Thank you for the biblical question on Daniel 8:21, “What does Daniel say the goat was in Daniel 8:21?”
In answering this question, one needs to understand the content and context of the passage and its overlay of history.
The immediate content of Daniel 8 says this, “In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. 2 In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. 3 I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. 4 I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.
5 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. 6 It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. 7 I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power. 8 The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven” (NIV).
In verse 21, the angel Gabriel gives him the interpretation of Daniel’s dream. The text says this, “19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.[c] 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. 22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power (NIV).
In chapter 2, it was revealed to Daniel that there are five kingdoms: the kingdom of gold, the kingdom of silver, the kingdom of bronze, the kingdom of iron, and the kingdom of God (Dan. 2:31–35).
Daniel lived through the Babylonian Empire and saw the rise of the Medes-Persian Empire. God revealed to Daniel what the third kingdom on earth will be like-the kingdom of bronze.
Here are some observations about the “goat” in Daniel 8:21:
A. The goat comes from the West (8:5).
B. The goat is from the country of Greece (8:21).
C. The goat defeats the Media and Persia (8:7,21).
D. The goat was able to quickly move quickly and conquered the land (8:5b).
E. The goat is viewed as the first king of Greece (8:21).
F. The goat appears to die suddenly (8:22).
G. The goat’s kingdom will be divided into four parts (8:22b)
H. The goat’s descendant is not in view (8:22).
I. The goal’s four kingdom is a weaker one (8:22c).
As one reads world history, the person who conquered the Medes-Persian Empire is Alexander the Great from Greece. His quick lightning like conquest and sudden death left the Greek Empire in disarray. His four generals divided the Greek Empire.
Alexander’s four general divided his empire were Ptolemy, Cassander, Seleucus, and Antigones. They were the one who divided the kingdom into four regions of the world. Ptolemy ruled over the Egyptian Empire. Cassander ruled over the Greek countries. Seleucus over Israel to Babylon, and Antigones ruled over what is modern Turkey area. None of them were able to consolidate the four kingdoms into one strong kingdom. It was a divided kingdom.
Summary: The goat represents a future ruler who will come from Greece and is able to quickly defeat the Medes-Persian Empire who will leave his empire to four generals. That goat is Alexander the Great of Greece.
-Kingston