Daniel 8
Daniel 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, recording an apocalyptic vision granted to the prophet Daniel in the third year of Belshazzar's reign over Babylon, approximately 550 BCE.[1] In the vision, Daniel observes a ram with two horns charging westward, northward, and southward, representing the Medo-Persian Empire, which is then defeated by a he-goat from the west featuring a prominent horn between its eyes, symbolizing the Greek Empire under its first king, widely identified as Alexander the Great.[1][2] The he-goat's horn breaks upon reaching the ram, giving rise to four horns, denoting the division of Alexander's empire among his four generals, after which a small horn emerges from one direction, growing toward the south, east, and the "beautiful land" of Israel, opposing the heavenly host, halting daily sacrifices in the sanctuary, and trampling truth underfoot for 2,300 evenings and mornings until the sanctuary's restoration.[1] The angel Gabriel interprets this to Daniel, confirming the ram as Media and Persia, the goat as Greece, and the little horn as a fierce king who will destroy the mighty and holy people through cunning, magnifying himself above every god and prospering until divine indignation is complete.[1][3] Historically, the vision aligns with the Persian conquests, Alexander's rapid defeat of Persia at battles like Issus in 333 BCE, the subsequent fragmentation into the Ptolemaic, Seleucid, and other kingdoms, and the persecutions by Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes around 167 BCE, who desecrated the Jerusalem temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and banning Jewish practices, events reversed by the Maccabean Revolt and temple rededication in 164 BCE.[4][5] This fulfillment supports traditional attributions of the Book of Daniel to the sixth century BCE as predictive prophecy, though scholarly debates persist over a possible second-century BCE composition during the Antiochus crisis, reflecting tensions between supernatural foresight and historical-critical methodologies influenced by naturalistic assumptions.[4][6]Textual Overview
Chapter Summary
Daniel 8 describes a prophetic vision granted to Daniel in the third year of Belshazzar's reign over Babylon, following an earlier vision. Positioned by the Ulai canal in Susa, Daniel witnesses a two-horned ram pushing dominantly westward, northward, and southward, with no power able to withstand it; the interpretation identifies this ram as the kings of Media and Persia.[1][7] A male goat then emerges from the west, moving across the earth without touching the ground, featuring a conspicuous horn between its eyes; it charges the ram, shatters both horns, tramples it, and expands greatly until the large horn breaks off, replaced by four prominent horns directed toward the four winds of heaven. The goat represents the kingdom of Greece, its initial horn the first king (Alexander the Great), and the four horns the subsequent kingdoms arising from his nation after his untimely death, though lacking his full dominion.[1][2] From one of these horns sprouts a small horn that grows exceedingly toward the south, east, and the "beautiful land" (Israel), challenging the starry host by casting some down and trampling others; it opposes the Prince of the host, removes the regular burnt offering, desecrates the sanctuary, casts truth to the ground, and prospers through its actions until divinely terminated without human agency. This little horn symbolizes a fierce king skilled in intrigue, empowered not by his own strength, who destroys the mighty and holy people amid a time of indignation against them.[1][4] The vision includes a declaration that the holy sanctuary and host will be trampled underfoot for 2,300 evenings and mornings until the sanctuary is restored to its rightful state, with the prophecy sealed as pertaining to distant future days. The angel Gabriel provides this explanation to the terrified Daniel, who falls into a deep sleep and awakens dismayed, remaining ill for several days before resuming duties.[1][5]Linguistic and Structural Features
Daniel 8 is written in Biblical Hebrew, marking a return to this language after the preceding Aramaic section spanning Daniel 2:4b–7:28.[8][2] This linguistic shift aligns with the chapter's focus on visions directed toward Israelite concerns, contrasting the Aramaic portions' broader imperial scope.[2] The Hebrew employed exhibits transitional characteristics between Early and Late Biblical Hebrew, incorporating some Aramaic influences such as lexical borrowings, though it lacks distinct archaic or exclusively late features that would date it precisely.[9] Structurally, the chapter divides into a prologue (vv. 1–2) establishing the temporal and locational setting in the third year of Belshazzar's reign during Daniel's transport to Susa in vision; the core vision narrative (vv. 3–14) depicting the ram, he-goat, and little horn; an interpretive dialogue with the angel Gabriel (vv. 15–26); and an epilogue describing Daniel's physical and emotional response (v. 27).[10] This bipartite framework—vision followed by explication—mirrors patterns in earlier chapters like Daniel 7 but emphasizes angelic mediation for clarity.[11] Linguistically, visionary terminology dominates, with the Hebrew ḥāzôn (vision) recurring to frame the revelation as divine disclosure rather than human insight, appearing in both the narrative (v. 1) and Gabriel's address (v. 26).[12] Verses 9–14 incorporate sanctuary-related vocabulary, such as terms evoking cultic interruption (ṣābaʾ haššāmayim, host of heaven; mišḥak, continual), drawing from priestly traditions to symbolize desecration.[13] Syntactic shifts occur in vv. 11–12, where verbal conjugations transition from perfect to imperfect forms, potentially signaling temporal progression from completed action to ongoing process, alongside gender agreements that resolve interpretive ambiguities in the little horn's assault.[14] Prepositional usage, like ʿal in v. 12, conveys spatial or oppositional dominance ("against" or "over"), underscoring causal antagonism without metaphorical extension in primary readings.[14]Authorship and Historical Context
Debates on Composition and Dating
The composition of Daniel 8, a visionary chapter depicting a ram symbolizing Medo-Persia, a he-goat representing Greece, and a little horn enacting desecrations, has sparked debate over whether it originated in the sixth century BCE during the Babylonian exile or in the second century BCE amid Seleucid persecution. Proponents of an early date argue that the chapter aligns with the book's self-presentation as originating from Daniel's lifetime around 530 BCE, supported by accurate historical details such as the pre-Cyrus recognition of Belshazzar as coregent, which was unknown until archaeological confirmation in the mid-19th century via the Nabonidus Chronicle.[15] This view posits genuine predictive elements, as the vision's outline of Persian dominance, Alexander's rapid conquest (331 BCE), and subsequent Hellenistic fragmentation matches later events without requiring hindsight composition. Linguistic analysis further bolsters this, with the chapter's Hebrew exhibiting features consistent with pre-exilic or early post-exilic strata, including rare hapax legomena and grammatical forms not dominant in Hasmonaean-era texts.[16] Conservative scholars like Paul Tanner emphasize the Aramaic portions' affinity to Imperial Aramaic (c. 700–300 BCE), incompatible with exclusive second-century origins, and note the chapter's integration with court narratives predating Greek influence.[17] Critics favoring a late date, around 165 BCE, contend that Daniel 8 functions as vaticinium ex eventu—history recast as prophecy—to encourage resistance against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whose temple desecration (167 BCE) and 2,300-day affliction precisely mirror the little horn's actions without foreknowledge.[18] This position, held by most contemporary biblical scholars, points to Greek loanwords (e.g., qeren for horn, evoking Alexander's era) and apocalyptic motifs emerging post-200 BCE, suggesting pseudonymity under Daniel's name to lend authority during the Maccabaean crisis.[19] The chapter's vagueness on post-Antiochus events, contrasted with precise pre-164 BCE details, implies composition shortly before the rededication, as earlier genuine prophecy would likely extend further. Manuscript evidence from Qumran, dating fragments to the late second century BCE, aligns with this but does not preclude earlier circulation; however, the book's placement in the Writings rather than Prophets in the Hebrew canon indicates recognition as a recent work.[20] These positions reflect deeper methodological divides: early daters invoke empirical historical corroboration and reject naturalistic presuppositions against predictive prophecy, while late daters prioritize genre parallels and assume cessation of such phenomena after the exile, a stance critiqued for circularity in discounting supernatural causation.[15] Ongoing linguistic debates, such as the Aramaic-Hebrew bilingualism's compatibility with sixth-century scribal practices versus Hellenistic archaizing, remain unresolved, with studies showing no decisive post-300 BCE markers.[21] For Daniel 8 specifically, the vision's causal chain—from ram's westward thrust to horn's sanctuary pollution—demands evaluation against verifiable Seleucid timelines, where alignment favors ex eventu only if prophecy is a priori impossible, underscoring the debate's reliance on philosophical priors over neutral data.[22]Relation to Broader Book of Daniel
