Daniel 7:1-6 | The Way of Scripture

Daniel 7:1-6

What does Daniel see rising from the troubled sea?

Berean Standard Bible

1 In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account. 2 Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea. 3 Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others:
4 The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man and given the mind of a man. 5 Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’ 6 Next, as I watched, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

What is the context?

The account moves back to Belshazzar’s first year, before the feast and fall of Babylon described in chapter 5. Daniel himself now receives a dream and writes down what he sees.

Four winds churn the sea, and four different beasts emerge. The first is a winged lion whose wings are removed; it is made to stand like a man and receives a human mind. The second resembles a bear, raised on one side, with three ribs in its mouth. The third resembles a leopard with four wings and four heads.

The interpretation later identifies the beasts as kings and kingdoms. The vision returns to the subject of chapter 2, but its picture of earthly power is now fierce and unsettling: kingdoms are seen as beasts rather than parts of a magnificent statue.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley reads the kingdoms as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. The USCCB notes read the sequence as Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece. Both connect the four beasts with the four kingdoms of chapter 2, while differing over which empires the symbols represent.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

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