Biblical Hebrew Forum

["John B. Senterfitt" <millenia05 AT earthlink.net>]

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John B. Senterfitt
>From rosewalk AT concentric.net  Mon Sep 11 14:11:02 2006
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Four Beasts in Daniel
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Based on Jewish, not Christian, source.  Based on Rashi, who bases it 
on Jeremiah, also a midrash, Maharal cites it, etc.

What is Strongs version based on?



Rashi:

3. And four huge beasts were coming up out of the sea, each one 
different from the other.

And four beasts [as translated,] and four beasts.

each one different from the other [as translated,] each one different 
from the other.

4. The first one was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle, 
until its wings were plucked and it was taken from the earth, and it 
stood on feet like a man, and the heart of a mortal was given it.

The first one was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle It 
was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle; that is the 
kingdom of Babylon, which was ruling at that time, and so did 
Jeremiah see it (4:7): "A lion has come up from its thicket," and he 
says also (48:40): "like an eagle he shall soar."

until its wings were plucked Its wings were plucked, which is an 
allusion to its downfall

and it was taken from the earth an expression of being removed from 
the earth, an allusion to the curtailment of the kingdom from the 
world.

and the heart of a mortal Aram. ??????? ??????, an expression of 
weakness, like (Psalms 9:21): "Let the nations know that they are 
forever mortal men (???????)".

5. And behold another second beast, resembling a bear, and it stood 
to one side, and there were three ribs in its mouth between its 
teeth, and so did they say to it, 'Get up, eat much meat.'

another [as translated,] another.

second that emerged second from the sea.

resembling a bear This represents the kingdom of Persia, which will 
reign after Babylon, who eats and drinks like a bear and is enwrapped 
in flesh like a bear.

resembling a bear It is spelled ????? [without a "vav,"] like ??????, 
the Aramaic for ?????, a wolf, for the kingdom of Persia was also 
called a wolf, as it is said: (Jer. 5:6): "Therefore a lion smote 
them, a wolf of the deserts spoils them."

and it stood to one side and it stood to one side, indicating that 
when the kingdom of Babylon terminates, Persia will wait one year, 
when Media will reign.

and there were three ribs in its mouth Aram. ??????? ???????? 
??????????, three ribs. Our Sages explained that three provinces were 
constantly rebelling against it [i.e., Persia] and making peace with 
it; sometimes it would swallow them and sometimes spit them out. That 
is the meaning of "in its mouth between its teeth," sometimes outside 
its teeth, sometimes inside (Kid. 72a), but I say that the three 
???????? are three kings who will rise from Persia: Cyrus, Ahasuerus, 
and Darius who built the Temple.

much meat [as translated,] much meat.

6. After this, I saw, and behold another one, like a leopard, and it 
had four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had four heads, 
and dominion was given it.

four wingsŠ four heads They are the four rulers to whom Alexander of 
Macedon allotted his kingdom at his death, as is written in the book 
of Joseph ben Gurion (Book 3, ch. 14), for this third beast is the 
kingdom of Antiochus, and it is called ????? because it issued 
decrees upon Israel [which were] spotted (???????????) and varied one 
from the other.

and dominion was given it [as translated,] and dominion was given it.

7. After this, I saw in the visions of the night, and behold a fourth 
beast, awesome and dreadful and exceedingly strong, and it had huge 
iron teeth. It ate and crushed, and trampled the rest with its feet, 
and it was different from all the beasts that were before me, and it 
had ten horns.

in the visions of the night on another night. The first three he saw 
on one night, and this one on another night, because it is equal to 
them all. In Leviticus Rabbah (13:5).

and it hadŠ iron teeth [as translated,] iron teeth.

and crushed It crushed and ground finely.

andŠ the rest what it left over from its eating.

andŠ ten horns Aram. ??????????? ??????. The angel explained to him 
that these are the ten kings who would ascend [the throne] of Rome 
before Vespasian, who would destroy the Temple








A comparison of conservative Christian vs. liberal Christian views
of the empires is at:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/daniel.htm

An article that discusses the four empires and tries to place them
in a wider Near Eastern context is at:
http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_daniel_walton.html

Stephen's post referred to:

>    Four beasts -  Strongs 2423  awyx Cheyva' (Aramaic) (khay-vaw');
>
>    1. The Orient: ie.. China, India, Phillipines, Vietnam, etc..
>    2. Slavoc: ie.. Russia, Yugoslavia, Checklaslovakia,  etc..
>    3. Roman: ie.. Rome, Germany, France, Britian, Australia, Canada,
> America, Israel, UN, etc..
>    4. Middle east: ie.. Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi, etc..

What is the above based on?

Yitzhak Sapir
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