Ephrem the Syrian : This beast obviously represents the kingdom of the Babylonians. The present vision of Daniel perfectly fits in with the already mentioned dream of Nebuchadnezzar, who saw a statue, and it forms a single and same prophecy with it. Indeed, as the Babylonian kingdom, in that dream, was compared with gold, which is the noblest among metals, here it is described as a lion, which is the strongest of all beasts, and an eagle, which is of the highest perniciousness among birds. — COMMENTARY ON Daniel 7:4 Hippolytus of Rome : "The first was a lioness and feathers were upon it as an eagle." [Daniel 7:4] And so he, while speaking, names a lioness as the kingdom of the Babylonians which Nebuchadnezzar then ruled. Then he says, "feathers were upon it as an eagle," [Daniel 7:4] because the king was lifted up and raised up against God, being puffed up in heart on account of the greatness and glory which came to him. Then he says, "Its feathers were plucked and it was lifted up from the earth and it stood upon human feet and a heart of a man was given to it." [Daniel 7:4] For this really happened to Nebuchadnezzar, just as has been indicated in the book before this book, and he himself testifies in this way about that which happened to him, as he was banished from his kingdom and his glory was taken away and so was the majesty which he procured at first. And so just as he says to strip the feathers of the whole bird, he is powerless and is easily caught, and in this way at that time the powers of the king were removed, through which he imagined to boast and to be high-minded, but then was afraid and fled into the desert, so that he may not be killed by them. When Scripture says, "It stood upon human feet and a heart of a man was given to it," [Daniel 7:4] it is clear that Nebuchadnezzar, having humbled himself and recognized that he is a man lying under the authority of God, he, after begging the Lord, obtained from him a good heart, and again his kingdom and glory were reestablished. Just as he himself testifies saying, "And after the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven and my wits returned to me and I blessed the Most High and praised and glorified him that lives forever, because his authority is an eternal authority and his kingdom is from generation to generation and all who dwell upon the earth are reckoned as nothing and they are as nothing." [Daniel 4:34-35] — Commentary on Daniel 4.2.4-10 Hippolytus of Rome : Now since these things, spoken as they are with a mystical meaning, may seem to some hard to understand, we shall keep back nothing fitted to impart an intelligent apprehension of them to those who are possessed of a sound mind. He said, then, that a "lioness came up from the sea," and by that he meant the kingdom of the Babylonians in the world, which also was the head of gold on the image. In saying that it "had wings as of an eagle," he meant that Nebuchadnezzar the king was lifted up and was exalted against God. Then he says "the wings were plucked," that is to say, his glory was destroyed; for he was driven out of his kingdom. And the words "a man's heart was given to it, and it was made to stand on the feet as a man," refer to the fact that he repented and recognized himself to be only a man and gave the glory to God. — ON THE ANTICHRIST 23 Jerome : Verse 4. "The first beast was like a lioness and possessed the wings of an eagle. I beheld until her wings were torn away, and she was raised upright from the ground and stood on her feet like a human being, and she was given a human heart." The kingdom of the Babylonians was not called a lion but a lioness, on account of its brutality and cruelty, or else because of its luxurious, lust-serving manner of life. For writers upon the natural history of beasts assert that lionesses are fiercer than lions, especially if they are nursing their cubs, and constantly are passionate in their desire for sexual relations. And as for the fact that she possessed eagle's wings, this indicates the pride of the all-powerful kingdom, the ruler of which declares in Isaiah: "Above the stars of heaven will I place my throne, and I shall be like unto the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). Therefore he is told: "Though thou be borne on high like an eagle, thence will I drag thee down" (Obadiah 1:4). Moreover, just as the lion occupies kingly rank among beasts, so also the eagle among the birds. But it should also be said that the eagle enjoys a long span of life, and that the kingdom of Assyrians had held sway for many generations. And as for the fact that the wings of the lioness or eagle were torn away, this signifies the other kingdoms over which it had ruled and soared about in the world. "And she was raised up," he says, "from the ground"; which means, of course, that the Chaldean empire was overthrown. And as for what follows, "And she stood upon her feet like a human being, and she was given a human heart," if we understand this as applying to Nebuchadnezzar, it is very evident that after he lost his kingdom and his power had been taken away from him, and after he was once more restored to his original state, he not only learned to be a man instead of a lioness but he also received back the heart which he had lost. But if on the other hand this is to be understood as applying in a general way to the kingdom of the Chaldeans, then it signifies that after Belshazzar was slain, and the Medes and Persians succeeded to imperial power, then the men of Babylon realized that theirs was a frail and lowly nature after all. Note the order followed here: the lioness is equivalent to the golden head of the image [in chap. 2]. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SEVEN Theodoret of Cyrus : This passage Daniel places the strongest of the beasts in the first kingdom; he does not imply that the first beast possessed greater might but only that it was nobler. Nonetheless, he saw "those wings plucked out," that is, abandoned by all the people who had been subjected to it and deprived of its earlier power. He says, "and it was removed from the earth," that is, it ceased to reign. "And it stood on the feet of a man," that is, it turned out to be equal to those who had been subjected to it. "And the heart of a man was given to it." Experience teaches us to think about human matters, and it teaches us not to go beyond the boundaries of nature with the thoughts of our minds. Because they had been afflicted with the disease of haughtiness and boundless arrogance when they had held the helm of state, Isaiah said, "God will stir up the prince of the Assyrians against their great mind." Experience rightly teaches them to think about human matters, when they see that fortunes change and that happiness is slippery and transient. They will come to learn who they are and so acquire a human heart. Thus Daniel speaks about the things that pertain to the first beast. — COMMENTARY ON Daniel 7:4