Daniel's "Toes of Iron Mixed With Clay"

19 Tammuz 5785

In a recent blog post, I wrote, in part...

Based on this information that I gathered this morning, I am having a change of heart with regard to who is the "iron" and who is the "clay."  Logically, Russia shows itself to be completely identified as Eastern Eisav/Edom/Rome; however, history shows that it never had the reach or held the power that the West has.  After all, "the sun never set on the British Empire."  Russia's iron curtain fell because it no longer had the strength to maintain it.  The West won.  America was seen at that time (1989) as the last remaining world superpower.  

This was after discarding the idea that the clay mixed with iron in Daniel's vision (Daniel 2:33) was a representation of an End of Days alliance between Eisav and Yishmael, a position that made sense to me for a long time.  But, after reading Rashi's commentary, I began to rethink that idea.  

it will be a divided kingdom. It will be a divided kingdom; two kings will rise from it at once, strong and weak, as explained below (verses 41 and 42): “part of the kingdom will be strong.” 

and in it will be some of the strength of iron. Even the weak one will be stronger than the other nations through the strength of his fellow, for they will fear him. And this is the meaning of וּמִן נִצְבְּתָא דִּי פַרְזְלָא לֶהֶוֵא בָהּ; some of the strength of the stability of iron will be in the weak king.

In re-reading this, I have to hold by my most recent conclusion.  These two kings appear to me to be the leader of the Western Roman Empire (the US today) and the leader of the Eastern Roman Empire (Russia today).  And I think, for the reasons I laid out in the previous blog post, that Russia is the weaker of the two.  This is represented by the feet of that statue; however...

I now note that the toes are something else again - another phase of the breaking apart of the empire. 

(Verse 42)  And the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, for part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be broken.

With regard to the feet, we are told that part would be strong and part would be "weak" and here, when it comes to the toes, part will be strong and part will be "broken".  

(Verse 43)  And what you saw, iron mixed with clay, connotes that they will mingle with the seed of men, but they will not cleave one to the other, as iron does not mix with clay. 

that they will mingle with the seed of men. They will intermarry with the other nations but they will not be at peace and truly cleave to them wholeheartedly, and their laws will differ from the laws of the other nations.

This is clearly something else.  We are no longer talking about the two kings who rise simultaneously and one is weaker than the other.  Now we are talking about two people groups who intermarry yet they do not assimilate among each other and they are in opposition to each other down to the point that they each live by a separate set of laws (Democracy and Sharia?).

Why is one people group designated as "men"?  The other is not designated; however, the implication is that they are something other than "men".  Perhaps pere adam? Abarbanel holds that this is Eisav and Yishmael.

Most interestingly, there are "moderate, Western-oriented" Arab states like Saudi Arabia who align themselves with the US and there are more "extreme Islamic" states like Iran who align themselves with Russia.

I can't say with any certainty at what historic point the 'toes' diverged from the 'feet', but there is a definite division there.  Also, I believe another major change is indicated here...

(Verse 44)   And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom forever, it will not be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left to another people; it will crumble and destroy all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.

I don't think it is referring any longer to Rashi's "two kings" but to ten kings represented by the ten toes, which is the subject of the verses immediately preceding this statement referring to the coming Messianic kingdom.

Daniel, chapter 7, describes yet another vision Daniel saw of the four empires, styled as "beasts", which would dominate the world throughout history.  In this vision, each empire was represented by a known animal, although not in its natural form.  They are symbolic:  1) a lion with eagle's wings; 2) a bear with three ribs in its mouth; 3)  a leopard with bird's wings, and 4) a "beast" with no equal in the animal world - "awesome, dreadful and exceedingly strong."

What interests me most in this vision is the fact that this beast, which is without doubt Rome/Edom, is described with ten horns which Rashi identifies as ten "kings" and which corresponds to the ten "toes" back in chapter 2.  

This vision gives us more detailed information about the period designated by the "toes" - the period immediately preceding the Messianic era and the very period through which we are currently living!

(Verse 8)  I looked at these horns and behold another small horn came up among them, and three of the first horns were plucked out before it, and behold eyes like human eyes were on this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly. 

(Verse 24)   And the ten horns that [sprout] from that kingdom [represent] ten kings that will rise, and the last one will rise after them, and he will be different from the first, and he will humble three kings.

On Daniel 12:1, Metzudat David says...

Then there will come upon Israel a time of distress the likes of which they will never have experienced until that time.  The small horn which represents the kingdom of Ishmael will cause them great distress.

Rabbi Chaim Vital on Psalm 124...

At the End of Days, Israel is destined to experience the Ishmaelite exile.  This fifth and last exile will be the most difficult of all.  It is the exile of Ishmael, who is  called pere adam, a wild man (Eitz Hadass Tov).

This resolves the matter for me.  I'm sure others will have their own ideas.  After all the Book of Daniel is "sealed" until the end.  We can only hope to understand the meaning after the fact and we are only now in this final period of exile.  

Be encouraged!  Any way you look at it, we are very, very near the end/new beginning!!