the books would be open before Him — in the manner of ‘out of Your book which You have written’ (Exodus 32:32) and ‘a book of remembrance was written before Him’ (Malachi 3:16) — and I will speak further of this together with the matter of the angels. And here it explains that he saw ‘till the beast was slain’ — [meaning] that the entire kingdom of Ishmael will perish, in a single moment, within a few days. And the meaning of ‘and as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away’ is that the dominion of each of the earlier beasts was removed, but their bodies remained; whereas this fourth beast — its body will be destroyed entirely, and no remnant or survivor will be left of Ishmael. Rabbi Yeshu’ah said that ‘one like a son of man’ is the Messiah. And [his] statement is correct, except that it [really] refers to the holy people — that is, Israel. And to him was given — you can learn from this verse that everything that happens on earth is by decrees of Heaven. And I have said that ‘one like a son of man’ is Israel, [used here] as a term for the [collective] type, since Daniel goes on to say, concerning the Ancient of Days, ‘and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High’ (Daniel 7:22). And the reason [dominion is given to him] is in order to take vengeance upon the fourth beast. And the word ‘was pained’ [itkarit] has no parallel elsewhere [in Scripture]; [its meaning can be understood] only by way of [the adjoining phrase] ‘within its sheath’ — for the body is to the spirit as a sheath is to a sword, as in, ‘and he returned his sword to its sheath’ (1 Chronicles 21:27) — and the sense is as if it [the spirit] had gone out [of its sheath] from great dismay.
Metzudat David
And to him – Dominion, glory, and kingship were given to him, and all the idolatrous nations would serve him. His dominion – His dominion will be an everlasting dominion that will never depart, and his kingdom will be eternal, one that will never be destroyed.
Metzudat Zion
And to him — dominion, glory, and kingship were given him, and all the nations shall serve him. [Terms like 'peoples, nations, and languages' are] synonyms [piled up for emphasis], as also 'the dust of the earth' (below, Daniel 12).
Malbim
And there was given him dominion, And glory, And A kingdom — Abarbanel explains that in place of the seven periods of exile, in which they lost all courage of heart and cowardice was brought into their hearts, He will give him dominion and strength; and in place of their having been despised and lowly, He will give him glory; and in place of their having had no king or princes, He will give him a kingdom in the Holy Land, so that “all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him” — this corresponds to the “glory.” And corresponding to the “dominion,” it says, “his dominion is an everlasting dominion” — for this dominion is held by a strong and loving hand, whereas by its nature the rule of a tyrant does not endure for long; but this one shall last forever. And corresponding to “kingdom,” it says, “and his kingdom is that which shall not be destroyed” — for kingship belongs to a person only insofar as he is worthy of it, and a kingdom can at times be destroyed, if its king corrupts his own deeds until he is no longer worthy to rule; but this kingdom shall not be destroyed, for He will remove the spirit of error from the earth, and they shall sin no more.
Ibn Yahya
‘And to him was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages shall serve him; and his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away as did the former ones, and his kingdom shall not be harmed.’ This is our righteous Messiah, who will come before Hashem; and Elijah the Prophet will bring him near before Him, and to him shall dominion be given forever and ever.
As for me Daniel, my spirit was pained in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head affrighted me.
verse value 2232
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 42 letters. Verse gematria: 2232 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "I" (אֲנָ֥ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "affrighted·me" (יְבַהֲלֻנַּֽנִי, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "was·pained" (אֶתְכְּרִיַּ֥ת), "sheath" (נִדְנֶ֑ה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sheath', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֶתְכְּרִיַּ֥ת [was·pained] (1031) + רוּחִ֛י [my·spirit] (224) + אֲנָ֥ה [I] (56) + דָנִיֵּ֖אל [Daniel] (95) + בְּג֣וֹא [in·midst·of] (12) + נִדְנֶ֑ה [sheath] (109) + וְחֶזְוֵ֥י [and·visions·of] (37) + רֵאשִׁ֖י [my·head] (511) + יְבַהֲלֻנַּֽנִי [affrighted·me] (157) = 2232.
Rashi
My spirit... became troubled Aram. אֶתְכְּרִיַת an expression of (Exod. 21:33): “or if...digs (יִכְרֶה),” and Hebrew and Aramaic are alike in this case; i.e., it was humbled because of the depth of its digging. within its sheath Aram. בְּגוֹ נִדְנֶה ; i.e., my spirit became terrified in my body from this dream.
Metzudat David
My spirit was pained – As for me, Daniel, my spirit was cut off within its bosom, meaning within the body — as if to say, although it did not actually depart, it was nonetheless 'cut off' in its own place; this is a manner of exaggeration and hyperbole. And the visions – The visions of my head terrified me.
