Daniel 8 - Introduction

ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES AND THE DESECRATION OF THE SANCTUARY

A vision of Daniel in the third year of Belshazzar. A ram with two horns appeared, pushing towards the west, north, and south, until a he-goat, with a -notable horn" between its eyes, emerged from the west, and, drawing nigh, attacked the ram, and broke its two horns (Daniel 8:1). After this, the he-goat increased in strength; but ere long its horn was broken; and in place of it there rose up four other horns, looking towards the four quarters of the earth (Daniel 8:8). Out of one of these there came forth a little horn, which, waxing great towards the land of Judah, exalted itself against the host of heaven and against its Prince (God), desecrating His sanctuary, and interrupting the daily sacrifice for 2300 half-days (Daniel 8:9). The meaning of this vision was explained to Daniel by the angel Gabriel. The ram with two horns was the Medo-Persian empire; the he-goat was the empire of the Greeks, the -notable horn" being its first king, Alexander the Great: and the four horns which followed were the four kingdoms into which, after his death, his empire was ultimately resolved (Daniel 8:15). The little horn, which arose out of one of these, represented a king who, though not named, is shewn, by the description of his doings (Daniel 8:23), to be Antiochus Epiphanes.

Although the vision is dated in the third year of Belshazzar, its main subject is thus the empire of the Greeks, especially the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, whose character and policy are clearly depicted in it. The vision differs from the one in ch. 7 in that it dwells more exclusively upon the humanside of the history, and describes with greater particularity Antiochus" dealings with the Jews.

Additional Note on the Ruins of Susa

The site of Susa was visited, and partly excavated, by Mr Loftus in 1852: it was excavated much more completely, and with more important results, by M. Dieulafoy, a French architect and engineer, in 1884 6. The site of the city, which was distinct from the -castle" (cf. Esther 3:15), and in fact separated from it by the stream, is marked only by hardly perceptible undulations of the plain; but three huge mounds, forming a rhomboidal mass, 4500 feet long from N. to S., and 3000 feet broad from E. to W., are a standing witness to the size and magnificence of the buildings which formed the ancient citadel or acropolis. The plan of the citadel, and many remains of the buildings of which it consisted, have been recovered by M. Dieulafoy. Artaxerxes, in an inscription found on one of the columns, says, "My ancestor Darius built this Apadânain ancient times. In the reign of Artaxerxes, my grandfather, it was consumed by fire. By the grace of Ahuramazda, Anaïtis, and Mithras, I have restored this Apadâna." An Apadâna(see on Daniel 11:45) was a large hall or throne-room. The Apadânaof Susa stood on the N. of the acropolis: it formed a square of about 250 feet each way. The roof (which consisted of rafters and beams of cedar, brought from Lebanon) was supported by 36 columns in rows of six; the sides and back were composed of walls of brick, each pierced by four doors; the front of the hall was open. The columns were slender shafts of limestone, delicately fluted, and topped by magnificently carved capitals. In front of the hall, on each side, was a pylon or colonnade, with a frieze at the top 12 feet high, formed of beautifully enamelled bricks, the one decorated by a procession of lions, the other by a procession of -Immortals," the armed life-guards of the Persian kings [329]. A garden surrounded the Apadâna, and in front of it, on the south, was a large square for military manœuvres, &c. Adjoining it, on the east, was a large block of buildings forming the royal harem (the -house of the women" of Esther 2:3, &c.): south of this was the royal palace, with a court in the centre (Esther 4:11; Esther 5:1). The entire acropolis covered an area of 300 acres.

[329] In one of the galleries at the Louvre several rooms are devoted to sculptures, &c., brought from Susa, and to a restoration of parts of the apadâna.

It was this entire complex of buildings that was called the Birah, or -citadel [330]."

[330] See further Evetts, Fresh Light on the Bible, p. 229 ff.; Vigouroux, La Bible et les découvertes modernes, ed. 6, 1896, iv. 621 ff.; and esp. Dieulafoy, L'Acropole de Suse(Paris, 1890 92), passim: also Mme. Dieulafoy, A Suse, Journal des Fouilles, 1884 6 (1888), and La Perse, la Chaldée, et la Susiane(1887). Chap. xxxix. all with numerous illustrations and Maps; also, more briefly, Billerbeck's excellent monograph, Susa(1893).