The Meaning of Daniel 7:4 Explained

Daniel 7:4

KJV: 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.

YLT: The first is like a lion, and it hath an eagle's wings. I was seeing till that its wings have been plucked, and it hath been lifted up from the earth, and on feet as a man it hath been caused to stand, and a heart of man is given to it.

Darby: The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till its wings were plucked; and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

ASV: 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 to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Daniel 7:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The first beast looked like a lion, but it also had wings like an eagle. Other biblical writers had compared Nebuchadnezzar to a lion and an eagle (cf. Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 49:19; Jeremiah 50:17; Jeremiah 50:44; Jeremiah 49:22; Lamentations 4:19; Ezekiel 17:3; Ezekiel 17:12; Habakkuk 1:8). As Daniel watched, something plucked this beast"s wings off, made it stand on two feet like a Prayer of Manasseh , and gave it a human mind or nature. Many nations have used the lion as a symbol of royal power because it is the traditional king of beasts (cf. 1 Kings 10:20; 2 Chronicles 9:19). Similarly the eagle has long represented the king of birds (cf. Ezekiel 17:3; Ezekiel 17:7). Almost all interpreters, conservative and critical, believe this lion represents Neo-Babylonia. Huge winged lions guarded the gates of the royal Babylonian palaces. [1] Babylon used both the lion and the eagle as national emblems (cf. Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 4:13; Ezekiel 17:3). The cropping of the lion"s wings may allude to the humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar (ch4), [2] or perhaps to the deterioration of his kingdom after his death. [3] After Nebuchadnezzar"s humbling by God, he became more humane. [4]

Context Summary

Daniel 7:1-14 - God's Everlasting Dominion
This chapter enumerates the succession of world-empires and rulers which bridge the gulf of centuries from the Captivity to the Second Advent. The lion represents Babylon, whose cruel and mighty kingdom was animated by marvelous intelligence; the bear, Persia; the leopard, Greece under Alexander the Great; and the fourth beast, with great iron teeth, Rome. The ten horns are ten kings, and these probably represent great European kingdoms which have succeeded, or may yet succeed, to the heritage of the Roman empire. The Ancient of Days is sitting today upon His throne, His snow-white raiment betokening His purity, the fire of His throne bespeaking His antagonism to all things that offend and work iniquity. The government of the world is on shoulders which are well able to carry it, and He will cause all things to work out His purpose, which is to promote and assure the glory of Christ. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 7

1  Daniel's vision of the four beasts,
9  and of God's kingdom
15  The interpretation thereof

What do the individual words in Daniel 7:4 mean?

First [was] the like a lion and wings until of eagle had watched I until till were plucked off its wings and it was lifted up from earth the and on two feet like a man made to stand and a heart of man was given to it
קַדְמָיְתָ֣א כְאַרְיֵ֔ה וְגַפִּ֥ין דִּֽי־ נְשַׁ֖ר לַ֑הּ חָזֵ֣ה הֲוֵ֡ית עַד֩ דִּי־ מְּרִ֨יטוּ גַפַּ֜יהּ וּנְטִ֣ילַת מִן־ אַרְעָ֗א וְעַל־ רַגְלַ֙יִן֙ כֶּאֱנָ֣שׁ הֳקִימַ֔ת וּלְבַ֥ב אֱנָ֖שׁ יְהִ֥יב לַֽהּ

קַדְמָיְתָ֣א  First  [was]  the 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular determinate
Root: קַדְמָי  
Sense: former, first.
כְאַרְיֵ֔ה  like  a  lion 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַרְיֵה  
Sense: lion.
וְגַפִּ֥ין  and  wings 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common plural
Root: גַּף  
Sense: wing (of bird).
דִּֽי־  until 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: דִּי  
Sense: who, which, that mark of genitive.
נְשַׁ֖ר  of  eagle 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְשַׁר  
Sense: eagle, vulture, griffon-vulture.
חָזֵ֣ה  watched 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: חֲזָה  
Sense: to see, behold.
עַד֩  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: even to, until, up to, during conj.
דִּי־  till 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: דִּי  
Sense: who, which, that mark of genitive.
מְּרִ֨יטוּ  were  plucked  off 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: מְרַט  
Sense: to pluck, pull off.
גַפַּ֜יהּ  its  wings 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: גַּף  
Sense: wing (of bird).
וּנְטִ֣ילַת  and  it  was  lifted  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נְטַל  
Sense: to lift.
אַרְעָ֗א  earth  the 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular determinate
Root: אֲרַע  
Sense: earth, world, ground.
וְעַל־  and  on 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַל  
Sense: upon, over, on account of, above, to, against.
רַגְלַ֙יִן֙  two  feet 
Parse: Noun, fd
Root: רְגַל  
Sense: foot.
כֶּאֱנָ֣שׁ  like  a  man 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱנָשׁ  
Sense: man, human being.
הֳקִימַ֔ת  made  to  stand 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: קוּם  
Sense: to arise, stand.
וּלְבַ֥ב  and  a  heart 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: לְבַב  
Sense: heart, mind.
אֱנָ֖שׁ  of  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱנָשׁ  
Sense: man, human being.
יְהִ֥יב  was  given 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יְהַב  
Sense: to give, provide.
לַֽהּ  to  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular