Decoding Daniel: The Case of Dan 7,5 233 established as one Empire. However, because no Biblical text, on a surface reading, admitted the link, the author(s) of Daniel had to delve more deeply. The key text of Isa 13,5 which indicated that Yahweh would bring the “weapons of his indignation” to destroy Babylon led to Job 38,32 which referred to a constellation, not an earthly creature. A constellation, though, which was known as the “bear”! The new identification of the second beast has implications for the identity of the other beasts. As the second beast is a combination of Media and Persia, the third beast must be Greece. Indeed such a conclusion is implicit in its description, even on a simple literary level. The beast is a leopard, therefore it is fast. Further it has wings, underlining the speed with which it conquers. Its wings are four-fold, like its heads, indicating the four points of the compass. Alexander the Great’s conquests are here indicated, not those of Persia, as usually thought. The fourth beast is not as easy to identify on a literary level. As with the rest of Daniel’s vision, including the description of the second beast, I have considered it on an intertextual level, and have concluded that it is partly Greek/Seleucid and partly Israelite. The reason it is so terrible is because the Israelite portion should have known better. The ten horns are drawing on passages relating to Ephraim and Manasseh, the arch-enemies in the Qumran texts. However this will be demonstrated in detail in a future publication. Religion Studies A.E. GARDNER La Trobe University Victoria 3086 – Australia SUMMARY The interpretation of almost every detail of the description on the bear in Daniel 7 is disputed by scholars, mainly because of the uncertainty about the background of the imagery of the beasts. The present paper reviews suggested backgrounds and shows that while many have some appropriate elements, they are unable to explain all the details of the beasts or their actions. The Bible is shown to be the source of all aspects of Dan 7,5. Proceeding from Hos 13,5, the author utilized prophecies of the downfall of Babylon, supplemented from elsewhere in the Bible, to paint his picture of the second beast who is to be identified as Media and Persia.