Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 7:24
And the ten horns out of this kingdom [are] ten kings [that] shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
24. The ten horns are ten kings.
and he (emph.) shall be diverse from the former ones ] The king represented by the ‘little horn’ will differ from the others, viz. by being aggressive and presumptuous.
and he shall subdue three kings ] put down (R.V.), as the same word is rendered in the A.V. of Dan 5:19 and Psa 75:7. Abase, bring down, lay low, is the idea of the word (Isa 2:12; Isa 25:11-12; Isa 26:5). Cf. Dan 7:8. On the interpretation, see the Additional Note at the end of the Chapter.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ten kings; which Junius, Piscator, Polanus make to be the kings of Syria, and reckon ten of them, and that is not all neither; the tenth is Antiochus, but this cannot be, for he died one hundred and sixty years before Christ.
Others interpret the other
that riseth after the ten, and that shall subdue three, to be Mahomet; but Maldonate himself saith it agrees better to antichrist, and the 25th verse too, where he speaks of
changing times and laws, which
God hath set; none of which things he could do, but that God gives him commission for it, till Gods set time be fulfilled, which is three years and a half, i.e. one thousand two hundred and sixty years; or forty-two months, which is all the time of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth, of the churchs being in the wilderness, and of antichrists reign, Rev 11:3; 12:6; 13:5,6, &c.: mind these places and compare this of Daniel with them, and Dan 7:26,27, how he shall be judged and executed. The sixth and seventh vials will decide, and illustrate all this.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. ten hornsanswering to theten “toes” (Da 2:41).
out of this kingdomItis out of the fourth kingdom that ten others arise, whateverexterior territory any of them possess (Rev 13:1;Rev 17:12).
rise after themyetcontemporaneous with them; the ten are contemporaries. Antichristrises after their rise, at first “little” (Da7:8); but after destroying three of the ten, he becomes greaterthan them all (Dan 7:20; Dan 7:21).The three being gone, he is the eighth (compare Re17:11); a distinct head, and yet “of the seven.” As theprevious world kingdoms had their representative heads (Babylon,Nebuchadnezzar; Persia, Cyrus; Greece, Alexander), so the fourthkingdom and its Antichrists shall have their evil concentrated in theone final Antichrist. As Antiochus Epiphanes, the Antichrist of thethird kingdom in Da8:23-25, was the personal enemy of God, so the final Antichristof the fourth kingdom, his antitype. The Church has endured a paganand a papal persecution; there remains for her an infidelpersecution, general, purifying, and cementing [CECIL].He will not merely, as Popery, substitute himself for Christin Christ’s name, but “deny the Father and theSon” (1Jo 2:22). Thepersecution is to continue up to Christ’s second coming(Dan 7:21; Dan 7:22);the horn of blasphemy cannot therefore be past; for now there isalmost a general cessation of persecution.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise,….. Or ten kingdoms which sprung out of the Roman empire, or into which it was broken and divided upon the dissolution of it, about A.D. 476; which, according to Mr. Mede k, were thus divided, A.D. 456,
1. Britons; 2. Saxons; 3. Franks; 4. Burgundians; 5 Visigoths; 6. Suevians and Alanes; 7. Vandals; 8. Almanes; 9. Ostrogoths; 10. Greeks.
The list Bishop Lloyd l has given of them is,
1. Hunns, who erected their kingdom in that part of Pannonia and Dacia, which was from them called Hungary, about A.D. 356. 2. Ostrogoths, who settled themselves in the countries that reach from Rhetia to Maesia, even to Thrace, about 377; and afterwards came into Italy under Alaricus, in 410. 3. Visigoths, who settled in the south parts of France, and in Catalonia, about 378. 4. Franks, who seized upon part of Germany and Gaul, A.D. 410. 5. Vandals, who settled in Spain; afterwards set up their kingdom in Africa, A.D. 407; their king Gensericus sacked Rome, 455. 6. Suevians and Alans, who seized the western parts of Spain, A.D. 407; and invaded Italy, 457. 7. Burgundians, who came out of Germany, into that part of Gaul called from them Burgundy, 407. 8. Herules, Rugians, and Thoringians, who settled in Italy under Odoacer, about A.D. 476. 9. Saxons, who made themselves masters of Great Britain about the same time, 476. 10. Longobards, called likewise Gopidae, who settled in Germany, about Magdeburg, A.D. 383; and afterwards succeeded the Heruli and Thuringi in Hungary, about the year 826.
