Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 8:13
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spoke, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
13. one saint ] a holy one, i.e. an angel, as Dan 4:13 (where see the note). So in the next line, and another holy one. In A.V. ‘saint’ is used, in an application which is now obsolete, of the angels: see Deu 33:2, Job 5:1; Job 15:15, Psa 89:5; Psa 89:7, Zec 14:5, Judges 14, and probably 1Th 3:13. But the term, as limited by modern usage, yields an incorrect sense; and hence, in all the passages quoted, except the last, ‘holy one(s)’ has been substituted in R.V.
speaking ] What was said is not stated: but the question which follows shews that it had some reference to the vision which Daniel had just seen.
unto that certain one which spake ] The indef. expression is used (cf. 1Sa 21:3; Rth 4:1), as the speaker could not be specified more closely.
How long (shall be) the vision? the continual (burnt-offering), and the transgression causing appalment, the giving both the sanctuary and the host (to be) trampled under foot?] The sentence (if the text is correct) is harshly constructed; but the words following ‘vision’ must be understood to be in apposition with that word, and to indicate the contents of the vision. The rendering of LXX. might suggest that ‘taken away’ had dropped out after ‘continual (burnt-offering)’; at any rate, whether actually read by the translators or not, this is a correct interpretation of the sense. ‘The transgression causing appalment’ is the heathen worship established by Antiochus in the Temple, with special reference, perhaps (cf. Dan 11:31, Dan 12:11), to the heathen altar erected by him on the altar of burnt-offering in the Temple court, which was naturally an object of extreme abhorrence to the pious Jews (see 1Ma 1:47 ; 1Ma 1:51 ; 1Ma 1:54 ; 1Ma 1:59 ).
causing appalment ] Except in Daniel, the word used means either laid waste, desolated [326] (Isa 49:8; Lam 1:4; Lam 1:13; Lam 1:16; Lam 3:11), or appalled 1 (2Sa 13:20): but the passive sense is unsuitable both here, and in Dan 9:27 (last word), Dan 12:11; and the active, whether causing appalment, or causing desolation, being defensible (see Ges.-Kautzsch, 55 c, f; 52 s; Knig, Lehrgebude, ii. p. 106), must be adopted. Comp. Dan 9:27, Dan 11:31 (where a probable explanation of the expression is mentioned in the note), Dan 12:11: and the note on p. 151.
[326] On the connexion between these two senses, see the note on Dan 4:19. In the corresponding verb, the sense to be appalled, horror-struck, is common, as Jer 2:12; Jer 18:16, Eze 26:16; Eze 27:35 (A.V., R.V., be astonished).
the giving both ] The meaning both is uncommon, though instances occur: perhaps, with a redivision of the words ( for ), we should read ‘ his giving the sanctuary,’ &c., or (Bevan, Marti) ‘ since he hath given,’ &c.
the host ] i.e. the army, fig. of the Israelites, as in Dan 8:10.
(to be) trampled under foot ] lit. (to be) a trampling (or treading down), exactly as Isa 10:6 (cf. R.V. marg.). See Dan 8:10 end (where the figure is the same), 11 end.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
13, 14. A dialogue between two angels, which is overheard by Daniel, and the object of which is evidently to inform Daniel how long the suspension of the daily sacrifices and the desecration of the Temple are to continue.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then I heard one saint speaking – One holy one. The vision was now ended, and the prophet represents himself now as hearing earnest inquiries as to the length of time during which this desolation was to continue. This conversation, or these inquiries, he represents himself as hearing among those whom he calls saints – or holy ones – qadosh. This word might refer to a saint on earth, or to an angel – to any holy being. As one of these, however, was able to explain the vision, and to tell how long the desolation was to continue, it is more natural to refer it to angels. So Lengerke understands it. The representation is, that one holy one, or angel, was heard by Daniel speaking on this subject, but nothing is recorded of what he said. It is implied only that he was conversing about the desolations that were to come upon the holy city and the people of God. To him thus speaking, and who is introduced as having power to explain it, another holy one approaches, and asks how long this state of things was to continue. The answer to this question Dan 8:14 is made, not to the one who made the inquiry, but to Daniel, evidently that it might be recorded. Daniel does not say where this vision occurred – whether in heaven or on earth. It was so near to him, however, that he could hear what was said.
And another saint – Another holy one – probably an angel. If so, we may conclude, what is in itself every way probable, that one angel has more knowledge than another, or that things are communicated to some which are not to others.
Unto that certain saint which spake – Margin, Palmoni, or, the numberer of secrets, or, the wondeful numberer. The Hebrew word, palemony, occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. The similar form, pelony, occurs in Rth 4:1, Ho, such a one, turn aside; in 1Sa 21:2, appointed my servants to such and such a place; and 2Ki 6:8, In such and such a place. The Italic words denote the corresponding Hebrew word. The word, according to Gesenius, means some one, a certain one; in Arabic, one who is distinct or definite, whom one points out as with the finger, and not by name. It is derived from an obsolete noun, palon, from the verb palah, to distinguish, and is united commonly with the word ‘alemony – meaning, properly, one concealed or unknown. It is language, therefore, which would be properly addressed to an unknown person with whom we would desire to speak, or whom we would designate by the finger, or in some such way, without being able to call the name. Thus applied in the passage here, it means that Daniel did not know the names of the persons thus speaking, but simply saw that one was speaking to another. He had no other way of designating or distinguishing them than by applying a term which was commonly used of a stranger when one wished to address him, or to point him out, or to call him to him. There is no foundation in the word for the meaning suggested in the margin. Theodotion does not attempt to translate the word, but retains it – phelmouni – Phelmouni. The Latin Vulgate well expresses the meaning, dixit unus sanctus alteri nescio loquenti. The full sense is undoubtedly conveyed by the two ideas,
(a) that the one referred to was unknown by name, and
(b) that he wished to designate him in some way, or to point him out.
How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice? – How long is what is designed to be represented by the vision to continue; that is, how long in fact will the offering of the daily sacrifice in the temple be suspended?
And the transgression of desolation – Margin, making desolate. That is, the act of iniquity on the part of Antiochus producing such desolation in the holy city and the temple – show long is that to continue?
To give both the sanctuary – The temple; the holy place where God dwelt by a visible symbol, and where he was worshipped.
And the host – The people of God – the Jewish people.
To be trodden under foot – To be utterly despised and prostrated – as anything which is trodden under our feet.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. One saint speaking, and another saint said] One angel asked another how long the sanctuary was to be trodden down?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By the first
saint is meant a holy angel, by the other is meant Jesus Christ,
Palmoni, a
numberer or revealer of secrets, a wonderful revealer, Isa 9:6. Of him the angel asks this secret concerning the calamity of the church, how long it would last, for Daniels sake and his people. For the Lord Christ is the Teacher of his people, the Wisdom of God, and hath all this in his power by office, and as he stands in relation to his church, and for them.
