Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 8:2
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.
2. And I saw in the vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in Elam, the province; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the stream Ulai ] The verse is awkwardly worded, and in part tautologous; its object is to describe where Daniel seemed to find himself in the vision. ‘Elam’ is the Heb. form of the Sumerian (or ‘Accadian’) lam-ma, ‘highland,’ which in Ass. assumed the fem. term. and became lamtu: it denoted originally (Delitzsch, Paradies, p. 320 f.) ‘the mountainous region beginning N. and E. of Susa, and corresponding roughly to the modern Khusistan.’ Persia proper was S. E. of it. It is mentioned frequently both in the O.T. (Gen 10:22; Isa 11:11; Jer 49:34, &c.), and also in the Assyrian Inscriptions: Anshan, or Anzan, the home of Cyrus, was the district in the S.-W. of Elam, bordering on what is now the lower course of the Tigris, but what in ancient times was the upper part of the Persian Gulf (called by the Assyrians the Nr Marratum, or Bitter (salt) River) [318] . Shushan (Susa) was the capital of Elam. Asshurbanipal (b.c. 668 626) invaded Elam more than once, and has left a full and vivid account of the occasion on which he stormed and sacked Shushan ( KB [319] , ii. 203 ff.). Darius Hystaspis appears to have been the first Persian king who erected palaces at Shushan, or held his court there [320] ; and from his time onwards, as the principal residence of the Persian kings (cf. Neh 1:1; Est 1:2, and passim), it held for nearly two centuries a commanding position in the ancient world. ‘From Susa, during this period, the peoples of W. Asia and E. Europe awaited their destiny; in the Apadna tributary princes, ambassadors, and satraps, including the noblest of the Greeks, as Antalkidas (387 and 372), Pelopidas and Ismenias (367), did homage at the feet of the Great King. In the palaces of the citadel were enacted bloody harem-tragedies, in which eunuchs and women were the actors (Esther, Amytis, Amestris, Parysatis, Statira). Here Xerxes fell under the daggers of Artabanus and Aspamithras, and here Bagoas poisoned two kings’ (Billerbeck, Susa, p. 154). Susa was thus a suitable spot at which the seer should find himself in a vision that pourtrayed with some prominence both the rise and the fall of the Persian power ( Dan 8:3-7). See further, on Susa, p. 125 f.
[318] Maspero, Struggle of the Nations (with Map), p. 30 f.
[319] B. Eb. Schrader, Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek (transliterations and translations of Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions), 1889 1900.
[320] Billerbeck, Susa (1893), pp. 128, 129, 133 ff.
For other instances of visionary transference to a distant locality, see Eze 8:3 to Eze 11:24, Eze 40:2 ff.
Shushan, the citadel ] the standing title of Shushan in the O. T. (Neh 1:1; Est 1:2; Est 1:5; Est 2:3; Est 2:5; Est 2:8; Est 3:15; Est 8:14; Est 9:6; Est 9:11-12). The word rendered ‘citadel’ ( birah) is peculiar to the later Hebrew, being found otherwise only in 1Ch 29:1; 1Ch 29:19; Ezr 6:2; Neh 2:8 (see Ryle’s note), vii. 2. It is probably the Ass. birtu, ‘castle’ (Delitzsch, Ass. Handwrterbuch, p. 185), and denotes a castellated building or enclosure, a castle, citadel, or acropolis.
Elam, the province ] Cf. Ezr 6:2, ‘Media, the province.’ It is, however, extremely doubtful whether Elam, especially after the rise and successes of Cyrus, was a ‘province’ (Dan 3:2-3) of the Babylonian empire: the word seems rather a reminiscence of the time when the district in which Susa lay was a principal ‘province’ of the Persian empire.
the stream Ulai ] The word rendered stream occurs only here and Dan 8:3 ; Dan 8:6; but it appears to differ only phonetically from the one found in Jer 17:8, and (in a slightly different form) in Isa 30:25; Isa 44:4. The Ulai is the Ass. U-la-a-a the waters of which Asshurbanipal, on his first invasion of Elam, states that he ‘coloured with blood like wool’ ( KB [321] ii. 183) the Eulaeus of the classical writers, which Pliny ( H. N. vi. 27) says flowed close by Susa. The difficulties which were formerly felt in identifying the Eulaeus have been cleared up by the surveys of Loftus and Dieulafoy. There are at present three rivers flowing near Susa, from the mountains on the north, into the Persian Gulf. On the S.-W. of Susa, some four or five miles from the site of the ancient acropolis, flows the Kerkha (the ancient Choaspes): on the east is the Abdizful (the Coprates), which runs into the Karun (the Pasitigris); and the Eulaeus was a large artificial canal some 900 feet broad, of which traces remain, though it is now dry, which left the Choaspes at Pai Pul, about 20 miles N.-W. of Susa, passed close by the town of Susa on the N. or N.-E., and afterwards joined the Coprates.
