The Meaning of Daniel 8:20 Explained

Daniel 8:20

KJV: The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

YLT: The ram that thou hast seen possessing two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia.

Darby: The ram that thou sawest having the two horns: they are the kings of Media and Persia.

ASV: The ram which thou sawest, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The ram  which thou sawest  having  [two] horns  [are] the kings  of Media  and Persia. 

What does Daniel 8:20 Mean?

Study Notes

ram
vs. Daniel 8:3 ; Daniel 8:4 .
The "higher" horn which "came up last" is Cyrus, the other "Darius the Mede."

Context Summary

Daniel 8:15-27 - God's Deliverance Is Sure
It does not fall within our province to go into the various fulfillments which have been assigned to the predictions of this chapter-one to the time of the Maccabees, one to our own days, and one to that malign Satanic power which stands up perpetually against the Prince of princes. Let us dwell, rather, on the assertion that whatever sets itself against the kingship of Jesus Christ shall inevitably be broken. The Church of God is menaced today, as never before, by a vast multiplication of malign influences; but the Master's promise holds good that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her. They shall be broken without hand. This is our strong confidence with respect to all our foes, and therefore we may possess our souls in patience. It is interesting that Daniel continued to do the king's business, notwithstanding the abundance of the revelations given unto him. However much we may be caught up into the heaven of religious meditation and ecstasy, we must never forget or neglect the interests which are committed to our hands, whether of the home, the business, or the state. [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 8:20 mean?

The ram which you saw having the two horns [they are] the kings of Media and Persia
הָאַ֥יִל אֲשֶׁר־ רָאִ֖יתָ בַּ֣עַל הַקְּרָנָ֑יִם מַלְכֵ֖י מָדַ֥י וּפָרָֽס

הָאַ֥יִל  The  ram 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַיִל 
Sense: ram.
רָאִ֖יתָ  you  saw 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
הַקְּרָנָ֑יִם  the  two  horns 
Parse: Article, Noun, fd
Root: קֶרֶן 
Sense: horn.
מַלְכֵ֖י  [they  are]  the  kings 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
מָדַ֥י  of  Media 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מָדַי  
Sense: a people descended from the son of Japheth and who inhabited the territory of Media.
וּפָרָֽס  and  Persia 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פָּרַס  
Sense: the empire Persia; encompassed the territory from India on the east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and included, besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the Arabian desert, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the south.

What are the major concepts related to Daniel 8:20?

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