God’s Word Translation
Daniel 8:5
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 8:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
- New International Version (NIV)As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.
- English Standard Version (ESV)As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
Context of Daniel 8:5
3I looked up and saw a single ram standing beside the gate. The ram had two long horns, one longer than the other, though the longer one had grown up later. 4I saw the ram charging west, north, and south. No other animal could stand in front of it, and no one could escape from its power. It did anything it pleased and continued to grow. As 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. 6The goat was coming toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the gate. It furiously ran at the ram. 7I saw it come closer to the ram. The goat was extremely angry with the ram, so it attacked the ram. It broke both of the ram’s horns. The ram didn’t have the strength to stand up against the goat. So the ram was thrown down on the ground and trampled. No one could rescue the ram from the goat’s power.
Read all of Daniel 8Daniel 8:5 word by word
וַאֲנִ֣י׀ הָיִ֣יתִי מֵבִ֗ין וְהִנֵּ֤ה צְפִיר־הָֽעִזִּים֙ בָּ֤א מִן־הַֽמַּעֲרָב֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כָל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֵ֥ין נוֹגֵ֖עַ בָּאָ֑רֶץ וְהַ֨צָּפִ֔יר קֶ֥רֶן חָז֖וּת בֵּ֥ין עֵינָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And as I was consideringבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
- behold, an heעֵז‛êz · goatH5795
- goatצָפִירtsâphîyr · male goatH6842
- cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- from the westמַעֲרָבma‛ărâb ma‛ărâbâh · westH4628
- on the faceפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
- of the whole earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- and touchedנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
- not the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
- a notableחָזוּתchâzûth · visionH2380
- hornקֶ֫רֶןqeren · hornH7161
- between his eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
Cross-references for Daniel 8:5
- Daniel 8:21The hairy male goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is its first king.
- Daniel 2:32The head of this statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were made of silver. Its stomach and hips were made of bronze.
- Daniel 7:6After this, I saw another animal. It looked like a leopard. On its back it had four wings, like the wings of a bird. The animal also had four heads. It was given power to rule.
- Daniel 11:3“Then a warrior-king will come. He will rule a vast empire and do as he pleases.
Commentaries on Daniel 8:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Behold, a he-goat - This was Alexander the Great; and a goat was a very proper symbol of the Grecian or Macedonian people. Bp. Newton very properly observes that, two hundred years before the time of Daniel, they were called Aegeadae, the goats' people; the origin of which name is said to be as follows: Caranus, their first king, going with a multitude of Greeks to seek a new habitation in Macedonia, was advised by an oracle to take the goats for his…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And as I was considering - As I was looking on this vision. It was a vison which would naturally attract attention, and one which would not be readily understood. It evidently denoted some combined power that was attempting conquest, but we are not to suppose that Daniel would readily understand what was meant by it. The whole scene was future - for the Medo-Persian power was not yet consolidated in the time of Belshazzar, and the conquests represented by…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-12Daniel 8:21–25 explains the symbolism.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. he-goat--Græco-Macedonia. notable horn--Alexander. "Touched not ... ground," implies the incredible swiftness of his conquests; he overran the world in less than twelve years. The he-goat answers to the leopard (Da 7:6). Caranus, the first king of Macedonia, was said to have been led by goats to Edessa, which he made the seat of his kingdom, and called Æge, that is, "goat-city."Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 8:5
In the dictionaries
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
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