Metzudat Zion
In my body — [the word 'nidneh' is] a term for a sheath or case, as in 'and he returned his sword to its sheath' (1 Chronicles 4).
Malbim
MY spirit was pained — (this is the same verb that the Targum uses to render “shortness of spirit”) — meaning, my spirit grew short and pained. “within my body” — literally, “within its sheath” — that is, within my body (for the body is a sheath, a case into which the spirit is fitted, as it is written, “My spirit shall not abide in man for ever” [Genesis 6:3]).
Ibn Yahya
‘My spirit was pained within its sheath’ — that is, within the body — ‘from me, Daniel; and the visions of my head alarmed me.’
I came near to one of them who stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things:
verse value 2712
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "I·came·near" (קִרְבֵ֗ת, 4 letters) and the longest is "made·me·know" (יְהוֹדְעִנַּֽנִי, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "I·came·near" (קִרְבֵ֗ת), "to·one" (עַל־חַד֙), "from·those·who·stood" (מִן־קָ֣אֲמַיָּ֔א). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said·to·me" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "made·me·know" (root ידע, 43x in Daniel); "concerning·all·this" (root כל, 41x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'concerning·all·this', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: קִרְבֵ֗ת [I·came·near] (702) + עַל־חַד֙ [to·one] (112) + מִן־קָ֣אֲמַיָּ֔א [from·those·who·stood] (242) + וְיַצִּיבָ֥א [and·the·truth] (119) + אֶבְעֵֽא־מִנֵּ֖הּ [I·asked·from·him] (169) + עַֽל־כׇּל־דְּנָ֑ה [concerning·all·this] (209) + וַאֲמַר־לִ֕י [and·said·to·me] (287) + וּפְשַׁ֥ר [and·interpretation·of] (586) + מִלַּיָּ֖א [the·words] (81) + יְהוֹדְעִנַּֽנִי [made·me·know] (205) = 2712.
Rashi
I drew near to one of those standing I drew near to one of those standing there beside the Ancient of Days. The angels are called standing ones, as it is said: (Zech. 3:7): “among these who stand by (הָעמְדִים),” because they have no joints. and I asked him the truth [as translated,] and I asked him the truth.
Ibn Ezra
I came near — I approached one of the angels standing there to serve the Ancient of Days; and all of this was in a dream. And asked him the truth — I asked him for the correct account of the matter. Concerning all this — [he asked] about this, so that [the angel] would explain the dream to him. And he said: these four beasts are four kingdoms. And it says ‘kings’ because a son is reckoned like his father, similar to [the phrase] ‘the kingdom of the Chaldeans’ [where a line of successive kings is counted as a single kingdom]. And the meaning of [the phrases] ‘one like a son of man’ and ‘they shall receive’ is: at the end [of days] the kingdom [will pass, and] the holy ones of the Most High will receive and inherit the kingdom forever and ever. And [the vision] returns to relate the words concerning the fourth beast, mentioning now what it had not mentioned at first — that the small horn will make war against Israel and prevail over them. And behold, the angel explained to him that this is the last king of the kingdom of Ishmael, who will do great harm to Israel; and this is [the meaning of] ‘and shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and think to change [the seasons and the law]’ — that he will wish to change Israel’s appointed times and their Torah, and Israel will be in distress, ‘until a time, and times, and half a time.’ I will explain this at the verse ‘for a time, times, and a half’ (Daniel 12:7), and it will bear out what I have said — as confirmed by what the angel said: ‘and the kingdom was given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High.’
Metzudat David
I came near – I drew near to one of those who stood by — these are the angels on high, who are never seated. And the truth – I asked him for the true interpretation of all this, and he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the matters; this is a repetition of the same idea in different words.
Malbim
I came near — I drew near to one of the angels standing before Hashem. “and asked him the truth” — I asked him for the truth concerning all this. “So he told me” — that is, he made known to me the interpretation of the matter.
Ibn Yahya
‘And I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this,’ that he should tell me, and make known to me the interpretation of the matters.
’These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, who shall arise out of the earth.
verse value 2721
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "which" (דִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "great" (רַבְרְבָתָ֔א, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "they" (אִנִּ֖ין). The root ארבע appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "which" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "shall·arise" (root קום, 36x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'four', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: אִלֵּין֙ [these] (91) + חֵיוָתָ֣א [beasts] (425) + רַבְרְבָתָ֔א [great] (805) + דִּ֥י [which] (14) + אִנִּ֖ין [they] (111) + אַרְבַּ֑ע [four] (273) + אַרְבְּעָ֥ה [four] (278) + מַלְכִ֖ין [kings] (150) + יְקוּמ֥וּן [shall·arise] (212) + מִן־אַרְעָֽא [from·the·earth] (362) = 2721.
