Daniel 7 · Verse 2

Daniel 7:2

Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
Daniel 7:2, King James Version

Daniel 7:2 in other translations

BSBDaniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
WEBDaniel spoke and said, “I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the sky broke out on the great sea.
ASVDaniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
YLTAnswered hath Daniel and said, ‘I was seeing in my vision by night, and lo, the four winds of the heavens are coming forth to the great sea;
DARBYDaniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heavens broke forth upon the great sea.
BBEI had a vision by night, and saw the four winds of heaven violently moving the great sea.
WebsterDaniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea.

What does Daniel 7:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. the four winds--answering to the "four beasts"; their several conflicts in the four quarters or directions of the world. strove--burst forth (from the abyss) [Maurer]. sea--The world powers rise out of the agitations of the political sea (Jr 46:7, 8; Lu 21:25; compare Re 13:1; 17:15; 21:1); the kingdom of God and the Son of man from the clouds of heaven (Da 7:13; compare Joh 8:23). Tregelles takes "the great sea" to mean, as always elsewhere in Scripture (Jos 1:4; 9:1), the Mediterranean, the center territorially of the four kingdoms of the vision, which all border on it and have Jerusalem subject to them. Babylon did not border on the Mediterranean, nor rule Jerusalem, till Nebuchadnezzar's time, when both things took place simultaneously. Persia encircled more of this sea, namely, from the Hellespont to Cyrene. Greece did not become a monarchy before Alexander's time, but then, succeeding to Persia, it became mistress of Jerusalem. It surrounded still more of the Mediterranean, adding the coasts of Greece to the part held by Persia. Rome, under Augustus, realized three things at once--it became a monarchy; it became mistress of the last of the four parts of Alexander's empire (symbolized by the four heads of the third beast), and of Jerusalem; it surrounded all the Mediterranean.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 The four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea - The idea of strife is taken here from the effects that must be produced, were the east, the west, the north, and the south winds to rise tempestuously, and meet on the surface of the sea. By the great sea, the Mediterranean is meant; and is so called to distinguish it from those lakes called seas by the Hebrews; such as the Sea of Galilee, Dead Sea, Sea of Tiberias, etc.; but even that may refer to Asia, the scene of all these contentions. This dream is the same in meaning, under different emblems, as that of Nebuchadnezzar's metallic image; but in Daniel's dream several circumstances are added. It is supposed that Daniel had this dream about forty-eight years after Nebuchadnezzar had the vision of the great image.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Daniel 7:1-8

Daniel's vision of the four beasts. (Dn 7:1-8) and of Christ's kingdom. (Dn 7:9-14) The interpretation. (Dn 7:15-28) Verses 1-8 This vision contains the same prophetic representations with Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The great sea agitated by the winds, represented the earth and the dwellers on it troubled by ambitious princes and conquerors. The four beasts signified the same four empires, as the four parts of…

Read the full comment on Daniel 7:1-8 →

Daniel 7:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

עָנֵ֤ה'a.Neh[was] replyingH6032
דָנִיֵּאל֙da.ni.yeLDanielH1841
וְאָמַ֔רve.'a.Marand [was] sayingH560
חָזֵ֥הcha.ZehseeingH2370
הֲוֵ֛יתha.VeitI wasH1934
בְּחֶזְוִ֖יbe.chez.Viin vision myH2376
עִם\־'im-withH5974
לֵֽילְיָ֑אleil.Ya'night theH3916
וַאֲר֗וּva.'a.Ruand lo!H718
אַרְבַּע֙'ar.Ba'[the] fourH703
רוּחֵ֣יru.Chei[the] winds ofH7308
שְׁמַיָּ֔אshe.mai.Ya'heavens theH8065
מְגִיחָ֖ןme.gi.Chan[were] stirring upH1519
לְיַמָּ֥אle.ya.Ma'<obj.> sea theH3221
רַבָּֽא\׃ra.Ba'<the> greatH7229

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Daniel 7:2

  • Revelation 7:1

    And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

  • Revelation 17:15

    And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the four.
Re 7:1
the great.
Re 17:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Daniel 7:1

    In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

  • Daniel 7:2

    Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

  • Daniel 7:3

    And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Read all of Daniel 7

Daniel 7:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Habló Daniel y dijo: Veía yo en mi visión de noche, y he aquí que los cuatro vientos del cielo combatían en la gran mar.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Daniel prit la parole et dit: Je voyais dans ma vision de nuit, et voici, les quatre vents des cieux se déchaînèrent sur la grande mer.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Daniel hob an und sprach: Ich schaute in meinem Gesicht bei der Nacht, und siehe, die vier Winde des Himmels brachen los auf das große Meer.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Videbam in visione mea nocte: et ecce quatuor venti cæli pugnabant in mari magno.