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Historical event dossier · Religious

Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat at Susa (Dan 8)

Researched — not human reviewedRevision 1Last reviewed: not reviewed

Human review pending. 15 items from this dossier are awaiting the project owner's review: “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 7): Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Seleucid kings” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 7): The papacy (historicist)” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 7): Julius Caesar and the Caesars” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Disputed: was Daniel physically at Susa (Dan 8:2, 27)?” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed identification (Dan 8): The great horn, "the first king" of Greece (8:21), is Alexander” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed identification (Dan 8): The little horn / king of fierce face is Antiochus IV” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed identification (Dan 8): The goat's little horn is Rome (historicist)” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed identification (Dan 8): The cleansing of the sanctuary after 2,300 evenings and mornings is the rededication of 25 Chislev 148 SE” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 8): Alexander the Great and his successors” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 8): Antiochus IV Epiphanes” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 8): Rome (historicist)” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 8): 1,150 days (2,300 offerings) of the interrupted sacrifice under Antiochus” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 8): 2,300 days ending with the cleansing of the Temple” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Proposed fulfillment (Dan 8): 2,300 years from 457 BC to AD 1843 (year-day)” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). “Critical-priority finding: Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat at Susa (Dan 8)” (queued 2026-10-13, status open). All classifications on this page are machine-proposed unless marked otherwise. Review happens offline. This site has no review controls.

Biblical references

Text: World English Bible (public domain). The ESV and NKJV are the preferred study translations and are referenced, not reproduced.

Daniel 8:1–2Superscription
1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. 2 I saw the vision. Now it was so, that when I saw, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.

Third year of Belshazzar; Susa, by the Ulai.

Daniel 8:15–19Narration
15 When I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. Then behold, there stood before me someone with the appearance of a man. 16 I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, for the vision belongs to the time of the end.” 18 Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me and set me upright. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make you know what will be in the latter time of the indignation, for it belongs to the appointed time of the end.
Daniel 8:27Narration
27 I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick for some days. Then I rose up and did the king’s business. I wondered at the vision, but no one understood it.

Connection: The text names "Media" (8:20). (confidence: high)

Connection: The text names "Persia" (8:20). (confidence: high)

Connection: The text names "Greece" (Yavan, 8:21); recorded against the Macedonian empire as the Greek power of the period. (confidence: high)

Biblical account

Layer: Biblical text

In Belshazzar's third year Daniel sees himself at the citadel of Susa by the Ulai. A two-horned ram is overthrown by a swift goat whose great horn is broken and replaced by four; from one comes a little horn that attacks the host of heaven, removes the continual offering and casts down the sanctuary for 2,300 evenings and mornings. Gabriel explains that the ram is the kings of Media and Persia and the goat the king of Greece, and foretells a fierce king who will be broken without human hand. Daniel falls ill, then returns to the king's business.

Historical overview

Layer: Historical reconstruction · Period: Narrative setting: Belshazzar's regency (third year); composition date disputed (see Daniel 7)

Susa was the capital of Elam and later a principal residence of the Persian kings (Neh 1:1; Esth 1:2). In Belshazzar's time it lay outside Babylonian control. The Ulai was a stream or canal at Susa; its course is not precisely identified (Pleiades marks the candidate river with a question mark).[1, 2]

Kingdoms: Median kingdom (Media), Achaemenid Persian Empire, Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great

Date and chronology derivation

Ranges are computed by the project's deterministic chronology engine from the biblical statements and each model's reign anchors. They are reconstructions, not independent dates.

? – 539 BC

Model-independent (applies under every chronology model) · precision: reign

How this range was derived

Earliest bound

    Latest bound

    1. Synchronism: Fall of Babylon: 16 Tašrītu, Nabonidus year 17 (ABC 7) — independently dated between 12 Oct 539 BC and 13 Oct 539 BC (Babylonian day date converted with Parker & Dubberstein (1942) tables) (Daniel 5:30–31)[3, 4, 5]Assumption: 16 Tašrītu year 17 = 13 Oct 539 (Parker & Dubberstein 1942, p. 11; month VII began 28 Sep). Many modern works give 12 Oct; the one-day spread reflects day-boundary and month-start conventions. Window 12–13 Oct. The chronicle year is lost on the tablet; the 17th year of Nabonidus is fixed by context and the Babylonian king-list chronology (Parker & Dubberstein).
    2. “your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians … In that night Belshazzar … was slain. Darius the Mede received the kingdom” — Belshazzar slain; Darius the Mede receives the kingdom (Dan 5:30–31) days later Fall of Babylon to Cyrus (October 539 BC) (Daniel 5:28–31)[3]Assumption: Daniel does not date "that night" or name the capture; this constraint assumes it is the night Babylon was entered (16 Tašrītu). Babylonian sources do not record Belshazzar's death; if he died elsewhere or earlier, this constraint does not hold.
    3. “In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar” — Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat at Susa (Dan 8) before Belshazzar slain; Darius the Mede receives the kingdom (Dan 5:30–31) (Daniel 8:1)Assumption: Belshazzar's third year precedes his death (Dan 5:30).

