These notes are derived from John Wesley’s thoughts and notes found in the Passion Translation and New English Translation, as well as some of the compiler’s personal thoughts.
Chapter 1.
Verse 1. This would be 605 BC, but “the third year” here contradicts Jer. 25:1, 2 Ki. 24:1, 2 chron.36:5-8 where these events are said to be in Jehoiakim’s 4th year. Daniel follows a “accession year” chronology where the first partial year of rule is not counted as year 1. Jeremiah would have counted that first partial year as Year One.
The first siege whereby Jehoiakim was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar culminated in 605 BC and the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon (Iraq) occurred – Daniel and his friends being of that number. The second deportation occurred in 597 BC and included Ezekiel among many others. The third deportation happened in 586 BC at which time the Jewish Temple and the city of Jerusalem were totally destroyed.
Verse 2. Nebuchadnezzar took captive some nobility and royal youth along with the holy vessels used in the Temple. His gods were Bel, a cognate of Baal (see Is. 46:1), Nebo and Marduk. Nebuchadnezzar was named for Nebo (“Nabo has protected the son who will inherit” or “Nebo will protect the king or crown.” This name is used 32 times in Daniel 1-5. “The land of Shinar” was the name used for Babylon at that time.
Verse 3. See Is. 39:7 for fulfillment. Chief Officer or Chief of the Eunuchs described a position of trust, responsibility, etc., more so that physical status.
Verse 4. The Chaldeans were skilled above other nations respecting natural philosophy. Their language was different from the Hebrew. The youth had to learn a new language. “Without defect” could mean without physical or moral deformity.
Verse 6. Wesley feels that all four Hebrews were of the royal line. Rabbi Saadya Gaon (Middle Ages) says that all four were descendants of Hezekiah. Daniel means “God is my judge”; Hananiah means “Yah is gracious to me”; Mishael means “who is what God is” or “his mother asked God for him” and Azariah means “Yah has helped me.” Babylonia meanings are less certain that the Hebrew but probably are: Belteshazzar means “protect his life” or “Belti, protect the King” (See Dan. 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is uncertain; and Abednego means “servant of Gebo.”
Verse 7. The new names related to the Babylonian gods/idols. Belteshazzar was from the Babylonian god Baal or Bell.
Verse 8. Reasons Daniel would not eat the King’s choice food? 1) Some food from the King’s table violated Jewish dietary law; 2) the delicacies would too much excite the flesh; 3) he could not eat, and drink foods/drinks consecrated to idols; 4) to eat delicate food would be unsuitable given the condition of God’s people. Passion: I won’t “defile or contaminate myself.” It could carry the meaning of being estranged from the priesthood. See Neh. 13:29. All Babylonian food was considered ritually unclean (Ez. 4:13; Ho. 9:3-4). When Daniel rejected the food, he was also rejecting the name given him in v. 7.
Verse 19. The King must have had extraordinary intellectual ability and judgment, or he would have been unable to judge the quality of the Hebrews.
Verse 20. Nebuchadnezzar put great effort and care into the choice of who would serve in hi administration.
Verse 21. The Persian King Cyrus’s first year in control of Babylon was about 538 BC. Daniel lived beyond the first year of Cyrus, as 10:1 shows. This statement’s purpose is to signify that Daniel’s life spanned the entire period of the Neo-Babylonian Empire plus the early years of the Persian rule. He was quite old at this point, however. He probably died sometime in the 530s, probably in his mid-80s.
Was Daniel a eunuch? We don’t know. That he might have been: 1) Daniel served as a slave in Babylon at a time when many slaves who served were made eunuchs. 2) We have no record of Daniel being married. 3) 2 Kings 20:18 says “And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon.” 4) Daniel 1:3 shows Daniel and his friends being under the authority of the “chief eunuch.” But this doesn’t prove that Daniel was castrated. 2 Kings 20:18 does not mention Daniel. 2) No verse tells us that Daniel was a eunuch. 3) That Daniel was single, if he was, does not prove that he was a eunuch. 4) In Mt. 19:12, Jesus indicates that some are fully devoted to God in such a way that they are eunuchs. This could have been Daniel.
Chapter 2. Verse 1.
Wesley says this dream happened in the 5th year of his reign, but in the second year of Daniel’s service to the King. Most likely 603-604 BC. See Bible note. God speaks through dreams to believers and unbelievers. Gen. 15:12; 20:3: 28: 10-22; 37:5; Job 33:14-18; Mt. 1:20
Verse 2. “Magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans.”
Astrologers: “Who pretended great skill in natural and supernatural things.” Sorcerers are also called “necromancers who used diabolical arts.”
Chaldeans was the name used by magicians assumed as being national, and most noble.
Verse 3. See 2 Kings 18:26. Daniel 2:4b-7:28 is written in Aramaic. Wesley speaks of the “Syraic” (KJV) language as the language of the Chaldean, the Syrian, the language of Aram – containing Assyria, Babylon, Mesopotamia, and Phoenicia.