The Lord knows his suffering people are much concerned about the time of their sufferings, because there is an appointed time for it, and the Lord doth sometimes reveal it, as we see here, unto his considering ones, Dan 8:5, and praying saints, Da 9; they cry out in their agonies, How long, O Lord? and it is an addition to their sorrow that no man knoweth how long, Psa 74:9. How long shall Antiochus continue his tyrannical vexations against the people of God, and the worship of God? This is the
treading down of the sanctuary and the host.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. that certain saintDanieldid not know the names of these two holy angels, but saw only thatone was speaking to the other.
How long shall be the visionconcerning . . . daily sacrificeHow longshall the daily sacrifice be suspended?
transgression ofdesolationliterally, “making desolate,” that is,Antiochus desolating profanation of the temple (Dan 11:31;Dan 12:11). Compare as to Romeand the last Antichrist, Mt 24:15.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then I heard one saint speaking,…. An angel, either a created angel, pure and holy in his nature, as Gabriel; or the uncreated Angel Jesus Christ, the Word of God; what he was speaking of is not said; perhaps Daniel did not hear what he said, though he heard him speaking, or perceived that he spake; yet did not understand what he said, or what was the subject of his discourse; very probably it was something relative to the vision now seen:
and another saint said unto that certain saint that spake; another angel said to him that spake, whose name is unknown, only called such an one, or Palmoni, which some render “the wonderful numberer”; or, “the numberer of secrets”, or “that has all secrets numbered” g; and apply it to Christ, whose name is “Pele”, wonderful; the eternal Word of God, that is in the bosom of the Father, and knows all secrets, and the number of times and seasons, how long they will last; what created angels know not, he does; and therefore they apply to him for instruction and knowledge in hidden things:
how long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot? that is, how long will this vision last? or when will this prophecy be at an end, and have its full and final accomplishment? how long will the sacrifice be taken away, or made to cease? how long will that transgression, that abomination, making the temple desolate, the image of Jupiter Olympius set up by Antiochus, continue in it? how long shall it be given to him, or he be permitted to tread under foot, and use in the most contemptuous manner, the temple of the Lord, and his people?
g “illi qui occulta in numerato habet”, Junius & Tremellius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In Dan 8:13 ( to give) is more closely defined by ( something trodden under foot); but in these passages in Ezekiel above referred to, it [the verb ] is connected with an actual object. Construed with the accus. pers. and , means “to place one over anything.” This conception in its different shades is not so much derived from the words of the text as from a reference to the history; for it is supposed (cf. Grotius, Wies.) that because the matter spoken of is the wickedness of Antiochus, the entrance of the Syrian army into Jerusalem and its proceedings (1 Macc. 1:29ff.) must be set forth. , notwithstanding the want of the article, and notwithstanding the feminine construction, cannot properly be otherwise understood in Dan 8:12 than in Dan 8:10, Dan 8:13, not of the host of the Syrians, but only of the people of Israel. The article is wanting also in Dan 8:13, where yet, because of its being taken in connection with , it can only refer to Israel. Besides this passage, the fem. construction is found also only in Isa 40:2, where it signifies the service of war or vassalage. But this meaning here, where weighty reasons oppose it, this construction does not require us to adopt, for such a construction is not infrequent. It is found not merely with names of nations and races, so far as land and people are nearly related ideas, but also with other words, such as even , people, fem., Exo 5:16; 1Ki 18:7; Jer 8:5; , a multitude, Job 31:34; , seed, i.e., descendants, Deu 31:21; cf. Ewald’s Lehr. 174. But the want of the article in in Dan 8:12 and in Dan 8:13 has its reason in this, that that which is said does not concern the whole host, but only one part of it, since, according to Dan 8:10, the hostile horn will cast only some ( of the host) to the earth. If, therefore, there is no sufficient ground for rejecting the application of the to the people of Israel, it follows that this interpretation is decidedly required not only by the connection, chiefly by Dan 8:13, but also by that which is said of in Dan 8:12.
“Since in Dan 8:13 the inquirer resumes the contents of Dan 8:10-12, and along with the sanctuary names also the ‘host’ as the object of the ‘treading down,’ it is not credible that this ‘host’ should be different from that mentioned in Dan 8:12” (Klief.). Moreover, can have in this passage only the meaning of to be given up. can then only be translated because of the permanent sacrifice, if ( by reason of transgression) is united as object with in the sense: “was delivered up in transgression.” But apart from this, that in the sense of to give up is construed with , and there are wanting certain parallels for its construction with merely, this interpretation, “the host (= Israel) is given up in wickedness on account of the continual sacrifice,” presents an idea not to be tolerated. We agree, therefore, in general with the interpretation of Daniel B. Michaelis, Hvernick, v. Lengerke, Maurer, Kranichfeld, and Kliefoth, and explain the words thus: “and (an) host shall be given up together with the daily sacrifice, because of transgression.” , an host, i.e., a great company of the host, the people of Israel. before ( transgression) in the meaning of pretii, on account of ( um), or because of, cf. Gen 18:28. is the apostasy of the Israelites from God, the wickedness proceeding from the ( transgressors), Dan 8:23. The objection that this interpretation is not appropriate, because is repeated in Dan 8:13 in union with ( desolation), and therefore a wickedness devoted to destruction is characterized (Klief.), avails nothing, because it in no way follows from this that the “transgression” must be wickedness seating itself in the place of the “daily sacrifice,” idolatrous worship supplanting the true worship. But “the transgression” cannot be that which sets itself in the place of the “daily sacrifice,” because is not the subject of the sentence, but is only co-ordinated to the subject. If in is regarded as the pretii, then can only be that which would be put in the place of the . The preposition before means thereon, after that, also at the same time, or together with, as in Amo 3:15; Hos 10:14, etc. , as in Dan 8:11, is not merely the daily sacrifice, but all that had continuance in the Mosaic worship. Finally, the jussive forms and d ( to be trodden) are to be observed, since, according to the just observation of Kran., they are not simply identical with the future, as Ewald (343) thinks, but here, as in Dan 11:4, Dan 11:10, Dan 11:16, modify the conception of time by the presentation of the divine pre-determination or the decree, and thus express a should, may, or a faculty, a being able, in consequence of the divine counsel. To the verbs of the second half of the verse ( horn) is easily supplied from the foregoing context as the subject; and the passage closes with the thought: thus must the horn throw the truth to the ground, and he shall succeed in this.