    551 BC – 549 BC

    Belshazzar's years counted from the entrusting of the kingship · precision: regnal year

    How this range was derived

    Earliest bound

    1. co-regency of Belshazzar began between 10 Jan 553 BC and 28 Dec 553 BC (Belshazzar's years counted from the entrusting of the kingship)[3, 4, 6, 7]Assumption: Verse Account: the kingship was entrusted "when the third year was about to begin" (Livius ii 5–6); Smith (via Dougherty pp. 105–107) equates the Tema campaign with the Chronicle's 3rd year, whose western campaign runs Abu–Kislimu (ABC 7 i 11–17). Window: from the last quarter of year 2 (Ṭebētu began 10 Jan 553, Parker & Dubberstein) to the end of Kislimu year 3 (28 Dec 553). The breadth of the window is a modelling assumption. A modelling device for Daniel 7:1 and 8:1 only.
    2. “In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar” — Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat at Susa (Dan 8) years later co-regency of Belshazzar (Daniel 8:1)Assumption: Only in the regency model: "third year" counted from the entrusting of the kingship. Offset 2–3 years covers counting the first twelve months as year 1 or an accession-year count.

    Latest bound

    1. co-regency of Belshazzar began between 10 Jan 553 BC and 28 Dec 553 BC (Belshazzar's years counted from the entrusting of the kingship)[3, 4, 6, 7]Assumption: Verse Account: the kingship was entrusted "when the third year was about to begin" (Livius ii 5–6); Smith (via Dougherty pp. 105–107) equates the Tema campaign with the Chronicle's 3rd year, whose western campaign runs Abu–Kislimu (ABC 7 i 11–17). Window: from the last quarter of year 2 (Ṭebētu began 10 Jan 553, Parker & Dubberstein) to the end of Kislimu year 3 (28 Dec 553). The breadth of the window is a modelling assumption. A modelling device for Daniel 7:1 and 8:1 only.
    2. “In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar” — Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat at Susa (Dan 8) years later co-regency of Belshazzar (Daniel 8:1)Assumption: Only in the regency model: "third year" counted from the entrusting of the kingship. Offset 2–3 years covers counting the first twelve months as year 1 or an accession-year count.

    View on the timeline →

    What else was happening? (model-independent)