[321] B. Eb. Schrader, Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek (transliterations and translations of Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions), 1889 1900.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I saw in a vision – I looked as the vision appeared to me; or I saw certain things represented to me in a vision. On the word vision, see the notes at Dan 1:17. The meaning here would seem to be that a vision appeared to Daniel, and that he contemplated it with earnestness, to understand what it meant.
That I was at Shushan – As remarked in the introduction to this chapter, this might mean that he seemed to be there, or that the vision was represented to him as being there; but the most natural construction is to suppose that Daniel was actually there himself. Why he was there he has not informed us directly – whether he was on public business, or on his own. From Dan 8:27, however – Afterward I rose up, and did the kings business – it would seem most probable that he was then in the service of the king. This supposition will not conflict with the statement in Dan 5:10-11, in which the queen-mother, when the handwriting appeared on the wall of the palace informs Belshazzar that there was a man in his kingdom in whom was the spirit of the holy gods, etc. – from which it might be objected that Daniel was at that time unknown to the king, and could not have been in his employ, for it might have been a fact that he was in the employ of the king as an officer of the government, and yet it may have been forgotten that he had this power of disclosing the meaning of visions.
He may have been employed in the public service, but his services to the father of the king, and his extraordinary skill in interpreting dreams and visions may not at once have occurred to the affrighted monarch and his courtiers. Shushan, or Susa, the chief town of Susiana, was the capital of Persia after the time of Cyrus, in which the kings of Persia had their principal residence, Neh 1:1; Est 1:2-5. It was situated on the Eulaeus or Choaspes, probably on the spot now occupied by the village Shus. – Rennel, Geog. of Herodotus; Kinneir, Mem. Pers. Emp.; K. Porters Travels, ii. 4, 11; Ritter, Erdkunde, Asien, 9: 294; Pict. Bib. in loc. At Shus there are extensive ruins, stretching perhaps twelve miles from one extremity to the other, and consisting, like the other ruins in that country, of hillocks of earth, and rubbish, covered with broken, pieces of brick and colored tile. At the foot of these mounds is the so-called tomb of Daniel, a small building erected on the spot where the remains of Daniel are believed in that region to rest.
It is apparently modern, but nothing but the belief that this was the site of the prophets sepulchre could have led to its being built in the place where it stands – Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, i. 255, 256. The city of Shus is now a gloomy wilderness, inhabited by lions, hyenas, and other beasts of prey. – Kittos Cyclo., art. Shushan. Sir John Kinneir says that the dread of these animals compelled Mr. Monteith and himself to take shelter for the night within the walls that encompass Daniels tomb. Of that tomb Sir John Malcolm says, It is a small building, but sufficient to shelter some dervishes who watch the remains of the prophet, and are supported by the alms of pious pilgrims, who visit the holy sepulchre. The dervishes are now the only inhabitants of Susa; and every species of wild beast roams at large over the spot on which some of the proudest palaces ever raised by human art once stood. – Vol. i. pp. 255, 256. For a description of the ruins of Susa, see Pict. Bib. in loc. This city was about 450 Roman miles from Seleucia, and was built, according to Pliny, 6; 27, in a square of about 120 stadia. It was the summer residence of the Persian kings (Cyrop. 8, 6, 10), as they passed the spring in Ecbatana, and the autumn and winter in Babylon. See Lengerke, in loc. It was in this city that Alexander the Great married Stateira, daughter of Darius Codomanus. The name means a lily, and was probably given to it on account of its beauty – Lengerke. Rosenmuller supposes that the vision here is represented to have appeared to Daniel in this city because it would be the future capital of Persia, and because so much of the vision pertained to Persia. See Maurer, in loc.
