Daniel Chapter 8 Vs. 8

Daniel's Vision of the Ram and the Goat

Daniel 8:8 "Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven."


Alexander was thought of as great. When he died at age 33, 4 of his generals took over his kingdom, in his place.

Four notable ones (or horns) refer to the four generals who by 301 B.C. ruled Alexander’s empire (v.22). Macedonia and most of Greece were under the rule of Cassander; Asia Minor and parts of Thrace were under the rule of Lysimachus; Syria, Israel and Mesopotamia were ruled by Seleucus; and Egypt and parts of southern Syria were under Ptolemy.

They would be known today as Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt.

As soon as the goat was elevated to great power, his large single horn was broken off, and its place was taken by four prominent horns.

The description of this goat is somewhat parallel to the third beast in Dan. 7:6, the leopard with wings. Both were rapid, and the leopard had four heads whereas the goat had four horns. The goat’s horns probably represented kings (just as the horns on the fourth beast represented kings, Dan. 7:24).