(Note: ” Successus Antiochi potuit pios omnes turbare, acsi tyrannus ille esset Deo superior. Ergo oportuit etiam hoc praedici, ne quid novum vel inopinatum constingeret fidelibus.” – Calvin.)
, the objective truth, the word of God, so far as it is embodied in the worship. As to this matter cf. 1 Macc. 1:43-52, 56, 60.
Dan 8:13-14 In addition to what has been already seen and communicated in the vision, a further vision unfolds itself, by which there is conveyed to the prophet disclosures regarding the duration of the oppression of the people of God by the little horn. Daniel hears a holy one, i.e., an angel (see under Dan 4:10), talking. What he said is not recorded. But while he is talking, another angel interrupts him with the question as to the duration of the affliction, and this is done that Daniel may hear the answer. Therefore the first angel immediately turns himself to Daniel, and, addressing him, makes known to him the information that was desired.
The ( to me), Dan 8:14, is not, according to the old versions, to be changed into ( to him). What Hitzig says in justification of is of no weight; cf. Kran. The angel that talked is designated by , quidam, nescio quis , as not being more particularly definable. The question condenses the contents of Dan 8:10-12: “ Till how long is the vision, etc.?” is not the action, but the contents of the vision, the thing seen. The contents of the vision are arranged in the form of appositions: that which is continual and the desolating wickedness, for: the vision of that which is continual and of the desolation. The meaning of this apposition is more particularly defined by the further passage following asyndetos: to give up the sanctuary as well as the host to destruction. after the definite noun without the article, which is sometimes wanting (Jer 2:21; Eze 39:27; cf. Ew. 293), does not mean being benumbed, confounded, but laid waste, fallen into ruin; thus the wickedness which consists in laying waste. cannot be understood transitively, since and are placed over against each other in Dan 9:27.
In the answer, is to be interpreted as in the question: till 2300 evening-mornings have been, or have passed, thus: 2300 evening-mornings long, so (=then) the sanctuary is brought into its right state. primarily means to be just, whence the meaning is derived to justify, which is not here suitable, for it must be followed by, from the defilement of the desolation. The restoration of the temple to its right condition is, it is true, at the same time a justification of it from its desolation, and it includes in it the restoration of the permanent worship.
The interpretation of the period of time, 2300 evening-mornings, named by the angel is beset with difficulty. And first the verbal import of is doubtful. Among recent interpreters, Berth., Hv., v. Leng., Maur., and Horm. ( Weiss. u. Erf. p. 295) understand by its days consisting of morning and evening (twenty-four hours); others, as Bleek, Kirmss, Ewald, Hitzig, Wieseler (who, however, in his treatise, Die 70 Wochen, u.s.w., p. 115ff., defends the first explanation), Kran., and Delitzsch, are of opinion that evening-morning is particularly reckoned with reference to the offering of a morning and an evening sacrifice each day, so that 2300 evening-mornings make only 1150 whole days. But there is no exegetical foundation for this latter opinion. It is derived only from a comparison, or rather an identification, of this passage with Dan 7:25; Dan 12:11., and Dan 9:27; and therewith it is proved that, according to 1 Macc. 1:54, 59, cf. 4:52, the desolation of the sanctuary by the worship of idols under Antiochus Epiphanes lasted not longer than three years and ten days, and that from Dan 12:11 it extends only to 1290 days. But these arguments rest on assertions which must first be justified. The passages Dan 7:25 and Dan 9:27 cannot be here taken into account, because they do not speak of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the 1290 days (1335 days, Dan 12:11.) do not give 2300 evening-mornings, that we can and may at once identify these statements with this before us. In Dan 12:11 the terminus a quo of the 1290 days is unquestionably the putting away or the removal of the ( daily sacrifice), and the giving (placing, raising up) of the abomination that maketh desolate (i.e., the altar of idol-worship); but in this verse (Dan 8:14), on the contrary, the continuance not only of the taking away of the , but also of the delivering up of the saints and the people to be trodden under foot, is fixed to 2300 evening-mornings. This oppression continued longer than the removal of the appointed daily sacrifice. According to 1 Macc. 1:10ff., the violent assaults of Antiochus against the temple and the Jews who remained faithful to the law began in the 143rd year of the era of the Seleucidae, but the abomination that maketh desolate, i.e., the idol-altar, was first erected on Jehovah’s altar of burnt-offering, according to 1 Macc. 1:54, in the 145th year of the Seleucidae, and the purification of the temple from this abomination, and its re-consecration, took place on the 25th day of Kisleu (9th month) of the year of the Seleucidae 148. According to this, from the beginning of the desecration of the temple by the plundering of its vessels and its golden ornaments (1 Macc. 1:20ff.) to its restoration to its right condition, more than five years passed. The fulfilment, or the historical reference, of this prophecy accordingly affords, as is sufficiently manifest, no proper means of ascertaining the import of the “evening-morning.” This must rather be exegetically decided. It occurs only here, and corresponds to , 2Co 11:25. But the choice of so unusual a measure of time, derived from the two chief parts of the day, instead of the simple measure of time by days, probably originates with reference to the morning and evening sacrifice, by which the day was to be consecrated to the Lord, after Gen 1:5, Gen 1:8, Gen 1:13, etc., where the days of the creation week are named and reckoned according to the succession of evening and morning. This separation of the expression into evening and morning, so that to number them separately and add them together would make 2300 evening-mornings = 1150 days, is shown to be inadmissible, both by the asyndeton evening-morning and the usages of the Hebrew language. That in Dan 8:26 ( the evening and the morning) stands for it, does not prove that the evening ad morning are reckoned separately, but only that evening-morning is a period of time consisting of evening and morning. When the Hebrews wish to express separately day and night, the component parts of a day of a week, then the number of both is expressed. They say, e.g., forty days and forty nights (Gen 7:4, Gen 7:12; Exo 24:18; 1Ki 19:8), and three days and three nights (Jon 2:1; Mat 12:40), but not eighty or six days-and-nights, when they wish to speak of forty or three full days. A Hebrew reader could not possibly understand the period of time 2300 evening-mornings of 2300 half days or 1150 whole days, because evening and morning at the creation constituted not the half but the whole day. Still less, in the designation of time, “till 2300 evening-mornings,” could “evening-mornings” be understood of the evening and morning sacrifices, and the words be regarded as meaning, that till 1150 evening sacrifices and 1150 morning sacrifices are discontinued. We must therefore take the words as they are, i.e., understand them of 2300 whole days.
