Bible Strands
Daniel 8:20
The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The angel speaks to Daniel during a vision interpretation sequence, explaining the symbolic meaning immediately after stating that the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.
The words — אַ֥יִל ('A.yil) translates literally as "ram," and הַ/קְּרָנָ֑יִם (ha./ke.ra.Na.yim) means "the two horns," directly identifying the animal and its defining physical feature in the dream.
The thread — The two-horned ram appears in Daniel 8:3 as the beast standing beside the canal, and the Medo-Persian empire is later noted in Daniel 11:1 through the mention of Darius the Mede.
Why it lands — The text states that the ram symbolizes the kings of Media and Persia before assigning prophetic weight to that historical pairing, requiring the reader to track how revealed imagery corresponds to documented political power.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
Cross-references
- Daniel 8:3 Then 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.
- Daniel 11:1 “And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.