Sir Isaac Newton m reckons the ten kingdoms in the following order:
1. the kingdom of the Vandals and Alans in Spain and Africa; 2. of the Suevians in Spain; 3. of the Visigoths; 4. of the Alans in Gallia; 5. of the Burgundians; 6. of the Franks; 7. of the Britons; 8. of the Hunns; 9. of the Lombards; 10. of Ravenna;
who gives an account of the various kings of these kingdoms; and these, as the same learned writer says n, whatever was their number afterwards, they are still called the ten kings from their first number; and though they have not always been in the same form and order, yet they have been generally about, if not exactly, the same number; as they are now near the same; and may be thus reckoned, as the kingdoms of France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Great Britain, Sardinia, Denmark, the two Sicilies, Swedeland, Prussia, and Poland; of which see more
[See comments on Re 17:12].
And another shall rise after thee: not Titus Vespeasian, as Jarchi and Saadiah; nor the nation of Gog and Magog, as Jacchiades: but the pope of Rome, or antichrist; who came to his power as universal bishop, and as a horn or temporal prince, after the above kingdoms arose; not after they were at an end, but after they were constituted and established, as it was proper they should first be; since they were to give their strength, power, and kingdom, to the antichristian beast, by which it became a horn or temporal prince, Re 17:13. The Septuagint render it, “behind them”; which Mr. Mede o interprets of his springing up unawares, imperceptibly, unnoticed, and unobserved by them, till he overtopped them.
And he shall be diverse from the first; from the first ten horns, kings or kingdoms; having, besides a secular power and temporal authority, an ecclesiastical and spiritual one; a power not only over the bodies and estates of men, but over their souls and consciences; and even over the other horns and kingdoms, which they had not over one another; and so was different from them all:
and he shall subdue three kings; designed by the three horns plucked up by the roots, and which fell before him; of which [See comments on Da 7:8].
k Works, B. 3. c. 14. p. 661. l Apud Lowth in loc. m Observations on Daniel, c. 6. p. 47. n Ibid. p. 73. o Works, B. 4. ep. 24. p. 778.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He afterwards adds, The ten horns are the ten kings which should arise These Ten Kings are clearly comprehended under one empire, and there is no question here of separate persons. In the Persian kingdom, we observed many kings, and yet the image of the second beast was single, while it embraced all those kings until the change occurred. So also no when treating of the Romans, the Prophet does not assert that ten kings should succeed each other in regular order, but rather the multiform nature of the kingdom, under more heads than one. For the royal office belonged to the senators or leading citizens, whose authority prevailed very extensively both with the senate and the people. And with reference to the number, we said the plural number only was denoted, without any limitation to the number ten. The conclusion is as follows, — this kingdom should be like a single terrible animal bearing many horns, since no single king held the chief sway there, as was customary by constant usage in other lands, but there should be a mixture, like many kings in place of one holding the pre-eminence. The fulfillment of this is sufficiently known from the history of Rome; as if it had been said, there should not be any single kingdom, as of Persia and other nations, but many kings at the same time, alluding to the mixture and confusion in which the supreme authority was involved.
The Little Horn follows: A king shall arise, says he, different from those, other ones, and shall afflict three kings We showed how unintelligible this becomes, unless we refer it to the Caesars to whom the monarchy passed; for after long and continued and intensive strife, the whole power passed over to the Triumvirate. A conspiracy was entered into by Lepidus, Mark Antony, and Octavius. Octavius was then all but a boy, having scarcely arrived at manhood, but all the veteran soldiers were in his favor, in consequence of the name of Julius Caesar and his adoption by him. Hence he was received by the other two into that alliance, of which Lepidus was the first, and Antony the second. At length discords arose among them, and Lepidus was deprived of his place in the triumvirate, and lived, as if half-dead, while his life was only spared to him because he was raised to the office of chief priest
Reverence for the priesthood restrained Antony from putting him to death, so long as he was content to live in privacy and retirement. Octavius at, length became supreme, but by what artifice? We said Julius Caesar took no more upon himself than the office of dictator, while consuls were annually elected as usual. He did not strain the power of the dictatorship beyond moderation, but he so restrained himself, that some popular rights might seem still to flourish. Octavius also followed the cunning of his uncle and adopted father. The same conduct will be found in the other Caesars, though there were many differences between them. As the shadow of a republic yet remained, while the senate was held in some degree of reverence, it is not surprising, if the angel predicts that the beast should survive, when another small horn should arise different from the others