Daniel 8 constitutes part of the visionary or apocalyptic section of the Book of Daniel (chapters 7–12), which contrasts with the earlier court narratives in chapters 1–6 by emphasizing prophetic revelations concerning successive world empires and their impact on the people of Israel. Unlike chapter 7, which employs four beasts to symbolize a broader sequence of empires extending potentially to an end-time kingdom, Daniel 8 narrows focus to the ram (representing Medo-Persia) and the goat (Greece), providing a more detailed expansion on the second and third beasts from the prior vision.[23] This specificity reinforces the book's overarching theme of divine sovereignty over imperial powers, portraying history as a divinely orchestrated progression rather than random conquests.[24] Linguistically, Daniel 8 resumes the Hebrew language after the Aramaic portion spanning chapters 2:4b–7:28, aligning it structurally with chapters 1 and 9–12 to form a Hebrew-language framework that may underscore themes oriented toward a Jewish audience, in contrast to the Aramaic's potentially broader Near Eastern appeal.[7] The chapter's placement in the "third year of King Belshazzar" (Daniel 8:1) follows chronologically from chapter 7's "first year" setting, suggesting an intentional narrative layering of revelations that build upon one another without resolving all eschatological elements immediately.[2] The introduction of the angel Gabriel as interpreter (Daniel 8:16) establishes continuity with chapter 9, where the same angel elucidates the "seventy weeks" prophecy, linking the desecration and restoration motifs across visions.[25] Thematically, the "little horn" figure in Daniel 8 echoes the arrogant fourth beast's horn from chapter 7, both depicting a blasphemous ruler who targets the sanctuary and the "host" (people of God), yet with Daniel 8 emphasizing temporal limits (2,300 evenings and mornings) culminating in restoration, a pattern reiterated in chapters 10–12's extended conflict descriptions.[26] This recurrence underscores the book's causal framework: human hubris provokes divine judgment, with empirical imperial transitions (e.g., Persian to Greek dominance) serving as verifiable precedents for future fulfillments, rather than abstract moral allegories.[21] Such interconnections affirm the text's unified composition, prioritizing prophetic patterns over isolated episodes, while cautioning against over-reliance on sources that impose late dating without addressing linguistic and thematic coherence.[11]Vision Analysis
Symbolism of the Ram and He-Goat
In the vision described in Daniel 8:3-4, a ram stands beside the Ulai canal, possessing two horns—one higher than the other—with the higher horn emerging later; the ram charges westward, northward, and southward, prevailing against all opposition and magnifying itself. The angel Gabriel provides the explicit interpretation: "The ram which you saw having the two horns are the kings of Media and Persia" (Daniel 8:20). This symbolism represents the Medo-Persian Empire, where the unequal horns denote the initially dominant Median component later surpassed by the Persian under Cyrus the Great around 550 BCE, followed by expansive conquests under Darius I and Xerxes I that subdued regions to the west (Lydia, Babylon), north (Scythians, Thrace), and south (Egypt).[7][4] Subsequently, in Daniel 8:5-8, a male goat appears from the west, traversing the earth without touching the ground, featuring a conspicuous horn between its eyes; it charges the ram with fury, shatters both horns, tramples the ram, and initially magnifies itself exceedingly until its prominent horn breaks, from which four horns emerge toward the four winds of heaven. Gabriel elucidates: "The shaggy male goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between its eyes is the first king" (Daniel 8:21). This denotes the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, whose lightning campaigns—culminating in decisive victories at the Granicus (334 BCE), Issus (333 BCE), and Gaugamela (331 BCE)—overthrew Persian dominance without naval reliance, symbolized by the goat's terrestrial speed; the broken horn signifies Alexander's untimely death in 323 BCE at age 32, succeeded by four successor kingdoms (Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Syria, Macedonia, and Thrace) dividing his realm.[2][27] The animal symbols draw from ancient Near Eastern iconography, where rams evoked strength and Persian royal imagery (e.g., Achaemenid reliefs featuring horned rams), while goats connoted agility and were emblematic of Makedonian/Greek martial prowess in Hellenistic lore. Empirical historical records, including Herodotus' accounts of Persian expansions and Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander detailing the goat-like swiftness of Greek phalanx advances, corroborate the symbols' fulfillment, with the ram's directional pushes aligning to Persia's documented territorial gains by 480 BCE and the goat's triumph matching Greece's reversal of Persian incursions. Conservative exegetes emphasize this precision as evidence of predictive accuracy, predating the events by centuries if the sixth-century BCE authorship holds, against skeptical datings post-165 BCE that dismiss the linkage as vaticinium ex eventu.[4][28]The Little Horn and Its Actions