This exegetical resolution of the matter is not made doubtful by the remark, that an increasing of the period of oppression to 2300 days, over against the duration of the oppression limited in Dan 7:25 to only three and a half times, or to 1290 (or 1335 days, Dan 12:11-12), is very unlikely, since there is in no respect any reason for this increase over against these statements (Kran. p. 298). This remark can only be valid as proof if, on the one side, the three and a half times in Dan 7:25 are equal to three and a half civil years, for which the proof fails, and, on the other side, if the 1290 or the 1335 days in Dan 12:11. indicate the whole duration of the oppression of Israel by Antiochus. But if these periods, on the contrary, refer only to the time of the greatest oppression, the erection of the idol-altar in the temple, this time cannot be made the measure for the duration of the whole period of tribulation.
The objection also, that it is more difficult to prove historically an oppression of the people of God for 2300 days by Antiochus than the 1150 days’ duration of this oppression, need not move us to depart from the exegetically ascertained meaning of the words. The opponents of this view are indeed at one in this, that the consecration of the temple after its purification, and after the altar of Jehovah was restored, on the 25th Kisleu of the 148th year of the Seleucidae, formed the termination of the period named, but they are at variance as to the commencement of the period. Delitzsch reckons from the erection of the idol-altar in the temple on 15th Kisleu in the 145th year of the Sel., and thus makes it only three years and ten days, or 1090 to 1105 days. Hitzig reckons from the taking away of the daily sacrifice, which would take place somewhat earlier than the setting up of the idol-altar, but has not furnished proof that this happened tow months earlier. Bleek and Kirmss reckon from the taking of Jerusalem by Apollonius in the year of the Sel. 145 (1 Macc. 1:30ff.; 2 Macc. 5:24ff.), misplacing this in the first month of the year named, but without having any other proof for it than the agreement of the reckoning.
To this is to be added, that the adoption of the consecration of the temple as the terminus ad quem is not so well grounded as is supposed. The words of the text, (“thus is the sanctuary placed in the right state”), comprehend more than the purification and re-consecration of the temple. In Dan 8:11, also Dan 9:17 and Dan 11:31, Daniel uses the word for temple, while on the other hand means all that is holy. Was, then, the sanctuary, in this comprehensive meaning of the word, placed in its right state with the consecration of the temple, when after this occurrence “they that were in the tower (Acra) shut up the Israelites round about the sanctuary,” sought to hinder access to the temple, and, when Judas Maccabaeus had begun to besiege the tower, the Syrians approached with a reinforced army, besieged the sanctuary for many days, and on their departure demolished its strongholds (1 Macc. 6:18ff., 51, 62)? – when, again, under Demetrius Soter of Bacchides, the high priest Menelaus was deposed, and Alcimus, who was not descended from the family of a high priest, was advanced to his place, who cruelly persecuted the pious in Israel? – when the Syrian general Nicanor mocked the priests who showed to him the burnt-offering for the king, and defiled and threatened to burn the temple (1 Macc. 7)? And did the trampling upon Israel cease with the consecration of the temple, when at the building up of the altar and the restoration of the temple the heathen around became so furious, that they resolved to destroy all who were of the race of Jacob amongst them, and began to murder them (1 Macc. 5:1ff.)? Hvernick therefore, with Bertholdt, places the terminus ad quem of the 2300 days in the victory over Nicanor, by which the power of the Syrians over Judea was first broken, and the land enjoyed rest, so that it was resolved to celebrate annually this victory as well as the consecration of the temple (1 Macc. 7:48-50), according to which the terminus a quo of the period named would be shortly before the erection of the abomination of idolatry in the temple.
If we now, however, turn from this supposition, since the text speaks further of it, to seek the end of the oppression in the restoration of the legal temple-worship, or in the overthrow of Antiochus Epiphanes, which the angel brings to view in the interpretation of the vision (Dan 8:26), so also in these cases the 2300 days are to be calculated. C. v. Leng., Maur., and Wiesel., who regard the death of Antiochus as the termination, place the beginning of the 2300 days one year before the beginning of violence with which Antiochus, after his return from the expedition into Egypt in the year 143 Sel., went forth to destroy (1 Macc. 1:20) the Mosaic worship and law. Only a few weeks or months earlier, in the middle of the year 142 Sel., the point of commencement must be placed, if the consecration of the temple is held to be the termination. In the year 142 not only was the pious high priest Onias removed from his office by the godless Jason, but also Jason himself was forced from the place he had usurped by Menelaus, who gave Antiochus a greater bribe than he did, and gave away as presents and sold to the heathen the golden utensils of the temple, and commanded Onias, who denounced his wickedness, to be deceitfully murdered (2 Macc. 2:4). Hence we need not, with Hofmann, regard the deposition of Onias, the date of which cannot be accurately fixed, but which, 2 Macc. 4:7ff., is brought into connection with the commencement of the reign of Antiochus, and which probably took place before the year 142, as the date of the commencement of the 2300 days, although the laying waste of the sanctuary may be dated from it; since Jason by royal authority set up a heathen with an , and by the wickedness of the profane and unpriestly conduct of this man Greek customs and the adoption of heathenish manners so prevailed, that the priests ceased to concern themselves about the service of the altar, but, despising the temple and forgetting the sacrifice, they hastened to witness the spectacles in the palaestra, which were contrary to the law; cf. 2 Macc. 4:13ff. with 1 Macc. 1:11-15. The 2300 days are thus, as well as the 1150 days, historically authenticated.
But it is on the whole questionable whether the number given by the angel is to be reckoned as an historico-chronological period of time, or is not rather to be interpreted as symbolical. The analogy of the other prophetic numbers speaks decidedly for the symbolical interpretation. The 2300 cannot, it is true, be directly a symbolical number, such as 7, 10, 40, 70, and other numbers are, but yet it can stand in such a relation to the number seven as to receive a symbolical meaning. The longer periods of time are usually reckoned not by days, but by weeks, months, or years; if, therefore, as to the question of the duration of the 2300 days, we reduce the days to weeks, months, and years, we shall find six years, three or four months, and some days, and discover that the oppression of the people by the little horn was to continue not fully a period of seven years. But the times of God’s visitations, trials, and judgments are so often measured by the number seven, that this number came to bear stamped on it this signification; see under Dan 4:13; Dan 7:25. The number of seven years is used in the symbolical meaning when, not to mention the cases in Gen 29:18, Gen 29:27; Gen 41:26., and Jdg 6:1, seven years’ famine were laid upon the land as a punishment for David’s sin in numbering the people (2Sa 24:13), and when in Elisha’s time Israel was visited with seven years’ famine (2Ki 8:1). Thus the answer of the angel has this meaning: The time of the predicted oppression of Israel, and of the desolation of the sanctuary by Antiochus, the little horn, shall not reach the full duration of a period of divine judgment, shall not last so long as the severe oppression of Israel by the Midianites, Jdg 6:1, or as the famine which fell upon Israel in the time of Elisha, and shall not reach to a tenth part of the time of trial and of sorrow endured by the exiles, and under the weight of which Israel then mourned.