He adds, And shall afflict the three kings I have explained this point by the slight change which the Caesars effected in the provinces, for if any of the provinces were warlike, strong armies and veteran soldiers were usually sent there. The Caesars took these to themselves, while some executive management was left to the senate with regard to the other provinces. Lastly, by this form of speech, the angel portrays the coming dominion of the little horn, and its diminishing the strength of the former ones’ and. yet the beast should remain apparently entire; thus, the effigy of the republic was preserved, as the people were always designated — in the forum, by the high-sounding name, Romans, and in battle, as fellow-soldiers. Meanwhile, although the name of the Roman empire was so celebrated, and its majesty was in every one’s mouth, the supreme authority was in the possession of one little horn which lay concealed, and dared not openly raise its head. This, then, is the pith of the interpretation of what the angel here sets before us. It; follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
24. The fourth kingdom is here represented as a beast whose “ten horns” are ten kings. There has been great diversity of opinion as to the particular kings meant. As the number is a round symbolical number it does not matter if the kings preceding Antiochus Epiphanes (the “little horn”) actually numbered a few less or a few more than ten. Professor Cowles, however, has pointed out that Daniel himself in chap. 11 (which is explanatory of the visions of chaps. 7 and 8) has referred particularly to just ten prominent kings ruling between the death of Alexander and the rise of the little horn five of these being Ptolemies, namely, Lagus, Philadelphus, Euergetes, Philopator, Philometer (Dan 11:5-27); five of them being Syrian kings: Seleucus Nicator, Antiochus Theos, Seleucus Callinicus, Antiochus the Great, and Seleucus Philopator (Dan 11:5-20). Meinhold, on the other hand, believes Demetrius, Heliodorus, and Ptolemy Philometer to represent the three horns overthrown by Antiochus Epiphanes, the other seven horns symbolizing Seleucus I, II, III, IV, and Antiochus I, II, III. The question is unimportant, as there is practical unanimity of opinion among modern scholars that the little horn here (like that of Dan 8:9-12) is Antiochus Epiphanes. The argument that Antiochus Epiphanes could not be the eleventh horn because he was not the eleventh, but the eighth successive king on the Syrian throne (Godet, Studies, 1882; Kohler, Lehrbuch, pp. 539, 540), is not strong when we consider the symbolism of number (see Introduction to Ezekiel, VIII), and the fact that it is not stated whether these horns were successive or in part contemporaneous.* Certainly the “antichrist” of a later era had Antiochan characteristics, just as Gog and Magog had Scythian characteristics (Ezekiel 38, 39; Rev 20:8), but this does not exclude the reference to an earlier or later historic character. The older scholars, who thought Daniel’s fourth kingdom was Roman, interpreted these ten kings as ten kingdoms, but differed very materially in their guesses as to which kingdoms were meant. It seems to us conclusive that the fourth empire was not Roman. (See notes Dan 2:39-40.) All agree that Antiochus was the “vile person” who is spoken of as rising up after the ten successors of Alexander mentioned Dan 11:3-21. The analogy of prophecy is in favor of the same reference to him here.
[*Three of the kings (horns) are not said to have been destroyed before Antiochus took the throne, but to have been afterward “subdued” by him. “Now the facts are that Antiochus usurped the throne upon the assassination of his elder brother, Seleucus Philopator; he superseded the rightful heir, Demetrius who was at that time a hostage in Rome and he humbled by sore defeat his nephew, Ptolemy Philometer, who had as good a right to the throne of Asia as himself (compare 1Ma 11:13 ). Some reckon Heliodorus among the three who fell before Antiochus, for Appian testifies that he had seized the government by force. This view is open to no valid objection, for we should no more insist on a rigid interpretation of the number three than of the number ten.” Terry.]
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Dan 7:24. The ten hornsare ten kings Or kingdoms; and so Dan 7:17. If we fix the aera for these ten kingdoms to the eighth century, the chief governments will be found to be, 1. The senate of Rome, who revolted from the Grecian emperors, and claimed and exerted the privilege of choosing a new western emperor; 2 the Greeks in Ravenna; 3 the Lombards in Lombardy; 4 the Huns in Hungary; 5 the Allemans in Germany; 6 the Franks in France; 7 the Burgundians in Burgundy; 8 the Saracens in Africa and Spain; 9 the Goths in other parts of Spain; 10 the Saxons in Britain. Not that there were constantly ten kingdoms; they were sometimes more and sometimes fewer: but, as Sir Isaac Newton observes, whatever was their number afterwards, they are still called the ten kings from their first number. Bishop Newton, p. 463.
