Daniel 7 — The four beasts and the heavenly court — Hebrew, Aramaic and Old Greek compared
Disparate in this chapter: 7:13, 7:17
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Daniel 7 — The four beasts and the heavenly court
Source texts for Daniel 7: Hebrew / Aramaic
Source texts for Daniel 7: Old Greek
Verse 7:1 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:1] In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head upon his bed. Then he wrote the dream and related the chief points.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:1] In the first year of Baltasar’s reign over the country of Babylonia, Daniel saw a vision at his head upon his bed. Then Daniel wrote the vision he had seen in principal points:
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The date and written account agree. Aramaic names dream and head-visions; Greek uses vision and the unusual at-his-head expression, retaining the summary form of the written report.
Verse 7:2 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:2] Daniel answered and said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and there were the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:2] “Upon my bed I was watching in dreams by night, and there were four winds of heaven falling upon the great sea.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both introduce four winds and the great sea. Greek explicitly repeats the bed and dreams and describes the winds falling upon the sea.
Verse 7:3 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:3] Four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:3] Four beasts came up from the sea, each differing from the other.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The four distinct emerging beasts correspond; Aramaic expressly calls them great.
Verse 7:4 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:4] The first was like a lion and had eagle’s wings. I watched until its wings were plucked out, it was lifted from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a human, and a human heart was given it.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:4] The first was like a lioness with wings like an eagle’s. I watched until her wings were plucked out, she was lifted from the earth and stood on human feet, and a human heart was given her.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek explicitly has a lioness and human feet; Aramaic has a lion and standing on feet like a human. Both retain the plucked wings and human heart.
Verse 7:5 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:5] There was another beast, a second, resembling a bear. It was raised on one side and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. They said to it, ‘Rise, eat much flesh!’
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:5] After her there was another beast with the likeness of a bear. It stood on one side and had three ribs in its mouth. He spoke in this way: ‘Rise, devour much flesh!’
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic places the ribs between the teeth and uses an indefinite plural they said to it. Greek has an unexpressed singular speaker and omits the teeth phrase here.
Verse 7:6 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:6] After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, with four bird’s wings upon its back. The beast had four heads, and dominion was given it.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:6] After this I watched another beast, like a leopard. Four wings stretched over it, and the beast had four heads; a tongue was given it.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic gives the beast dominion; the selected Greek gives it a tongue, glossa. Greek also has spreading wings without the Aramaic bird and back specifications; the distinct gift is not harmonized.
Verse 7:7 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:7] After this I looked in the night visions, and there was a fourth beast, terrifying, dreadful, and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and crushed, and trampled what remained with its feet. It differed from all the beasts before it and had ten horns.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:7] After this I watched in the night vision a fourth beast, fearsome, its terror surpassing in strength. It had great iron teeth, devoured and pounded, trampled all around with its feet, and acted differently from all the beasts before it. It had ten horns,
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both describe overwhelming terror, iron teeth, destructive eating and trampling, difference from earlier beasts, and ten horns. Greek tramples all around where Aramaic tramples the remainder.
Verse 7:8 Divergent
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:8] I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a small one, rising among them. Three of the former horns were uprooted before it. There were eyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:8] and many plans were in its horns. Another single horn sprouted among them, small among its horns, and three of the earlier horns were withered through it. This horn had eyes like human eyes and a mouth speaking great things, and it made war against the holy ones.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Greek makes many plans a feature of the horns, withers three through the new horn, and anticipates its war on the holy ones. Aramaic describes Daniel’s consideration and the uprooting of three, postponing the war until verse twenty-one.
Verse 7:9 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:9] I watched until thrones were set in place and an Ancient of Days sat down. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was flames of fire; its wheels were blazing fire.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:9] I watched until thrones were set in place and an Ancient of Days was seated, wearing a covering like snow, with the hair of His head like pure white wool. The throne was like a flame of fire,
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic gives the throne fiery wheels; Greek omits wheels. Aramaic expressly calls the garment white, Greek the wool white, while both preserve snow, wool, and fire imagery.