But if this is the meaning of the angel’s message, why does not the divine messenger use a pure symbolical expression, such as “not full seven times?” and why does he not simply say, “not quite seven years?” As to the first of these questions, we answer that the expression “times” is too indefinite; for the duration of this period of sorrow must be given more minutely. As to the second question, we know no other answer that can be given than this, that, on the one side, only the positive determination of the length of time, measured by days, can afford full confidence that the domination and the tyranny of the oppressor shall not continue one day longer than God has before fixed; but, on the other side, by the measuring of this period by a number defined according to thousands and hundreds, both the long duration of the affliction is shown, and the symbolical character of the period named is indicated. While by the period “evening-morning” every ambiguity of the expression, and every uncertainty thence arising regarding the actual length of the time of affliction, is excluded, yet the number 2300 shows that the period must be defined in round numbers, measuring only nearly the actual time, in conformity with all genuine prophecy, which never passes over into the mantic prediction of historico-chronological data.
If we compare with this the designation of time in Dan 7:25, instead of the general idea there expressed, of “time, times, and half a time,” which is not to be computed as to its duration, we have here a very definite space of time mentioned. This difference corresponds to the contents of the two prophecies. The oppression prophesied of in this chapter would visit the people of Israel at not too distant a time; and its commencement as well as its termination, announced by God beforehand, was fitted to strengthen believers in the faith of the truth and fidelity of God for the time of the great tribulation of the end, the duration of which God the Lord indeed determined accurately and firmly beforehand, but according to a measure of time whose extent men cannot calculate in advance. In this respect the designation of the time of the affliction which the horn growing up out of the third world-kingdom will bring upon God’s people, becomes a type for the duration of the oppression of the last enemy of the church of the Lord at the end of the days.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Here he expresses more clearly, what I formerly said, unfolding God’s intention of consoling and soothing the sorrows of the pious lest they should sink under the severity of their trials, at the sight of an impious tyrant domineering in the sanctuary of God. Besides, the spot which God had promised should be his perpetual dwelling-place, was exposed to impious superstitions, for the idol of Jupiter Olympius was erected there, the history of the Maccabees informs us. (2Ma 1:57; 2Ma 6:2.) God therefore wished to uphold his servants, lest too severe a temptation should overwhelm them, and lest trial in so many forms should cause them to yield and become deficient in piety through want of courage. But while Daniel is stupefied through astonishment, God provides for his infirmity by means of an angel. Daniel himself, without doubt, inquired concerning the vision as we shall see he did afterwards; but here God desired to meet him, as he saw the holy man so overcome by fear as scarcely to dare to make any inquiry. God, therefore, here affords no common proof of his paternal goodness and indulgence, in interposing and sending his angel to make inquiries in the Prophet’s name. He says, then, he heard a holy one, meaning an angel. For, although God deigns to call the faithful while dwelling in the world by this honorable title, yet the superior purity of angels is familiar to us, as they are altogether free from the lusts of the flesh. But we, alas! are detained in this prison-house, we are bound down in slavery to sin, and are polluted by much corruption. The holiness of angels, however, is far greater than that of mortals, and thus this attribute of “holiness” is properly applied to them. When Daniel was caught up by the prophetic spirit, he was separated from the society of men, and was admitted to that of angels.
An angel then, said to the wonderful one The Hebrews often use this expression when they mean “whoever it may be” — ploni almoni and apply it to places as well as persons. They use it also of any place unknown to them or concealed from them. They treat the noun as compounded of two words, and many interpret it of any one unknown, but I think the word to be more emphatic than this. (62) Daniel here brings forward an angel speaking, and adds dignity to his description by calling him “holy.” Without doubt, then, the person of whom the angel asked the question was his superior; it is not likely that he would be called “a certain one,” while the angel is termed a holy one. Reason, then, requires the expression to be applied to some angel whose glory was incomprehensible, or at least far superior to ordinary ones; for, as Daniel calls one angel “holy,” so he would have called the rest, as we shall afterwards see. When treating, however, of a distinct being, he uses the word פלמוני, palmoni, and its etymology guides us to its sense, as meaning something mysterious and incomprehensible. Then, who does not see that Christ is denoted, who is the chief of angels and far superior to them all? In the ninth chapter of Isaiah, (Isa 9:6,) he is called פלא pela, “wonderful.” The word in the text is a compound one, as we have said, but as פלא pela, signifies “hidden” in Hebrew, as Christ is so called, and as in Jud 3:1, God claims this name as peculiarly his own, all these points agree well together. The sense then is, an angel comes to Christ for the sake of Daniel and of the whole Church, and seeks from him as from the supreme teacher and master, the meaning of the declarations which we have just heard. We need not feel surprise at angels inquiring into eternity, as if it were unknown to them. It is the property of Deity alone to know all things, while the knowledge of angels is necessarily limited. Paul teaches us to wonder at the Church being collected out of profane and strange people; this was a mystery hidden from angels themselves, before God really showed himself the father of the whole world. (Eph 3:10.) Hence, there is no absurdity in supposing angels to inquire into mysteries, as ignorance is not necessarily deserving of blame, and as God has not raised his creatures for his own level. It is his peculiar province to know all things, and to have everything under his eye. The angel desires to understand this mystery, not so much for his own sake as on account of the whole Church; for we know them to be our ministers, according to the clear testimony of the Apostle. (Heb 1:14.) As they keep watch over us so carefully, it does not surprise us to find the angel inquiring so anxiously concerning this vision, and thus benefiting the whole Church by the hand of Daniel.
Meanwhile, we must notice, how Christ is the chief of angels and also their instructor, because he is the eternal Wisdom of God. Angels, therefore, must draw all the light of their intelligence from that single fountain. Thus angels draw us to Christ by their example, and induce us to devote ourselves to him through the persuasion that this is the supreme and only wisdom. If we are his disciples, being obedient, humble, and teachable, we shall desire to know only what he will make manifest to us. But the angel asks. What is the meaning of the vision of the perpetual sacrifice, and of the sin? that is, what, is the object of the vision concerning the abrogation of the perpetual sacrifice, and concerning the sin which lays waste? As to the second point, we explained yesterday the various opinions of interpreters, some twisting it to Antiochus, who impiously dared to violate God’s temple, and others to the priests. But we said the people were intended, lest many, as they are accustomed, should blame the Almighty for so heavily afflicting the Church. But God wished to bear witness to the origin of this devastation from the sins of the people. It is just as if the angel had said, How long will the sacrifices cease? How long will this vengeance, by which God will chastise the wickedness of his people, endure? For the sin is called devastating, through being the cause of that calamity. It is afterwards added, how long will the sanctuary and the army be trodden, down? that is, how long will the worship of God, and true piety, and the people itself, be trodden down under this cruel tyranny of Antiochus? But this question has far more efficacy, than if the Prophet had said, as we saw yesterday, that the punishment should be uniform and temporal. It was now necessary to explain what had already been stated more clearly. Thus this question was interposed with the view of rendering Daniel more attentive, and of stirring up the people by this narrative to the pursuit of learning. For it is no common event when angels approach Christ for our sakes, and inquire into the events which concern the state and safety of the Church. As, therefore, angels discharge this duty, we must be worse than stony, if we are not urged to eagerness and carefulness in the pursuit of divine knowledge. We see, then, why this passage concerning the angel is interposed.
