Tafsiran yang Mengutip untuk Daniel 8:2

בארץ מצרים, “in the land of Egypt.” Outside the metropolis, seeing the city was full of abominations preventing a revelation of G’d’s word there. When the Torah has in mind the metropolis, it often adds the word עיר, such as when Moses told Pharaoh that he would leave the עיר, prior to praying to G’d (9,29). In order to reconcile this with the oft quoted statement by our sages that the Shechinah dwelled in Egypt, our sages explained that as long as the land of Israel had not been chosen as the exclusive domain for the Shechinah, all countries were potentially equally fit to receive a communication from G’d by word of mouth (Mechilta 85). After the land of Israel was chosen, all other countries were no longer suited for G’d to address people there. As long as the Temple had not been erected in Jerusalem, the whole city of Jerusalem was fit to receive such communication from G’d. After the Temple had been built even the city itself was no longer a vehicle for such communication by G’d. Only the holy precincts of the Temple qualified for this as we know from Psalms 132,14: “This is My resting-place for all time; here I will dwell, for I desire it.” By the same token, as long as Aaron had not been chosen to be a priest every Israelite was potentially fit to become a priest. As long as David had not been crowned king, any Israelite could have qualified as king as we know from Exodus 19,6: “you shall be for Me a Kingdom of priests, etc.” After the appointment of David as king, all other Israelites were automatically excluded from qualifying for that position. Even while G’d’s word was communicated outside the borders of Israel this occurred only in a place which was pure or situated on a river. This is based on Daniel 8,2: ”and here I was beside the Ulai river.” We have a similar statement by Ezekiel 1,1 who described himself as on the banks of the river Chidekel when receiving a communication from G’d. In Daniel 10,4, Daniel describes himself as on the banks of the river Tigris when receiving a vision by an angel who addressed him.

They come from a far country. They come from the country of Elam.⁷The Elam mentioned by I. E. cannot be the Elam of Dan. 8:2, the Persian province with the capital Susa, which is in the immediate neighbourhood of Babylonia, and by no means more entitled to be called a far country with regard to Babylon than Media, named in this same chapter (ver. 17.) The remark of I. E. is probably based on Is. 21:2, Go up, Elam, &c. and he seems to suppose that there was, besides the west Persian province Elymais, including Susiana, Dan. 8:2, another Elam or Elymais, an independent state in the north and east of Media and Persia (comp. Jer. 49:34, Ez. 32:24). The Elamites, warlike Semitic tribes (comp. Gen. 14:1, 10:22), had spread over the whole of the country between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and left here and there traces of their conquests. Hence the Elymais, in the west of Persia, and another Elymais, in the north of Media; hence the great uncertainty and discrepancy among the ancient geographers and historians concerning the extent and position of Elymais. (See Smith’s Dict. of Greek and Rom. Geogr. sub voce Elymais; Niebuhr, Assur and Babel, p. 382, ff.) From the end of heaven. As if they came from the extremity of heaven; that is, they come from a great distance.

ויחמנה, “they grew heated;” the construction of this word is a combination of two conjugations. It is similar in this respect to Samuel I 6,12: וישרנה הפרות, “the cows went straight, and to ארבע מלכיות מגוי יעמודנה, “four kingdoms will arise out of a nation,” and in Daniel 8,2, and in ותקרבו העצמות עצם אל עצם, “the bones came together,” in Ezekiel 37,7.