Verse 13. Wesley believes that Daniel and his three friends were not called with the first “Chaldeans” because of their youth. Wesley comments: 1) The Chaldeans confessed that revelation and wisdom must come from God, and they did not have that relationship; 2) Jesus held back the Governor’s hand to protect Daniel and his friends until the answer could be had; 3) Daniel, by his prudence and piety, saved the Chaldeans of Babylon.
Verse 26. “Belteshazzar” signifies “the keeper of secret treasure.”
Verse 28. Daniel’s answer “by degrees” tends to win the King to the knowledge of the true God.
Verse 36. “We” shows that Daniel truthfully attributed the blessing to his three friends and himself. He did not take the credit for himself.
Verse 38. Nebuchadnezzar’s Kingdom lasted 500 years – the longest of all the Babylonian kings.
Verse 39. This is the Kingdom of the Medes and Persians, which lasted about half as long as Nebuchnezzar’s. The third Kingdom was that of the Greeks – that of Alexander’s. Alexander marched even to India and was said to have conquered the World.
Verse 40. The 4th Kingdom is that of the Romans. “This Kingdom was to last only until Christ’s first coming, but under Antichrist, to his second coming. This did break into pieces all other kingdoms, being too strong for them, and brought all into subjection to it, till the stone fell upon it.”
Verse 41. Wesley feels that the Roman kingdom was divided by civil wars and also by conquered provinces and kingdoms that cast off the Roman yoke. He feels that it was divided into 10 kingdoms or toes.
Verse 42. Plain during the civil wars and as some countries fell away toward the end. Passion. The statute’s feet and toes made of iron mixed with clay represents the divided nations. He cites AD 476 to the present. This would be post millennial, but why would not the “follow-up” nations of the Eastern Empire be considered the same? Would that make way for an Islamic AC?
Verse 43. “Mingle themselves with the seed of men” – marriage. The Seleucids and Ptolemies intermarried in 194 BC.
Verse 44. Christ was born during the reign of Augustus Caesar.
Verse 45. Christ’s visible Kingdom began small. Christ’s Kingdom arose differently from the others: 1) conceived by the Holy Spirit. The stone of Christ broke into pieces the manmade Kingdom. Christ breaks up all other Kingdoms.
Verse 47. The “highest king of all the earth.”
Verse 49. Daniel sat in the King’s gate to be ready when needed by the King.
Chapter 3. Verse 1.
Perhaps he did this to “rebalance” the religious issue with his people, since he had honored the Jewish religion. But more likely to me, he did it through pride and the sincere desire to be worshipped.
Verse 4. Proclamation was made in several languages.
Verse 16. “the king is resolved to have his will of us, and we are resolved to the contrary.”
Verse 17. These three young men knew the truth of Dt. 4:20 and Is. 43:2.
Verse 18. The way that God would honor Himself was their concern: through delivering them from the fire or allowed them to be martyred in the fire. They were resolved to suffer rather than sin. God will deliver us from death, or in death. From pain and suffering or through pain and suffering.
Verse 22. According to Greek versions, flames “jumped out” of the furnace for many feet. According to some ancient Jewish sources, Nebuchadnezzar himself was burned from the heat.
Verse 23. The fire killed the executioners. It certainly should have killed them.
Verse 25. The God of nature controls the power, consequences of nature. There were times when Jesus Christ appeared before the incarnation. Those who suffer for Christ have His gracious presence with them in their sufferings, even in the fiery furnace, even in the valley of the shadow of death, and therefore need fear no evil.
Verse 26. Nebuchadnezzar is moving from “many gods” to the one, true God. See also 4:2, 4:8 where one translation is “the spirit of the Holy God.”
Daniel 4.
Verse 3. “How great are His signs!” Nothing less than a real change of heart could cause such a confession. Nebuchadnezzar was now old, had reigned for over 40 years, and had seen as much as any man had seen.
Verse 4. “My wars were over.”
Verse 13. A watcher is an angel. A watcher or sentinel is a heavenly being that never sleeps and is always in the presence of the Holy God.
Verse 15. A stump with its roots implies the hope of restoration. See Job 14: 8-9; Is. 11:1. The band of bronze and iron would be to preserve Nebuchadnezzar’s life during the time of His insanity.
Verse 17. God decreed and angels carried out the judgement. Nebuchadnezzar and his sycophants held that the King ruled as lord; God showed him differently.
Verse 19. Daniel had served the king, loved him, and did not want this to happen to him.
Verse 22. You are high and mighty in the majesty which God has given you.
Verse 25. Seven times is seven years.
Verse 27. Daniel speaks with tenderness, wisdom, and plainness.
Verse 28. Verse 28-36 has Nebuchadnezzar speaking sometimes in the third person and again in the first when he is restored.
Verse 34. Nebuchadnezzar praised God for his justice and mercy.