Verse 7:10 Same
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:10] A river of fire streamed forth and came out from before Him. A thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court sat, and books were opened.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:10] and a river of fire came out before Him. A thousand thousands attended Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood beside Him. A court sat, and books were opened.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The fire-river, great attending multitudes, seated court, and opened books correspond. The multiplied quantities are retained without modern numerical compression.
Verse 7:11 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:11] I watched then because of the sound of the great words the horn was speaking. I watched until the beast was killed, its body destroyed, and it was given over to burning fire.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:11] Then I watched the sound of the great words the horn was speaking. The beast was beaten to death, its body perished, and it was given over to burning fire.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek preserves the striking watched-the-sound wording and a specific execution verb, apotympanizo, rendered provisionally beaten to death. Aramaic more generally says the beast was killed; the exact Greek execution method remains open to review.
Verse 7:12 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:12] As for the remaining beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given them for a season and a period.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:12] He removed those around it from their authority, and a span of life was given them for a time and a season.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic explicitly names the remaining beasts and leaves removal’s agent indefinite. Greek speaks of those around it and an unexpressed singular remover; the antecedents are not made more precise than the wording permits.
Verse 7:13 Disparate
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:13] I looked in the night visions, and there, with the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming. He reached the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before Him.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:13] I watched in the night vision, and there, upon the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming. He was present as an Ancient of Days, and those standing by were present with him.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Aramaic has the humanlike figure approach the Ancient of Days and be presented before Him. The selected Old Greek instead reads hos palaios hemeron, as an Ancient of Days, with attendants present; it does not contain the same approach clause. The two likeness descriptions and their difficult relation are retained without a forced identification. Rabbinic: Rashi on 7:13:1 identifies the humanlike figure as the King Messiah [R2]. Saints: Saint Hippolytus, On Christ and Antichrist 26, reads the Son of Man as the Son approaching the Father [S1]. That reception is not evidence for replacing this Old Greek wording with another Greek version.
Verse 7:14 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:14] Dominion, honor, and kingship were given him, and all peoples, nations, and languages served him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom will not be destroyed.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:14] Authority was given him, and all the nations of the earth according to their families, and all glory, worshipped him. His authority is everlasting authority that will never be taken away, and his kingdom will never be destroyed.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic gives dominion, honor, and kingship and lists peoples, nations, and languages as servants. Greek explicitly gives authority, arranges nations by families, and includes all glory in its compressed worship clause. The differing syntax is not replaced by the Aramaic list.
Verse 7:15 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:15] As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within its sheath, and the visions of my head alarmed me.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:15] I, Daniel, was disheartened by these things in the night vision,
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic places the distressed spirit within its sheath, a bodily image, and names alarming head-visions. Greek makes Daniel disheartened in the vision and continues the sentence into the next verse.
Verse 7:16 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:16] I approached one of those standing there and asked him for the truth about all this. He spoke to me and made the interpretation of the matters known to me:
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:16] and approached one of those standing there, seeking exact understanding from him concerning all these things. He answered me and explained the judgment of the words:
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both seek explanation from an attendant. Greek emphasizes exactness and uses judgment where Aramaic explicitly names interpretation.
Verse 7:17 Disparate
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:17] ‘These great beasts, four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:17] ‘These great beasts are four kingdoms that will perish from the earth.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Aramaic predicts four kings arising; Greek describes four kingdoms perishing. Both the identified entities and the direction of their announced fate differ.
Verse 7:18 Same
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:18] But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for the age of ages.’
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:18] The holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and hold the kingdom forever, for the age of ages.’
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The holy ones’ reception and enduring possession of the kingdom correspond, including the repeated kingdom and intensified duration.
Verse 7:19 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:19] Then I wanted to know the truth about the fourth beast, which differed from all of them and was exceedingly terrifying, with iron teeth and bronze claws, devouring, crushing, and trampling what remained with its feet,
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:19] Then I wanted exact understanding of the fourth beast, which destroyed everything and was exceedingly fearsome. Its teeth were iron and its claws bronze, devouring everyone all around and trampling with its feet,
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic stresses difference from the other beasts and crushing the remainder. Greek stresses universal destruction and describes teeth and claws as the devouring and trampling agents in its grammatical construction.
Verse 7:20 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:20] and about the ten horns on its head and the other that rose, before which three fell—the horn with eyes and a mouth speaking great things, whose appearance was greater than its companions’.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:20] and of its ten horns upon its head and the single other that sprouted, through which three fell out. That horn had eyes and a mouth speaking great things, and its appearance surpassed the others.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both describe the ten horns, a new horn displacing three, its eyes and speech, and superior appearance. Greek explicitly makes the new horn the means through which the three fall.
Verse 7:21 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:21] I watched as that horn made war with the holy ones and prevailed over them,
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:21] I observed that horn waging war against the holy ones and routing them,
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both describe the horn’s temporary military success against the holy ones. Greek’s routing gives a more specific form of defeat.
Verse 7:22 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:22] until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the holy ones of the Most High. The time arrived, and the holy ones possessed the kingdom.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:22] until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the holy ones of the Most High. The time was given, and the holy ones took possession of the kingship.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both reverse the holy ones’ defeat through the Ancient of Days and judgment. Aramaic says the time arrived; Greek says it was given. Judgment may express their vindication and/or a granted judicial role; the text is not expanded into a settled institutional scheme.
Verse 7:23 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:23] He said, ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth, trample it, and crush it.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:23] I was told concerning the fourth beast that a fourth kingdom would be upon the earth, surpassing the whole earth, overturning it and grinding it down.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic contrasts the kingdom with all other kingdoms and includes devouring. Greek’s comparison names the whole earth, then its overturning and pulverizing; kingdoms is not supplied as its comparison term.
Verse 7:24 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:24] The ten horns mean that ten kings will arise from that kingdom. Another will arise after them, differing from the former ones, and he will humble three kings.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:24] As for the kingdom’s ten horns, ten kings will arise, and another king will arise after them. He will surpass the earlier ones in evils and humble three kings.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Both identify ten kings and a later ruler who humbles three. Greek expressly defines his difference as exceeding the earlier rulers in evil.
Verse 7:25 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:25] He will speak words against the Most High and wear out the holy ones of the Most High. He will intend to change appointed times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a period, periods, and half a period.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:25] He will speak words against the Most High, wear down the holy ones of the Most High, and expect to alter seasons and law. Everything will be handed into his hands for a time, times, and half a time.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: The hostile speech, oppression, and attempted changes correspond. Greek expressly hands over everything, while Aramaic uses they without naming its precise antecedent. Neither source’s symbolic duration is replaced by a modern date calculation.
Verse 7:26 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:26] But the court will sit, and his dominion will be taken away, to be destroyed and annihilated completely.
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:26] The judgment will sit; they will destroy the authority and plan to defile and destroy completely.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic removes dominion for total destruction. Greek has destroy authority and the additional plan to defile, mianai, with no explicit object for the last verbs; this difficult wording is retained provisionally rather than harmonized.
Verse 7:27 Different
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:27] The kingdom, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all heaven will be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey him.’
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:27] He gave the kingdom, authority, their greatness, and rule over all the kingdoms under heaven to a holy people of the Most High, to reign with everlasting kingship; all authorities will be subject to him and obey him.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aramaic says people of the holy ones; Greek a holy people, adding an explicit reign purpose and describing all authorities’ submission. The final masculine singular pronouns can be related to the Most High or the collective people; lowercase English avoids deciding that antecedent solely by capitalization.
Verse 7:28 Similar
Hebrew / Aramaic–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[7:28] Here the account ends. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”
Old Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[7:28] To the close of the account, I, Daniel, was greatly overcome with astonishment; my condition changed, and I fixed the matter in my heart.”
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both end with Daniel’s distress, changed condition, and inward retention. Aramaic explicitly names his thoughts and changed color; Greek describes astonishment and changed condition more generally.