Daniel 8:2

“And I saw in a vision, etc.] The following things: and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; not in reality, but so it seemed to him in the vision; as Ezekiel, when in Babylon, seemed in the visions of God to be at Jerusalem, (<260803>Ezekiel 8:3). This city Shushan, or Susa, as it is called by other writers, and signifies a “lily”, was so called from the plenty of lilies that grew about it, or because of the pleasantness of it; it was the metropolis of the country Susiana, which had its name from it, and was afterwards the royal seat of the kings of Persia. This was first made so by Cyrus; for Strabof313 says, that he and the…”

“Shushan--Susa. Though then comparatively insignificant, it was destined to be the capital of Persia after Cyrus' time. Therefore Daniel is transported into it, as being the capital of the kingdom signified by the two-horned ram (Neh 1:1; Est 1:2-5). Elam--west of Persia proper, east of Babylonia, south of Media. Daniel was not present there personally, but in vision. Ulai--called in PLINY Euloeus; by the Greeks, Choaspes. Now Kerah, or Karasu. So in Dan 10:4 he receives a vision near another river, the Hiddekel. So Ezekiel (Eze 1:1) at the Chebar. Perhaps because synagogues used to be built near rivers, as before praying they washed their hands in the water [ROSENMULLER], (Psa 137:1).”

“And I saw in a vision - I looked as the vision appeared to me; or I saw certain things represented to me in a vision. On the word vision, see the notes at Daniel 1:17. The meaning here would seem to be that a vision appeared to Daniel, and that he contemplated it with earnestness, to understand what it meant. That I was at Shushan - As remarked in the introduction to this chapter, this might mean that he seemed to be there, or that the vision was represented to him as being there; but the most natural construction is to suppose that Daniel was actually there himself. Why he was there he has not informed us directly - whether he was on public business, or on his own. From Daniel 8:27, however…”

“8:2 Susa, located in the lowlands southwest of the Zagros Mountains, was one of Persia’s capital cities (cp. Ezra 4:9; Neh 1:1; Esth 1:2). It was a fortified capital whose architecture was decorated with glazed griffins, winged bulls, and lions. • The Ulai River was probably a man-made canal.”

“I saw in: Dan 8:3, Dan 7:2, Dan 7:15; Num 12:6; Heb 1:1 Shushan: Neh 1:1; Est 1:2, Est 2:8, Est 3:15, Est 7:6, Est 8:15, Est 9:11, Est 9:15 province: Gen 10:22, Gen 14:1; Isa 21:2; Jer 25:25, Jer 49:34-39; Eze 32:24 Ulai: Dan 8:16 Daniel 8:3”