Verse 35. Realization of God’s Infinite Greatness makes the creature appear as nothing; creatures are nothing to help, nothing to hurt, nothing in duration, nothing solid nor substantial, and nothing without dependence, influence, and support from God.
Verse 36. “I had again the majesty of kingship in my countenance. I was again obeyed and given respect by all.”
Verse 37. “God is truth, the rule and standard of truth. His words are true, His ways are true. He is wise and He has dealt justly with my pride and in faithfulness has afflicted me and in tenderness has restored me. I do and ever shall adore Him.”
Verse 38. “I declare to all the world the stupendous changes and judgment that came upon me. He had just controversy with me. I have no ground to quarrel with Him, but I give Him glory with my confession.” Wesley feels that he converted to God. Secular history mentions this episode in Nebuchadnezzar’s life.
Chapter 5, verse 1.
Note that Belshazzar’s party was a religious feast meant to rally the city. They were celebrating their gods and calling on them for aid. Darius the Mede. Belshazzar’s father, Nabonidus reigned from BC 556-BC 539, but Nabonidus spent long periods of time away from Babylon and his son, Belshazzar, ruled as regent. This is why the highest honor that Belshazzar could grant was “third ruler” as he was the second ruler.
Verse 2. “to bring the vessels” was to symbolically show that he had conquered and reigned over God and His people.
Verse 10. This is the aged queen’s mother – the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar.
Verse 25-26. “Mene, mene” means “it is numbered, it is numbered. The words are doubled to show greater certainty. Teqel means weigh or weight. Parsin means “divided up.” Parsin is a word play on the Hebrew word for Persian – Parsan.
Verse 27. “There is no weight or worth in thee; thou hast made light of God and He makes light of thee.”
Verse 28. The Kingdom was broken off from Belshazzar and given to the Medes and Persians.
Verse 31. Darius the Mede was with Cyrus the Persian as they took Babylon. Perhaps he ruled under Cyrus? Some believe that Darius was Cyrus (The conjunction “and” in both Hebrew and Aramaic can be used in the sense of “to wit,” “namely,” or “that is to say.” This has led some to suggest that this phrase is intended to sow that Darius and Cyrus was the same person. Here is the view of a guy who wrote his dissertation:
Cyrus shared power with a Median king until about two years after the fall of Babylon. This Median king is called Cyaxares (II) by the Greek historian Xenophon but is known by his throne name Darius in the book of Daniel. Cyrus did not make a hostile conquest of Media, did not dethrone the last Median king, and did not become the highest regent in the Medo-Persian Empire until after the fall of Babylon. Cyrus was Darius’s co-regent, the hereditary king of the realm of Persia, the crown prince of Media, and the commander of the Medo-Persian army—yet it was still Darius who was officially recognized as the highest power in the realm. Darius died naturally within two years after the fall of Babylon, and as he had no male heir and Cyrus had married his daughter, Cyrus inherited his position upon his death and united the Median and Persian kingdoms in a single throne.
Another summary from NET. Or perhaps “in the reign of Darius, even in the reign of Cyrus.” Some take the name of Darius as referring to Cyrus (the “and argument” above). Others identify Darius with a governor of Babylon named Gubaru or Cambyses, son of Cyrus.
Chapter 6, verse 1.
Wesley says that the first ruler was general of the army; the second ruler was ruler of the palace; the third ruler was of the land and provinces. Not sure what he is getting at. Perhaps he wrote this to pertain to 5:31 and I misplaced it.
Darius created 120 provinces with each province having a governor. Over these 120 governors was 3 high officials and Daniel was one of the three.
Verse 3. “Distinguished himself” is from the Aramaic root “nesah” originally meaning “to be illustrious or to shine.” Daniel was one of the shining ones. See 12:3. God’s presence with Daniel caused him to stand apart from his peers. Because of this “shining forth,” Darius intended to set him over the Kingdom.
Verse 4. The princes and rulers were looking for a way to charge Daniel with treason.
Verse 6. The officials were seeking to entrap Daniel, but Daniel was seeking God’s face. They wanted to find fault in Daniel, but God found Daniel faultless. So, the officials decided and knew that they had to find an intersection where the secular law and the law of God collided. At that point, they could legally charge Daniel. So, after consultation, the officials first held out the head of the civil government as deity, or as God.
Verse 7. Babylon was pictured as a lion. The entire Jewish captivity in Babylon was a type of them being in the lion’s den. Daniel being thrown in as emblematic of the Jewish experience for the past 70 years. His deliverance portended their deliverance. The mouths of the lions were like the mouths of the officials. They accused Daniel with their mouths, but God shut the lion’s mouths to show that no weapon formed against God’s servants can prosper.
Verse 10. “The Temple was the place where the Lord placed His name, where He promised to appear and made His glory known, where He promised to accept His people. It was all a type of Christ through whom only sinners are accepted. Daniel knew that to continue in his habit of prayer was to put his life at risk.
Verse 11. Praying is seeking the face of God.