Rashi
four kingdoms Aram. אַרְבְּעָא מַלְכִין, lit. four kings.
Metzudat David
These – These great beasts, four in number — the interpretation is that four kings will arise from the earth.
Malbim
“These great beasts, which are four” — indicate that “four kings shall arise out of the earth.” (The verb “arise,” when followed by the word “from,” indicates rising up from a place in order to depart from it, as in “and the men rose up from there” [Genesis 18:16].) He is informing him that he did not see the four kingdoms with respect to their standing and their reigning — for if so, he ought not to have seen Babylon in this vision at all, since its time had already passed and the hour of its removal had come — but rather that the four kingdoms were shown to him with respect to their removal and their abolition, that is, how they would depart from the earth. And this is why he saw Babylon too, depicted as about to “arise from the earth” and depart from it, as is said [of the first beast], “I beheld until its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth” (Daniel 7:4) — for this is what they wished to show him. And this is why the angel did not, at this point, come to explain to him anything about the four kingdoms individually, since the main intent of this vision was to convey the removal of the four kingdoms and the establishment of the kingdom of heaven, which would come after all of them — and this is why it says:
Ibn Yahya
‘These great beasts, which are four’ — this alludes to four kings who shall arise from the earth, and the cause of their rise will be an earthly cause, not a divine one, for they will not be watched over by Him, blessed be He.
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.’
verse value 2624
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "and·until" (וְעַ֖ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·shall·receive" (וִֽיקַבְּלוּן֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 497: the·kingdom, the·kingdom. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·shall·receive" (וִֽיקַבְּלוּן֙), "and·shall·possess" (וְיַחְסְנ֤וּן), "until·forever" (עַד־עָ֣לְמָ֔א). The root עלם appears 3 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel); "and·shall·receive" (root קבל, 27x in Daniel); "and·until" (root עד, 21x in Daniel). First appearance of the root עליון ("the·Most·High") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Most·High', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וִֽיקַבְּלוּן֙ [and·shall·receive] (204) + מַלְכוּתָ֔א [the·kingdom] (497) + קַדִּישֵׁ֖י [saints·of] (424) + עֶלְיוֹנִ֑ין [the·Most·High] (226) + וְיַחְסְנ֤וּן [and·shall·possess] (190) + מַלְכוּתָא֙ [the·kingdom] (497) + עַד־עָ֣לְמָ֔א [until·forever] (215) + וְעַ֖ד [and·until] (80) + עָלַ֥ם [eternity·of] (140) + עָלְמַיָּֽא [the·ages] (151) = 2624.
Rashi
And the high holy ones will receive the kingdom These are Israel, who will take the kingdom from the fourth one.
Metzudat David
Shall receive – After this, the kingship will be taken by the holy ones of the Most High — these are Israel, who are supreme in rank. And possess – They will inherit the kingdom forever; and Scripture then goes on to explain, 'forever and ever,' meaning truly forever — for sometimes the word 'forever' is used for merely a long stretch of time, as in, 'and he shall serve him forever' (Exodus 21:6).
Malbim
“the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom” — that is, this is the ultimate point of the vision: that in the end, the kingdom will be received by these beings, who are holy in the world above. And this is the meaning of what was said above, that “[one like] a son of man came even to the Ancient of Days” — for he became sanctified and drew near to Hashem, “and he was brought near before Him.” “and possess” — for they themselves do not “arise from the earth,” as the four kingdoms did, but rather inherit the kingdom forever — “for ever, even for ever and ever” — meaning, the eternal world that will come after this world, which comes to an end and perishes.
Ibn Yahya
But the rise of the fifth kingdom will be from Hashem, from heaven, for the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and inherit it — for as long as this world endures, and forever and ever in the World to Come.
Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;
verse value 7287
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 115 letters. The shortest word is "its·teeth" (שִׁנַּ֤הּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "concerning·the·beast" (עַל־חֵֽיוְתָא֙, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "I·desired" (צְבִית֙), "to·ascertain" (לְיַצָּבָ֗א), "concerning·the·beast" (עַל־חֵֽיוְתָא֙). The root כל appears 2 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "then" (root אדין, 46x in Daniel); "from·all·of·them" (root כל, 41x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·all·of·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 15 words.