In the palace – This word ( byrah) means a fortress, a castle, a fortified palace. – Gesenius. See Neh 1:1; Est 1:5; Est 2:5; Est 8:14; Est 9:6, Est 9:11-12. It would seem to have been given to the city because it was a fortified place. The word applied not only to the palace proper, a royal residence, but to the whole adjacent city. It is not necessary to suppose that Daniel was in the palace proper, but only that he was in the city to which the name was given.
Which is in the province of Elam – See the notes at Isa 11:11. This province was bounded on the east by Persia Proper, on the west by Babylonia, on the north by Media, and on the south by the Persian Gulf. It was about half as large as Persia, and not quite as large as England. – Kittos Cyclo. It was probably conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, and in the time of Belshazzar was subject to the Babylonian dominion, Shushan had been doubtless the capital of the kingdom of Elam while it continued a separate kingdom, and remained the capital of the province while it was under the Babylonian yoke, and until it was subdued as a part of the empire by Cyrus. It was then made one of the capitals of the united Medo-Persian empire. It was when it was the capital of a province that it was visited by Daniel, and that he saw the vision there. Possibly he may have dwelt there subsequently, and died there.
And I was by the river of Ulai – This river flowed by the city of Shushan, or Susa, and fell into the united stream of the Tigris and the Euphrates. It is called by Pliny (Nat. Hist. vi. 81) Eulaeus; but it is described by Greek writers generally under the name of Choaspes. – Herod. v. 49; Strabo, xv. p. 728. It is now known by the name Kerah, called by the Turks Karasu. It passes on the west of the ruins of Shus (Susa), and enters the Shat-ul-Arab about twenty miles below Korna. – Kinneir, Geog. Mem. of the Persian Empire, pp. 96, 97. See Kittos Cyclo., art. Ulai
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. I saw in a vision] Daniel was at this time in Shushan, which appears to have been a strong place, where the kings of Persia had their summer residence. It was the capital of the province of Elam or the Elymais; which province was most probably added to the Chaldean territories by Nebuchadnezzar; see Jer 49:34-35. Here was Daniel’s ordinary residence; and though here at this time, he, in vision, saw himself on the banks of the river Ulai. This is the same as the river Euleus, which divided Shushan or Susiana from Elymais.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I was at Shushan; in his mind and thoughts, not bodily, and was by the river Ulai: some think he was locally there, being sent thither in embassy by Cyrus; but Daniel was now at Babylon, when it was besieged and taken, Da 5; he was only there in spirit, as the prophet Ezekiel saith he was in Jerusalem, Eze 8:3. Now Daniel had this vision at Shushan, because their deliverance was to come by Cyrus the Persian or Elamite, for Elam is Persia. This city was called Shushan, i.e. a lily, for the pleasantness of it: such names they give also their cities in China.
The river of Ulai; a river whose waters were so wholesome that they were carried far, and the king drank of no other.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. ShushanSusa. Though thencomparatively insignificant, it was destined to be the capital ofPersia after Cyrus’ time. Therefore Daniel is transported into it, asbeing the capital of the kingdom signified by the two-horned ram(Neh 1:1; Est 1:2-5).
Elamwest of Persiaproper, east of Babylonia, south of Media. Daniel was not presentthere personally, but in vision.