(62) Calvin means to imply that the Jews used these words to express the idea of the Latin phrase, “ omne ignotum pro magnifico ” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) One sainti.e., an angel, who, however, has not been mentioned before. This part of the vision recalls Dan. 7:16. It is implied that the angels were conversing upon the subject of this awful revelation concerning the future of Gods people. Only a portion of what they said is here recorded.
The vision.The inquiry means, How long shall be the duration of the object of this vision, so far as it has to do with the great apostasy?
Transgression of desolation.Comp. Dan. 9:27. Probably these words mean the same as the abomination that maketh desolate (Dan. 11:31; Dan. 12:11; see 1Ma. 1:59).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. “Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?” (R.V.) (Compare Dan 4:13; Zec 1:12-13.) Even the angels are interested in the question how long this defilement of the temple and punishment of the holy people is to last. As long as their transgression lasts the punishment will continue. However, the “transgression that maketh desolate” mentioned here may not refer to Israel’s sin but to the “iniquity (or abomination) of desolation” which was set up by this arch transgressor, Antiochus, in the temple. (See notes Dan 11:31; Dan 12:11.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long will be the vision about the continual things (worship rites) and the transgression that appals (or makes desolate), to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot?” And he said to me, “To two thousand three hundred mornings and evenings. Then will the sanctuary be cleansed (made righteous).” ’
Here we have a conversation between two holy ones, or angels, in which the question is put as to how long the devastating things that are to happen will last.
We could paraphrase it as ‘how long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled, during which the continual rites will cease, and the transgression that appals takes place, and from the time when the sanctuary and God’s people are trodden under foot, to the date when the sanctuary is finally made righteous (justified)?’
The main ideas to be considered are:
1) The cessation of the continual rites of true worship. This represented the decrees by which true worship was forbidden, including the observance of the Sabbath, the offering of the morning and evening sacrifices, and the carrying out of the other regular ritual observances.
2) The transgression that appals. This could have been the active participation in worship of a high priest who was not of the recognised priestly line, the stealing of the temple vessels by that high priest, the murder of the true high priest by instigation of that high priest, or the final sacrilege of offering a pig on the altar. All these could be seen as transgressions that ‘appalled’. Compare Ezr 9:4 where he too was appalled. at the holy seed mixing in marriage with the inhabitants of the land, and Jer 2:12 where God calls on the heavens to be appalled at the idolatry of God’s people.
3) The treading under foot of the sanctuary and God’s people. This occurred the moment that Menelaus was appointed and took up office. The sanctity of the sanctuary and the concerns of the people were both trodden under foot. And this then continued in what followed.
4) The date when the temple is finally ‘made righteous’. This may have been the time when the temple was purified, or it may have been seen as only accomplished when the defiler had died. It may thus refer to the date of Antiochus’ death.
The reply to the question is then, for two thousand three hundred mornings and evenings, after which the sanctuary will be ‘made righteous’.
The ‘desolation’ or ‘astonishment’ may refer to the time when the High Priest Menelaus was appointed who was not of the priestly line, thus defiling the sanctuary, the time when he stole the sacred temple vessels for his own use, taking them out of the sanctuary, the time when he slew the true high priest who was sacred before God, or to the time when the daily sacrifices ceased, all being transgressions which astonished and desolated the true Israel. The transgression may have been that of Antiochus, or that of the high priest, or that of the leadership of Israel who allowed it, or all three.
The ‘two thousand three hundred mornings and evenings’ presents a difficulty of interpretation. Does this mean two thousand three hundred days, (compare the regular use of mornings and evenings in Genesis 1), or does it mean one thousand one hundred and fifty evening sacrifices and one thousand one hundred and fifty morning sacrifices which have been omitted because of the persecution? The latter may well be an accurate indication of the length of time that the sacrifices ceased.
And if it means two thousand three hundred days is it then the equivalent of ‘a time, times (e.g. five times) and half a time’ (Dan 7:25) where it signified a period that came to more than six but less than seven times, thought of here in terms of years? Seven years would be, say, two thousand five hundred and twenty days, Thus two thousand three hundred could be a round number indicating not reaching the perfect seven years because God prevented it, expressed here in days so as to suggest that every day of that dreadful time was counted by God.
One thing we can be sure of is that it does not mean two thousand three hundred years. It does not say ‘days’ it says evenings and mornings. Besides it is very questionable whether we have a right to see days as representing years anywhere except when it is made perfectly clear in the context. The prophets cannot be so straitjacketed or presumed upon.
If we take the two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings as representing the number of evening and morning sacrifices, thus one thousand one hundred and fifty days, we can obtain this by adding the 1,080 days (360 + 360 + 360) between the sacrificing of a pig on the altar and the purifying of the temple, plus an extra ten as the finalising of the building of the pagan altar was early December and the cessation late December (the former the 15th the latter the 25th of Chislev) making 1,090 days, and adding two round months because the actual sacrifices ceased prior to the altar being set up, thus making 1,150 days. Alternately the two months may be to take into account work done in preparation for the final desecration, once the sacrifices had been forbidden ( 1Ma 1:45 ). Either way we can reach the 1,150 days referred to in this chapter as ‘2,300 evenings mornings’ (i.e. morning and evening sacrifices).
If we consider the meaning to be two thousand three hundred days, however, the period being over six years, but falling short of seven, compare ‘a time, times and half a time’, it may be from 171 BC, when Menelaus the High Priest appointed by Antiochus, who was not of the recognised priestly line, profaned the sanctuary itself by acting as High Priest, or from the time when he stole and profaned the temple vessels, or from 170 BC when he killed Onias III, the High Priest recognised by the people and by God (Dan 11:22), (any of these might be ‘the transgression that appals’) to 164 BC, the death of Antiochus, a date chosen on the grounds that only the death of the defiler could finally ‘make righteous’ the holy sanctuary and ‘atone’ for the blasphemy.
