Commentary on the Apocalypse and commentary on the Book of Daniel
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1910
Daniel: Vision, Ancient of Days; and Vision, Four Beasts (Daniel 7:2-10) -- Ancient of Days represented by Christ cross-nimbed, book in left hand, seated on cushioned bench in cloud mandorla framed by heads of nimbed angels and flanked by four Beasts, one with human head on horns one with nearly illegible inscription [...] AQUILA [...] and another inscribed PARDUS QUATTUOR HABENS REGNUM ALEXANDRINORUM; fiery stream flowing from the mandorla; at corners, half figures of Personifications of Winds, two labeled UENTOS and one inscribed IUDI[...]UM SEDIT ET LIBRI APERTI SUNT, blowing trumpets.
Text is Jerome, In Danielem, VII, 2-3.
In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream: the four winds of the heavens fought upon the great sea, and four different great beasts rose from the sea. The first, like a lioness, had wings of an eagle; a beast, like a bear with three rows of teeth; another, like a leopard with wings and four heads; and a fourth, exceedingly strong, with great iron teeth, but with ten horns; and another little horn sprung up in the midst of the horns, with eyes like those of a man and a mouth speaking unnatural things. Then the ancient of days sat on the throne. The throne was flames of fire; and a river of fire rushed forth from his presence. Thousands upon thousands ministered to him. The trial began, and the books were opened. An attendant explained that "These four great beasts are four kingdoms, which will rise from the earth, yet it is the saints of the Most High God who will receive the kingdom, and they will hold the kingdom from this generation, and forever." And he said, "The fourth beast will be the fourth kingdom on earth, which will be greater than all the kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, and will trample and crush it. And the ten horns will be ten kings, but another and mightier will rise up, and bring down three kings. (Dan. 7)
For Jerome, the four beasts were metaphors for the four ancient empires: the lioness represented Babylonia; the bear, Medes and the Persians; the leopard, Ptolemaic Egypt; and the beast with ten horns, Rome. The elder of the days is God. Note how the illuminator had begun to paint the bear and the fourth beast at the bottom but then whitened them out, squeezing them above the lioness and leopard. Apparently there was not enough space to give each beast its own compartment.