Commentari biblici

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, [and] told the sum of the matters.

In the first year of Belshazzar. — Here beginneth, to speak properly, the prophecy of Daniel, or rather the second part of Daniel’s works, which is concerning visions exhibited of God by divine revelations, not to others, but to himself. This vision is the subject and groundwork of the rest that follow to the end of the prophecy. One not unfitly compareth it to a general map of the whole world; the rest to particular tables of various countries.

Daniel had a dream and visions of his head. — God renewed unto him the same thing by vision which he had exhibited before by dream, in recompense of his religious care to know the matter and to record it for the Church’s comfort. Jun.

Then he wrote the dream. — It was God’s will the visions of the prophets should be written Isaiah 30:10 and published to the Church. Isaiah 30:30

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Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

Daniel spake and said. — His writing is called his speaking, to teach us to receive the writings of the prophets and apostles with no less reverence than if we had heard them speak with their own mouths. Willet.

I saw in my vision by night. — The night doth in Scripture frequently signify trouble. This "vision by night" was of troublesome businesses - viz., hurlyburlies in the world, and persecutions in the Church.

And behold the four winds of the heavens strove upon the great sea, — i.e., There was a huge bustle upon the earth, by means of the four successive monarchies. See Revelation 13:1 ; Revelation 13:11 . The world is fitly called the "great sea," ever unquiet and full of commotions; which are also called "winds" for their boisterousness, contrariety of nature, and inconstance.

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And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

And four great beasts. — Regnorum feritas bestiarum nomine demonstratur, saith Jerome. The fierceness of the four kingdoms is set forth by the name of beasts. Bellum a belluis. Monarchies are mostly gotten, kept, and governed with violence and tyranny. Psalms 76:4 Song of Solomon 4:8 Regna mundana parantur et retinentur bellis. Commune vitium monarchiis et tyrannis.

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The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

The first was like a lion. — Which is the king of beasts (as the eagle is of birds), generous, strong, fierce, fair-conditioned; so were the Assyrian monarchs in comparison of those that followed them.

And had eagle’s wings. — Whereby is noted their victorious celerity and alacrity in seizing upon kingdoms. as Obadiah 1:4 2 Samuel 1:23 Jeremiah 4:13 ; Jeremiah 48:40 Ezekiel 17:3

I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, — scil., By the Medes and Persians, taming Babel’s insolence, and making her inhabitants tributaries and slaves, to till their ground and to maintain their garrisons, saluting them as their masters wherever they met them. Xenophon.

And made stand upon the feet as a man, — i.e., Brought down to the common rank of men, and no longer lift up as an eagle.

And a man’s heart Cor humanum, id est, molle ac timidum. - Piscat. was given to it. — Which before thought itseff as good as God, now had low and common spirits; not as once, imperious and impetuous.

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And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and [it had] three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear. — Which is nothing so generous and ingenuous as a lion; but slow, dull, cruel, ravenous. Such were the Persians; a mountainous, rough, uncivil people, of barbarous and beastly cruelty.

And it raised up itself on one side, — scil., By joining with the Medes, by whose help Cyrus subdued the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, and many more nations act easily reckoned, who, to gratify him, desired to be ruled according to his pleasure. Xenoph.

And it had three ribs in the mouth of it. — While they conquered three parts of the known world, pushing westward, northward, and southward. Daniel 8:4 Westward by Cyrus, southward by Cambyses, and northward by Darius Hystaspis.

And they said (or, it was said) thus unto it, Arise, devour. — Intimating that it was God who turned this bear loose upon the nations, and gave them to him for a prey. Tyrants prosper by God’s permission. John 19:11

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After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard. — Which is a creature cruel, desirous of man’s blood, crafty, spotted, and very swift of foot. So were the Grecians; Alexander especially (the founder of that third monarchy), active, bold, and headlong, but directed much by those who had been counsellors to his father Philip, a subtle prince; leopard-like, he was spotted by a mixture of virtues and vices; he was very quick of despatch, Mηδεν αναβαλλομενος , never deferring any enterprise; he much delighted in wine, and so took his death; like as the leopard is no way else to be taken but by such a bait laid for him.

Which had upon the back of it four wings. — Denoting the rapidity and celerity of Alexander and some other of the Grecian monarchs, in overrunning countries, as if they had flown.