Rashi
Then I wished to determine the truth Then I wished to determine the truth concerning the fourth beast. which was different from all of them—excessively dreadful which was different from all of them with excessive dreadfulness.
Metzudat David
Then – Then I wished to know the true interpretation concerning the fourth beast, which differed greatly from all the others in its appearance and its actions. Exceeding terrible – It was surpassingly, abundantly dreadful; its teeth were of iron and its claws of bronze; it devoured and ground its prey fine, and trampled with its foot whatever was left.
Malbim
Then — then I desired to know the truth (“I desired” relates to the sense of wanting, while “the truth” relates to the sense of truth) concerning the fourth beast. Since it had already become known to him that the end of days would come after the abolition of the fourth beast, he wished to know its particulars: (1) in what way it was different from all the others; (2) concerning its exceeding terror, and its teeth of iron (and here he adds “nails of brass,” which he had not mentioned before — for in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar’s image he had seen that the toes were iron mixed with the clay of a potter, since there the toes were used to depict the kingdoms that would exist at the very end; whereas in this vision, all of them are included within the ten horns, for he had already seen the ten kingdoms at the very outset of the fourth beast’s standing, since it seized power at once over all ten of the kingdoms destined ultimately to be divided into ten parts — and therefore the toes, in this vision, did not hint at anything particular pointing to the end of days, but only at the strength of the beast at its beginning).
Ibn Yahya
‘Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them’ — all the aforementioned characteristics applied to it.
and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell; even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great things, whose appearance was greater than that of its fellows.
verse value 6280
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 95 letters. The shortest word is "that" (דִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·concerning·the·horns" (וְעַל־קַרְנַיָּ֤א, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 14: that, which. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·concerning·the·horns" (וְעַל־קַרְנַיָּ֤א), "on·its·head" (בְרֵאשַׁ֔הּ), "and·fell" (וּנְפַ֥לָה). The root קרן appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "from·before·it" (root קדם, 38x in Daniel); "great" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'three', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 10 words.
Rashi
and [the] three [that] fell before it and three of the first ones fell before it. and the horn that was like this and that had eyes and the horn that was like this, and had eyes, as is written above.
Metzudat David
And concerning the horns – I also wished to know the true interpretation of the ten horns that were on its head, and of the other, small horn that came up, before which three fell. Even that horn – And I wished to know the interpretation of this astonishing horn, which had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great and wondrous things, and whose appearance was greater and more astonishing than that of its fellows.
Malbim
And — he asked also concerning the ten horns that were there at first, and concerning the horn that came up, before which three horns fell, and this horn had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things.
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
verse value 1995
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "beholding" (חָזֵ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·holy·ones" (עִם־קַדִּישִׁ֑ין, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "made" (עָבְדָ֥ה), "with·holy·ones" (עִם־קַדִּישִׁ֑ין), "and·prevailed" (וְיָכְלָ֖ה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·was" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel); "made" (root עבד, 40x in Daniel); "beholding" (root חזה, 30x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·holy·ones', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: חָזֵ֣ה [beholding] (20) + הֲוֵ֔ית [I·was] (421) + וְקַרְנָ֣א [and·the·horn] (357) + דִכֵּ֔ן [that] (74) + עָבְדָ֥ה [made] (81) + קְרָ֖ב [war] (302) + עִם־קַדִּישִׁ֑ין [with·holy·ones] (584) + וְיָכְלָ֖ה [and·prevailed] (71) + לְהֹֽן [to·them] (85) = 1995.
Rashi
I looked in my first dream, which I told above. with the holy ones with Israel.
Metzudat David
I beheld – I also wished to know the interpretation of what I had seen: that this horn made war with the holy ones of Israel, and prevailed against them and defeated them.
Malbim
I beheld — and he relates further, recalling that he had seen, in the course of his dream, that this horn made war with the saints of the Most High and prevailed over them (this refers to their having coerced Israel in ancient times, in periods of religious persecution — whether through forced disputations or through harsh decrees — to abandon their faith, and in this they prevailed over them).
