Daniel 8 · Verse 3

Daniel 8:3

Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
Daniel 8:3, King James Version

Daniel 8:3 in other translations

BSBThen I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.
WEBThen I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram which had two horns stood before the river. The two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
ASVThen I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
YLTAnd I lift up mine eyes, and look, and lo, a certain ram is standing before the stream, and it hath two horns, and the two horns are high; and the one is higher than the other, and the high one is coming up last.
DARBYAnd I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns; and the two horns were high; and one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
BBEAnd lifting up my eyes, I saw, there before the stream, a male sheep with two horns: and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, the higher one coming up last.
WebsterThen I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

What does Daniel 8:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. two horns--The "two" ought not to be in italics, as if it were not in the original; for it is expressed by the Hebrew dual. "Horn" in the East is the symbol of power and royalty. one ... higher than ... other ... the higher came up last--Persia, which was of little note till Cyrus' time, became then ascendant over Media, the more ancient kingdom. Darius was sixty-two years old (Da 5:31) when he began to reign; during his short reign of two years, being a weak king (Da 6:1-3), the government was almost entirely in Cyrus' hands. Hence Herodotus does not mention Darius; but Xenophon does under the name of Cyaxares II. The "ram" here corresponds to the "bear" (Da 7:5), symbolizing clumsy firmness. The king of Persia wore a jewelled ram's head of gold instead of a diadem, such as are seen on the pillars at Persepolis. Also the Hebrew for "ram" springs from the same root as "Elam," or Persia [Newton]. The "one horn higher than the other" answers to the bear "raising itself on one side" (compare Note, see on Da 7:5).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 A ram which had two horns - In the former vision there were four beasts, pointing out four empires; in this we have but two, as only two empires are concerned here, viz., the Grecian and the Persian. The Babylonish empire is not mentioned; its fate was before decided, and it was now at its close. By the ram, the empire of the Medes and Persians was pointed out, as explained by the angel Gabriel, Dan 8:20; and particularly Cyrus, who was the founder of that empire. Cyrus was the son of Cambyses, king of Persia; and grandson of Astyages, king of Media, by his daughter Mandane, who had been given in marriage to Cambyses. Cyrus marrying Roxana, the daughter and only child of his uncle Cyaxares, called in Scripture Ahasuerus, succeeded to both crowns, and thus united Media and Persia. A ram was the symbol of the Persians; and a ram's head with two horns, one higher than the other, appears as such in different parts of the ruins of Persepolis. See the plates of these ruins in the supplement to the seventh volume of the ancient part of the Universal History. This ram had two horns; that is, two kingdoms, viz., Media and Persia; but one was higher than the other; and the higher came up last. Media, signified by the shorter horn, was the more ancient of the two kingdoms. Persia, the higher horn, had come up but lately, and was of little historic or political consequence till the time of Cyrus; but in the reigns of this prince and his immediate successors, Persia attained a political consequence greatly superior to that possessed at any time by the kingdom of Media; therefore, it is said to have been the higher, and to have come up last.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Daniel 8:1-14

Daniel's vision of the ram and the he-goat. (Dn 8:1-14) The interpretation of it. (Dn 8:15-27) Verses 1-14 God gives Daniel a foresight of the destruction of other kingdoms, which in their day were as powerful as that of Babylon. Could we foresee the changes that shall be when we are gone, we should be less affected with changes in our own day. The ram with two horns was the second empire, that of Media and Persia…

Read the full comment on Daniel 8:1-14 →

Daniel 8:3 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.

וָאֶשָּׂ֤אva.'e.Sa'and I lifted upH5375
עֵינַי֙'ei.Naieyes myH5869
וָאֶרְאֶ֔הva.'er.'Ehand I sawH7200
וְהִנֵּ֣ה\׀ve.hi.Nehand there!H2009
אַ֣יִל'A.yila ramH352
אֶחָ֗ד'e.ChadoneH259
עֹמֵ֛ד'o.Med[was] standingH5975
לִפְנֵ֥יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
הָאֻבָ֖לha.'u.Valthe canalH180
וְל֣וֹve.Loand [belonged] to it
קְרָנָ֑יִםke.ra.Na.yimtwo hornsH7161
וְהַקְּרָנַ֣יִםve.ha.ke.ra.Na.yimand the two hornsH7161
גְּבֹה֗וֹתge.vo.Hot[were] highH1364
וְהָאַחַת֙ve.ha.'a.Chatand the oneH259
גְּבֹהָ֣הge.vo.Hah[was] highH1364
מִן\־min-more thanH4480
הַשֵּׁנִ֔יתha.she.Nitthe secondH8145
וְהַ֨גְּבֹהָ֔הve.Ha.ge.vo.Hahand the high [one]H1364
עֹלָ֖ה'o.Lah[was] growing upH5927
בָּאַחֲרֹנָֽה\׃ba.'a.cha.ro.Nahat the lastH314

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

Cross references for Daniel 8:3

  • Daniel 8:20

    The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

  • Daniel 10:5

    Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:

  • Zechariah 5:5

    Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.

  • Jeremiah 51:11

    Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.

  • Isaiah 44:28

    That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

  • Zechariah 5:1

    Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.

  • Joshua 5:13

    And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

  • Esther 1:3

    In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:

  • Zechariah 6:1

    And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.

  • Ezra 1:2

    Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

  • Zechariah 2:1

    I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.

  • 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.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I lifted.
10:5; Nu 24:2; Jos 5:13; 1Ch 21:16; Zec 1:18; 2:1; 5:1,5,9; 6:1
a ram.The Medo-Persian empire, of which a ram was the ensign; and a ram's head with horns, one higher than the other, is still to be seen on the ruins of Persepolis.
20; 2:39; 7:5
one.Media was the more ancient kingdom; but Persia, after Cyrus, was the most considerable.
5:31; 6:28; Ezr 1:2; 4:5; Es 1:3; Isa 13:17; 21:2; 44:28; Jer 51:11
the other. Heb. the second.

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

Context

  • Daniel 8:2

    And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.

  • Daniel 8:3

    Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

  • Daniel 8:4

    I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

Read all of Daniel 8

Daniel 8:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y alcé mis ojos, y miré, y he aquí un carnero que estaba delante del río, el cual tenía dos cuernos: y aunque eran altos, el uno era más alto que el otro; y el más alto subió á la postre.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et je levai les yeux, et je vis; et voici, un bélier se tenait devant le fleuve, et il avait deux cornes; et les deux cornes étaient hautes, et l’une était plus haute que l’autre, et la plus haute s’éleva la dernière.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich erhob meine Augen und sah: und siehe, ein Widder stand vor dem Flusse, der hatte zwei Hörner; und die zwei Hörner waren hoch, und das eine war höher als das andere, und das höhere stieg zuletzt empor.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et levavi oculus meos, et vidi: et ecce aries unus stabat ante paludem, habens cornua excelsa, et unum excelsius altero atque succrescens. Postea