Another shall arise after them This is called a little horn, Dan 7:8 before whom three of the first horns were plucked up; that is to say, as is here explained, who should subdue three kings or kingdoms. The fourth beast signified the Roman empire; the ten horns represent the ten kingdoms into which that empire was divided: and if, in agreement with the fathers, we look among these ten horns for the little horn, we shall find it to be antichrist, who should root up three of the ten kings, and domineer over the rest; and who, we doubt not, will soon appear to answer in all respects the character here given. Machiavel himself, in his history of Florence, has set forth sufficient grounds to affirm this to be the pope. See particularly book 1: p. 6 of the English translation. The bishop of Rome was respectable as a bishop long before the period that he mentions; but he did not become properly a horn, which is an emblem of power, till he became a temporal prince. He was to rise after the others; that is, behind them, as the Greek version has it; so that the ten kings were not aware of the growing up of the little horn, till it overtopped them; the original word signifying as well behind in place, as after in time. Three of the first horns, that is three of the first kings or kingdoms, were to be plucked up by the roots, Dan 7:8 and to fall before him, Dan 7:20 and these three we conceive, with Sir Isaac Newton, to be the exarchate of Ravenna, the kingdom of the Lombards, and the state of Rome; those three states or kingdoms, which constituted the pope’s dominions. The ex-archate of Ravenna was given to Pope Stephen II. by Pepin king of France, in the year 755, and henceforward the popes, being now become temporal princes, did no longer date their epistles and bulls by the years of the emperor’s reign, but by their own advancement to the papal chair. The kingdom of the Lombards was subdued by Charles the Great, called Charlemagne of France, who resigned his pretensions to it to St. Peter in the year 774. The state of Rome, both in spirituals and temporals, was vested in the pope, and confirmed to him by Lewis the Pious. These, as we conceive, were the three horns, or three of the first horns which fell before the little horn; and the pope has in a manner pointed himself out for the person by wearing the triple crown. In other respects too he answers to the character of the little horn.He is a little horn;the power of the popes was originally very small, and their temporal dominions were little and inconsiderable in comparison with others of the ten horns.He shall be diverse from the first; which the Greek and Arabic render, “He shall exceed in wickedness all before him;” and so most of the fathers, who made use only of the Greek translation understood it: but it rather signifies that his kingdom shall be of a different nature and constitution; and the power of the popes differs greatly from that of all other princes, being an ecclesiastical and spiritual, as well as a civil and temporal authority. We are told in Dan 7:8 that in this horn were eyes, like the eyes of a man; which denotes cunning and foresight, exercised in looking out and watching all opportunities of promoting one’s interest: and the policy of the Roman hierarchy has almost passed into a proverb. In Dan 7:8; Dan 7:20 it is said, He had a mouth speaking great things: and who has been more noisy and blustering than the pope, especially in former ages; boasting of his supremacy, thundering out bulls and anathemas, excommunicating princes, and absolving subjects from their allegiance?His look was more stout than his fellows, Dan 7:20. And the pope assumes a superiority not only above his fellow bishops, but even over crowned heads; and requires his foot to be kissed, and greater honours to be paid to him than to kings and emperors themselves. See Bishop Newton, vol. 1: p. 464, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom [are] ten kings [that] shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
Ver. 24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom. ] He saith not kingdoms: this maketh against those that make the Seleucidae and Legidae, the fourth monarchy.
And he shall be diverse from the first.
And he shall subdue three kings.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
ten kings. See note on Dan 7:7.
he. The little horn of verses: Dan 7:8, Dan 7:20.