In Daniel 8:9, a little horn emerges from one of the four conspicuous horns representing the divided Greek empire, growing exceedingly great toward the south, the east, and the Pleasant Land, identified as Israel.[29] This horn then attacks the host of heaven, casting down and trampling some of the stars underfoot, symbolizing opposition to God's people.[29] It magnifies itself against the Prince of the host, removes the regular burnt offering, and overthrows the foundation of the sanctuary, leading to the transgression that desolates and truth being cast to the ground.[29] The angelic interpretation in verses 23-25 describes a king of fierce countenance who understands riddles, wielding great power through his own will yet not by his own strength, destroying many through deceit and prospering temporarily.[29] He stands against the Prince of princes but is broken without human agency, indicating a divinely ordained end.[29] These actions portray a ruler who blasphemes God, disrupts temple worship, and persecutes the faithful, aligning with patterns of Hellenistic imposition on Jewish religious life. Historically, these elements correspond to the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175-164 BCE), who arose from the eastern division of Alexander's empire. After campaigns against Ptolemaic Egypt to the south in 170-169 BCE and again in 168 BCE, he redirected forces toward Jerusalem, looting the temple in 169 BCE.[30] In 167 BCE, he banned Jewish practices including circumcision and Sabbath observance, slaughtering resisters and selling others into slavery, with estimates of up to 80,000 Jews killed or displaced.[30] Antiochus desecrated the Jerusalem temple on 25 Kislev 167 BCE by erecting an altar to Zeus Olympios and sacrificing swine upon it, halting daily sacrifices and fulfilling the vision's removal of the regular offering.[30] This "abomination of desolation" enforced Hellenistic cults, suppressing Torah observance and prophetic truth, as recorded in 1 Maccabees 1:41-64.[30] His sudden death in late 164 BCE during a campaign in Persia, reportedly from disease or grief, matches the prophecy of being broken without hand.[31] Scholarly consensus, drawing from Maccabean texts and Josephus, views these events as the primary fulfillment, providing empirical corroboration through dated inscriptions and archaeological evidence of Seleucid coins in the region.[4]The 2,300 Evenings and Mornings
In Daniel 8:13–14, a holy one questions the duration of the little horn's desecration of the sanctuary and host, receiving the response: "For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state" (ESV). The Hebrew phrase ʿereb bōqer ("evening morning") evokes the creation week's daily cycle in Genesis 1:5, implying a sequence of full days rather than isolated half-days, though some interpreters count 2,300 literal half-days equaling 1,150 full days to align with historical events.[5] This temporal element punctuates the vision's portrayal of prolonged sacrilege followed by divine vindication, contrasting the horn's hubris with eventual restoration. The 2,300 units mark the endpoint of the sanctuary's trampling, tying the vision's apocalyptic imagery to a delimited crisis rather than indefinite oppression. Scholarly analyses emphasize the term's ritual connotation, linking it to suspended tamid (daily) sacrifices—morning and evening offerings per Exodus 29:38–42—interrupted by the horn's actions.[5] Thus, the prophecy quantifies missed oblations, underscoring causal disruption of covenant worship until rectification. Exact computation debates hinge on calendrical variances: lunar-solar Jewish reckoning versus solar approximations, with totals approximating 1,080–1,150 days for plausibly fitting fulfillments.[32] Empirical correlations often pinpoint the period from Antiochus IV's altar profanation—erecting a Zeus Olympios altar atop the Jewish one on 15 Kislev 145 SE (ca. December 167 BCE)—to Judas Maccabeus's rededication on 25 Kislev 148 SE (ca. December 164 BCE), spanning roughly three years or 1,150 days per 1 Maccabees 1:54; 4:52.[33] This aligns if "evenings and mornings" denotes paired sacrifices over 1,150 days, though start dates vary (e.g., earlier sacrifice bans in 169 BCE extend to 2,300+ days).[32] Non-literal views, like year-day principles yielding 2,300 years, lack direct evidentiary support from ancient Near Eastern prophetic precedents and diverge from the vision's Greco-Persian focus.[6]Historical Interpretations
Empirical Evidence for Medo-Persian and Greek Empires