One thing we can be sure of is that it refers to a period during the reign of Antiochus during which he caused the sabbaths and the sacrifices to cease, desecrated the temple and persecuted Israel severely.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Dan 8:13. How long shall be the vision concerning, &c. There is no word for concerning in this verse, which may be rendered more properly, For how long time shall the vision last, the daily sacrifice be taken away, and the transgression of desolation continue? After the same manner the question is translated in the LXX, Arabic, and Vulgate. See Bishop Newton.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
There is somewhat interesting in this short account; short as it is, of what the Prophet over-heard of this conversation. It shows how attentive ministering spirits are in their office, who are sent forth to minister unto them who are heirs of salvation. Depend upon it, Reader! we are never less alone than when alone! Various have been the calculations of curious persons, concerning this period of two thousand and three hundred days. But the subject is left just where men find it. No one hath been taught of God the Spirit the method of ascertaining it with exactness. And to me, I confess, it borders on presumption to attempt being wise above what is written. When the thing predicted is accomplished, the end is then seen. But how should unenlightened, unawakened men, who were never taught of God, be competent to discover secret things which belong to the Lord.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Dan 8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
Ver. 13. And I heard one saint speaking, ] i.e., One holy angel; for they are solicitous of God’s glory, and sensitive to the saints’ sufferings, whereof they would have a speedy end. And should not we be so too, weeping with those that weep, and rejoicing with those that rejoice?
And another saint said unto that certain saint which spake.
How long shall be the vision.
Concerning the daily sacrifice.
And the transgression of desolation.
And the host to be trodden under foot,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
saint = holy [one]. An angelic attendant. Compare Dan 4:13. Deu 33:2. Job 5:1; Job 15:15. Psa 89:5, Psa 89:7. Zec 14:5.
that certain saint = a certain [unnamed] one, or such an one, as in Rth 4:1. Or, a proper name Palmoni = the wonderful one, or the wonderful [numberer], as in Jdg 13:18. Isa 9:6. Psa 139:6.
How long . . . ? Referring to the duration of what is said concerning “the daily sacrifice” and the desolation; not the interval before the fulfillment.
concerning, &c. = of “the daily sacrifice” [as taken away].
and. Supply “and [the setting up of] the desolating (or astounding) rebellion.
to give, &c. : or, after He hath given over the sanctuary, &c.
the host. Here it is the “host”, the technical term for the ministers of the sanctuary. Compare Num 4:23, Num 4:30, Num 4:35, Num 4:39, Num 4:43; Num 8:24, Num 8:25.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Dan 8:13-14
Dan 8:13 Then I heardH8085 oneH259 saintH6918 speaking,H1696 and anotherH259 saintH6918 saidH559 unto that certainH6422 saint which spake,H1696 How longH5704 H4970 shall be the visionH2377 concerning the dailyH8548 sacrifice, and the transgressionH6588 of desolation,H8074 to giveH5414 both the sanctuaryH6944 and the hostH6635 to be trodden under foot?H4823
Dan 8:14 And he saidH559 untoH413 me, UntoH5704 two thousandH505 and threeH7969 hundredH3967 days;H6153 H1242 then shall the sanctuaryH6944 be cleansed.H6663
Dan 8:13-14
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
In the vision, Daniel saw two saints, “holy ones” in the NKJV and ASV, discussing how long the transgression of desolation would go on. How long would the sanctuary, which was one of the innermost sacred chambers in the temple, be trodden under the feet of the gentiles? The answer was given directly to Daniel as if he had asked it.
“two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” A better translation of this verse would be from the ASV, “Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings (and) mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed”. This translation which is a more accurate rendering of the original Greek is much easier to harmonize with the historical facts. Two thousand three hundred days is about 6 years, 3 months and 20 days. Antiochus was in Jerusalem, on and off for a period of about 6 years. But he did not desecrate the temple until 3 – 4 years before his death and the temple worship was reinstated before he died.
Each evening and morning was a day. It was that way in the creation account. Here and evening and a morning is one day, therefore twenty three hundred evenings and mornings would equal one thousand, one hundred and fifty days, or 3 years, 1 month and 25 days.
When Antiochus was sent home from Egypt by the old Roman ambassador named Gaius Popillius Laenas in humiliation and shame, he sent 22,000 men under the command of Apollonius to Jerusalem with orders to destroy it. According to Josephus the following took place:
1. Antiochus took possession of the city of Jerusalem.
2. He vandalized the temple and left it bare.
3. He forbade the Jews to offer their daily sacrifices.
4. He burnt down many of their buildings.
5. He built a citadel (Acra), in the lower part of the city, wherein the Hellenized Jews lived.
6. He built an idol of Zeus on the alter.
7. He slew swine and offered them to Zeus on the alter in the temple.
8. He compelled the Jews to forsake the order of worship.
9. He compelled the Jews to raise idol alters in every city and village and to offer swine on them every day.
10. He forbade circumcision
11. He caused those who refused to adhere to his instructions to be whipped with rods and then torn apart.
12. He caused women caught with circumcised babies to be strangled with their sons hung around their necks.
13. he had every copy of the Law of Moses destroyed that could be found.
All of this happened in 167 BC. According to Josephus, “on the five and twentieth day of the month of Casleu, they [the Jews], lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick, and offered incense upon the alter [of incense], and laid loaves upon the table [of the shewbread], and offered burnt offerings upon the new alter [of burnt offering]. Now it so fell out, that these things were done on the very same day on which their divine worship had fallen off, and was reduced to a profane and common use, after three years time, for so it was, that the temple was made desolate by Antiochus, and so continued for three years”. Josephus records three years, history records a time of between 3 and 4 years, Inspiration says 3 years, 1 month and 25 days, or more precisely, Two thousand, three hundred evenings and mornings.
The cleansing and rededication of the temple was a feat in itself. The altar of the Olympian Zeus was destroyed. The alter being desecrated with the blood of swine was rebuilt with new stones. The damage to the temple was repaired. It was meticulously cleaned. A priest was selected who had remained faithful to God throughout the period of the abomination of desolations. Thus on December 14, 164 BC., exactly three years after its desecration, the temple was rededicated and the daily sacrifices were restored. This event marked the beginning of the Jewish Feast of Dedication or Lights (Hanukkah). This feast was referenced in the New Testament in John 10:22:23 where Jesus was in attendance at the feast of dedication in Jerusalem.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
desolation
Seven times in Daniel the “desolation” is spoken of:
(1) Of the sanctuary, Dan 8:13 fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, B.C. 175-170.
