Daniel 8:21

“And the rough goat is the king of Grecia, etc.] Including all the kings of it, from Alexander to the end of the Grecian monarchy; or rather the kingdom of Greece, which began in him, and continued until it was destroyed by the Romans: this was signified by the rough or hairy goat, especially when Alexander was at the head of it, for his strength and prowess, his swiftness in his marches over rocks and mountains, his majesty and grandeur, and also his lust and uncleanness; (see Gill on “<270805>Daniel 8:5”): and the great host that is between his eyes is the first king; this is Alexander, who, though he was not the first king of Macedon, his father Philip, and others, were kings before him;…”

“the first king--Philip was king of Macedon before Alexander, but the latter was the first who, as a generalissimo of Greece, subdued the Persian empire.”

“And the rough goat - See the notes at Daniel 8:5. In Daniel 8:5 he is called a he-goat. Here the word rough or hairy - שׂעיר s'â‛ı̂yr - is applied to it. This appellation is often given to a goat Leviticus 4:24; Leviticus 16:9; Genesis 37:31. It would seem that either term - a he-goat, or a hairy-goat - would serve to designate the animal, and it is probable that the terms were used indiscriminately. Is the king of Grecia - Represents the king of Greece. The word here rendered Grecia (יון yâvân) denotes usually and properly Ionia, the western part of Asia Minor; but this name was extended so as to embrace the whole of Greece. See Aristoph. Acharn. 504, ibique Schol.; AEschyl. Pers. 176,…”

“8:21 The large horn represents Alexander the Great, the mighty first king who forged the Greek Empire. Two centuries after Daniel, Alexander would swiftly conquer the world (8:5); he overcame Persia in 331 BC. Alexander died in 323 BC at the age of thirty-three, but not before he arrogantly allowed himself to be called a god. • Josephus records that some Jewish priests showed the book of Daniel to Alexander, but Alexander treated Homer’s Iliad as his Bible and relied on it for guidance.”

“the rough: Dan 8:5-7, Dan 10:20 the great: Dan 8:8, Dan 11:3 Daniel 8:22”