Ulaicalled in PLINYEuloeligus; by the Greeks, Choaspes. Now Kerah, or Karasu. So in Da10:4 he receives a vision near another river, the Hiddekel. SoEzekiel (Eze 1:1) at the Chebar.Perhaps because synagogues used to be built near rivers, as beforepraying they washed their hands in the water [ROSENMULLER],(Ps 137:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I saw in a vision,…. The following things:
and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; not in reality, but so it seemed to him in the vision; as Ezekiel, when in Babylon, seemed in the visions of God to be at Jerusalem, Eze 8:3. This city Shushan, or Susa, as it is called by other writers, and signifies a “lily”, was so called from the plenty of lilies that grew about it, or because of the pleasantness of it; it was the metropolis of the country Susiana, which had its name from it, and was afterwards the royal seat of the kings of Persia. This was first made so by Cyrus; for Strabo a says, that he and the Persians having overcome the Medes, observing that their own country was situated in the extreme parts, and Susa more inward, and nearer to other nations, being, as he says, between Persia and Babylon, set his royal palace in it; approving both the nearness of the country, and the dignity of the city. Here the kings of Persia laid up their treasures, even prodigious large ones; hence Aristagoras told Cleomenes, that if he could take that city, he would vie, and might contend, with Jupiter for riches b; for hither Cyrus carried whatever money he had in Persia, even forty thousand talents, some say fifty c. Alexander d, when he took this city, found a vast quantity of riches in it. It is called here a palace; and so it is spoken of by Herodotus e, Diodorus Siculus f, Pausanius g, Pliny h, and others, as a royal city, where were the residence and palace of the kings of Persia; but the royal palace was not in it at this time; the kings of Babylon had their palace and kept their court at Babylon, where Daniel was; but in vision it seemed to him that he was in Shushan, and which was represented to him as a palace, as it would be, and as the metropolis of the kingdom of Persia, which he had a view of in its future flourishing condition, and as destroyed by Alexander; for, as before observed, it was Cyrus that first made it a royal city; whereas this vision was in the third year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. Some versions render it, a “tower” or “castle”; and so several writers, as Strabo i Plutarch k and Pliny l, speak of the tower or castle in it. Diodorus Siculus m says, when Antigonus took the tower of Susa, he found in it a golden vine, and a great quantity of other works, to the value of fifteen thousand talents; and out of crowns, and other gifts and spoils, he made up five thousand more. And Polybius n relates, that though Molon took the city, yet could not take the fortress, and was obliged to raise the siege, so strong it was. It must be a mistake of Pliny o that this city was built by Darius Hystaspes; he could only mean it was rebuilt, or rather enlarged, by him, since it was in being long before his time, and even a royal city in the times of Cyrus. Strabo p says it was built by Tithon the father of Merenon, was in compass a fifteen miles, of an oblong figure, and the tower was called after his father’s name Mernnonia; and Shushan itself is called, by Herodotus q, Susa Memnonia. At this day, with the common people, it goes by the name of Tuster r. The east gate of the mountain of the house, which led to the temple at Jerusalem, was called Shushan. Some say s there was a building over this gate, on which the palace of Shushan was portrayed, from whence it had its name. The reason of this portrait is differently given; the Jewish commentators on the Misnah t commonly say that this was ordered by the kings of Persia, that the people of Israel might stand in awe of them, and not rebel against them. Their famous lexicographer u says, that this was done, that the Israelites, when they saw it, might remember their captivity in it. But a chronologer w of theirs gives this as the reason, that the children of the captivity made this figure, that they might remember the miracle of Purim, which was made in Shushan; and this, he says, is a good interpretation of it. This city was in the province of Elam; that is, Persia, as it is also called, Isa 21:6 for Josephus x says the Persians had their original from the Elamites, or Elameans; and Pliny y observes, that Elymais joined to Persia; and the country of Susiane, so called from Susa its chief city, was, according to Strabo z and Ptolemy a1, a part of Persia: and here Daniel in vision thought himself to be; and a very suitable place for him to have this vision in, which so much concerned the affairs of Persia.
And I saw in a vision, and I was by the river Ulai; that is, in vision; it seemed to the prophet that he was upon the banks of the river Ulai; the same with the Eulaeus of Strabo b1, Pliny c1, Ptolemy d1, and others, which ran by, and surrounded, the city of Shushan, or Susa; the water of which was so light, as Strabo e1 observes, that it was had in great request, and the kings of Persia would drink of no other, and carried it with them wherever they went. Herodotus f1 and Curtius g1 make mention of the river Choaspes, as running by Susa, and say the same things of its water; from whence it might be concluded it was one and the same river, called by different names; though Strabo takes notice of them together, as if they were distinct; yet he, from Polycletus h1, makes them, with Tigris, to disembogue into the same lake, and from thence into the sea. The river which runs by Shushan, now called Souster, according to Monsieur Thevenot i1, is Caron, and comes from the hills about it, and is thought to be the Choaspes of the ancients; near to which, as he was told, is a hill that now goes by the name of Choasp; so that, upon the whole, they seem to be one and the same river k1. Josephus says l1, that Daniel had this vision in the plain of Susa, the metropolis of Persia, as he went out with his friends, that is, out of the city: and the Vulgate Latin version renders it, “by the gate Ulai”; a gate of the city of Shushan so called: and so Saadiah Gaon interprets it a gate; but the former sense is best.