The Medo-Persian Empire, identified in Daniel 8:20 as the ram with two horns representing the kings of Media and Persia, rose to prominence under Cyrus the Great in the mid-6th century BCE. Cyrus II, king of Persia from 559 to 530 BCE, first subdued the Median kingdom around 550 BCE, forming a dual power structure where Persia held supremacy, as evidenced by the higher emerging horn in the vision. This unification enabled subsequent conquests, including Lydia in 546 BCE and Babylon in 539 BCE, expanding the Achaemenid realm across western Asia.[34] The Cyrus Cylinder, a cuneiform artifact from Babylon dated to 539 BCE, records Cyrus's bloodless capture of the city and his policies toward subject peoples, providing direct epigraphic confirmation of these events; it is authenticated through its Akkadian script and context matching Babylonian records.[35] Babylonian astronomical diaries and chronicles further verify the precise date of Babylon's fall on October 12, 539 BCE, aligning with the empire's westward, northward, and southward expansions described in the vision.[36] Archaeological evidence bolsters the historical record of Medo-Persian dominance, including the monumental architecture at Pasargadae, Cyrus's capital founded circa 550 BCE, featuring tomb inscriptions and reliefs symbolizing Persian royal authority over diverse satrapies.[37] Persepolis, expanded under Darius I (r. 522–486 BCE), yields Achaemenid seals, bullae, and foundation tablets inscribed in Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian, attesting to an administrative system governing 23 satrapies with standardized weights and measures.[38] These artifacts, excavated since the 1930s, demonstrate the empire's stability and reach until its peak under Xerxes I (r. 486–465 BCE), with no credible challenges to the dual Medo-Persian identity from contemporary sources. The Greek kingdom of Javan, symbolized by the shaggy he-goat in Daniel 8:21, manifested through Alexander III of Macedon's swift conquests beginning in 334 BCE, mirroring the vision's depiction of a notable horn crossing the earth without touching the ground. Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont in spring 334 BCE, defeating Persian satraps at the Granicus River that May, followed by decisive victories at Issus in November 333 BCE—capturing Darius III's family—and Gaugamela on October 1, 331 BCE, which shattered Achaemenid resistance.[39] These campaigns culminated in the sack of Persepolis in 330 BCE and Darius's death, ending Persian rule; ancient accounts by Arrian (2nd century CE) and Diodorus Siculus (1st century BCE) detail the rapidity and fury of Alexander's advance, supported by numismatic evidence of his silver tetradrachms struck across conquered territories from 336 BCE onward.[40] Alexander's untimely death in Babylon on June 10, 323 BCE, at age 32—corresponding to the broken prominent horn—led to the empire's division among his Diadochi generals, producing four initial successor states by circa 301 BCE after the Battle of Ipsus: Ptolemy I in Egypt, Seleucus I in Syria and the east, Cassander in Macedonia and Greece, and Lysimachus in Thrace and western Asia Minor. Archaeological corroboration includes the foundation of Hellenistic cities like Alexandria in Egypt (331 BCE) and Seleucia on the Tigris (312 BCE), alongside coinage bearing the generals' portraits supplanting Alexander's, evidencing the fragmentation into these quadrants without a unifying successor. This quadripartite outcome aligns with the vision's four horns emerging in place of the one, verified through inscriptions and settlement patterns from excavations at sites like Ai Khanoum in Bactria.[41]Fulfillment in Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended to the Seleucid throne in 175 BCE after the murder of his brother Seleucus IV, emerging as a ruler from one of the four divisions of Alexander the Great's empire, aligning with the little horn's origin in Daniel 8:8-9.[31] He styled himself Epiphanes, meaning "god manifest," reflecting the prophecy's depiction of a figure who magnifies himself exceedingly against the Prince of the host and the heavenly host.[42] His expansion targeted regions to the south, including multiple invasions of Ptolemaic Egypt between 170 and 168 BCE, where he captured key cities like Pelusium and Memphis before Roman legate Gaius Popillius Laenas ordered his withdrawal at Elephants on June 22, 168 BCE.[31] In 169 BCE, en route from Egypt, Antiochus plundered Jerusalem's temple treasury to fund further campaigns, entering the "pleasant land" and initiating hostility toward the Jewish people.[31] Following his humiliation by Rome, he returned in late 168 BCE, stormed Jerusalem, massacred thousands, and imposed Hellenizing decrees, including the prohibition of Jewish religious practices such as circumcision, Sabbath observance, and Torah adherence, resulting in the execution of resisters and the destruction of the "mighty and holy people."