    • Battle of Carchemish (605 BC): 605 BC
    • Jehoiakim (reign): 609 BC – 597 BC
    • Training of Judean youths at the Babylonian court (Dan 1:3–7, 17–20): 606 BC – 602 BC
    • Nebuchadnezzar's campaign against Jerusalem in Jehoiakim's third year (Dan 1:1–2): 606 BC – 605 BC
    • Daniel's refusal of the king's food and the ten-day test (Dan 1:8–16): 606 BC – ?
    • The word to Jeremiah in Jehoiakim's fourth year, Nebuchadnezzar's first (Jer 25:1–14): 604 BC
    • Nebuchadnezzar II (reign): 605 BC – 562 BC
    • Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's interpretation (Dan 2:1–45): 603 BC – 602 BC
    • Daniel appointed over the province of Babylon (Dan 2:46–49): 603 BC – 602 BC
    • Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7): 603 BC – ?
    • Nebuchadnezzar's decree honouring the God of the three Judeans (Dan 3:28–30): 603 BC – ?
    • The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27): 603 BC – ?
    • Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great tree and Daniel's interpretation (Dan 4:4–27): 605 BC – 563 BC
    • Nebuchadnezzar's boast, madness and restoration (Dan 4:28–37): 604 BC – 562 BC
    • Belshazzar slain; Darius the Mede receives the kingdom (Dan 5:30–31): 539 BC
    • Belshazzar's feast and the writing on the wall (Dan 5:1–29): 539 BC
    • Fall of Babylon to Cyrus (October 539 BC): 539 BC
    • Cyrus II (the Great) (reign): 539 BC – 530 BC
    • Nabonidus (reign): 556 BC – 539 BC
    • The thirty-day decree and Daniel in the lions' den (Dan 6:4–23): 539 BC – ?
    • Darius appoints 120 satraps and three chief officials (Dan 6:1–3, 28): 539 BC – ?
    • The accusers punished; Darius's decree honouring the God of Daniel (Dan 6:24–27): 539 BC – ?
    • Daniel's night vision of the four beasts and its interpretation (Dan 7): ? – 539 BC
    • Gabriel comes at the evening offering with the word of the seventy weeks (Dan 9:20–27): 539 BC – 536 BC
    • Daniel reads Jeremiah's seventy years and prays (Dan 9:1–19): 539 BC – 536 BC
    • Nebuchadnezzar installs Mattaniah as King Zedekiah (2 Kgs 24:17–20): 597 BC
    • Capture of Jerusalem and deportation of Jehoiachin (March 597 BC): 597 BC
    • Evil-merodach (Amēl-Marduk) releases Jehoiachin (561 BC): 562 BC – 561 BC
    • Amēl-Marduk (Evil-merodach) (reign): 562 BC – 560 BC
    • Gedaliah governs from Mizpah and is assassinated (2 Kgs 25:22–26): 589 BC – ?
    • Nebuzaradan burns the Temple and Jerusalem (5th month of Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year): 589 BC – 584 BC
    • Jehoiakim submits to Nebuchadnezzar for three years, then rebels (2 Kgs 24:1–4): 605 BC – 597 BC
    • The breach of Jerusalem and Zedekiah's capture at Riblah (9/IV of Zedekiah's 11th year): 589 BC – 585 BC
    • The final siege of Jerusalem begins (10/X of Zedekiah's ninth year): 590 BC – 587 BC
    • Zedekiah (reign): 597 BC – 586 BC
    • Death of Jehoiakim and the three-month reign of Jehoiachin (2 Kgs 24:5–9): 598 BC
    • Necho II deposes Jehoahaz and installs Jehoiakim (609 BC): 609 BC
    • The deportation of Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year (Jer 52:30): 582 BC – 581 BC
    • The Passover of Josiah's eighteenth year: 625 BC – 619 BC
    • Josiah (reign): 641 BC – 609 BC
    • Temple repairs and the finding of the book of the law (Josiah's 18th year): 625 BC – 619 BC
    • Josiah desecrates Jeroboam's altar at Bethel and the high places of Samaria: 641 BC – 609 BC
    • Josiah's covenant and the purge of Jerusalem and Judah: 625 BC – 609 BC
    • Josiah's delegation consults Huldah the prophetess: 625 BC – 618 BC
    • Josiah killed at Megiddo by Necho II (609 BC): 609 BC
    • Josiah seeks God (8th year) and begins to purge Judah and Israel (12th year) — Chronicles: 631 BC – 625 BC
    • Jehoiachin (reign): 598 BC – 597 BC

    What else was happening? (Belshazzar's years counted from the entrusting of the kingship)

    • Daniel's refusal of the king's food and the ten-day test (Dan 1:8–16): 606 BC – ?
    • Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7): 603 BC – ?
    • Nebuchadnezzar's decree honouring the God of the three Judeans (Dan 3:28–30): 603 BC – ?
    • The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27): 603 BC – ?
    • Nabonidus (reign): 556 BC – 539 BC
    • Daniel's night vision of the four beasts and its interpretation (Dan 7): 553 BC – 551 BC
    • Belshazzar (reign, Belshazzar's years counted from the entrusting of the kingship): 553 BC – 539 BC
    • Gedaliah governs from Mizpah and is assassinated (2 Kgs 25:22–26): 589 BC – ?

    Ancient and modern geography

    Location confidence assumes the event as described. Whether it occurred is assessed in the claims below.

    PlaceConnection to this eventLocation identification
    Susa (Shushan)ShushWhere Daniel saw himself in the vision (physical presence disputed)Location confidence: proposed — possibleSusa (Pleiades 912936): certain[2]
    Ulai (Eulaeus)River by which Daniel stood in the visionLocation confidence: proposed — possibleSaimarreh/Eulaeus? (Pleiades 903109, uncertain): possible[8]Karkheh/Eulaeus? (Pleiades 912877, uncertain): probable[9]

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    Claims, evidence and classifications

    Each claim is classified on its own. A classification describes the evidence for that specific claim, not for the event as a whole.

    Alexander of Macedon overthrew the Persian empire (Arbela, 331 BC; death of Darius III, 330 BC).

    Independently corroboratedMachine-proposedExternal evidence

    Arrian dates the decisive battle to the archonship of Aristophanes (331/330) and Darius's death to that of Aristophon (330/329). This is the historical background against which 8:5–7 and 8:21 are read; it is not itself an identification of the symbols.

    Supporting

    • Arbela fought in the archonship of Aristophanes, month Pyanepsion; Darius III died of wounds before Alexander saw him, archonship of Aristophon.[10]Strength: direct·3.15; 3.21–22·Claim checked

    Research date 2026-10-13

    After Alexander, four of his successors (Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, Seleucus) acted as kings in alliance against Antigonus.

