Bible Strands
Daniel 8:21
The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Daniel receives a vision interpretation from an angelic messenger, continuing the symbolic explanation begun in the preceding chapter. The vision details the fall of the Medo-Persian empire and the rise of a new power.
The words — צָפִיר (tza.Fir) translates literally as he-goat, while קֶרֶן (Ke.ren) means horn. These terms anchor the symbolic imagery to the historical entities identified in the vision.
The thread — The goat imagery originates in Daniel 8:5, where a goat with a prominent horn emerges from the west. The theme of successive empires and rulers continues in Daniel 10:20 and Daniel 11:3.
Why it lands — The text identifies a specific historical ruler and kingdom before assigning symbolic meaning to them. A reader must track how the vision's symbols map onto concrete political shifts rather than treating them as abstract allegories.
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
And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Cross-references
- Daniel 10:20 “Do you know why I have come to you?” he said. “I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.
- Daniel 11:3 Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
- Daniel 8:5 As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.