The beast had also four heads, — i.e., This monarchy was, after Alexander’s death, divided into four satrapies, or rather kingdoms. Cassander had Macedonia; Antigonus, Asia; Seleucus, Syria; and Ptolemy, Egypt.

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After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns.

Behold a fourth beast. — Not likened to any certain beast, because none can be named so cruel which can express the cruelty of this fourth monarchy - viz., that of the Romans, no, although it were

" Pροσθε λεων, μετοπισθε δρακων, μεσσηδε χιμαιρα ." - Hom.

It is a nameless monster, made up of all the properties of the former beasts. Revelation 13:1-2 The Rabbis, with their "wild boar out of the wood," Psalms 80:13 fall far short of it. Luther Loc. Com. not unfitly compareth the Church of God to a silly poor maid, sitting in a wood or wilderness, and beset with hungry lions, wolves, boars, bears, and with all manner of hurtful and cruel creatures.

Dreadful and terrible. — Because able and ready to annoy others with great evils.

And strong exceedingly. — So that it passed for a proverb, Irasci populo Romano nemo impune potest. It is not safe for any nation to fall out with the Romans; for they are sure to be tamed and tawed with their iron teeth.

And it had great iron teeth, — i.e., Conquering captains, such as Scipio - of whom Ennius sang thus:

“ Si fas caedendo coelestia scaudere cuiquam,

Mi soli coeli maxima porta patet. ”

Pompey, who by his great acts and achievements merited the name of Magnus; and Julius Caesar, who before the Pharsalian wars had taken a thousand towns, conquered three hundred nations, took prisoner one million men, and slain as many. Heyl., Geog.

And stamped the residue with the feet of it, — i.e., With their provincial magistrates, such as were Verres, Pilate, Felix, …, said to have nails of brass, Daniel 7:19 and fitly compared to petulant wild beasts, which, when they can feed no longer, trample with their feet on the residue of the prey. The poor Jews had hard measure from them always.

And it was diverse from all the beasts. — In respect of diversity and strange multiplicity of forms of government.

And it had ten horns. — Which the angel afterwards interpreted as kings or kingdoms. Daniel 7:24 This occured not long after Constantine the Great, when the Roman empire began to moulder and fall in pieces. About the year 456, it appeared broken into ten parts, which by a learned interpreter are thus reckoned. The kingdom of the Britons, of the Saxons, both in Brittany; of the Franks, of the Burgundians, in France; of the West Goths in the southern part of France and part of Spain; of the Sueves and Alanes in part of Spain; of the Vandals in Africa, a little before in Spain; of the Allmanns in Rhetia and Noricum, provinces of Germany; of the East Goths in Pannonia, a little after in Italy; of the Greeks in the remnant of the empire.

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I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

And I considered the horns. — For without a serious and sedulous consideration I could not have kenned it. So slyly and secretly worketh the mystery of iniquity.

And behold there came up among them another little horn. — This is Antiochus Epiphanes, say some, the Great Turk, say others, the Pope, say a third sort, and with them I concur, whose kingdom is here called a "little horn," because the Pope was at first a mean minister of the Roman Church, viz., till Constantine’s time. Afterwards he was only primate and metropolitan of the churches of Italy. No man took him for a prince, no, not when he began to write Volumns et iubemus, We will and command you, A.D. 606; but he grew up by degrees, and cunningly got among the ten horns, till at length he overtopped them.

Before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots. — These were, according to some, Chilperick the French king, Frederick the emperor, and King John of England, whom he made his vassal. Others reckon them to be Chilperick, the exarch of Italy in the time of Gregory II, and Desiderius, king of Lombards, slain by Charles the Great at the instigation of the Pope. For three kingdoms coming under him, let it be considered whether they be not Spain, Germany, and France; or whether this prefigured not, saith one, his triple crown.

And, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man. — In respect to his feigned courtesy and profound policy. To be sharp-sighted is commendable; but to be wittily wicked is to do the devil doubty service.

And a mouth speaking great things. — Big swollen with blasphemies, both against God and his viceregents upon earth. Pope Boniface wrote to Philip the Fair, king of France, Volumus te scire te in temporali et spirituali nobis subiacere. Alsted., Chron. We would you should know, sir, that you are to subject yourselves to us, both in temporals and spirituals, … Accordingly he took upon him to overtop and command at pleasure all Christian kings and emperors. The application that the malicious Jewish doctors blasphemously make of this little horn to our Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of all execration.

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