Daniel 7:3 KJT
And four great beast came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Daniel 7:17
These great beast, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
Do "beast" rise from the sea; and "kings" rise from the earth? Verse 17 is part of the heavenly interpretation of Daniel's vision in verse 3. Why do these 2 verses not agree with where the "beast" arise from?
You're right to notice the difference in wording between Daniel 7:3 and 7:17—it stands out and can appear to be a contradiction at first glance. In verse 3, Daniel describes his vision, where four great beasts rise out of the sea. This is symbolic imagery: in Scripture, the sea often represents chaos, disorder, or the mass of nations (as seen in Revelation 17:15). Then in verse 17, an unidentified heavenly being (likely an angelic interpreter from verse 16) gives the explanation: the four beasts represent four kings who will arise out of the earth. Here, "earth" refers not to a physical location but to the realm of human history or activity (as also seen in Daniel 4:35)—meaning these kings or kingdoms will emerge within the course of earthly events.
Rev. 17:15 "And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
So the difference in terms—“sea” in the vision and “earth” in the interpretation—is not a contradiction but a shift from symbolic language to explanatory meaning. The vision uses the sea to portray the chaotic and unstable origins of these empires, while the interpretation anchors them in the real world. Both verses refer to the same four kingdoms but from different perspectives: one symbolic (v. 3), the other explanatory and historical (v. 17).
It’s like seeing dark storm clouds in the sky (the sea) that signal a coming storm, and then later hearing a weather report saying the storm will hit your town (the earth)—two ways of describing the same event from different perspectives. Just as different photographers capture the same scene from unique angles—each revealing a new detail or mood—the Bible’s various books describe the same events and truths in ways that sound different but together paint a fuller picture.
Simply put, the beasts that rise from the sea and the kings from the earth are the same entities. The "sea" describes their symbolic origin in the vision, while the "earth" describes their rise in real-world history in the following interpretation. The verses don't disagree—they explain the same thing in two different ways.
Answer
Daniel 7:3 - coming or arising “min = (out) of” [Strong] the Sea.
Daniel 7:17 - established “min = upon” [Strong] the earth.
Explanation
The vision of Prophet Daniel begins in verse 2:
“Daniel spoke and said, In my vision by night I was looking. And, behold, the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the Great Sea”.
“The Great Sea” is the Mediterranean Sea as is clear from Num 34:6-7; Joshua 1:4; 15:12, 47; 23:4 etc.
Joshua, especially 9:1 pinpoints the Mediterranean:
“And it happened, when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hills and in the Lowlands, and in all the coast of the Great Sea in front of Lebanon”.
Lebanon, of course, is lying on the Mediterranean coast.
Daniel 7:3
Thus, all the 4 beasts (empires) of Daniel’s vision are “arising” or “coming” (Aramaic “seliq”) from the Mediterranean Sea.
We can see this is true if we look at the map of these 4 empires.
Babylonian Empire appears on the eastern bank of the Great Sea.
Medo_Persaian Empire is covering the Sea on the eastern bank as also a part of the north-east (Turkey) and south-east (Egypt) coasts.
The Greek Empire covers the Sea on the eastern part right from Greece, all the way round to Egypt.
Finally the Roman Empire fully covers the entire Mediterranean Sea within its jurisdiction.
Now we know why the Scripture says, “the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the Great Sea”.
Daniel 7:17
These 4 empires will be “established” or “set up” or “made to stand” (Aramaic “qum”) on the earth.
The same word is used in the very same chapter as follows:
“And it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand (Aramaic “qum”) on two feet like a man” (Dan 7:4).
In Daniel 3:2, again we read:
“And all the officials of the provinces were ordered to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up (Aramaic “qum”)” (Dan 3:2).
Septuagint Agrees
Thanks to RHPclass79 for directing me to the Septuagint Greek of Daniel 7 which agrees with what is said above.
Daniel 7:3:
“And four great wild beasts “ascended” (Greek “anabaino”) “from out of” (Greek “ek”) the Sea, differing from one another”.
Daniel 7:17:
“These the four great wild beasts [are] four kingdoms [that] shall “rise up” (Greek “anistemi”=stand up) “upon” (Greek “epi”) the earth”.
Conclusion
Thus we learn that all the 4 empires are originating from in and around any or all of the 4 sides of the Mediterranean Sea.
But these are established or set up far out into the earth (from the Mediterranean).
Daniel had a dream, and in his dream, he saw some really big, scary animals (called beasts) come up from the sea. The sea in the dream is not just water—it’s like a picture, or a symbol. In the Bible, the sea often stands for the big, noisy world of people and nations all mixed together.
Then, later, an angel explained the dream to Daniel. The angel said, “These animals really mean kings (or kingdoms), and they will come up from the earth.” Here, “earth” also isn’t just dirt—it means from the world of people living on the land.
