What is the meaning of Daniel 7:5? Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear • Daniel’s second beast follows the lion-like creature (Daniel 7:4), signaling the rise of a new kingdom after Babylon. • The bear’s massive, lumbering presence conveys strength and ferocity—an apt picture of the Medo-Persian Empire that would overpower nations with sheer force (Isaiah 13:17; Ezra 1:1). • Daniel 7:17 clarifies that each beast represents a literal kingdom; this vision is historical prophecy, later confirmed by Daniel 8:20, where “the kings of Media and Persia” are named. It was raised up on one of its sides • One side elevated hints at an uneven alliance: Persia ultimately overshadowed Media. The same imbalance appears in the ram with two horns, “one of which was higher” (Daniel 8:3). • History records Cyrus the Persian taking dominant leadership, fulfilling the image of a lopsided power. • The detail also foreshadows how God can use imperfect human arrangements to accomplish His purposes (Proverbs 21:1). And it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth • The ribs suggest previous victims already conquered. Most commentators connect them to the Medo-Persian triumphs over: – Lydia (546 BC) – Babylon (539 BC) – Egypt (525 BC) • Crushing these three major powers fits the picture of a bear gnawing on ribs. Compare Daniel 8:4, where the ram “charged westward, northward, and southward,” matching the same campaign directions. • The ribs already “between its teeth” underline total domination—no challenge could pry the prey loose (Jeremiah 51:28–30). So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’ • The command shows divine permission for conquest; behind political shifts stands God’s sovereign word (Daniel 2:21). • “Gorge yourself” implies an insatiable appetite for expansion, fulfilled as the empire stretched from India to the Aegean. • The scene echoes Ezekiel 39:17, where carrion birds are summoned to feast after God’s judgment, underscoring that human empires rise and fall under His decree (Revelation 19:17-18). summary Daniel 7:5 portrays the Medo-Persian Empire as a bear: powerful, unbalanced toward its Persian side, gripping three conquered kingdoms, and divinely commissioned to devour more. The verse affirms that God accurately foretells and directs world history—kingdoms emerge, dominate, and fade exactly as He has determined. |
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