The Meaning of Daniel 8:3 Explained

Daniel 8:3

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

YLT: And I lift up mine eyes, and look, and lo, a certain ram is standing before the stream, and it hath two horns, and the two horns are high; and the one is higher than the other, and the high one is coming up last.

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

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

Discover Daniel 8:3

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Daniel 8:3?

MEANING: What does Daniel 8:3 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Daniel 8:3 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Daniel 8:3?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Daniel 8:3 Mean?

Study Notes

ram
.
vs. Daniel 8:3 ; Daniel 8:4 .
The "higher" horn which "came up last" is Cyrus, the other "Darius the Mede."

Verse Meaning

The "ram" (male sheep) that Daniel saw standing before the canal represented Medo-Persia ( Daniel 8:20). It corresponds to the lopsided bear in the chapter7 vision ( Daniel 7:5). The two horns, representing power, symbolized Media and Persia, the two kingdoms that formed an alliance to create Medo-Persia. The longer horn stood for Persia, which had become more powerful in the alliance and had risen to displace Media in leadership after the two nations merged. [1]
The ram was an especially important symbol for the Persians. The guardian spirit of the Persian Empire was portrayed as a ram. When the Persian king went into battle, he carried the head of a ram. [2] Also, in the ancient world, different zodiac signs represented various nations. Aries, the ram, stood for Persia, and Capricorn (Latin caper, goat, and cornu, horn) was Greece. [1]

Context Summary

Daniel 8:1-14 - God's Sanctuary Dishonored
Shushan was the lily palace. There, by the river Ulai, the prophet beheld in vision the attack which would subsequently be made on the Medo-Persian kingdom by Alexander. The great horn which was broken is, of course, Alexander, and the four notable ones are his four generals, who after his death divided up his conquests. The little horn is referred by many to Antiochus, whose conflict with the Maccabees was one of the most significant in later Jewish history. Others refer it to Mohammed and his followers, who have reigned over the same regions. In this case the little horn would stand for the Eastern apostasy as distinguished from the Western, which is said to be represented by the little horn of the fourth beast, Daniel 7:8. The Books of the Maccabees, included in the Apocrypha, should be studied to understand more clearly what is intended in Daniel 8:11-12. The explanation of these obscure verses is also given in Daniel 8:24-25. Antiochus was obsessed with hatred against the spiritual worship of the Jews, and their refusal to admit his image into the Temple. He stayed their sacrifices, though they were restored for a season, to be finally suspended during the present age. The day for a year system, Daniel 8:14, may refer to the desolations of the Turkish or Ottoman empire, of which Antiochus was the representative. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 8

1  Daniel's vision of the ram and he goat
13  The two thousand three hundred days of the suspension of the daily sacrifice
15  Gabriel comforts Daniel, and interprets the vision

What do the individual words in Daniel 8:3 mean?

And I lifted my eyes and saw and there ram a standing was beside the river and which had two horns and the two horns [were] high but one [was] higher than the second and the higher [one] came up last
וָאֶשָּׂ֤א עֵינַי֙ וָאֶרְאֶ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֣ה ׀ אַ֣יִל אֶחָ֗ד עֹמֵ֛ד לִפְנֵ֥י הָאֻבָ֖ל וְל֣וֹ קְרָנָ֑יִם וְהַקְּרָנַ֣יִם גְּבֹה֗וֹת וְהָאַחַת֙ גְּבֹהָ֣ה מִן־ הַשֵּׁנִ֔ית וְהַ֨גְּבֹהָ֔ה עֹלָ֖ה בָּאַחֲרֹנָֽה

וָאֶשָּׂ֤א  And  I  lifted 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
עֵינַי֙  my  eyes 
Parse: Noun, cdc, first person common singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
וָאֶרְאֶ֔ה  and  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
וְהִנֵּ֣ה ׀  and  there 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
אַ֣יִל  ram 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַיִל 
Sense: ram.
עֹמֵ֛ד  standing  was 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
לִפְנֵ֥י  beside 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הָאֻבָ֖ל  the  river 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֻבָל  
Sense: stream, river.
וְל֣וֹ  and  which  had 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person masculine singular
קְרָנָ֑יִם  two  horns 
Parse: Noun, fd
Root: קֶרֶן 
Sense: horn.
וְהַקְּרָנַ֣יִם  and  the  two  horns 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, fd
Root: קֶרֶן 
Sense: horn.
גְּבֹה֗וֹת  [were]  high 
Parse: Adjective, feminine plural
Root: גָּבֹהַּ  
Sense: high, exalted.
וְהָאַחַת֙  but  one  [was] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Number, feminine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
גְּבֹהָ֣ה  higher 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹהַּ  
Sense: high, exalted.
מִן־  than 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
הַשֵּׁנִ֔ית  the  second 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal feminine singular
Root: שֵׁנִי  
Sense: second.
וְהַ֨גְּבֹהָ֔ה  and  the  higher  [one] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹהַּ  
Sense: high, exalted.
עֹלָ֖ה  came  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
בָּאַחֲרֹנָֽה  last 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: אַחֲרֹון  
Sense: behind, following, subsequent, western.

What are the major concepts related to Daniel 8:3?

Loading Information...

Similar Scriptures for Daniel 8:3

Daniel 8:20 [4]
Daniel 10:5 [3]
Esther 1:3 [2]
1 Chronicles 21:16 [2]
Isaiah 44:28 [2]
Zechariah 5:1 [2]
Isaiah 13:17 [2]
Ezra 1:2 [2]
Zechariah 5:5 [2]
Joshua 5:13 [2]
Isaiah 21:2 [2]
read more (11)
Zechariah 2:1 [2]
Ezra 4:5 [2]
Daniel 5:31 [2]
Numbers 24:2 [2]
Daniel 2:39 [2]
Daniel 6:28 [2]
Jeremiah 51:11 [2]
Zechariah 1:18 [2]
Zechariah 6:1 [2]
Zechariah 5:9 [2]
Daniel 7:5 [2]
read less