Matthew Poole and continuators on Daniel 7:2

2 Daniel spake and said I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great Sea .

What is meant by Winds because Daniel doth not expound, Expositors think there is room left for every ones coniecture wherein that seems most likely, that by the 4 Winds of the great Sea is signified commotions of contrary Nations and Factions striving together by Wars, and producing these 4 Beasts successively. That this is often signified by Winds, see Ier. 49.36. and 51.1. In the destruction of Babylon, the first Monarchy; and of E[illegible: 1 letter]am. i. e. the Persian Monarchy.

The great Sea in Scripture is the Mediterranean Sea ▪ called now, Le[illegible: 1 letter]ant▪ Archipelago, Streights, &c. 1. Comparatively, for the People, called Lakes, Seas, as the Sea of Galilee, Genn[illegible: 1 letter]zereth, Cinneroth, the dead Sea, or Lake of Sodom, but the Mediterranean was Iamma rabba the great Sea for his length and bread[illegible: 1 letter]h; above all the [illegible: 1 letter]akes put together, though it be it self but a Lake in comparison o[illegible: 1 letter] the Atlantick and Indian Oceans. 2. Gre[illegible: 1 letter]t Sea, because the great Stage of Action hath been on it▪ and adioined to it: and all the four great Monarchies have been Masters of it. 3 Allegorically ▪ for it is usual in Scripture to compare People to waters▪ and Nations to Seas, Rev. 13.1. and 17.15. called so from the confused noise of it, Rev. 10.6. and from the unstableness of them▪ always running and rolling with every wind as it blows, indangering those that ride upon the [illegible: 1 letter]acks of its swelling waves.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 paragraph]