The Meaning of Daniel 8:8 Explained

Daniel 8:8

KJV: Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

YLT: 'And the young he-goat hath exerted itself very much, and when it is strong, broken hath been the great horn; and come up doth a vision of four in its place, at the four winds of the heavens.

Darby: And the he-goat became exceeding great; but when he was become strong, the great horn was broken; and in its stead came up four notable ones toward the four winds of the heavens.

ASV: And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore the he  goat  waxed very  great:  and when he was strong,  the great  horn  was broken;  and for it came up  four  notable ones  toward the four  winds  of heaven. 

What does Daniel 8:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Clearly this description corresponds to that of the third beast in Daniel 7:6. Alexander magnified himself exceedingly in two ways. He extended the borders of his empire after he conquered Medo-Persia even farther east, into modern Afghanistan and to the Indus Valley. Alexander"s empire covered one and a half million square miles. [1] He also became extremely arrogant. He regarded himself as divine and made his soldiers bow down before him. This resulted in his troops revolting. [2]
"Expositors, both liberal and conservative, have interpreted this verse as representing the untimely death of Alexander and the division of his empire into four major sections. Alexander, who had conquered more of the world than any previous ruler, was not able to conquer himself. Partly due to a strenuous exertion, his dissipated life, and a raging fever, Alexander died in a drunken debauch at Babylon, not yet thirty-three years of age. His death left a great conquest without an effective single leader, and it took about twenty years for the empire to be successfully divided." [3]
As mentioned in my comments on Daniel 7:6, the most probable identifications of the four horns are Lysimachus, Cassander, Seleucus, and Ptolemy (cf. Daniel 11:4). [4] Lysimachus ruled the northern part of Alexander"s empire, Cassander the western part, Seleucus the eastern part, and Ptolemy the southern part.

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 8:8 mean?

Therefore the male goat goat grew - very great but when he became strong was broken the horn large and came up notable ones four in place of it toward four winds of the heaven
וּצְפִ֥יר הָעִזִּ֖ים הִגְדִּ֣יל עַד־ מְאֹ֑ד וּכְעָצְמ֗וֹ נִשְׁבְּרָה֙ הַקֶּ֣רֶן הַגְּדוֹלָ֔ה וַֽתַּעֲלֶ֜נָה חָז֤וּת אַרְבַּע֙ תַּחְתֶּ֔יהָ לְאַרְבַּ֖ע רוּח֥וֹת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם

וּצְפִ֥יר  Therefore  the  male  goat 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: צָפִיר  
Sense: he-goat.
הָעִזִּ֖ים  goat 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: עֵז  
Sense: female goat, she-goat, goat, kid.
הִגְדִּ֣יל  grew 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּדַל  
Sense: to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things.
עַד־  - 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
מְאֹ֑ד  very  great 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.
וּכְעָצְמ֗וֹ  but  when  he  became  strong 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עָצַם 
Sense: to be vast, be numerous, be mighty.
נִשְׁבְּרָה֙  was  broken 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
הַקֶּ֣רֶן  the  horn 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: קֶרֶן 
Sense: horn.
הַגְּדוֹלָ֔ה  large 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
וַֽתַּעֲלֶ֜נָה  and  came  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
חָז֤וּת  notable  ones 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חָזוּת  
Sense: vision, conspicuousness.
אַרְבַּע֙  four 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: אַרְבַּע  
Sense: four.
תַּחְתֶּ֔יהָ  in  place  of  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
לְאַרְבַּ֖ע  toward  four 
Parse: Preposition-l, Number, feminine singular construct
Root: אַרְבַּע  
Sense: four.
רוּח֥וֹת  winds 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
הַשָּׁמָֽיִם  of  the  heaven 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.