Daniel 7 · Verse 6

Daniel 7:6

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
Daniel 7:6, King James Version

Daniel 7:6 in other translations

BSBNext, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
WEB“After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The animal also had four heads; and dominion was given to it.
ASVAfter this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
YLT‘After this I was seeing, and lo, another like a leopard, and it hath four wings of a fowl on its back, and four heads hath the beast, and dominion is given to it.
DARBYAfter this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird upon its back; and the beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it.
BBEAfter this I saw another beast, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings like those of a bird; and the beast had four heads, and the power of a ruler was given to it.
WebsterAfter this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

What does Daniel 7:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. leopard--smaller than the lion; swift (Ha 1:8); cruel (Is 11:6), the opposite of tame; springing suddenly from its hiding place on its prey (Ho 13:7); spotted. So Alexander, a small king, of a small kingdom, Macedon, attacked Darius at the head of the vast empire reaching from the Ægean Sea to the Indies. In twelve years he subjugated part of Europe, and all Asia from Illyricum and the Adriatic to the Ganges, not so much fighting as conquering [Jerome]. Hence, whereas Babylon is represented with two wings, Macedon has four, so rapid were its conquests. The various spots denote the various nations incorporated into his empire [Bochart]; or Alexander's own variation in character, at one time mild, at another cruel, now temperate, and now drunken and licentious. four heads--explained in Da 8:8, 22; the four kingdoms of the Diadochi or "successors" into which the Macedonian empire was divided at the death of Alexander, namely, Macedon and Greece under Cassander, Thrace and Bithynia under Lysimachus, Egypt under Ptolemy, and Syria under Seleucus. dominion ... given to it--by God; not by Alexander's own might. For how unlikely it was that thirty thousand men should overthrow several hundreds of thousands! Josephus [Antiquities, 11.6] says that Alexander adored the high priest of Jerusalem, saying that he at Dium in Macedonia had seen a vision of God so habited, inviting him to go to Asia, and promising him success.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 Another like a leopard - four wings - four heads - This was the Macedonian or Greek empire; and Alexander the Great its king. Alexander and his subjects are fitly compared to a leopard. 1. The leopard is remarkable for its swiftness. Alexander and the Macedonians were very rapid in their conquests. 2. The leopard is a spotted animal; a proper emblem of the various nations, with their various customs and languages, which constituted the Macedonian empire. It may refer to the character of Alexander himself, sometimes mild, at others cruel; sober and drunken; continent and lecherous; having a great power of self-government, and at other times being a slave to his passions. 3. The leopard, though small, is not afraid to attack the lion. Four wings of a fowl - The Babylonian empire was represented with two wings; and they sufficiently marked the rapidity of Nebuchadnezzar's conquests; but the Macedonian has here four wings; for nothing, in the history of the world, was equal to the conquests of Alexander, who ran through all the countries from Illyricum and the Adriatic Sea to the Indian Ocean and the River Ganges; and in twelve years subdued part of Europe, and all Asia. The beast had also four heads - Signifying the empire after the death of Alexander, divided between his four generals. Cassander reigning over Macedon and Greece; Lysimachus, over Thrace and Bithynia; Ptolemy, over Egypt; and Seleucus, over Syria. Dominion was given to it - It was not owing to the skill, courage, or valor of Alexander and his troops, that he made those wondrous conquests; the nations were given to him. For, as Bishop Newton says, had he not been assisted by the mighty power of God, how could he, with only thirty thousand men, have overcome Darius with six hundred thousand; and in so short a time have brought the countries from Greece as far as India into subjection?

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 7:6 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.

בָּאתַ֨רba.TarafterH870
דְּנָ֜הde.NahthisH1836
חָזֵ֣הcha.ZehseeingH2370
הֲוֵ֗יתha.VeitI wasH1934
וַאֲר֤וּva.'a.Ruand lo!H718
אָֽחֳרִי֙'o.cho.RianotherH317
כִּנְמַ֔רkin.Marlike a leopardH5245
וְלַ֨הּve.Lahand to it
גַּפִּ֥יןga.PinwingsH1611
אַרְבַּ֛ע'ar.Ba'fourH703
דִּי\־di-ofH1768
ע֖וֹףofa birdH5776
עַל\־'al-[were] onH5922
גַּבַּ֑הּga.bai.yahback itsH1355
וְאַרְבְּעָ֤הve.'ar.be.'Ahand fourH703
רֵאשִׁין֙re.ShinheadsH7217
לְחֵ֣יוְתָ֔אle.Chei.ve.Ta'[were] to beast theH2423
וְשָׁלְטָ֖ןve.shal.Tanand dominionH7985
יְהִ֥יבye.Hivit was givenH3052
לַֽהּ\׃Lahto it

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

Cross references for Daniel 7:6

  • Revelation 13:2

    And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

  • Daniel 11:3-20

    And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those. And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. …

  • Daniel 8:20-22

    The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.

  • Daniel 2:39

    And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

  • Hosea 13:7

    Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:

  • Daniel 7:4

    The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

  • Daniel 8:5-8

    And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 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.

  • Ezekiel 17:3

    And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

  • Daniel 10:20

    Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
lo.
2:39; 8:5-7,20,21; 10:20; 11:3-20; Ho 13:7; Re 13:2
another.The Greek empire, founded by Alexander the Great.
four wings.
4; Eze 17:3
four heads.Divided into 4 parts by Alexander's generals.
8:8,22; 11:4-20

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

Context

  • Daniel 7:5

    And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

  • Daniel 7:6

    After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

  • Daniel 7:7

    After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

Read all of Daniel 7

Daniel 7:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Después de esto yo miraba, y he aquí otra, semejante á un tigre, y tenía cuatro alas de ave en sus espaldas: tenía también esta bestia cuatro cabezas; y fuéle dada potestad.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Après cela, je vis, et en voici une autre, – comme un léopard; et elle avait quatre ailes d’oiseau sur son dos; et la bête avait quatre têtes; et la domination lui fut donnée.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Nach diesem schaute ich, und siehe, ein anderes, gleich einem Pardel; und es hatte vier Flügel eines Vogels auf seinem Rücken; und das Tier hatte vier Köpfe, und Herrschaft wurde ihm gegeben.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Post hæc aspiciebam, et ecce alia quasi pardus, et alas habebat quasi avis, quatuor super se: et quatuor capita erant in bestia, et potestas data est ei.