Verse 16. The Persian goddess, Anahita, was pictured as riding on the back of a lion. If anyone blasphemed Anahita, they had to face the wrath of the lions. For one to survive being thrown into the lion’s den was a powerful spiritual sign to the king and people of the land. God conquered Anahita. Compare Darius’s prayer with Nebuchadnezzar’s in 3:15.
Verse 22. See how ready the angels are to minister to the heirs of salvation. Similarities between Daniel and Jesus: 1) Both were men of prayer; 2) Their enemies could find no fault with either except it concerned God’s law; 3) Both were placed in sealed tombs.
Verse 24. The Septuagint says that only the two overseers and their wives and children were thrown into the lion’s den.
Verse 25. “It is usual with the Turk, Tatar, and Chinese to use language that arrogates universal rule.
Verse 26. Both Darius (Cyrus) and Nebuchadnezzar concluded the God’s Kingdom is eternal.
Chapter 7. verse 1.
This prophecy is written in Chaldean. Wesley feels that Nebuchadnezzar came to know Christ, but also that his son, Belshazzar’s father, did also. No proof or reason is given.
Daniel was a seer. He experienced many dreams, including dreams filled with visions. In the book, he records four visions that span the time between the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/586 BC and the revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164 BC.
Verse 2. “The four winds of the great sea signify commotions of rebelling nations, striving together through wars which produces these 4 beasts successively. TPT. The four winds of heaven might be a metaphor for angelic or demonic activity. See Ez. 1 and Zech. 6:5. The “great sea” represents the sea of humanity.
Verse 3. Beasts for their tyrannical power and oppressions will come to be. They are different from one another, but tyrannical. Daniel’s vision was an overview and preview of 1,000 years into the future.
The Great Sea. Ps. 89:9; 93: 3-4. “You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them” and “The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty!”
Verse 4. The first was like a lion and had eagle’s wings. Its wings were plucked, and it was lifted and stood as a man. The figure stood as a man and a man’s heart was given to it.
Wesley conflates the Babylonia Empire and the Assyrian one and says that the first beast, like a lion, is Babylon/Assyrian. Maybe there intermingled. He says that its first seat was Babylon, then Nineveh, and then Babylon again. Both of these ancient cities were located in modern day Iraq. Eagles’ wings show swiftness in warfare, victory, and spreading their control. He feels that “plucking” its wings was when other countries successfully overcome this Empire. “They lost their lion-like courage and became faint and cowardly like other men.
Note: Could this somehow relate to Nebuchadnezzar? He was a lion and conquered and reigned for 45 years or so. Could the 7-year period of mental failure be him “standing upon his feet as a man” and “a man’s heart being given to him” relate to his restoration?
ESV SB: Babylon was like a lion with eagle’s wings, a mixture of animal and bird. This beast signifies the strength and majesty of a lion combined with the speed and power of an eagle. Jeremiah used both images to depict Nebuchadnezzar. See Jer. 49: 19:22: “19 Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him[a] run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For whom is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.”
See Jer. 49: 19, 22 for Babylon’s swift attacks against its neighbors.
Verse 5. The second beast, like a bear, was the Medo-Persian Empire. The Medes first arose to fight and then sent for Cyrus the Persian to come and assist against the Babylonians. Several Babylonian subject countries revolted and joined the Persians.
Persia was the dominate pair in the Medo-Persian Empire. Cyrus conquered Astyages (550 BC), Anatolia (547 BC) and Croesus of Lydia (547 BC) to unify his rule. The three ribs could also represent conquered Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt. From Egypt to India?
Verse 6. Then the leopard arose and on its back were four wings of a bird. This beast also had 4 heads. This represents the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great. Initially, Alexander fought against Darius with an inferior force. The four wings also speak of speed. Alexander was succeeded by his 4 top army commanders who divided the Kingdom into four parts.
Verse 7. And then the fourth beast which was dreadful in strength with iron teeth. It was different in magnitude of strength than all before. It had ten horns. This is Rome. TPT. Ten horns could refer to 10 rulers of the Roman Empire (the first 10). This could correspond to the 10 toes of the statute in Chapter 2.
Verse 8. The little horn: “probably the Turk or Romish anti-Christ.” Description. 10 horns. A single horn arose from them apparently from 3. So, it goes from 10 horns to three horns to one horn. The horn speaking great things or pompous words sounds like an anti-Christ figure. TPT. Some see the “little horn” as Herod the Great and the line of Herod’s that came after him. The Herod’s were different from other Roman leaders in that they were circumcised Jews and Edomites.
Verse 9. All these thrones, horns, Kingdoms, etc. were thrown down and the Eternal, righteous Kingdom of the Ancient of Days was eternally established. TPT. For the fiery throne, see Gem. 15:17: Ex. 3:2; 19:18. This is Yahweh’s chariot throne. God’s throne is not always stationary but can be in motion. It sits upon wheels of fire. See Ex. 1. God’s government (throne) is meant to come to the earth. See Ps. 58:11; 103:19.