    Independently corroboratedMachine-proposedExternal evidence

    Diodorus describes the four-king coalition before Ipsus. Jerome lists a different four, so the "four kingdoms" of 8:22 are matched to different sets by different interpreters.

    Supporting

    • Cassander summoned Lysimachus; Ptolemy and Seleucus agreed to join them against Antigonus.[11]Strength: direct·20.106.2–5·Claim checked

    Context

    • Jerome's four successors are Ptolemy, Philip Arrhidaeus, Seleucus and Antigonus.[12]Strength: indirect·on 8:8, 22·Claim checked

    Research date 2026-10-13

    Daniel was physically at Susa when he saw the vision.

    DisputedOwner review pendingHistorical reconstructionIn owner review queue

    Guzik reads 8:27 ("the king's business") as Daniel being in Shushan on official business; Driver reads 8:2 as describing where Daniel saw himself in the vision. In Belshazzar's time Susa lay outside Babylonian rule, which bears on the question but was not researched further.

    Supporting

    • Daniel "was in Shushan on business for the king".[13]Strength: indirect·on 8:2, 27·Claim checked

    Challenging

    • The verse describes where Daniel "seemed to find himself in the vision".[1]Strength: indirect·p. 111 (on 8:2)·Claim checked

    Research date 2026-10-13

    Alexander was shown the Book of Daniel at Jerusalem.

    No independent corroboration foundMachine-proposedExternal evidence

    Reported only by Josephus. Arrian's narrative of the campaign from Tyre to Gaza and Egypt does not mention Jerusalem.

    Supporting

    • Alexander was shown the Book of Daniel and supposed he was the Greek who would destroy the Persian empire.[14]Strength: direct·Ant. 11.8.5·Claim checked

    Context

    • Arbela fought in the archonship of Aristophanes, month Pyanepsion; Darius III died of wounds before Alexander saw him, archonship of Aristophon.[10]Strength: direct·3.15; 3.21–22·Claim checked

    Limitations of this classification: Absence in Arrian is not disproof.

    Research date 2026-10-13

    Gabriel explained the vision to Daniel.

    Not empirically testableMachine-proposedBiblical text

    An angelic revelation cannot be assessed historically. This is not a theological verdict.

    Research date 2026-10-13

    Evidence by type

    The same evidence regrouped by kind of source. Each item names the claims it bears on.

    Archaeological evidence

    None recorded for this event.

    Scientific findings

    None recorded for this event.

    Ancient documents

    Modern news and announcements

    None recorded for this event.

    Reference works and summaries

    Historical disputes and competing reconstructions

    Disputed claims: Daniel was physically at Susa when he saw the vision.

    • Daniel at Susa only "in the vision"

      S. R. Driver (1900)

      8:2 describes "where Daniel seemed to find himself in the vision".[1]

    • Daniel physically at Susa on royal business

      D. Guzik

      He was in Shushan "on business for the king" (8:27).[13]

    • Dated by the regency count (c. 551–549 BC)

      This project's "Belshazzar's years" model

      Two years after the vision of ch. 7 (Jerome: "two years after the previous revelation"). Undated outside that model.[1]

    Related passages and events

    FromRelationshipToBasis
    The ram, the goat and the four kingdoms (Dan 8:3–8, 20–22)Direct referencehigh · Biblical textMedian kingdom (Media)The text names "Media" (8:20).
    The ram, the goat and the four kingdoms (Dan 8:3–8, 20–22)Direct referencehigh · Biblical textAchaemenid Persian EmpireThe text names "Persia" (8:20).
    The ram, the goat and the four kingdoms (Dan 8:3–8, 20–22)Direct referencehigh · Biblical textMacedonian empire of Alexander the GreatThe text names "Greece" (Yavan, 8:21); recorded against the Macedonian empire as the Greek power of the period.
    The little horn and the king of fierce face (Dan 8:9–12, 23–25)Thematic parallelmedium · InterpretationThe ten horns and the little horn: time, times and half a time (Dan 7:8, 20–26)Whether the little horns of chs. 7 and 8 are the same figure divides the Grecian and Roman schemes (Driver; Jerome; Newton).[1, 12, 17]
    2,300 evenings and mornings until the sanctuary is cleansed (Dan 8:13–14, 26)Thematic parallelhigh · Biblical textDaniel 12:11–12Other numbered periods of the removed continual offering (1,290 and 1,335 days).
    this eventThematic parallelhigh · Biblical textLuke 1:19Gabriel, named first in Dan 8:16, reappears in Luke 1:19, 26.
    this eventPreceded byhigh · Biblical textDaniel's night vision of the four beasts and its interpretation (Dan 7)"After that which appeared to me at the first" (8:1).