Ibn Yahya
Beyond that, I also saw in it that this small horn appeared larger than its fellows, and that this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them.
until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High; and the time came, and the saints possessed the kingdom.
verse value 3173
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֣ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·Most·High" (עֶלְיוֹנִ֑ין, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "that·came" (דִּֽי־אֲתָ֗ה), "the·Ancient·of" (עַתִּיק֙), "for·holy·ones·of" (לְקַדִּישֵׁ֖י). The root קדיש appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·the·kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel); "days" (root יום, 33x in Daniel); "until" (root עד, 21x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Most·High', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: עַ֣ד [until] (74) + דִּֽי־אֲתָ֗ה [that·came] (420) + עַתִּיק֙ [the·Ancient·of] (580) + יֽוֹמַיָּ֔א [days] (67) + וְדִינָ֣א [and·the·judgment] (71) + יְהִ֔ב [was·given] (17) + לְקַדִּישֵׁ֖י [for·holy·ones·of] (454) + עֶלְיוֹנִ֑ין [the·Most·High] (226) + וְזִמְנָ֣א [and·the·time] (104) + מְטָ֔ה [came] (54) + וּמַלְכוּתָ֖א [and·the·kingdom] (503) + הֶחֱסִ֥נוּ [possessed] (129) + קַדִּישִֽׁין [holy·ones] (474) = 3173.
Rashi
and gave revenge to the high holy ones and He gave them revenge from it.
Metzudat David
Until the Ancient of days came – Until the Ancient One, aged in years, came, and judgment was given in favor of the saints of the Most High — meaning, He rendered judgment on Israel's behalf, [rescuing them] from the power of this horn. And the time came – The time arrived, and the holy people, Israel, took possession of the kingdom — that is to say, all these things are what I had wished to know the meaning of.
Malbim
Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High; and the time came, and the saints possessed the kingdom — that is to say, the redemption depends either on the completion of the appointed time, or on a time of favor coming even before that time. The time of favor is when [Israel] sanctify themselves with extra holiness, until Hashem draws near to them — which is why it says, “he came to the Ancient of days, and was brought near before Him” (Daniel 7:13), and our Sages said: “If they merit, ‘one like a son of man came with the clouds of heaven.’” It is clear that this speaks of the time of merit, when they draw near to Hashem through the abundance of their holiness; then they are called “the saints of the Most High,” and then they are redeemed by way of judgment. Regarding this alternative it says, “the Ancient of days came” (meaning that the redemption will be through Hashem), and “judgment was given” (meaning that it will be by way of judgment), “for the saints of the Most High” (meaning that it will be because of the greatness of their holiness). And regarding the second alternative — that they are redeemed simply because the time arrives, as the Sages said, “if they do not merit, in its due time” — it says, “and the time came,” and then, “the saints possessed the kingdom”: then they take the kingdom of heaven because it is their inheritance, even though they are not “saints of the Most High” but merely holy to their God, as the Sages said, “if they do not merit, ‘a poor man riding on a donkey’” (cf. Zechariah 9:9).
Ibn Yahya
Until the Ancient of Days came and rendered judgment on that dispute which they pressed with the horn, in favor of the saints of the Most High; for the time had come, and the saints took possession of the kingdom.
Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
verse value 6313
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 82 letters. The shortest word is "thus" (כֵּן֮, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·all·the·kingdoms" (מִן־כׇּל־מַלְכְוָתָ֑א, 10 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "thus" (כֵּן֮), "shall·be·diverse" (תִשְׁנֵ֖א), "from·all·the·kingdoms" (מִן־כׇּל־מַלְכְוָתָ֑א). The root רביעי appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "he·said" (root אמר, 88x in Daniel); "shall·be" (root הוה, 55x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·all·the·kingdoms', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 4 words.
Rashi
So he said So did the angel who interpreted the dream for me reply to me.
Metzudat David
Thus he said – Thus the angel answered me: the fourth beast alludes to the fact that there will be a fourth kingdom on earth, which will be very different from all the [other] kingdoms; it will devastate the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it to bits.
Metzudat Zion
Tread it down — from the language of threshing.
Malbim
Thus he said — the angel answered him: “the fourth beast” indicates a fourth kingdom that will be on the earth, which will be different from all the [other] kingdoms, as above (verse 7). “And shall devour the whole earth” — this is the meaning of [the earlier image of] its great teeth. “And shall tread it down, and break it in pieces” — this is the explanation of “and it trampled the residue with its feet” (verse 7).
Ibn Yahya
And thus he said to me: ‘The fourth beast — a fourth kingdom shall be upon the earth, diverse from all the other kingdoms; and it shall devour the whole earth, and tread it down, and break it in pieces.’
And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.
verse value 5195
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 77 letters. Notable word values: "and·he" (וְה֤וּא) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "ten" (עֲשַׂ֔ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·the·former" (מִן־קַדְמָיֵ֔א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 150: kings, kings. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·the·horns" (וְקַרְנַיָּ֣א), "shall·arise" (יְקֻמ֑וּן), "after·them" (אַחֲרֵיהֹ֗ן). The root עשר appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "the·kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel); "shall·be·diverse" (root שנה, 38x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·arise', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Rashi
And the ten horns And its ten horns that you saw—this is its interpretation. from that kingdom [as translated,] from that kingdom. and the last one will rise after them and the last one will rise after them—that is Titus.