Verse 10. TPT. The stream or River of Fire represents the blindingly brilliant glory of God’s presence that conquers all who come before him. Like Lave rolling out of God’s presence, so the burning fire of holiness pours out from his throne. See Heb. 12:29. The books were opened: see Ps. 56:8; Mal. 3:16; Rev. 20:12.
Verse 11. This must be the ruin and judgment of anti-Christ.
Verse 13. The Son of Man, the Messiah, came with the clouds of heaven, swiftly, and terribly. Wesley feels that this relates to Jesus’ ascension, at which time, Jesus received His royal investiture, for the protection of the church and curbing of His enemies. This apparently is a post-millennial position.
Verse 18. Jesus Christ being their King, the saints of the Most-High shall rule with Christ forever.
Verse 22. TPT. The day is coming when the saints of the Highest will judge angels and rule the nations with Christ. See I Cor. 6: 2-3; Rev. 2: 26-27; 3:21; 20: 4-6.
Verse 25. Wesley believes this refers to the end-time anti-Christ.
Verse 28. The Aramaic/Chaldean/Syriac ends here, and the rest of the book is in Hebrew.
Chapter 8.
Verse 1. Daniel is about 69 years old here – in the year BC 551. Susa was the winter quarters of the Persians kings, and it was 230 miles east of Babylon. The language of Daniel reverts to Hebrew in v. 1 and the remainder of the book is written in Hebrew. The traditional site for Daniel’s tomb is Susa. Elam was east of the Tigris. At Pentecost, Elamites were present.
Verse 3. The longer horn was also the lower horn.
Verse 4. The ram was exceeding proud and powerful. It conquered northward, southward, and westward.
West-ward — Toward Babylon, Syria, Cappadocia, Asia the less, and Greece, all westward from Media and Persia. North-ward — Against the Armenians, Iberians, Lydians, Colchi Caspians. South-ward — Against Ethiopia, Arabia, Egypt.
Verse 5. From the west came a goat that barely touched the ground for speed, and it had a great horn.
Verse 6. The goat come to the Ulai Canal and ran toward the ram with great strength and rage.
Verse 7. The goat conquered the ram. The goat is Greece and Alexander is the large horn. The ram is the Medo-Persian Empire. Alexander defeated the Persians against great odds each time in three battles (Granicus (334 b.c.), Isus (333 b.c.), and Gaugemela (331 b.c.).). So, Daniel saw this vision 17 years before the first battle. Alexander was born in BC 356 and died in BC 323 at the age of 33. Alexander was 5 years old when Daniel had this vision.
Verse 8. After Alexander’s death, his empire was divided among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt. Antiochus waged war against Egypt.
Was broken — When Alexander was greatest, then was he broken, and that to pieces, for he, his mother, son, brother, and all his kindred were destroyed. The four winds — 1. Antipater got Greece — 2. Asia was possessed by Antigonus — 3. Ptolemy got Egypt — 4. Seleucus had Babylon and Syria. All these were variously situated; to the east, Babylon and Syria; to the south, Egypt; to the north, Asia the less; to the west, Greece.
Verse 9. This small horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who controlled the Seleucid kingdom from ca. 175-164 b.c. Antiochus was extremely hostile toward the Jews and persecuted them mercilessly. Does this have application to an end times Anti-Christ? TPT note. The small horn is most likely a reference to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whose name means “the manifest or conspicuous one.” He rose to power after killing his brother and ruled the Seleucid kingdom from 175-164 BC. Antiochus hated the Jews and set up an idol of Zeus in the Temple and offered a pig on the altar, thus desecrating it. This idol became known as the “abomination that brings desolation.” (11:31) among other names. Antiochus set up the idol in the Temple in 167 BC. See Jer. 3:19; Ez. 20:6 for “glorious land.”
Verse 10. This could be a reference to God’s people who are like stars (Gen. 15:5; 26:4; Song 6:10; Dan. 12:3; Phil. 2:15). It could represent Antiochus’s great persecution against the people of God.
Wesley. The host of heaven — The church of God militant, who worship the God of heaven, who are citizens of heaven, whose names are written in heaven; and among these the priests, and champions, who were as stars shining above the rest; these he profaned and slew cruelly.
Verse 11. Could refer to Antiochus’s murder of the High Priest Onias III in 171 BC., but more likely an attack on God himself. This was the setting up of the Roman idol in the Temple.
Verse 13. Truth here probably refers to the Torah. According to 1 Macc 1:56, Antiochus initiated destruction of the sacred books of the Jews.
Verse 14. Since “evening and morning” is the equivalent of a day, the reference here would be to 2,300 days. However, some interpreters understand the reference to be to the evening sacrifice and the morning sacrifice, in which case the reference would be to only 1,150 days. Either way, the event that marked the commencement of this period is unclear. The event that marked the conclusion of the period was the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem following the atrocious and sacrilegious acts that Antiochus implemented. This took place on December 25, 165 b.c. The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah each year commemorates this victory.