So, there isn’t really a fight between “sea” and “earth.” The vision first shows the beasts coming from the sea (a picture of nations rising out of chaos), and then the explanation says they are kings from the earth (a picture of rulers coming from among people).
It’s like this: imagine you dream of four superheroes rising out of the ocean. Later, someone explains, “What you saw means four presidents will come from the world.” They’re talking about the same thing, just using two different pictures.
👉 So, the beasts come out of the sea in the dream, but the angel explains that in real life, they’re kings that come from the earth (from among people).
The visions in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 are similar, yet with two important differences.
To illustrate, Nebuchadnezzar is called the head of gold which is the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He is the one king which is equated with the one Empire. There were kings before and after Nebuchadnezzar, but in the vision, he is the one king which symbolically epitomizes the historical Neo-Babylonian Empire. What makes Nebuchadnezzar unique is he was the king who conquered the Southern Kingdom.
This perspective can be followed down the image. The two silver arms (Cyrus and Darius) represent the Media-Persian Empire (the chest). The one bronze middle (Alexander) and two thighs (Ptolemaic and Seleucids) represent the Greek Empire. The iron legs represent the joint rule of Caesar and the Senate in the Roman Empire (Caesar, Governor - Senate, Herod). Thus, from the perspective of Israel, Nebuchadnezzar's vision portrays the foreign rule of Israel, which resulted in the destruction and rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple.
Nebuchadnezzar's vision is about kingdoms united by their rule over Israel until Jesus comes.
Daniel's vision begins with all Empires coming from a single place, the Great Sea and the kings from the earth. As one answer shows, the Great Sea can be understood geographically, the Mediterranean.
There is a second way to interpret the meaning of sea:
Woe [to] the multitude of many nations, as the swelling sea, so shall ye be confounded; and the force of many nations shall sound like water; (LXX-Isaiah 17:12)
Lift up a standard on the walls of Babylon, prepare the quivers, rouse the guards, prepare the weapons: for the Lord has taken [the work] in hand, and will execute what he has spoken against the inhabitants of Babylon, dwelling on many waters, and amidst the abundance of her treasures; thine end is come verily into thy bowels. (LXX-Jeremiah 51:12-13)
People are symbolized by water and in the Septuagint the same word is used to describe the Great Sea in Daniel's vision. Therefore, a second interpretation of in Daniel's vision is that Empires arise from people.
Daniel 2 is a vision about how the divided Kingdom of Israel was ruled until Jesus, the Stone, destroyed the foreign rule. He is the King of the Jews. Daniel 7 is a vision about kingdoms and kings who rule over people until Jesus comes again.
In Daniel 7, the four beasts arise from the sea in the initial vision. However, the interpretation in verse 17 clarifies that these beasts represent kings who arise from the earth. The "sea" in the vision symbolizes a source of turmoil and worldly power, while the "earth" in the interpretation signifies the earthly origins and nature of these kingdoms
Daniel 7:3: The vision depicts four beasts emerging from the "great sea". This sea is often interpreted as representing the Gentile nations and the turmoil of worldly powers.
Daniel 7:17:
An angel interprets the vision, stating that the four beasts are "four kings, which shall arise out of the earth". This highlights the earthly, human origins and worldly focus of these kingdoms.
The shift from "sea" to "earth" doesn't contradict the vision but rather clarifies its symbolic meaning.
The sea represents the chaotic and turbulent source of these kingdoms, while the earth emphasizes their earthly, worldly nature and their impact on human history.
What was symbolized by the windswept sea?
Interestingly Years later, the apostle John saw a seven-headed wild beast come out of the “sea.” That sea represented “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues”—the vast body of mankind estranged from God. The sea, then, is a fitting symbol of the masses of mankind alienated from God.—Revelation 13:1, 2; 17:15; Isaiah 57:20.
“As for these huge beasts,” said God’s angel, “because they are four, there are four kings that will stand up from the earth.” (Daniel 7:17) Clearly, the angel identified the four beasts that Daniel saw as “four kings.” Thus, these beasts signify world powers.
Bible expositors commonly link Daniel’s dream-vision of four beasts with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of an immense image.
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For example, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary states: “Chapter 7 [of Daniel] parallels chapter 2.”
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The Wycliffe Bible Commentary says: “It is generally agreed that the succession of four Gentile dominions . . . is the same here [in Daniel chapter 7] as that contemplated in [Daniel] chapter 2.”
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The four world powers represented by the four metals of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream were the Babylonian Empire (gold head), Medo-Persia (silver breasts and arms), Greece (copper belly and thighs), and the Roman Empire (iron legs).b (Daniel 2:32, 33)
So Dan:7:3
This sea is often interpreted as representing the Gentile nations and the turmoil of worldly powers.
and Dan 7:17
while the earth emphasizes their earthly, worldly nature and their impact on human history.
