Daniel 8:8

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. 

a. NASB 1995: Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.  [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]

b. NKJV: Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Classic Amplified Bible: And the he-goat [Alexander the Great] magnified himself exceedingly, and when he was [young and] strong, the great horn [he] was [suddenly] broken; and instead of [him] there came up four notable horns [to whom the kingdom was divided, one] toward [each of] the four winds of the heavens.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: Then the he-goat grew greatly, at its mightiest the great horn was broken, and a semblance of four [horns came up in its place, pointing to the four directions of the heavens. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ltd.]

e. ESV: Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.  [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. “Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken…” 

a. [Therefore the] he-goat [Strong: 6842  צָפִיר tsâphîyr, tsaw-feer'; from H6852; a male goat (as prancing):—(he) goat.]

b. [Strong: 5795 עֵז ʻêz, aze; from H5810; a she-goat (as strong), but masculine in plural (which also is used elliptically for goat's hair):—(she) goat, kid.]

c. waxed…great [Strong: 1431 גָּדַל gâdal, gaw-dal'; a primitive root; properly, to twist (compare H1434), i.e. to be (causatively make) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride):—advance, boast, bring up, exceed, excellent, be(-come, do, give, make, wax), great(-er, come to... estate, things), grow(up), increase, lift up, magnify(-ifical), be much set by, nourish (up), pass, promote, proudly (spoken), tower.]

d. very [Strong: 3966 מְאֹד mᵉʼôd, meh-ode'; from the same as H181; properly, vehemence, i.e. (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication, wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated):—diligently, especially, exceeding(-ly), far, fast, good, great(-ly), × louder and louder, might(-ily, -y), (so) much, quickly, (so) sore, utterly, very ( much, sore), well.]

e. [and when he was] strong [Strong: 6105 עָצַם ʻâtsam, aw-tsam'; a primitive root; also denominatively (from H6106) to bind fast, i.e. close (the eyes); intransitively, to be (causatively, make) powerful or numerous; to crunch the bones:—break the bones, close, be great, be increased, be (wax) mighty(-ier), be more, shut, be(-come, make) strong(-er).]

f. [the] great [Strong: 1419 גָּדוֹל gâdôwl, gaw-dole'; or גָּדֹל gâdôl; (shortened) from H1431; great (in any sense); hence, older; also insolent:— aloud, elder(-est), exceeding(-ly), far, (man of) great (man, matter, thing,-er,-ness), high, long, loud, mighty, more, much, noble, proud thing, × sore, (×) very.]

g. horn [Strong: 7161 קֶרֶן qeren, keh'-ren; from H7160; a horn (as projecting); by implication, a flask, cornet; by resemblance. an elephant's tooth (i.e. ivory), a corner (of the altar), a peak (of a mountain), a ray (of light); figuratively, power:—× hill, horn.]

h. [was] broken [Strong 7665 שָׁבַר shâbar, shaw-bar'; a primitive root; to burst (literally or figuratively):—break (down, off, in pieces, up), broken (-hearted), bring to the birth, crush, destroy, hurt, quench, × quite, tear, view (by mistake for H7663).]

2. “...and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.”

a. [and] for it [Strong: 8478 תַּחַת tachath, takh'-ath; from the same as H8430; the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc.:—as, beneath, × flat, in(-stead), (same) place (where...is), room, for...sake, stead of, under, × unto, × when...was mine, whereas, (where-) fore, with.]

b. came up [Strong: 5927 עָלָה ʻâlâh, aw-law'; a primitive root; to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative:—arise (up), (cause to) ascend up, at once, break (the day) (up), bring (up), (cause to) burn, carry up, cast up, shew, climb (up), (cause to, make to) come (up), cut off, dawn, depart, exalt, excel, fall, fetch up, get up, (make to) go (away, up); grow (over) increase, lay, leap, levy, lift (self) up, light, (make) up, × mention, mount up, offer, make to pay, perfect, prefer, put (on), raise, recover, restore, (make to) rise (up), scale, set (up), shoot forth (up), (begin to) spring (up), stir up, take away (up), work.]

c. four [Strong: 702 אַרְבַּע ʼarbaʻ, ar-bah'; masculine אַרְבָּעָה ʼarbâʻâh; from H7251; four:—four.]

d. notable ones [Strong: 2380 חָזוּת châzûwth, khaw-zooth'; from H2372; a look; hence (figuratively) striking appearance, revelation, or (by implication) compact:—agreement, notable (one), vision.]

e. [toward the] four [Strong: 702 אַרְבַּע ʼarbaʻ, ar-bah'; masculine אַרְבָּעָה ʼarbâʻâh; from H7251; four:—four.]

f. winds [Strong: 7307 רוּחַ rûwach, roo'-akh; from H7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions):—air, anger, blast, breath, × cool, courage, mind, × quarter, × side, spirit(-ual), tempest, × vain, (whirl-) wind(-y).]

g. [of] heaven [Strong: 8064 שָׁמַיִם shâmayim, shaw-mah'-yim; dual of an unused singular שָׁמֶה shâmeh; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve):—air, × astrologer, heaven(-s).]

1). Paul Yonggi Cho, The Book of Daniel: Thus the ram, which stood for Persia, was completely conquered by the goat, which stood for Greece. Then the vision further showed that the large horn of this goat was broken off, and in it placed four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven. This showed that Alexander would die young and that his empire would be divided into four parts by his four generals,

a). AI: Ptolemy I Soter: He took control of Egypt, establishing the Ptolemaic Dynasty. This became one of the most stable and long-lasting successor states, famously ending with the death of Cleopatra VII.

b). Seleucus I Nicator: He claimed the largest share of the empire, including Mesopotamia, Persia, and parts of Asia Minor, founding the Seleucid Empire.

c). Cassander: After a brutal struggle for power in Greece, he secured control over Macedonia and Greece, effectively ending Alexander's direct royal bloodline by ordering the deaths of Alexander's mother, wife, and son.

d). Lysimachus: He took control of Thrace and parts of western Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). His kingdom was later eliminated and divided after he fell in battle against Seleucus.