This cleansing and rededication of the Temple took place when the first Hanukkah was celebrated in 164 BC.
Verse 16. The only angels whose names are given in the OT are Gabriel (Dan 8:16; 9:21; cf. Luke 1:19, 26) and Michael (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; cf. Jude 9; Rev 12:7). The name Gabriel means in Hebrew “man of God,” and Michael means “who is like God?”
Verse 17. Gabriel told Daniel that this vision “pertains to the time of the end.” End of what? End of human history? End of Jewish system? It seems to me that this cannot refer to the end of the Jewish system since Antiochus’ persecution ended in the 2nd century BC. Gabriel says that the “time of the end” is this event and cleansing associated with Antiochus. Gabriel calls this time the “time of wrath.”
Verse 19. The indignation — God will raise up Antiochus to execute his wrath against the Jews for their sins, yet there shall be an end of that indignation.
Verse 23-27. Seems to say that these events happen during Antiochus’s reign.
Wesley on verse 23. In the latter time — When they were come to the height and beginning to decline.
Wesley on verse 26. For many days — Three hundred years after this; long after Daniel’s days.
When the transgressors — When the Jews were grown to an excess of wickedness, then God suffered Antiochus to persecute them.
Dark sentences — Full of subtilty: such all histories declare Antiochus to be.
Chapter 9.
Verse 1. TPT. It’s possible that Darius was a title, and the name of the Persian King was Cyrus. Ahasuerus is the Hebrew word, and the Greek is Xerxes (more well-known).
Verse 2. See Ezra 1:1; Jer. 25:12. The 70 years was completed, but God’s people had not yet returned to their homeland. See also Jer. 30:18; 31:37.
Verse 4. The Hebrew word for “unwavering, endless love” is “hesed,” a difficult word to translate. It carries the idea of sustained loyalty and love at the same time. Other meanings include “loving-kindness,” “constant,” “unchanging love,” or “trustworthy love.” Hesed is used 26 times in Psalm 136 alone, once in every verse. Hesed comes from a root word meaning “eager, ardent desire.” It is the fiery, compassionate faithful love of God who is committed to love you until the end.
Verse 9. “Compassion and mercy.” This is a Hebrew homonym (raham) that can also be translated womb. God’s mercy toward us is like a mother’s compassion for the baby that came from her womb. Perhaps one could translate “raham” as “womb-love.”
Verse 11. Judgments of Dt. 28.
Verse 23. Or “a precious treasure”; KJV “greatly beloved”; NASB, NIV “highly esteemed.”
Verse 24. Heb “sevens.” Elsewhere the term is used of a literal week (a period of seven days); cf. Gen 29:27-28; Exod 34:22; Lev 12:5; Num 28:26; Deut 16:9-10; 2 Chr 8:13; Jer 5:24; Dan 10:2-3. Gabriel unfolds the future as if it were a calendar of successive weeks. Most understand the reference here as seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years.
There are three possible translations for the phrase “qodesh qadashim”: 1) The Most Holy; 2) the Most Holy Place; 3) the Most Holy One. Jews interpret this as the Holy of Holies being rededicated (Hanukkah). The ancient Syriac is “until the Messiah, the Holy of Holies.” This interpretation of 9:24 as a Messianic prophecy is confirmed by at least one church father who wrote the earliest Christian commentary on Daniel (Hippolytus of Rome in the early third century). All six of the “things to be” were fulfilled in Christ.
Or “the most holy place” (NASB, NLT); or “a most holy one”; or “the most holy one,” though the expression is used of places or objects elsewhere, not people.
TPT. When Gabriel speaks of 70 weeks, he is not suggesting periods of seven days but seven years per week, or 490 years. A Biblical “week” represents “a week of years.” See Gen. 29: 27-28; Ex. 34:22: Lev. 12:5: Num. 28:26; Dt. 16: 9-10; 2 Chron. 8:13; Jer. 5:24; Dan. 10: 2-3.
Gabriel states that six things will happen during the 490 years: 1) Transgression will be finished; 2) sin will end; 3) guilt will be cancelled; 4) everlasting justice/righteousness will be established; 5) the prophetic vision will be confirmed or sealed up; and 6) the Most Holy One will be anointed. All of these six prophecies were fulfilled in Christ.
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Seventy weeks — These weeks are weeks of days, and these days are so many years.
To finish the transgression — The angel discovers first the disease in three several words, which contain all sorts of sin, which the Messiah should free us from by his full redemption. He shews the cure of this disease in three words — 1. To finish transgression — 2. To make an end of sin — 3. To make reconciliation: all which words are very expressive in the original, and signify to pardon, to blot out, to destroy.
To bring in everlasting righteousness — To bring in justification by the free grace of God in Christ, and sanctification by his spirit: called everlasting, because Christ is eternal, and so are the acceptance and holiness purchased for us. Christ brings this in, 1. By his merit — 2. By his gospel declaring it — 3. By faith applying and sealing it by the Holy Ghost.