    Prophetic relationships

    • The ram, the goat and the four kingdoms (Dan 8:3–8, 20–22) → Proposed fulfillment → Alexander the GreatPreterist reading, proposed by Josephus; Jerome; Driver; Guzik · high · InterpretationThe great horn, "the first king" of Greece (8:21), is Alexander.[1, 12, 13, 14]
    • The little horn and the king of fierce face (Dan 8:9–12, 23–25) → Proposed fulfillment → Antiochus IV EpiphanesPreterist reading, proposed by Josephus; Jerome; Driver; Montgomery; Guzik (near fulfillment) · high · InterpretationThe little horn / king of fierce face is Antiochus IV.[1, 12, 15, 16]
    • The little horn and the king of fierce face (Dan 8:9–12, 23–25) → Proposed fulfillment → Rome (Republic and Empire)Historicist reading, proposed by I. Newton (1733) · low · InterpretationThe goat's little horn is Rome (historicist).[17]
    • 2,300 evenings and mornings until the sanctuary is cleansed (Dan 8:13–14, 26) → Proposed fulfillment → Rededication of the Temple by Judas Maccabaeus (25 Chislev 148 SE, 165/164 BC)Preterist reading, proposed by Jerome; Driver; Guzik · medium · InterpretationThe cleansing of the sanctuary after 2,300 evenings and mornings is the rededication of 25 Chislev 148 SE.[1, 12, 13]

    Vision content and interpretations

    The symbolic content of a vision is not a historical occurrence. Identifications the text itself makes are marked as such. Every other reading is an interpretation, attributed to its proponents and labelled by approach. Proposed fulfillments await owner review and are never presented as established fact.

    The ram and the goat (Dan 8) (Daniel 8:3–26)

    A ram, a goat, four horns and a little horn that attacks the host of heaven and the sanctuary, interpreted by Gabriel. Unlike ch. 7, the text itself names Media, Persia and Greece; later identifications (Alexander, the successors, Antiochus) are interpretations recorded on the prophecy records.

    SymbolDescribed asIdentification in the text itself
    Ram with two horns, the higher coming up lastPushes west, north and south"The kings of Media and Persia" (8:20).
    Male goat from the west, not touching the groundBreaks the ram's two horns"The king of Greece" (8:21).
    Great horn between the goat's eyes, broken at its heightReplaced by four horns"The first king" of Greece (8:21); not named.
    Four notable horns toward the four windsRise in place of the great horn"Four kingdoms will stand up out of the nation, but not with his power" (8:22); not named.
    Little horn from one of the fourGrows toward the south, the east and the glorious land; casts down host and stars; removes the continual offering; casts down the sanctuary"A king of fierce face" in the latter time of their kingdom (8:23–25); not named.
    The prince of the hostAgainst whom the horn magnifies itself"The prince of princes" (8:25); not further identified.
    2,300 evenings and morningsUntil the sanctuary is cleansed"The vision of the evenings and mornings … is true" and belongs to many days to come (8:26); the unit is not explained.

    The ten horns and the little horn: time, times and half a time (Dan 7:8, 20–26) (Daniel 7:20–26)

    Ten kings arise from the fourth kingdom; another king subdues three, blasphemes, persecutes the saints and attempts to change times and law for a time, times and half a time, until the judgment removes his dominion.

    In the text: Horns = kings (7:24). The duration is "a time and times and half a time" (7:25). No king is named.

    • Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Seleucid kings

      PreteristHistorical-critical (also Porphyry)Machine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: Porphyry (via Jerome); Delitzsch, Ewald, Bevan (via Driver); S. R. Driver (1900); A.-J. Levine (2010), via Wikipedia

      The ten horns are Seleucid kings (several reconstructions; the three uprooted are e.g. Heliodorus, Demetrius and Ptolemy VI, or alternatives); the little horn is Antiochus IV, whose suppression of Temple worship (1 Macc 1:41–64) lasted about three and a half years. Objections: the identity and number of the ten and the three are uncertain (Driver concedes "our knowledge … does not … enable us to decide"); Jerome objects that Porphyry's three kings do not fit; conservative readers object that the everlasting kingdom did not follow Antiochus's death.[1, 18, 19, 20]

      Ten horns → Seleucid kings · Little horn → Antiochus IV · Time, times and half a time → c. 3½ years of persecution, 167–164 BC

    • A future Antichrist from a ten-fold division of the Roman world

      FuturistPatristic; later dispensational/premillennialProponents: Hippolytus (via Driver); Jerome; D. Guzik (restored Roman empire)

      At the end of the age ten kings partition the Roman world; an eleventh overthrows three and persecutes the saints for three and a half literal years before Christ's return (Jerome; Guzik links Rev 11–13). Objection (Driver): the kingdoms must arise from the fourth empire, which no longer exists. Not a claim of historical fulfillment.[1, 18, 21]

