‘And out of one of them came a horn from smallness which grew exceedingly great towards the south, and towards the east and towards the beauty (the desirable). And it grew great even to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground and trampled on them.'
This horn is described in a totally different way from that in Daniel 7:8. There it is described as ‘a horn, a small one', and it uproots and replaces three horns. Here it is ‘a horn from smallness', that is a growing one, and it arises from one horn. Its activity is also described in a different way.
1) In chapter 7 God directly intervenes as a result of the king's activity and the everlasting kingdom is set up, in chapter 8 all that is mentioned is the renewal of the sacrifices.
2) In chapter 7 the destruction of the king is almost overlooked, the emphasis being on the destruction of the wild beast and the end of empire, while in chapter 8 he is broken, but not by a human hand, presumably referring to a death by non-violent means attributed to God. The destiny of the wild beast is not even in mind.
3) The king in chapter 7 has eyes like the eyes of a man, which suggests outward humility towards God, while in chapter 8 he openly defies God.
4) The king in chapter 7 has a mouth that speaks great things, while in chapter 8 he magnifies himself in his heart.
Given that both defy God and persecute the people of God these differences in description are specific and do not suggest identification. They could of course be reconciled by clever argument, but the first impression is certainly of a different type of attitude and situation.
The king referred to here in chapter 8 is almost certainly Antiochus IV Epiphanes, (175-164 BC) who ruled the Seleucid empire in Babylonia and Syria (see 1MMalachi 1:10), in contrast with that in chapter 7 which refers to a great and evil king of the time of the end.
‘Which grew exceedingly great towards the south, and towards the east and towards the beauty (the desirable).' Reference here would seem to be towards Antiochus' campaigns against Egypt (the south - Daniel 11:5) - see 1Ma 1:16-19, from which he was turned back by the authority of Rome. The east is Elymais in Persia, and Armenia (1Ma 3:31; 1Ma 3:37; 1Ma 6:1-4).
‘The beauty (the desirable).' Reference may be made to Daniel 11:16; Daniel 11:41; Daniel 11:45; Jeremiah 3:19; Ezekiel 20:6; Ezekiel 20:15; compare Psalms 106:24; Zechariah 7:14. The reference is to the land of promise, seen as God's land and God's inheritance to His people. The aim is to bring out the awfulness of his crime.
‘And it grew great even to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground and trampled on them.'
The host of heaven elsewhere can mean the sun, moon and stars and their connections with the gods (see Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3; 2 Kings 17:16; 2 Kings 21:3 and often; Isaiah 34:4; Jeremiah 8:2; Jeremiah 19:13; Zephaniah 1:5), or the angels in God's court (1 Kings 22:19; 2 Chronicles 18:18; Nehemiah 9:6). But the people of Israel are thought of as the hosts of Yahweh in Exodus 7:4; Exodus 12:41 also see Exodus 16:13; Deuteronomy 4:13 and often, where Israel are called ‘the host'.
Antiochus made great claims for himself, seeing himself as the manifestation of Zeus, and thus as being over the host of heaven in the first sense. He pillaged and robbed temples without restraint, treating their gods with contempt. Thus by the Jews he would be seen as not only blasphemous in his attitude towards God but also by many as sacrilegious in his attitude and behaviour towards the gods in general. That is not to say that he persecuted all religions, for that would have gained him nothing. As long as the people submitted to Zeus he left them generally alone, except where he felt that he could enrich himself by robbing their temples.
Polybius comments that he ‘robbed most of the sanctuaries' although it is not clear how extensive was the area in mind, and Granus Licianus tells us that he plundered the temple of Diana in Hierapolis and robbed it of its treasures. Polybius also tells us that immediately prior to his death he made a vain attempt to acquire the riches of a temple of Artemis in Elymais, where he had come on a campaign against the Parthians (compare 1Ma 6:1-4). These are examples we know of; we need not doubt that they were some among many, for it was clearly his custom. Thus he would adequately fit the description given, if interpreting the host of heaven as signifying the gods.
But alternately ‘the host of heaven' (see Daniel 4:26 for the use of heaven to mean God) may here mean the people of the God of heaven. Compare Daniel 8:11 - ‘the prince of the host', Daniel 8:12 - ‘the host who were given over to him', and Daniel 12:3 where the true people of God are to shine as the stars, so that Daniel sees them as like stars (compare Genesis 37:9; Revelation 12:1). Indeed the next two verses really demand it. The trampling down then refers to their maltreatment and persecution.