To seal up — To abrogate the former dispensation of the law, and to ratify the gospel covenant.
To anoint — This alludes to his name Messiah and Christ, both which signify anointed. Christ was anointed at his first conception, and personal union, Luke 1:35. In his baptism, Matthew 3:17, to his three offices by the holy Ghost, 1. King, Matthew 2:22. Prophet, Isaiah 61:13. Priest, Psalms 110:4.
Verse 25.
Wesley on verse 27. He shall confirm — Christ confirmed the new covenant, 1. By the testimony of angels, of John Baptist, of the wise men, of the saints then living, of Moses and Elias — 2. By his preaching — 3. By signs and wonders — 4. By his holy life — 5. By his resurrection and ascension — 6. By his death and blood shedding.
Shall cause the sacrifice to cease — All the Jewish rites, and Levitical worship. By his death he abrogated, and put an end to this laborious service, forever.
And that determined — That spirit of slumber, which God has determined to pour on the desolate nation, ’till the time draws near, when all Israel shall be saved.
Chapter 10.
Chapters 10-, 11, and 12 form a unit. It can be considered a single vision. The traditional chapter divisions obscure this fact. Chapter 10 gives Daniel’s trance-like vision; chapters 11 and 12 give us the interpretation of these future events.
Verse 5. TPT. This “man” was hovering or flying above the Tigris River. See 12:6. Daniel saw the true High Priest in his sacred garments over the waters of the Tigris. The disciples saw Jesus’ walking (hovering) over the waters of Galilee. Linen was the prescribed garment of priests (Lev. 6:10: Ez. 9:2).
Wesley on verse 5. A certain man — Very probably Christ, who appeared to Daniel in royal and priestly robes, and in so great brightness and majesty.
Verse 6. Or “glowing gemstone.” Or “beryl, topaz or turquoise.” See Ex. 28:20; Rev. 21:20. TPT. “In comparing v. 5-6 with Rev. 1: 12-16, the one robed in white linen who appeared to Daniel could be the same person who appeared to John – Jesus. However, there are differences between the two visions. Jesus’ robe went to his feet, but this man had visible arms, hands, and torso. This man had a belt of gold; Jesus had a sash of gold across his chest. For this reason, many believe that this is Gabriel or an unnamed angel.
Wesley on verse 13. Withstood me — God suffered the wicked counsels of Cambyses to take place awhile; but Daniel by his prayers, and the angel by his power, overcame him at last: and this very thing laid a foundation of the ruin of the Persian monarchies.
Michael — Michael here is commonly supposed to mean Christ.
I remained — To counterwork their designs against the people of God.
Wesley on verse 16. One like the sons of men — This likewise seems to have been Gabriel.
I have retained no strength — Tho’ he appeared to him, and spake to him as a man, yet Daniel could not bear his presence, without some dread.
Chapter 11.
Verse 2. TPT. “One of the overarching lessons of Daniel, and of this chapter in particular, is that God rules over the kingdoms of this world. His knowledge of the future spans the ages; he along can tell us things that will take place for centuries in the future. The course of history is determined by God, not by kings, presidents, councils, alliances, nor by any other person. Nations and kingdoms rise and fall, but the plan of the ages is determined by God alone. The three Persian kings who arose after Cyrus were Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius. This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 b.c.)
Wesley on verse 2. He — Xerxes was more potent than all the other three, because his father Darius had gathered an incredible mass for him, which he himself increased for six years together, before he made his expedition against Greece. There were more kings of Persia besides those four, but they had no concern with the people of God.
Verse 3. The powerful king is Alexander who reigned from 336-323. See Zech. 9: 1-10 for Alexander’s advance and conquests.
Verse 5-6. The king of the south (Egypt) is Ptolemy I Soter (ca. 323-285 b.c.). The following reference to one of his subordinates apparently has in view Seleucus I Nicator (ca. 305-281 b.c.) who ruled Syria. Throughout the remainder of chap. 11 the expressions “king of the south” and “king of the north” repeatedly occur. It is clear, however, that these terms are being used generically to describe the Ptolemaic king (i.e., “of the south”) or the Seleucid king (i.e., “of the north”) who happens to be in power at any particular time. The specific identity of these kings can be established more or less successfully by a comparison of this chapter with the available extra-biblical records that discuss the history of the intertestamental period. In the following notes the generally accepted identifications are briefly mentioned.
Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 b.c.), as the Seleucid king.
Wesley on verse six. They — The successors of those first kings of Egypt and Syria.
Make an agreement — Bernice shall come from Egypt and marry with Antiochus Theus, who was the son of Antiochus Soter, and nephew to Seleucus Nicanor; for her father brought her to Pelusium with an infinite sum of gold and silver for her dowry.
She shall not retain — She continued not in favor and authority.
Nor his arm — His power.
Verse 7. Heb “the stock of her roots.”sn The reference to one from her family line is probably to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (ca. 246-221 b.c.).
