Daniel 8:21

Daniel 8:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
• New International Version (NIV)The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.

Context of Daniel 8:21

19He said, “I will tell you what will happen in the last days, ⌞the time of God’s⌟ anger, because the end time has been determined. 20“The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kingdoms of Media and Persia. The hairy male goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is its first king. 22The horn broke off, and four horns replaced it. Four kingdoms will come out of that nation, but they won’t be as strong as the first king was. 23“In the last days of those kingdoms, when rebellions are finished, a stern-looking king who understands mysterious things will rise to power.

Daniel 8:21 word by word

וְהַצָּפִ֥יר הַשָּׂעִ֖יר מֶ֣לֶךְ יָוָ֑ן וְהַקֶּ֤רֶן הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בֵּין־עֵינָ֔יו ה֖וּא הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ הָרִאשֽׁוֹן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the roughשָׂעִירώâ‛îyr ώâ‛ir · he-goatH8163
• goatצָפִירtsâphîyr · male goatH6842
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Greciaיָוָןyâvân · GreeceH3120
• and the greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• hornקֶ֫רֶןqeren · hornH7161
• between his eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• the firstרִאשׁוֹןri'shôn ri'shôn · firstH7223

Cross-references for Daniel 8:21

• Daniel 8:5As I was watching closely, I saw a male goat coming from the west. It crossed the whole earth without touching it. This goat had a prominent horn between its eyes.
• Daniel 10:20He asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight the commander of Persia. When I go, the commander of Greece will come.
• Daniel 8:8The male goat became very important. But when the goat became powerful, his large horn broke off. In its place grew four horns. They corresponded to the four winds of heaven.
• Daniel 11:3“Then a warrior-king will come. He will rule a vast empire and do as he pleases.

Commentaries on Daniel 8:21

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21And the rough goat - See the notes at Daniel 8:5. In Daniel 8:5 he is called a he-goat. Here the word rough or hairy - שׂעיר s'â‛ı̂yr - is applied to it. This appellation is often given to a goat Leviticus 4:24; Leviticus 16:9; Genesis 37:31. It would seem that either term - a he-goat, or a hairy-goat - would serve to designate the animal, and it is probable that the terms were used indiscriminately. Is the king of Grecia - Represents the king of Greece…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-27Verses 15-27 The eternal Son of God stood before the prophet in the appearance of a man, and directed the angel Gabriel to explain the vision. Daniel's fainting and astonishment at the prospect of evils he saw coming on his people and the church, confirm the opinion that long-continued calamities were foretold. The vision being ended, a charge was given to Daniel to keep it private for the present. He kept it to himself, and went on to do the duty of his…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21The large horn represents Alexander the Great, the mighty first king who established the Greek Empire. Two centuries after Daniel, Alexander quickly conquered the world (Daniel 8:5). He defeated Persia in 331 BC. Alexander died in 323 BC when he was 33 years old. But not before he allowed people to call him a god. Josephus records that some Jewish priests showed the book of Daniel to Alexander. However, Alexander treated Homer’s Iliad as his sacred book…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. the first king--Philip was king of Macedon before Alexander, but the latter was the first who, as a generalissimo of Greece, subdued the Persian empire.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Close
• Greece
• Javan
• Magnify
• Mouth
• Notable
• Prince
• Prophecy
• Shushan
• Apocalyptic Literature

Commentaries on Daniel 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings