Daniel 7:1-2

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Daniel 7:1 Up to this point we have been edified by events in the life of a hero. Now he, himself, speaks in the chiaroscuro language of the apocalypses. The narrative transports the reader beyond the passing scene: the great empires that come and are swallowed up are simply preparations for the events that will mark the end of time. The prophet will also proclaim the mysterious coming of a “son of man” and the resurrection of the righteous.
2. Daniel 7:1 This is the most important eschatological passage in the Book of Daniel. The immediate explanation is concerned with the time of Antiochus IV. But there are other Antiochuses in the course of human history.
3. Daniel 7:1 These fabulous animals, close relatives of the forces of disorder which are often mentioned in the Bible (Ps 74; Isa 51:9) or in the primitive traditions of the peoples, stand here for the empires that controlled the East from the seventh to the second century before our era. If we may judge by the images he uses, the author sees the order of regimes as follows: Babylon, the Medes, the Persians, and then the Greeks, who have recently astonished the world by the conquests of Alexander the Great, who died in 323 B.C. Alexander’s successors have divided his empire among themselves, and it is this that is presently sowing terror. Horns are always a sign of power; here they symbolize the kings of the Greek dynasty of the Seleucids, who control Syria. The little, destructive horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–163 B.C.), who has rid himself of more than one of his rivals. This entire scenario, then, is intended to fill out the portrait of this persecuting ruler. But Antiochus IV has passed away, and other haughty regimes have arisen that must be identified with the same critical clarity. The Book of Revelation (Rev 13) takes over the image of the horned beast to signify evil in all the forms in which it is directed against the community of those whom Christ has brought together.