Daniel 8

Daniel then sees a male goat with a single horn come from the west without touching the ground; it strikes the ram and destroys it.

[8] Daniel is a legendary figure[9] and his name was presumably chosen for the hero of the book because of his reputation as a wise seer in Hebrew tradition.

The Book of Daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient; such works are characterized by visions, symbolism, an other-worldly mediator, an emphasis on cosmic events, angels and demons, and pseudonymity (false authorship).

[13] Daniel, the book's hero, is a representative apocalyptic seer, the recipient of the divine revelation: has learned the wisdom of the Babylonian magicians and surpassed them, because his God is the true source of knowledge; he is one of the maskil, the wise, whose task is to teach righteousness.

[13] The book is also an eschatology, meaning a divine revelation concerning the end of the present age, a moment in which God will intervene in history to usher in the final kingdom.

The "little horn" which casts some of the stars to the ground recalls Isaiah 14:12 and Lucifer, which in turn presupposes the Ugaritic (Canaanite) myth of Attar's attempt to take the throne of Baal.

[21] The attempt to wipe out traditional religion and culture inevitably provoked a reaction, and the rebels led by Judas Maccabee and his brothers, won sufficient military victories over the Seleucids to take back and purify the temple three years later.

[30] The prominence given these divine beings in Daniel is typical of Hellenistic Jewish literature, but much more restricted than in contemporary works such as First Enoch.

One asks" "For how long is this vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over the sanctuary and host to be trampled?"

"[32] The interpretation of the 2,300 evenings and mornings as equivalent to half that number of days–1150 days–appears to be the most common, but C. L. Seow, a leading Daniel scholar, takes it to mean 2,300 full days.

[37] In the Middle Ages dissident Catholics, and later Martin Luther, identified the pope as the Antichrist, while the "little horn" included Mohammed, Antiochus, and the papacy, depending on which chapter of Daniel involved.

[37] In the 17th century the English Puritans interpreted their struggle in terms of God's army (themselves) battling the Antichrist (the pope) and his ally (the king), and the Fifth Monarchy Men took their name and ideal of government from Daniel 7.