Daniel 7:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 7:19
Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
to slink · verb, active participle, feminine singular absolute
teeth
שִׁנַּ֤הּshi.nai.yah
H8128
a tooth · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
iron
פַרְזֶל֙far.Zel
H6523
iron · noun, common both genders singular absolute
nails
וְטִפְרַ֣יהּve.tif.Raih
H2953
a finger-nail · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
brass
נְחָ֔שׁne.Chash
H5174
copper · noun, common both genders singular absolute
devoured
אָֽכְלָ֣ה'a.khe.Lah
H399
to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
pieces
מַדֲּקָ֔הma.da.Kah
H1855
to crumble or (trans.) crush · verb, hiphil active participle, feminine singular absolute
stamped
רָֽפְסָֽהRa.fe.Sah
H7512
to trample · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
residue
וּשְׁאָרָ֖אu.she.'a.Ra'
H7606
a remainder · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
feet
בְּרַגְלַ֥יהּbe.rag.Laih
H7271
a foot · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
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…
Daniel 2:40-43 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 7:15–end
Here we have, I. The deep impressions which these visions made upon the prophet. God in them put honour upon him, and gave him satisfaction, yet not without a great allay of pain and perplexity (Dan 7:15): I Daniel was grieved in my spirit, in the midst of my body. The word here used for the body properly signifies a sheath or scabbard, for the body is no more to the soul; that is the weapon; it is that which we are principally to take care of. The visions of my head troubled me, and again (Dan 7:28), my cogitations much troubled me. The manner in which these things were discovered to him quite overwhelmed him, and put his thoughts so much to the stretch that his spirits failed him, and the…
Balaam, an Aramean, dwelling on the Euphrates, at the beginning of Israel's independent history, and Daniel at the close of it, prophetically exhibit to the hostile world powers Israel as triumphant over them at last, though the world powers of the East (Asshur) and the West (Chittim) carry all before them and afflict Eber (Israel) for a time (Num 23:8-10, Num 23:28; Num 24:2, Num 24:7-9, Num 24:22-24). To Balaam's "Asshur" correspond Daniel's two eastern kingdoms, Babylon and Medo-Persia; to "Chittim," the two western kingdoms, Greece and Rome (compare Gen 10:4, Gen 10:11, Gen 10:22). In Babel, Nimrod the hunter (revolter) founds the first kingdom of the world (Gen 10:8-13). The Babylonian…
His nails of brass - This is not mentioned in the seventh verse, where the description of the beast is given. It might be added, for the first time, by the person who is now explaining the fourth beast. Houbigant thinks it has been lost out of the text: but such loss is not intimated by any MS.; nor does any of the ancient Versions acknowledge this addition in the seventh verse.
John Gill on Daniel 7:19
The Church Fathers
"Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast and the other horn," which was seen while attacking and harshly afflicting the holy ones with his arms. This is Antiochus, who, as the angel reveals, would have made war and submitted the holy ones and the priests and the righteous ones.
Take note of the iron teeth and the bronze claws that are mentioned. The kingdom of the Romans took tribute from all nations; thus he says that it had iron teeth. And since many of those who had started out in the Macedonian kingdom were enlisted into its soldiery, and since claws serve the same function for a beast that soldiers do for an empire, he rightly speaks of Rome's bronze claws, just as he called the third kingdom a bronze kingdom.
And so since all the prophets and apostles testify to this, but because the lawless disobey him and blaspheme and set at nothing what has been spoken and persecute and oppress his slaves, and because they do not expect these things which will be, let us ourselves see what will be, we who believe in the Word of truth and who are led by his Word to eternal life, who are taught by the prophets and who by the Spirit are illuminated, so that we, becoming wise through his grace, may observe the ancient things which were proclaimed and in due time happened and will happen. Holding before our eyes the judgment of God, we guard ourselves from all evil so that we may flee from the eternal fire and incessant punishment. For if even now these things do not come upon us because the times are not yet fulfilled, it is still necessary to pray that we not be found in such times in which these things shall happen, lest one, having become weak from the great persecution which comes to the world, should fall from eternal life. For it is needful to observe what the prophet says, "And I precisely sought concerning the fourth beast, because he was different than every other beast, and was exceedingly fearful. His iron teeth and his bronze claws were eating and grinding and he tramples the remainder with his feet and concerning his ten horns which were on his head and concerning the other which arose and rooted out three former horns, the eyes and the mouth of whom were speaking great things and his appearance was greater than the rest. I was watching and that horn made war with the saints and prevailed upon them, until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the saints of the Most High, and the season arrived and the saints possessed the kingdom." [Daniel 7:19-22] And so we already arrived at this point and said that it is clear that this is the fourth kingdom, from which no other greater kingdom or even such a kingdom like it has arisen on the earth, from which ten horns are about to spring forth. For it will be divided into ten kingdoms and in them another small horn shall arise, which is that of the Antichrist and he shall root out three who were before him, that is he shall destroy the three kings of Egypt and of the Libyans and of the Ethiopians, wishing to possess for himself every kingdom. Who having mastered the remaining seven horns, he rules the remainder, having…
Dictionary and topics
Daniel, Book of — Is ranked by the Jews in that division of their Bible called the Hagiographa (Heb. Khethubim). (See BIBLE.) It consists of two distinct parts. The first part, consisting of the first six chapters, is…
Brass · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
Dreams · Mentioned in scripture of: Daniel — Mentioned in scripture of: Daniel
Horn · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Roman Empire, The · Represented by the: Terrible beast in Daniel’s vision — Represented by the: Terrible beast in Daniel’s vision
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast;.... What it represented, what kingdom or monarchy was meant by it; for, by the above answer of the angel, he understood the four beasts signified four kings or kingdoms; the three first he pretty well understood; at least he was not so solicitous about them as about the fourth; and this he was desirous of having a very particular and exact account of; it threatening, by its appearance, a great deal of trouble to the world, and especially to the church of God:
which was diverse from all the others; or, "from all them", or "those" (h), the other three beasts:
exceeding dreadful; to other kingdoms and nations:
whose teeth were of iron; of thes…
Daniel 7:19-20
19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
19. Tunc aptavi ad veritam [24] de bestia quarta, quae erat diversa ab omnibus aliis, terribilis valde, cujus dentes erant ferri, ferrei, et ungues aeris, aerei, comedens et conterens, et residuu pedibus suis conculcans.
20. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.…
The interpretation of the vision. - Dan 7:14 concludes the account of the contents of the vision, but not the vision itself. That continues to the end of the chapter. Dan 7:15. The things which Daniel saw made a deep impression on his mind. His spirit was troubled within him; the sight filled him with terror. It was not the mystery of the images, nor the fact that all was not clear before his sight, that troubled and disquieted him; for Dan 7:28 shows that the disquietude did not subside when an angel explained the images he had seen. It was the things themselves as they passed in vision before him - the momentous events, the calamities which the people of God would have to endure till the t…
Daniel requested and received more information about the fourth beast, the ten horns, and the little horn.
Rashi on Daniel 7:19
Then I wished to determine the truth Then I wished to determine the truth concerning the fourth beast.
which was different from all of them—excessively dreadful which was different from all of them with excessive dreadfulness.