a Geograph. l. 15. p. 500. b Herodoti Terpsichore, sive l. 5. c. 48. c Strabo. ib. p. 502. d Curtius, l. 5. c. 2. Plutarch. in Vita Alexandri, Diador. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 540. e Terpsichore, sive l. 5. sect. 48. f Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 539. g Laconice, sive l. 3. p. 175. h Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. i Geograph. l. 15. p. 500. k In Vita Alexandri. l Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27.) m Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 540. n Hist. l. 5. p. 249. o Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27.) p Geograph. l. 15. p. 500. q Polymnia, sive l. 7. c. 151. r Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 658, 935. s Jarchi & Bartenora in Misn. Celim, c. 17. sect. 9. t Maimon & Bartenora in Misn. Kelim, c. 17. sect. 9. & Middot, c. 1. sect. 3. u R. Nathan, Sepher Aruch in voce , fol. 160. 3. w R. Abraham Zacuth, Sepher Juchasin, fol. 65. 2. x Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 4. y Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. z Geograph. l. 15. p. 500. a1 Geograph. l. 6. c. 3. b1 Geograph. p. 501, 505. c1 Ut supra, (Nat. Hist.) l. 6. c. 23, 27. d1 Geograph. l. 6. c. 3. e1 Ut supra, (Geograph.) p. 505. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. f1 Clio, sive l. 1. c. 188. Terpsichore, sive l. 5. c. 49, 52. g1 Ut supra. (Curtius, l. 5. c. 2.) h1 Geograph. l. 15. p. 501. i1 Travels, part 2. B. 3. c. 9. p. 153. k1 See the Universal History, vol. 5. p. 124. l1 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 7.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Without any doubt, the Prophet here recognized a new empire as about to arise, which could not happen without Babylon being reduced to slavery. Hence it would tend in. no slight degree to alleviate the cares of the pious, and to mitigate their sorrows, when they saw what they had previously thought incredible, namely, the approaching destruction of that horrible tyranny under which they had been so, cruelly oppressed. And if the liberty of returning to their country was not immediately granted to the people, it would be no small consolation to behold God’s judgment against the Chaldeans as foretold by the prophets. We must now examine the Prophet’s language. I have seen in a vision, says he. This word חזון, chezon, a “vision,” is added to show us that the ram of which mention is made was not seen by the eyes of the body. Hence this was a heavenly oracle, and ought to have raised the beholder above all human sensations, to enable him to discern from lofty watch-tower what was hidden from the rest of mankind. He did not see then what ordinary men might behold, but God showed in a vision things which no mortal senses could apprehend. He next adds, The vision was shewn to me, Daniel, and I happened, says he, when I saw it, to be in Shushan Some think Daniel to be then dwelling in Persia, bug this view is by no means probable; for who could persuade the holy Prophet of God, who had been led captive with the rest and was attached to the king of Babylon, to depart as if he had been entirely his own master, and to go into Persia when the Persians were then open enemies? This is not at all likely; and I wonder what can induce men to adopt this comment, so contrary to all reason. For we need not dispute about a matter by no means obscure if we weigh the Prophet’s words, as he removes all doubt by saying he was in Shushan when he saw, that is, when he was caught up by the prophetic spirit beyond himself and above the world. The Prophet does not say he dwelt in Shushan, or in the neighborhood, but he was there in the vision only. The next verse, too, sufficiently shews him to have then been in Chaldean in the third year, he says, of the reign of King Belshazzar. By naming the king, he clearly expresses that he then dwelt under his power and dominion. It is clearly to be gathered from these words, without the slightest doubt, that the Prophet then dwelt in Chaldea. And perhaps Babylon had been already besieged, as we saw before. He says he was in the palace at Shushan I know not how I ought to translate this word, הבירה, hebireh, as I see no reason for preferring the meaning “palace” to that of” citadel.” We are sure of the nobility and celebrity of the citadel which was afterwards the head of the East, for all nations and tribes received from thence their laws, rights, and judgments. At the same time, I think this citadel was not then built, for its empire over the Persian territory was not firmly established till the successors of Cyrus. We may perhaps distinguish Shushan from Persia at large, yet as it is usually treated as a part of that kingdom, I will not urge the distinction. The country is, however, far milder and more fertile than Persia, as it receives its name from being flowery and abounding in roses. Thus the Prophet says he was there in a vision.
