The Four Beasts of Daniel Seven | The Bear

Intent. This illustration was requested by a Bible student searching for visuals to better describe the four beasts of Daniel 7. It is part of a series which illustrates all four creatures.

1. Ribs in its mouth. This appears to be a symbol of the Medes and the Persians. The visual seems fairly straightforward: a bear with ribs in its mouth. The only real question is what it means that the bear “raised itself on one side.”
2. Lying down, told to arise. One suggestion is that the bear is resting while the Lion is addressed (assuming Daniel saw all of the animals emerge before they are addressed individually). The bear would be lying down, rolled onto one side, and so it is told to “arise.” This seems to agree with what the angel tells Daniel about Persia in Daniel 10:13: almost like a lazy beast that needs to be told to get up and hunt.
3. Or balancing on one flank. Another possibility is that the bear is to “arise” in some other way (mentally, for example), and is already standing. Raising one side of its body might then mean balancing on one flank. To me the visual seems odd, but perhaps it is possible. I’ve created visual representations for both possibilities.

“Again, please view this drawing as you should with all of my work: with healthy skepticism!”

The rest of the series: the Lion, the Leopard, the Terrible Fourth Beast, and all four together in the Composite. Compare Nebuchadnezzar’s Image of Daniel 2 and the Ram & Goat of Daniel 8.