      Little horn → A future individual Antichrist · Time, times and half a time → 3½ years

    • The papacy (historicist)

      HistoricistProtestant historicistMachine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: I. Newton (1733); W. H. Rule (1869), via Driver; Seventh-day Adventist interpretation (noted by Guzik)

      The ten horns are the kingdoms into which the Western Empire broke; the little horn is the Church of Rome as a temporal power, which subdued three of them; "time, times and half a time" is 1260 years on a day-for-a-year reckoning (Newton). Objection (Driver): the scheme is "non-natural" and depends on choosing ten kingdoms and a starting date.[1, 17, 21]

      Ten horns → Kingdoms of the Western Roman Empire · Little horn → The papacy / Church of Rome · Time, times and half a time → 1260 years

    • Julius Caesar and the Caesars

      PreteristReformationMachine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: J. Calvin (as reported by Guzik; not read directly)

      The little horn is the line of Roman Caesars beginning with Julius Caesar. Recorded as reported by Enduring Word, which rejects it.[21]

      Little horn → Julius Caesar and his successors

    The ram, the goat and the four kingdoms (Dan 8:3–8, 20–22) (Daniel 8:20–22)

    The kings of Media and Persia are overthrown by the king of Greece, whose first king is broken and replaced by four kingdoms of lesser power.

    In the text: Explicit: ram = the kings of Media and Persia; goat = the king of Greece; great horn = the first king; four horns = four kingdoms from his nation (8:20–22).

    • Alexander the Great and his successors

      PreteristCommon to traditional and critical interpretersMachine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: Josephus (Ant. 11.8.5, Alexander told he was meant); Jerome; S. R. Driver (1900); D. Guzik

      Textual reasoning: the text itself names Media, Persia and Greece; Alexander, the first Macedonian king of Asia, defeated Darius III (Arbela, 331 BC) and died young; his empire passed to successors. Objections/variants: the four are listed differently — Jerome: Ptolemy, Philip Arrhidaeus, Seleucus, Antigonus; Guzik: Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, Ptolemy (the coalition against Antigonus, Diodorus 20.106). Acceptance: no dissent found among the sources consulted on the identification of the great horn with Alexander.[1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]

      Great horn → Alexander the Great · Four horns → The kingdoms of Alexander's successors (lists differ)

    The little horn and the king of fierce face (Dan 8:9–12, 23–25) (Daniel 8:23–25)

    From one of the four kingdoms a fierce, cunning king arises who destroys the holy people, removes the continual offering, opposes the prince of princes, and is broken without human hand.

    In the text: The little horn is a king arising "in the latter time of their kingdom" (8:23) — i.e. of the four kingdoms of Greece. He is not named.

    • Antiochus IV Epiphanes

      PreteristAncient Jewish, patristic and criticalMachine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: Josephus (Ant. 12.7.6: the desolation "according to the prophecy of Daniel"); Jerome (on 8:23); S. R. Driver (1900): "admitted on all hands"; J. A. Montgomery (1927); D. Guzik (near fulfillment)

      Textual reasoning: the horn comes from one of the four Greek kingdoms; it removes the continual offering and desolates the sanctuary, which 1 Maccabees records under Antiochus (1:54) until the rededication (4:52). Objection (Newton): a horn signifies a kingdom, not one man, and Antiochus's kingdom was not "exceedingly great". Acceptance: Driver says it is "admitted on all hands"; even Jerome, who resists Antiochus for ch. 7, accepts him here.[1, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19]

      Little horn / king of fierce face → Antiochus IV Epiphanes · Removal of the continual offering → Desecration of 15 Chislev 145 SE (1 Macc 1:54)

    • Antiochus as a type of the future Antichrist (dual fulfillment)

      MixedPatristic majority (per Jerome); modern dispensationalProponents: "Most of our commentators" (reported by Jerome); D. Guzik

      Because the vision concerns "the time of the end" (8:17, 19), the near fulfillment in Antiochus prefigures a final Antichrist. The future part is not a claim of historical fulfillment; the Antiochus part is recorded separately.[12, 13]

      King of fierce face → Antiochus as type; the Antichrist as antitype

    • Rome (historicist)

      HistoricistProtestant historicistMachine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: I. Newton (1733)

      The little horn of the goat is a new kingdom that arose out of one of the four — Rome, which conquered Macedonia and the East and later continued as the Greek empire. Newton rejects Antiochus "not very judiciously" identified. Objection (Driver): the horn grows "out of one of them", i.e. from a Greek kingdom, and its deeds match Antiochus's.[1, 17]

      Little horn → Rome

    2,300 evenings and mornings until the sanctuary is cleansed (Dan 8:13–14, 26) (Daniel 8:13–14)

    The desolation of the sanctuary and suspension of the continual offering will last 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be cleansed.