He afterwards repeats this I saw in a vision, and behold I was near the river Ulai The Latin writers mention a river Eulaeus, and as there is a great similitude between the words, I have no hesitation in understanding Daniel’s language of the Eulaeus. The repetition is not superfluous. It adds certainty to the prophecy, because Daniel affirms it; not to have been any vanishing specter, as a vision might be suspected to be, but clearly and certainly a divine revelation, as he will afterwards relate. He says, too, he raised his eyes upwards This attentive attitude has the same meaning, as experience informs us how often men are deceived by wandering in erroneous imaginations. But Daniel here bears witness to his raising his eyes upwards, because he, knew himself to be, divinely called upon to discern future events.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) At Shushani.e., Susa. At this time (see Records of the Past, vol. 1, p. 71, &c.) Susa was, as Daniel describes it, in the province of Elam; at a later period it became the capital of the Persian empire. Daniel was at Susa only in vision, he was not bodily transported thither. The Ulai is the river Eulus, and is mentioned in connection with Susa in the inscription cited above.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. He dreams that he is in Shushan. This place is comparatively well known now. From ancient times it was the capital of Elam, and Persian kings who were successors of Cyrus, took it as their capital also (Meyer, Geschichte, 466). Bertholdt, De Wette, Graf, etc., thought the mention of a Babylonian imperial palace at this time in Elam was clearly an error, and proved the late authorship of this passage, and Reuss laughed at the idea that a courtier of Babylon could even dream of being in the capital of Persia ( La Bible, 7:222); but recent researches make the accuracy of this statement less doubtful. If this vision is to be dated a year or two previous to the capture of Babylon by Cyrus it is quite natural that at this period all Babylonian statesmen would be seeking the friendship and alliance of every city which was not absolutely controlled by Cyrus. (Compare Dan 8:27.) Now, though Cyrus was king of Anzan (Elam), he never calls himself in his inscriptions king of Susa (Shushan), and high authorities believe that there is “no proof that Cyrus ever lived in Susa or looked upon himself as its king” (Billerbeck, Susa, 1893). Even if Cyrus did control Susa there is reason to believe from the inscriptions, that at certain times during his reign this city looked toward the Babylonian king as friend and helper, not as an enemy. In any case, diplomatic and other intercommunication between Shushan and Babylon at this period is most natural, and it is the contrary supposition which would now appear “incredible.” Several words in this passage appear archaic. The name Elam is seldom used by the successors of Cyrus, who instead of this use the word Persia. The Greeks also located Susa in Susiana, not in Elam. The word “palace” is thought to be the old Persian word commonly used by Darius and Artaxerxes, for the royal fortress or castle. Even the name Shushan for Susa is archaic, as, contrary to later usage, in the oldest texts this name is written Shusha, or Shushi, being probably pronounced Shoshan, having been named after the god Shushinak (Hilprecht, American Philological Society, 1893). Loftus in 1852 here found, near the reputed tomb of Daniel, the palace built by Darius (521-485 B.C.). M. Dieulafoy, 1882-1885, made many excavations, finding vast magnificent chambers, one of which was supported by thirty-six immense columns in rows of six. The roof of this royal hall was of cedar brought from Phoenicia. The tall, slender pilasters with their beautiful capitals were carved to represent the lotus, the brick walls were painted with colored stucco, the doorways were supported by an Egyptian cornice carved in the form of a double row of lotus leaves, the great pylons at each side of the entrance were decorated with enameled buds. Many beautiful scenes were painted on the palace walls, where, for example, the Indian bodyguard of the Persian king could be seen in all the glory of their gorgeous uniforms. This was the very palace mentioned in Esther, and the successor of the palace spoken of in Daniel’s vision. M. Dieulafoy has tried to reconstruct this marvelous building, with its portals of marble and porphyry columns; its magnificent gateways guarded by double-headed bulls; its banquet halls where the emblematic designs upon the stucco stand out “like heavy lace;” the cornices covered with enameled tiles of turquoise; its thick carpets and splendid drapery. The earlier palace referred to in Daniel must have been very similar to this. Sardanapalus (650 B.C.) says of it: “I conquered Shushan, the great city, the dwelling of the gods by the command of Ashur and Ishtar I entered into the palaces and sojourned there with joy. I opened their treasures in which gold, silver, and other possessions were stored, which the ancient kings of Elam had collected and on which no other enemy had laid his hand. I brought it out and accounted it my booty.” Then he speaks of silver and gold which the kings of Elam, in seven expeditions, had brought from Babylon, and “costly treasure” of jewels which former kings of Babylon had sent to Elam “to make alliance” with its kings, and of the splendid spoil of garments, weapons of war, chariots, horses, and a great many statues of kings and deities which he had carried away. For a popular general description see Evetts’s New Light on the Bible, 1892. Assurbanipal mentions the river Uai (Eulaeus) in close connection with Shushan.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And I saw in the vision, – now it was so that when I was seeing I was in Shushan the fortress, which is in the province of Elam – and I saw in the vision, and I was by the River Ulai.’