(2) Of the sanctuary, Dan 9:17 the condition in Daniel’s time, when the Jews were in exile and the sanctuary desolate.
(3) Generally, of the land, Dan 9:18 also referring to Daniel’s time.
(4) Of the sanctuary, Dan 9:26 fulfilled A.D. 70, in the destruction of city and temple after the cutting off of Messiah. Luk 21:20.
(5,6,7) Of the sanctuary, by the Beast, Dan 9:27; Dan 11:31; Dan 12:11 Cf; Mat 24:15; Mar 13:14; 2Th 2:3; 2Th 2:8-12; Rev 13:14; Rev 13:15.
one saint Or, holy one, idem. Dan 4:13; Dan 4:17.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
one saint: Dan 4:13, Dan 7:16, Dan 12:5, Dan 12:6, Deu 33:2, Zec 1:9-12, Zec 1:19, Zec 2:3, Zec 2:4, Zec 14:5, 1Th 3:13, 1Pe 1:12, Jud 1:14
that certain saint: or, the numberer of secrets, or, the wonderful numberer, Heb. Palmoni, Jdg 13:18, *marg. Isa 9:6, Mat 11:27, Luk 10:22, Joh 1:18
How: Dan 12:6, Psa 74:9, Psa 79:5, Isa 6:11, Rev 6:10
the vision: Dan 8:11, Dan 8:12
and the: Dan 9:27, Dan 11:31, Dan 12:11, Mat 24:15, Mar 13:14, Luk 21:20
of desolation: or, making desolate
to be: Dan 7:23, Isa 63:18, Luk 21:24, Heb 10:29, Rev 11:2
Reciprocal: Num 28:3 – day by day 1Ki 18:36 – at the time Isa 5:5 – trodden down Isa 28:3 – shall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 8:13. The disgraceful condition produced about Ule temple and altar aroused the anxious Inquiry of the saint who beheld it. The verse may well be abbreviated by the words, How long will it be until this condition will be corrected, and the daily sacrifice be resumed according to the law?
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Dan 8:13-14. Then I heard one saint speaking The word saint here is equivalent to angel: see Dan 4:13. What this saint or angel said, is not expressed; no more than the words spoken by that illustrious person who appeared to Dan 10:5, are recorded. And another saint said to that certain saint which spake Several angels are introduced in Daniels visions, and so in Zechariahs. This appears to be spoken of one of a higher rank, as being able to unfold those secrets which were hid from the other angels; and is therefore justly supposed to mean the Son of God, called the Wonderful Counsellor, Isa 9:6, as being acquainted with all Gods purposes and designs. How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice? &c. The words, says Lowth, may be translated more agreeably to the Hebrew thus: For how long a time shall the vision last, the daily sacrifice be taken away, and the transgression of desolation continue? Since, however, there are no words in the Hebrew for taken away and continue, Mr. Wintle rather thinks the inquiry respects only the duration of the vision, and that the other words are by way of explaining what the vision is, namely, of the daily sacrifice, and of the transgression of desolation, and of the sanctuary and host, or its attendant ministers, being suppressed and trampled on. He therefore translates the clause thus: How long will be the term of the vision of the daily sacrifice, and the transgression that maketh desolate, exposing both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled on? The plain meaning of the verse is, that one of the angels asked the superior personage, distinguished here by the title of that certain saint, How long the evils signified in this vision, and particularly the taking away, or interruption, of the daily sacrifice, &c., should last. By the transgression of desolation seems to be meant the harassing and ravaging of the city by the garrison of Antiochus, setting up an idol to be worshipped in Gods temple, and, by that and other heathenish superstitions, profaning it, and also the host, or the Levites; persuading them, either by threats or enticements, to quit the worship of Jehovah, the true God, or to mix it with the worship of idols, contrary to the divine law. And he said, Unto two thousand and three hundred days Hebrew, Until the evening [and] morning two thousand and three hundred. This signifies a space of about six years, and is to be taken from the first invasion of Judea by Antiochus, when he profaned the priesthood, and includes his second coming into that country, when he forbade the worship of God in the temple, and set up an idol there. After this time of two thousand three hundred days, or about six years from the first coming of Antiochus, it is here declared that the temple should be purged, or cleansed from the polluted or unclean things which Antiochus had brought into it, or from those things in it which he had defiled, by using them for idolatrous rites: see 1 Maccabees 4. It must, however, be remembered, that many interpreters understand these days in the same sense in which days are generally understood by this prophet, namely, for years; and thus refer the prophecy to antichrist, of whom Antiochus was a type. This will carry us on to a still distant time in the church of God, to the completion of that opposition to the church of Christ which has been wished for long since, when the sanctuary will be perfectly cleansed, and to which the twelve hundred ninety and thirteen hundred thirty-five years of chap. 12. must have a reference. Sir Isaac Newton, Obs., chap. 9., not only reckons the days to be years, but will have the horn to be Rome, and does not refer it at all to Antiochus; and in this he is followed, in a great measure, by Bishop Newton, who makes the years commence from the time of Alexanders invading Asia, three hundred thirty-four years before Christ, and thus to end with near the sixth millennium of the world. With this interpretation of Bishop Newton, Mr. Faber (a late writer) finds great fault, and endeavours to prove that the Mohammedan delusion, and not that of the Papacy, is intended here by the little horn. His reasonings, calculations, and quotations on this subject, cannot possibly be inserted here, nor even an abstract of them. The reader that wishes to be acquainted with his scheme, must necessarily be referred to the book itself. There seems, however, to be one insuperable objection, both to Bishop Newtons and this interpretation, and that is, that they are utterly irreconcileable with Dan 8:9, where it is expressly said, that this little horn came forth from one of the four notable horns, or kingdoms, into which Alexanders empire was divided. Now it cannot be said that either the Papacy, which arose in the west of Europe, or Mohammedanism, which had its rise and first prevailed in Arabia, sprang from any of the four branches of the Macedonian empire.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
8:13 Then I heard one {u} saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of {x} desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the {y} host to be trodden under foot?
(u) Meaning that he heard one of the angels asking this question of Christ, whom he called a certain one, or a secret one, or a marvellous one.
(x) That is, the Jews’ sins, which were the cause of its destruction.
(y) That is, which suppresses God’s religion and his people.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The holy ones (Heb. qados) that Daniel heard conversing were evidently angels (cf. Dan 4:17). Here the transgression in view seems to be that of Antiochus, not the Jews (cf. Dan 8:12). It causes horror among the Jews because it involves desecration of the sanctuary (Dan 8:11). The holy place is the temple, and the host is the Jews. The angel wanted to know how long the desecration of the sanctuary and the persecution of the Jews would last.