The Meaning of Daniel 8:2 Explained

Daniel 8:2

KJV: And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.

YLT: And I see in a vision, and it cometh to pass, in my seeing, and I am in Shushan the palace that is in Elam the province, and I see in a vision, and I have been by the stream Ulai.

Darby: And I saw in the vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was in the fortress of Shushan, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.

ASV: And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.

Discover Daniel 8:2

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Daniel 8:2?

MEANING: What does Daniel 8:2 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Daniel 8:2 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Daniel 8:2?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I saw  in a vision;  and it came to pass, when I saw,  that I [was] at Shushan  [in] the palace,  which [is] in the province  of Elam;  and I saw  in a vision,  and I was by the river  of Ulai. 

What does Daniel 8:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Evidently Daniel was in Babylon when he had this vision, but what he saw, including himself, was in Susa (Shushan, AV cf. Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 40:1). [1] Some commentators, however, believe that he was physically present in Susa. Daniel probably knew where he was in his vision because he had visited Susa. It is reasonable to assume that a man in Daniel"s position in the Neo-Babylonian government would have visited Susa previously. Susa stood about200 miles east of Babylon and approximately150 miles due north of the top of the Persian Gulf. Archaelolgists discovered the Code of Hammurabi there in1901. [2] The site of Susa is in modern Iran, whereas the site of Babylon is in modern Iraq. Elam was the name of the province where Susa stood when Daniel wrote this book, not necessarily when he had this vision. When Medo-Persia overthrew Neo-Babylonia, Susa became the capital of the Persian Empire. Eighty years after Daniel had this vision, Susa became Esther"s home. One hundred seven years later, it was the city from which Nehemiah departed to return to Palestine ( Esther 1:2; Nehemiah 1:1). The "citadel" was the palace, that housed the royal residence, and it had strong fortifications.
"The Ulai [3] can best be identified with an artificial canal which connected the rivers Choastes [4] and Coprates [1] and ran close by Susa." [6]

Context Summary

Daniel 8:1-14 - God's Sanctuary Dishonored
Shushan was the lily palace. There, by the river Ulai, the prophet beheld in vision the attack which would subsequently be made on the Medo-Persian kingdom by Alexander. The great horn which was broken is, of course, Alexander, and the four notable ones are his four generals, who after his death divided up his conquests. The little horn is referred by many to Antiochus, whose conflict with the Maccabees was one of the most significant in later Jewish history. Others refer it to Mohammed and his followers, who have reigned over the same regions. In this case the little horn would stand for the Eastern apostasy as distinguished from the Western, which is said to be represented by the little horn of the fourth beast, Daniel 7:8. The Books of the Maccabees, included in the Apocrypha, should be studied to understand more clearly what is intended in Daniel 8:11-12. The explanation of these obscure verses is also given in Daniel 8:24-25. Antiochus was obsessed with hatred against the spiritual worship of the Jews, and their refusal to admit his image into the Temple. He stayed their sacrifices, though they were restored for a season, to be finally suspended during the present age. The day for a year system, Daniel 8:14, may refer to the desolations of the Turkish or Ottoman empire, of which Antiochus was the representative. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 8

1  Daniel's vision of the ram and he goat
13  The two thousand three hundred days of the suspension of the daily sacrifice
15  Gabriel comforts Daniel, and interprets the vision

What do the individual words in Daniel 8:2 mean?

And I saw in the vision and it so happened while I was looking that I [was] in Shushan the citadel which [is] in Elam the province and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai
וָֽאֶרְאֶה֮ בֶּחָזוֹן֒ וַיְהִי֙ בִּרְאֹתִ֔י וַאֲנִי֙ בְּשׁוּשַׁ֣ן הַבִּירָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּעֵילָ֣ם הַמְּדִינָ֑ה וָאֶרְאֶה֙ בֶּֽחָז֔וֹן וַאֲנִ֥י הָיִ֖יתִי עַל־ אוּבַ֥ל אוּלָֽי

וָֽאֶרְאֶה֮  And  I  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
בֶּחָזוֹן֒  in  the  vision 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָזׄון  
Sense: vision.
וַיְהִי֙  and  it  so  happened 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בִּרְאֹתִ֔י  while  I  was  looking 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, first person common singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
וַאֲנִי֙  that  I  [was] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
בְּשׁוּשַׁ֣ן  in  Shushan 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שׁוּשַׁן  
Sense: the winter residence of the Persian kings; located on the river Ulai or Choaspes.
הַבִּירָ֔ה  the  citadel 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: בִּירָה  
Sense: palace, castle.
אֲשֶׁ֖ר  which  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בְּעֵילָ֣ם  in  Elam 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֵילָם 
Sense: a Korhite Levite in the time of David.
הַמְּדִינָ֑ה  the  province 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְדִינָה  
Sense: province, district.
וָאֶרְאֶה֙  and  I  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
בֶּֽחָז֔וֹן  in  the  vision 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָזׄון  
Sense: vision.
וַאֲנִ֥י  that  I 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
אוּבַ֥ל  the  River 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֻבָל  
Sense: stream, river.
אוּלָֽי  Ulai 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אוּלַי  
Sense: river of Elam.

What are the major concepts related to Daniel 8:2?

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