Metzudat David
And as for the ten horns – The ten horns allude to the fact that out of that kingdom ten kings will arise; that is, within the kingdom of Ishmael there will be ten kingdoms — these are the ones mentioned above. And another – The little horn signifies the king who will arise after them; he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will bring low three kings from among them.
Malbim
And as for the ten horns — the ten horns indicate that this kingdom will contain within it ten kingdoms that will arise from it at the end. “And another” — this is the explanation of the little horn, which will arise after the kingdom of Rome is established and spreads over all the nations (which, in the end of days, will comprise ten kingdoms). “And he shall be diverse from the former” — that is, from all the kingdoms that existed until his time, in that his followers will no longer worship idols and the like, as was practiced in the days of all the [previous] kingdoms. “And he shall put down three kings” — this has already been explained (verse 8).
Ibn Yahya
‘And as for the ten horns’ — from that kingdom ten kings shall arise, and after them another shall arise, who will be diverse from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.
And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
verse value 3702
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 87 letters. The shortest word is "to·side·of" (לְצַ֤ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·shall·be·given" (וְיִתְיַהֲב֣וּן, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 124: to·side·of, a·time. 13 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·words" (וּמִלִּ֗ין), "to·side·of" (לְצַ֤ד), "shall·speak" (יְמַלִּ֔ל). The root עדן appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·change" (root שנה, 38x in Daniel); "into·his·hand" (root יד, 26x in Daniel); "and·words" (root מלה, 22x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·wear·out', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 10 words.
Rashi
against the Most High [as translated,] against the Most High. and he will oppress the high holy ones He will burden and oppress Israel. and he will think to change the times and the law He will plan in his heart to cause them to transgress all their appointed times and their laws. until a time, two times, and half a time This is an obscure end, as was said to Daniel (12:4): “And you, Daniel, close up the words and seal,” and the early commentators expounded on it, each one according to his view, and the ends have passed. We can still interpret it as I saw written in the name of Rav Saadia Gaon, that they are the 1,335 years stated at the end of the Book (12:12): “Fortunate is he who waits [and reaches the days one thousand three hundred and thirty-five],” and he explains the appointed time as until the time of two times and a half time, and he [Rav Saadia Gaon] said that the times are 480 [years], which is the time from the Exodus from Egypt until the Temple was built, and 410 [years], [which are] the days of the First Temple, totaling 890, and another half of this time, 445, totaling 1,335. Figure these from the time the daily sacrifice was discontinued until the daily sacrifice will be restored to its place; it was discontinued six years prior to the destruction, and there is somewhat of a proof in this Book. [See Rashi to 8:14.] Others bring further proof to this computation, namely that (Deut. 31:18): “And I, will hide My face” [the words] הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר add up in gematria to 1,335.
Metzudat David
And he shall speak words – He will speak blasphemous words against the Most High, and he will wear down Israel, the saints of the Most High, for most of the exiled people are [dwelling] within the kingdom of Ishmael. And he shall think to change the seasons and the law – He will resolve to change, from Israel, the timing of the festivals and the laws of the Torah, and these will be given into his hand for a time; and [the verse] then goes back and specifies exactly how long that time is, saying that the time will be ‘a time, and times, and half a time’ — meaning, two years and a half a year will they be given into his hand.
Metzudat Zion
Wear out — from the language of wearing away and destruction. Shall think — a term denoting reasoning; and our Sages' language includes 'the Rabbis had reasoned' (savru rabbanan). A time — the Targum likewise renders both 'a time' (et) and 'a year' (shanah) with this word.