[42] On December 6, 167 BCE (15 Kislev), forces under his command desecrated the temple by erecting an altar to Zeus Olympios within the sanctuary and offering swine sacrifices, thereby halting the daily tamid offerings and fulfilling the prophecy of trampling the sanctuary and removing the continual burnt offering.[31][43] This sacrilege provoked the Maccabean Revolt, led by Mattathias and his son Judas Maccabeus, who initiated guerrilla warfare against Seleucid enforcers in 167 BCE.[44] Antiochus meanwhile campaigned eastward into Persia and Armenia in 165 BCE to suppress revolts and collect tribute, extending his reach as foretold.[31] Reports of Jewish resistance reached him during these efforts, prompting further edicts of persecution, but his sudden death in November 164 BCE near Tabae in Persia—attributed to illness or grief—occurred without human intervention, matching the little horn's prophesied end in Daniel 8:25.[31] The temple's rededication by Judas Maccabeus on December 14, 164 BCE (25 Kislev), after approximately three years of desecration, restored Jewish worship and instituted the Hanukkah observance, providing empirical closure to the period of sanctuary trampling described in the vision.[44] These events, corroborated by 1 Maccabees and Josephus, demonstrate a close correspondence between Antiochus's actions and the little horn's attributes, including territorial ambitions, religious suppression, and self-exaltation, though interpretive debates persist regarding the prophecy's full scope and whether it encompasses only historical fulfillment or typifies broader patterns.[31][42]Chronological Calculations and Verifiable Events
The sequence of imperial transitions in Daniel 8 aligns with verifiable historical conquests. The ram, symbolizing the Medo-Persian Empire, was dominant until subdued by the Greek he-goat in a series of campaigns led by Alexander the Great. Key battles include the Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC, where Alexander defeated Persian satraps; the Battle of Issus in November 333 BC, routing Darius III's forces; and the Battle of Gaugamela on October 1, 331 BC, which shattered Persian resistance and led to the fall of Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis by 330 BC. Alexander's death in June 323 BC at age 32 resulted in the empire's fragmentation among his generals, forming four primary Hellenistic kingdoms by circa 301 BC after the Battle of Ipsus: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Syria and the East, Macedon under Antigonus and successors, and Thrace/Asia Minor under Lysimachus and others.[45] From the Seleucid branch emerged the "little horn," identified as Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who ascended the throne in November 175 BC following the murder of his brother Seleucus IV. His expansions matched the prophecy's directions: southward against Ptolemaic Egypt in the Sixth Syrian War (170–168 BC), where he captured Memphis in 170 BC but was halted at the Eleusine suburb of Alexandria in 168 BC by Roman envoy Gaius Popillius Laenas demanding withdrawal; eastward into Parthia and Armenia, securing tribute; and against the "pleasant land" of Judea, where he plundered the Jerusalem Temple in 169 BC after the Egyptian campaign and imposed Hellenistic reforms provoking revolt. The prophecy's temporal element, "2,300 evenings and mornings" until sanctuary restoration (Daniel 8:14), is calculated in historical fulfillments as the duration of disrupted temple sacrifices under Antiochus. The daily tamid offerings ceased with the Temple's desecration on 15 Kislev (December) 167 BC, when Antiochus erected an altar to Zeus Olympios and sacrificed swine, as recorded in 1 Maccabees 1:54 and corroborated by Josephus. Restoration occurred on 25 Kislev (December) 164 BC under Judas Maccabeus, spanning approximately 1,095–1,150 days depending on intercalation in the lunisolar calendar. Interpreting "evenings and mornings" as the twice-daily sacrifices yields 2,300 missed offerings over roughly 1,150 days, aligning closely with this desecration-to-rededication interval; alternative literal-day counts of 2,300 (about 6.3 years) anchor earlier, around the 169 BC plundering or 171 BC high priestly intrigues under Antiochus's patronage, when sacrifices faced initial interference.[5]| Event | Approximate Date (BC) | Prophetic Correspondence |
|---|---|---|
| Temple Plundering by Antiochus IV | 169 (post-Egypt invasion) | Little horn's initial aggression toward glorious land |
| Daily Sacrifices Halted/Desecration | December 167 | Suspension of tamid; abomination setup |
| Temple Rededication (Hanukkah) | December 164 | End of 2,300 evenings/mornings; sanctuary cleansed |
| Death of Antiochus IV | October/November 164 (in Persia) | Little horn broken without human hand (sudden illness) |