    In the text: The text gives the number and says the vision is "true" and for "many days to come" (8:26); it does not say whether the unit is a day or a single offering.

    • 1,150 days (2,300 offerings) of the interrupted sacrifice under Antiochus

      PreteristHistorical-criticalMachine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: S. R. Driver (1900): "so most commentators"; P. Newell (cited by Guzik)

      The continual offering was made morning and evening, so 2,300 offerings = 1,150 days, a little under the 3 years 10 days between the desecration (15 Chislev 145) and the rededication (25 Chislev 148). Objection (Driver himself): the figure does "not agree precisely with the event".[1, 13, 19]

      2,300 evenings and mornings → 1,150 days, 168/167–165/164 BC

    • 2,300 days ending with the cleansing of the Temple

      PreteristPatristic and modern conservativeMachine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: Jerome (six years and three months from year 143); D. Guzik (from 171 BC, Menelaus's high priesthood, to the cleansing)

      Evening-morning = a full day (cf. Gen 1:5), so 2,300 days ≈ 6⅓ years ending with Judas Maccabaeus's rededication. The starting point differs between proponents; Driver lists further variants (e.g. Dec 168 to the defeat of Nicanor, 161).[1, 12, 13]

      2,300 evenings and mornings → 2,300 days ending with the rededication

    • 2,300 years from 457 BC to AD 1843 (year-day)

      HistoricistMillerite (19th-century American Adventism)Machine-proposedIn owner review queueProponents: W. Miller (1842)

      A prophetic day equals a year; the period begins with Artaxerxes' decree to Ezra (457 BC, the start of the seventy weeks of Dan 9) and ends in AD 1843 with the cleansing of the sanctuary at Christ's return. Objection (Guzik): Daniel's vision concerns Antiochus and the Temple cleansing commemorated in John 10:22; Miller's reckoning is rejected. Later Adventist reinterpretations (1844) were not researched from primary sources.[13, 22]

      2,300 evenings and mornings → 2,300 years, 457 BC – AD 1843

    Commentary references

    Layer: Interpretation. This is commentary, not historical evidence.

    Guzik reads the ram as Medo-Persia, the goat as Greece under Alexander and the four horns as his generals, and the little horn as Antiochus IV in a near fulfillment and the Antichrist in a far one; he prefers 2,300 literal days ending with the cleansing of the Temple and rejects William Miller's year-day reckoning.[13]

    Unanswered questions and research gaps

    • The Ulai's course at Susa not located.
    • Old Greek Daniel 8 not read.
    • Modern studies of Alexander at Jerusalem not consulted.
    • Locate the Ulai precisely (Karkheh, Ab-i Diz or a canal).
    • Old Greek variant at 8:14 not read.

    Research process

    7 logged searches
    DateQueryWhereUseful
    2026-10-13Enduring Word Daniel 8web fetch1
    2026-10-13Driver 1900 and Montgomery 1927 on Daniel 8 (local OCR texts)local text2
    2026-10-13Jerome on Daniel 8; Newton on the goat's little hornlocal text2
    2026-10-13archive.org: William Miller, Evidence from Scripture (1842)archive.org1
    2026-10-13Pleiades: Susa; Eulaeus/UlaiUlai identification marked uncertain by Pleiades.pleiades2
    2026-10-13Josephus Ant. 11.8.5, 12.7.6–7 (Gutenberg)local text2
    2026-10-13Arrian, Anabasis (Gutenberg 46976); Diodorus 20.106 (LacusCurtius)gutenberg mirror / web fetch2