Daniel repeats that he saw things in vision, and informs us of his whereabouts at the time. He was in Shushan (Susa), the fortress-city, in the province of Elam. It is quite probable that he was there on a mission on behalf of Babylon, as a retired governor of Babylon now available for such special missions. This would explain why, as he saw the power of Medo-Persia, he recognised that the downfall of Babylon must come soon. On the other hand some see this as meaning that he was, as it were, transported there in the vision.
Shushan was Cyrus’ capital city, capital of the Persian empire, a huge fortress of a city in the former territory of Elam, ‘in the province of Elam’. In Ezr 4:9 the ‘Shushancites’ are differentiated from the Elamites. This was a differentiation of cityfolk from the provincials. Compare Jerusalem and Judah, often seen in apposition. At this time Elam was a province of either Media or Persia.
The ‘River’ Ulai flowed by Susa and was a canal, 275 metres (900 feet) wide, which joined two large rivers.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Dan 8:2. And I saw in a vision, &c. Houbigant renders this very properly, And I saw myself in the vision to be by the river Ulai; for Daniel was at Shushan when he had this vision, wherein he imagined himself to be by the river Ulai; which divides Susiana from Elam, properly so called; though Elam is often taken in a larger sense, so as to comprehend Susiana.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Dan 8:2 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.
Ver. 2. I saw in a vision. ] God revealed himself to men waking in vision, as well as in dreams, Heb 1:1 wherein the prophets saw things actually done, which hereby they knew were to be done. 1Ki 22:17
I was at Shushan.
And I was by the river of Ulai.
a Athenaeus.
b Pliny, lib. vi. cap. 27.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
I was at = I was in. Daniel may have retired there (during the lycanthropy of Nebuchadnezzar) when Nehemiah and Mordecai were in the court of Astyages (Neh 1:1). That Daniel was there employed by Astyages is clear from Dan 8:27.
Shushan. The chief city of all Persia.
river. Hebrew. ‘ubal = canal. Only here, and in verses: Dan 8:3, Dan 8:6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Dan 8:2
Dan 8:2 And I sawH7200 in a vision;H2377 and it came to pass,H1961 when I saw,H7200 that IH589 was at ShushanH7800 in the palace,H1002 whichH834 is in the provinceH4082 of Elam;H5867 and I sawH7200 in a vision,H2377 and IH589 wasH1961 byH5921 the riverH180 of Ulai.H195
Dan 8:2
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.
Daniel here states that he was in the palace at Shushan when he saw this vision. Commentators are divided on whether Daniel’s presence in Shushan was only within his vision or if he was literally in Shushan when he received the vision. It is unlikely that the location of where Daniel found himself in the vision would be worthy of the level of detail recorded. There can hardly be any apocalyptic significance regarding Daniel’s location within the vision itself. It is much more likely that Daniel was in Shushan when he received the vision. This is a possible explanation of why Belshazzar did not know Daniel personally when he wanted to know the meaning of the hand writing on the wall. Daniel may have been posted in Shushan by Nabonidus before Belshazzar became co-regent and Belshazzar merely never availed himself of any opportunity to acquaint himself with all of his servants. In either event, whether Daniel served in Babylon or Shushan, it is a testament to Belshazzar’s poor leadership that he did not even know who Daniel was. Verse 27 reveals that Daniel was in the service of the king. Belshazzar obviously did not know who all his chief servants were.
Shushan (Susa), was located some two hundred and forty miles to the east of Babylon in present day southwestern Iran. It was the ancient capital of Elam. During Daniel’s time it was a holding of the Babylonian Empire but afterwards it became a royal residence and the capital of the Persian Empire (Neh 1:1). The site is present-day Shush, about 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf.
Shushan was an ancient city and long before the time of Abraham, Shushan was the center of Elamite civilization. Some scholars believe it was a cult city centering around worship of one of the chief Elamite gods. The city had frequent contacts with Mesopotamia.