Malbim
And shall wear out the saints of the Most High — this refers to the days of religious persecution: when the little horn — the prophet of the Ishmaelites — arose, many righteous men and saints of the Most High perished. “And he shall think to change the seasons and the law” — for Muhammad, who gave the Ishmaelites their religion, changed [the earlier] religions and did away with their appointed seasons. “And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time” — since [the verse] leaves this unspecified and does not explain which “time” is meant, it certainly refers to a known period: either four hundred years, the duration of the Egyptian exile, or four hundred ten years, the time the First Temple stood. So did the Sages and all the early commentators explain it, except that they explained “half a time” as half of the four hundred, or of the four hundred ten, years — and accordingly, all these appointed end-times have already passed. But the truth is that “half a time” means half of the combined total of “a time and times,” and if we reckon “a time” as four hundred years, then three “times” come to one thousand two hundred, and half a time is six hundred years, for a total of eighteen hundred years; that period would arrive in the year 5628 (1867/68 CE), when eighteen hundred years would be complete from the destruction of our holy Temple by the Romans. However, this date does not accord with the other dates that appear elsewhere in this book. It must be, therefore, that “a time” is four hundred ten years, corresponding to the duration of the First Temple; then three “times” come to one thousand two hundred thirty years, and half a time is six hundred fifteen, for a total of one thousand eight hundred forty-five years; and the time of the end would arrive in the year 5673 (1912/13 CE) — which accords with the other dates that appear in the book, as will be explained. This same period appears again in chapter 12, where the angel tells Daniel, “for a time, times, and a half, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 12:7). Since the time is left obscure, and the known periods in Daniel’s day were the four hundred and the four hundred ten — not far apart from one another — the matter was therefore stated twice, to indicate that it refers to both periods: that from “a time, times, and a half” reckoned by the four-hundred-year period — that is, the year 5628 — the beginning will be; and the matter will continue until “a time, times, and a half” of the second, known period — the four hundred ten years of the First Temple — and the end of the matter will arrive in the year 5673.
Ibn Yahya
And this last one shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out and destroy the saints of the Most High, and shall plan to change the seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
But the judgment shall sit, and his dominions shall be taken away, to be consumed and to be destroyed to the end.
verse value 1691
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "shall·sit" (יִתִּ֑ב, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·to·be·destroyed" (וּלְהוֹבָדָ֖ה, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "shall·be·taken·away" (יְהַעְדּ֔וֹן), "to·be·consumed" (לְהַשְׁמָדָ֥ה), "and·to·be·destroyed" (וּלְהוֹבָדָ֖ה). 7 unique roots are used. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·sit', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְדִינָ֖א [and·the·judgment] (71) + יִתִּ֑ב [shall·sit] (412) + וְשׇׁלְטָנֵ֣הּ [and·his·dominion] (400) + יְהַעְדּ֔וֹן [shall·be·taken·away] (145) + לְהַשְׁמָדָ֥ה [to·be·consumed] (384) + וּלְהוֹבָדָ֖ה [and·to·be·destroyed] (58) + עַד־סוֹפָֽא [until·the·end] (221) = 1691.
Rashi
And the judgment was established And the judgment was established before Him. and they will remove his dominion from heaven. They will remove the dominion and the rule of that kingdom.
Metzudat David
But the judgment shall sit – And after this the court of judgment will sit, and they will take away his dominion, to destroy him and wipe him out completely, to his very end.
Malbim
But the judgment shall sit — afterward, at the time of the great judgment, Hashem will sit on the throne of judgment; this is the explanation of what was said, “thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days sat” (verse 9). “And his dominion shall be taken away” — this is the explanation of what was said, “until the beast was slain” (verse 11).
Ibn Yahya
And the supreme Ancient of Days shall sit in judgment, and that horn’s dominion shall be taken from it, to destroy it and utterly annihilate it.
And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.’
verse value 7150
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 95 letters. Verse gematria: 7150 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "of" (דִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·shall·obey" (וְיִֽשְׁתַּמְּעֽוּן, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 496: kingdoms, kingdom·of. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·the·dominion" (וְשׇׁלְטָנָ֜א), "under" (תְּח֣וֹת), "all·the·heaven" (כׇּל־שְׁמַיָּ֔א). The root מלכו appears 4 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of" (root די, 141x in Daniel); "and·the·kingdom" (root מלכו, 53x in Daniel); "and·all" (root כל, 41x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Most·High', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 8 words.
Rashi
and obey They will obey his command to execute it.
Metzudat David
And the kingdom and the dominion – The kingdom, the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms of the nations that are under the whole heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High — that is, Israel. Their kingdom is an everlasting kingdom – Their kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve it and heed it, doing whatever it commands them.
Malbim
And the kingdom — this is the explanation of what was said [verse 13], “and behold, one like a son of man came with the clouds of heaven,” and see what I wrote [on verse 14], “and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.” Here it says, “and the kingdom, and the dominion, and the greatness [of the kingdoms under the whole heaven] … shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High,” as above; the meaning is that the “son of man” refers to the saints of the Most High, with the Messiah — the anointed of the God of Jacob — at their head.