    Sources

    1. 1.
      Driver, S. R.. The Book of Daniel (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). Cambridge University Press. archive.orgClaim checkedScholarly commentaryRead through the Internet Archive OCR text (Google scan).Verification log
    2. 2.
      Pleiades contributors. Susa/Seleucia ad Eulaeum — Pleiades place 912936. Pleiades (pleiades.stoa.org). pleiades.stoa.orgClaim checkedInstitutional databaseRepresentative point read from the Pleiades JSON record: lon 48.253537054323495, lat 32.189934471571.Verification log
    3. 3.
      Lendering, Jona (ed.). ABC 7 (Nabonidus Chronicle) — English translation on Livius.org. Livius.org. www.livius.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textFull translation page read. The page gives no museum number and no Julian dates.Verification log
    4. 4.
      Parker, Richard A., Dubberstein, Waldo H.. Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.–A.D. 45 (SAOC 24). University of Chicago Press (Oriental Institute). archive.orgClaim checkedAcademic monographRead through the Internet Archive OCR text of the Oriental Institute PDF; OCR has digit errors (e.g. "589" for 539) checked against context. The 1956 revised edition was not consulted.Verification log
    5. 5.
      Cogan, Mordechai (trans., COS 2003), Schaudig, Hanspeter (edition), van der Spek, R. J.. Cyrus Cylinder — English translation on Livius.org. Livius.org. www.livius.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textPage states only that the cylinder is in the British Museum.Verification log
    6. 6.
      Oppenheim, A. Leo (trans., ANET 1950), Lendering, Jona (ed.). Verse Account of Nabonidus — English translation on Livius.org. Livius.org. www.livius.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textPage gives no museum number. The text is hostile to Nabonidus and favourable to Cyrus.Verification log
    7. 7.
      Dougherty, Raymond Philip. Nabonidus and Belshazzar: A Study of the Closing Events of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Yale University Press (Yale Oriental Series Researches 15). archive.orgClaim checkedAcademic monographRead through the Internet Archive OCR text.Verification log
    8. 8.
      Pleiades contributors. Saimarreh/Eulaeus?/Ula(ya)? (river) — Pleiades place 903109. Pleiades (pleiades.stoa.org). pleiades.stoa.orgClaim checkedInstitutional databaseIdentification marked uncertain by Pleiades itself ("?"); representative point lon 47.343, lat 33.470 lies far upstream of Susa.Verification log
    9. 9.
      Pleiades contributors. Karkheh/Eulaeus?/Ula(ya)? (river) — Pleiades place 912877. Pleiades (pleiades.stoa.org). pleiades.stoa.orgClaim checkedInstitutional databaseRepresentative point read from the Pleiades JSON record: lon 47.80347713752152, lat 32.715031646573316.Verification log
    10. 10.
      Arrian, Chinnock, E. J. (trans.). Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander (trans. E. J. Chinnock, 1884). Project Gutenberg #46976. www.gutenberg.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textVerification log
    11. 11.
      Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus Siculus, Library 20.106 (Loeb vol. X, 1954) — LacusCurtius. LacusCurtius (Bill Thayer). penelope.uchicago.eduClaim checkedAncient primary textThe page names no translator.Verification log
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      Jerome, Archer, Gleason L. (trans.). Jerome, Commentary on Daniel (trans. Gleason L. Archer, 1958) — chapter 8. tertullian.org (transcribed by Roger Pearse). www.tertullian.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textVerification log
    13. 13.
      Guzik, David. Daniel 8 — Enduring Word Bible Commentary. Enduring Word. enduringword.comClaim checkedTheological commentaryInterpretive resource — not historical corroboration.Verification log
    14. 14.
      Josephus, Whiston, William (trans.). Josephus, Antiquities 11.8.5 (trans. W. Whiston). Project Gutenberg #2848. www.gutenberg.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textVerification log
    15. 15.
      Josephus, Whiston, William (trans.). Josephus, Antiquities 12.7.6–7 (trans. W. Whiston). Project Gutenberg #2848. www.gutenberg.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textVerification log
    16. 16.
      Montgomery, James A.. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel (ICC). T. & T. Clark. archive.orgClaim checkedScholarly commentaryRead through the Internet Archive OCR text (University of Toronto copy).Verification log
    17. 17.
      Newton, Isaac. Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John. Project Gutenberg #16878 (first published 1733). www.gutenberg.orgClaim checkedTheological commentaryRead through the Gutenberg text (pglaf mirror), Part I chs. 4–8.Verification log
    18. 18.
      Jerome, Archer, Gleason L. (trans.). Jerome, Commentary on Daniel (trans. Gleason L. Archer, 1958) — chapter 7. tertullian.org (transcribed by Roger Pearse). www.tertullian.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textRead in full for ch. 7 (Archer pp. 72–83 / Migne cols. 663–672).Verification log
    19. 19.
      World English Bible. World English Bible — Apocrypha/Deuterocanon (1 Maccabees; 2 Esdras). eBible.org (eng-web USFM). ebible.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textWEB footnotes giving "circa B.C." dates are editorial and were not used as chronological evidence.Verification log
    20. 20.
      Wikipedia contributors. Daniel 7 — Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. en.wikipedia.orgClaim checkedPopular summaryUsed for source discovery only; not relied on for disputed claims.Verification log
    21. 21.
      Guzik, David. Daniel 7 — Enduring Word Bible Commentary. Enduring Word. enduringword.comClaim checkedTheological commentaryInterpretive resource — not historical corroboration.Verification log
    22. 22.
      Miller, William. Evidence from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ, about the Year 1843. Joshua V. Himes (Boston), 1842. archive.orgClaim checkedTheological commentaryRead through the Internet Archive OCR text, Lecture III.Verification log