three kings. See the interpretation of Dan 7:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Dan 7:24
Dan 7:24 And the tenH6236 hornsH7162 out ofH4481 this kingdomH4437 are tenH6236 kingsH4430 that shall arise:H6966 and anotherH321 shall riseH6966 afterH311 them; and heH1932 shall be diverseH8133 fromH4481 the first,H6933 and he shall subdueH8214 threeH8532 kings.H4430
Dan 7:24
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
These are not concurrent kings serving the emperor as subject rulers. This is a succession of supreme leaders of the fourth kingdom. Being diverse from the first is easily explained in that Augustus was of the Judio-Claudian dynasty and Domitian was of the Flavian dynasty. The three kings subdued are troublesome. In order for the numbering of the eleven kings of Daniel to harmonize with the eight kings of the Roman Empire in Revelation, Galba, Otho and Vitellius must be the three horns or kings subdued by Domitian. At the time of the Roman Civil wars, Domitian was about eighteen years old and relatively untried in military conquests. Titus, his elder brother by eleven years was a much more seasoned military man at the time. History does not remember Domitian as being an overly prominent contributor to the defeat of Galba, Otho and Vitellius. However, his father, Vespasian emerged triumphant at the close of the Roman Civil wars and assumed the throne as emperor of the Roman Empire in December of 69 AD. Vespasian was also the first in the Flavian dynasty to hold the highest office in the Roman Empire. There are many good points which point to Vespasian as the eleventh horn, however, he does not fit the profile of the Beast as described by Daniel and John. A likely explanation of this difficulty could be that Domitian, the eleventh horn that subdued three kings, was recognized as such by virtue of his being the son of the man who actually did.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the ten: Dan 7:20, Rev 12:3, Rev 13:1, Rev 17:3, Rev 17:12, Rev 17:13, Rev 17:16-18
another: This evidently points out the papal supremacy, in every respect diverse from the former, which from small beginnings thrust itself up among the ten kingdoms, till at length it successively eradicated three of them, the kingdom of Heruli, of the Ostrogoths, and of the Lombards. Dan 7:8, Dan 7:20, Dan 8:9-12, Dan 11:36, 2Th 2:3-10, 1Ti 4:1-3
Reciprocal: Psa 94:23 – And he Dan 2:41 – the feet Dan 2:42 – the toes Dan 7:7 – and it had ten Zec 6:7 – the bay Mar 14:22 – this Rev 13:11 – and he spake Rev 19:20 – the false
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 7:24. The story continues on with the inclusion of the ten horns which have been previously explained to be the ten European governments that were a part of the Roman Empire. Perhaps we can see (he logieai connection between this and what is soon to come before the chapter is concluded. It was among or out of these kings, including the ten horns, that another little horn was to arise which was the papacy. It was necessary to refer anew to this institution in order to connect the story up with the important revolutionary events yet to be foretold.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom [are] ten kings [that] shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue {n} three kings.
(n) Read Geneva “Dan 7:8”
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
One difference between the description of the little horn here and earlier (Dan 7:8), is that here the little horn is a king, not a kingdom. Another is that he will be different from the previous 10 kings (cf. Rev 13:1; Rev 17:12). His boastful words will be against the Most High and His saints (Dan 7:25). He will wear down the saints, evidently by persecution (cf. 2Th 2:8-9; Rev 12:13-17; Rev 13:1-10; Rev 13:16-17). He will also desire to make changes in times (the calendar?) and in law. Archer recorded an interesting account of an unsuccessful attempt during the French Revolution to replace the Christian (Gregorian) calendar with a Revolutionary calendar. [Note: Archer, "Daniel," p. 94.] Someone, obviously the sovereign God, will allow this ruler to have his way for "a time, times, and half a time" (cf. Dan 12:7). Even some liberal interpreters concede that this is a period of three and one-half years (cf. Dan 4:16; Rev 11:2-3; Rev 12:6; Rev 13:5). [Note: E.g., Montgomery, p. 312.] Young took it to stand for a period of testing and judgment in a metaphorical sense without specifying its length. [Note: Young, p. 162.] This three and one-half year period evidently refers to the last three and one-half years before the little horn’s destruction and the return of Jesus Christ. This corresponds to the "Great Tribulation," the phrase Jesus used to describe the last half (three and one-half years) of the seven-year Tribulation (Mat 24:21).
"When the hordes from the north conquered the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D., they did not unite to form another empire. Instead individual nations emerged out of the old Roman Empire. Some of those nations and others stemming from them have continued till the present day. The present Age, then, is the 10-horned era of the fourth beast. (Other premillenarians, however, hold that the time of the 10 horns is yet future, that the present Church Age is not seen in this vision, and that 10 kings will coexist over a future revived [or realigned] Roman Empire.)" [Note: Pentecost, p. 1354.]
"The ten-nation confederacy of the future anticipated in these prophecies would naturally be considered a revival of the Roman Empire if for no other reason than that it is portrayed as an integral part of the fourth empire." [Note: John F. Walvoord, "Revival of Rome," Bibliotheca Sacra 126:504 (October-December 1969):317-28.]
"Our Lord ministered on earth three and a half years, and the Antichrist shall enact his Satanic ministry for the same length of time." [Note: Joseph A. Seiss, Voices from Babylon: Or the Records of Daniel the Prophet, p. 311.]
Young also believed a literal Antichrist is in view in this passage. [Note: Young, p. 163.]