The Assyrian King Ashurbanipal, or Asnapper in Ezr 4:10, led a military campaign against Shushan about 642 – 639 BC. In about 640 BC. he sacked the city and carried some of its inhabitants (Susanchites, Ezr 4:9, KJV) into exile in Samaria (V 10).
When Cyrus the Great who reigned from 550 to 529 BC., and established the Persian Empire, he made Shushan its capital. At Shushan, Darius the Great who ruled from about 521 to 486 BC., built his royal palace. This same palace was occupied by Artaxerxes II, also known as Ahasuerus (404- 359 BC.), who was the king of Medo-Persia and husband to Esther. Most of the events recorded in the Book of Esther took place in Shushan (Est 1:2-5; Est 2:3-8; Est 3:15; Est 4:8-16; Est 8:14-15; Est 9:6-18).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
I saw in: Dan 8:3, Dan 7:2, Dan 7:15, Num 12:6, Heb 1:1
Shushan: Neh 1:1, Est 1:2, Est 2:8, Est 3:15, Est 7:6, Est 8:15, Est 9:11, Est 9:15
province: Gen 10:22, Gen 14:1, Isa 21:2, Jer 25:25, Jer 49:34-39, Eze 32:24
Ulai: Dan 8:16
Reciprocal: Exo 1:1 – General 1Ch 1:17 – Elam Ezr 4:9 – Susanchites Est 8:14 – Shushan Isa 11:11 – Elam Eze 1:1 – I saw Dan 8:27 – and did Dan 10:4 – as Act 2:9 – Elamites
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 8:2. At the time Daniel saw this vision he was on the banks of a river in the province of Elam. Shushan (sometimes spelled Susa) was one of the capitals of the MedoPersian Empire. The reason for saying one of its capitals is that after the ascendency of this world power, its rulers resided sometimes in this place and sometimes in Babylon. However, at the time of this chapter the Babylonian Empire was still in power, and the reference to the palace was because tlie province had once been a prominent territory and had its own local rulers who had their mansion here. Since Daniel hau this vision while the first of the fonr world powers was in force, it would make the events shown in the vision truly prophetical.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Dan 8:2. I saw in a vision When I was awake, and had my bodily senses: see Dan 8:3, and compare Dan 10:4-5. This was accounted a more perfect degree of revelation than the having a representation of things imprinted on the imagination during sleep. When I saw, I was at Shushan in the palace This circumstance shows that Daniel continued in some post of honour, at least during the former part of the reign of Belshazzar. Which is in the province of Elam The province of Elam, or Persia, properly so called, was taken from Astyages, king of Media, by Nebuchadnezzar, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah against Elam, Jer 49:34. And it was subject to the king of Babylon when Daniel saw this vision; though afterward the viceroy of that country revolted to Cyrus, and joined with him in taking Babylon. And I was by the river Ulai Or, Eluus, as it was called by the Greeks and Romans. This river divided Susiana from the province of Elam, properly so called: see Plin., lib. 6. cap. 27. Elam, however, is often taken in a larger sense, so as to comprehend Susiana under it. It was usual for the prophets to see visions by river sides, of which Daniel gives us another instance, chap. Dan 10:4; and Ezekiel likewise saw visions by the river Chebar, Eze 1:3; as if the Holy Spirit delighted to manifest himself in such retired scenes. And the gifts and graces of the Spirit are often, in Scripture language, described by the metaphors of springs and streams of water, than which nothing is more agreeable and refreshing in hot and dry countries.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
8:2 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 {b} of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
(b) That is, of Persia.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The ram 8:2-4
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Evidently Daniel was in Babylon when he had this vision, but what he saw, including himself, was in Susa (Shushan, AV; cf. Eze 8:3; Eze 40:1). [Note: Montgomery, pp. 325-26.] 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 about 200 miles east of Babylon and approximately 150 miles due north of the top of the Persian Gulf. Archaelolgists discovered the Code of Hammurabi there in 1901. [Note: See Unger’s Bible Dictionary, s.v. "Shushan," by Merrill F. Unger.] 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 (Est 1:2; Neh 1:1). The "citadel" was the palace, that housed the royal residence, and it had strong fortifications.
"The Ulai [Canal] can best be identified with an artificial canal which connected the rivers Choastes [or Choaspes, modern Kerkha] and Coprates [modern Abdizful] and ran close by Susa." [Note: Montgomery, p. 327.]