Ibn Yahya
And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them—Behold, this fourth kingdom is well known to be the kingdom now in existence, which ruled over the whole world and afterward split apart into peoples differing in religion. As for who these ten kings are, that knowledge eludes us, since the end has not yet come, so that we could work out the timing and know when these ten kings reigned and who exactly they are. As for ‘the horn that shall arise last and shall bring low three kings’ (cf. Daniel 7:24) — perhaps this will be the nation of Gog and Magog, which we have a tradition will in the future make war against Israel, and Hashem will bring it low, and then the Children of Israel will inherit the kingdom of the world. And when it says, ‘and they shall be given into its hand for a time, times, and half a time’ (Daniel 7:25), this refers back to the beast, not to the horn — for after he had finished explaining the matter of the beast and its horns, he said that the saints of the Most High, that is, Israel, would be given into the hand of this beast, continuing from the present kingdom, for a span of ‘times’ (the minimum of a plural being two) — years; and these are 2,000 years, for a thousand years is one ‘time,’ and one day before Hashem, as it says, ‘For a thousand years in Your eyes are as yesterday’ (Psalms 90:4). And our Sages taught, regarding ‘for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die’ (Genesis 2:17), that this is a day of the Holy One, blessed be He; and therefore Adam, the first man, did not complete his ‘day,’ for he fell seventy years short of it. And ‘half a time’ — by this I mean, some further portion of the era that comes after the completion of the two preceding eras — that is, from the time of this prophecy until 2,000 years have passed, plus a bit of the next thousand, about 300 years. And this is what he later saw, when it says, ‘unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings’ (Daniel 8:14) — meaning, this same total of years.
Here is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts much affrighted me, and my countenance was changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart.
verse value 3844
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 66 letters. Verse gematria: 3844 = 62². The shortest word is "I" (אֲנָ֨ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "frightened·me" (יְבַהֲלֻנַּ֗נִי, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "until·here" (עַד־כָּ֖ה), "the·end" (סוֹפָ֣א), "of·the·matter" (דִֽי־מִלְּתָ֑א). The root מלה appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Daniel" (root דניאל, 75x in Daniel); "upon·me" (root על, 64x in Daniel); "was·changed" (root שנה, 38x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'of·the·matter', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 11 words. Full calculation: עַד־כָּ֖ה [until·here] (99) + סוֹפָ֣א [the·end] (147) + דִֽי־מִלְּתָ֑א [of·the·matter] (485) + אֲנָ֨ה [I] (56) + דָֽנִיֵּ֜אל [Daniel] (95) + שַׂגִּ֣יא [much] (314) + רַעְיוֹנַ֣י [my·thoughts] (346) + יְבַהֲלֻנַּ֗נִי [frightened·me] (157) + וְזִיוַי֙ [and·my·brightness] (39) + יִשְׁתַּנּ֣וֹן [was·changed] (816) + עֲלַ֔י [upon·me] (110) + וּמִלְּתָ֖א [and·the·matter] (477) + בְּלִבִּ֥י [in·my·heart] (44) + נִטְרֵֽת [I·kept] (659) = 3844.
Rashi
until here [as translated,] until here. my thoughts terrified me greatly My thoughts were terrifying me greatly. and my colors changed The appearance of my good looks and my features changed. I kept...in my heart I hid in my heart.
Metzudat David
Here is the end of the matter – Thus far is the end of the matter of the vision. As for me Daniel – I, Daniel, was greatly terrified by my own thoughts, and my countenance changed upon me; and I kept that matter in my heart, for he related to the people of his generation only the outline of the matters, and not all of them, as stated above, ‘he related the sum of the matters.’
Malbim
Here is the end of the matter — this too is [part of] the words of the angel, who told him that only once the eternal kingdom of Heaven is established will it be the end of all things, and the culmination of Hashem’s work in His world; for all the exiles and the four kingdoms were preparation and a means toward this exalted goal, which is the end of all His works. “As for me Daniel, my thoughts much affrighted me, and my countenance was changed in me” — for the vision came with very great intensity of feeling, since it was an awesome vision looking forward to a distant time, to the end of days, and it came upon him with very great force. “But I kept the matter in my heart” — from then on he kept the matter in his heart and did not reveal it to anyone, for it had become known to him that a long, dark night of exile would yet come, and he did not want to cause pain to the hearts of the “prisoners of hope” (cf. Zechariah 9:12).
Ibn Yahya
Here is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts much affrighted me, and my countenance was changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart—Up to this point were the words of the angel. And as for me, Daniel — my thoughts multiplied and my musings alarmed me, and the color of my face changed, because I kept the matter in my heart always, so as to understand it, but I could not. For behold, neither he nor those who came after him knew the end — nor will those who come after us — and whatever the case may be, we can only yearn over the matter, chirping about it like a swallow or a crane (cf. Isaiah 38:14).
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Metzudat David
Malbim
Ibn Yahya