Verse 10. The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus (ca. 227-223 b.c.) and Antiochus III the Great (ca. 223-187 b.c.).
Verse 11. This king of the south refers to Ptolemy IV Philopator (ca. 221-204 b.c.).
Verse 14. This was Ptolemy V Epiphanes (ca. 203-181 b.c.).
Verse 15. This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.
Wesley on verse 16. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
But he — Antiochus, that comes against Ptolemy.
The glorious land — Judea. Antiochus held all Judea, and with the provision and product of it, maintained his army.
Verse 17. “the daughter of the women.”sn The daughter refers to Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus, who was given in marriage to Ptolemy V.
Verse 18. The commander is probably the Roman commander, Lucius Cornelius Scipio.
Verse 19. TPT. “History records that Antiochus III, defeated gy the Roman commander, was subjected to paying an enormous tax to Rome. After returning to his homeland (Syria), he tried to destroy the temple of the gods, which infuriated his citizens. Due to a plot hatched by the people and carried out by his prime minister, Heliodorus, they assassinated Antiochus III in 187 BC.
Verse 20. The one who will send out an exactor of tribute was Seleucus IV Philopator (ca. 187-176 b.c.).
Verse 21. This despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (ca. 175-164 b.c.).
Verse 24. Fortified positions in Egypt. Wesley on verse 24.
He shall enter peaceably — He shall come in upon the Egyptians under pretense of peace, in a plentiful and delicious country, and among a mass of treasures which the kings successively had heaped up; the greatest part of which Antiochus distributed among his confidants, whereby he obliged them the faster to him. He did herein what his fathers had not done; the kings of Syria before him, could never attain to this success over Egypt.
Against the strong-holds — Having succeeded thus far, he shall proceed to the places of greatest strength in that kingdom.
For a time — That is ’till God put a stop to his career, for the Egyptians found means to deliver themselves from his yoke.
Verse 25. This is a likely reference to the invasion of Egypt by Antiochus IV in 170 BC.
Verse 27. At one table — They shall meet under pretense of peace.
But it shall not prosper — For neither shall Antiochus gain Egypt by all his artifice, nor Ptolemy, Syria.
At the time appointed — By the Lord, whose purpose and counsel shall stand.
Verse 30. The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV). Roman ships seem to be the meaning.
Wesley on verse 30. The ships of Chittim — The Romans out of Italy, and the Archipelago. This made his heart boil with rancor, which he spit out against the Jews; especially being solicited to it by Jason first, and Menelaus after, who were apostates, and betrayers of their brethren.
Verse 31. TPT. Or “commit the desolating sacrifice.” King Antiochus IV Epiphanes ordered his troops to penetrate the temple in December 168 BC. He abolished the celebration of Jewish worship and placed on top of the altar of the temple another altar, dedicated to the Greek god Zeus, and offered unclean animals there (such as pigs). See Mt. 24:15; Mark 13:14.
Verse 32. This is an allusion to the Maccabean revolt, which struggled to bring about Jewish independence in the second century b.c.
Wesley on verse 36. The king — Antiochus was an eminent type of antichrist; to whom many things that follow may be applied by way of accommodation: although’ they principally refer to Antiochus and had their primary accomplishment in him.
For that that is determined — That which God hath decreed to be done by him shall be done; and that which God hath purposed to be done upon him.
Verse 45. TPT. During his campaign against the Parthians, Antiochus IV Epiphanes was killed at Tabae in Persia in BC 164.
Chapter 12.
Verse 1. TPT. “That is, the time of the King’s invasion of Israel and his ensuing death. This is the “time of the end.” (See 11:40), that is also mentioned by Jesus in Mt. 24:21. Yet we see in this chapter that Michael and heaven itself will fight on behalf of God’s people. Divine intervention is always the hope of the believer in every trouble we face.
Wesley on verse 1. For the children — The meaning seems to be, as after the death of Antiochus the Jews had some deliverance, so there will be yet a greater deliverance to the people of God, when Michael your prince, the Messiah shall appear for your salvation.
A time of trouble — A the siege of Jerusalem, before the final judgment. The phrase at that time, probably includes all the time of Christ, from his first, to his last coming.
Verse 3. TPT. See Jer. 30:7; Joel 1: 15-18; Zeph. 1: 14-18; Mark 13:19. See also Ex. 32;32; Ps. 69: 28; Rev. 3:5.
Verse 2. TPT. “This expression refers to the world of the dead, the Sheol of the ancients (Is. 26:19; Ps. 22:15; 30:9).
TPT. “This verse is unique in the OT in that virtually every scholar agrees that this is a reference to a resurrection. The doctrine of the resurrection from the dead is always traced back to Dan. 12: 1-2. See Is. 26:19.
Verse 4. TPT. “This is in contrast with Rev. 22:10, where the revelation was not to be sealed but remain accessible to all. Daniel sealed the scroll; John ate the scroll.