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There has been an issue with Daniel 8:11 which has been acknowledged
but not resolved.
Dan 8:10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down
some of the host and some of the stars to the ground,
and trampled them.
:11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the
host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away,
and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
:12 Because of transgression, an army was given over
to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he
cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and
prospered.
The Hebrew word translated "taken away" is Strong's H7311 and Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance records the meaning as:
It can be seen that its primary meaning is to be high, to rise or
raise. In various applications, both literal or figurative.
The Masoretic Text Shows Two Different Forms of H7311
For the verse Dan 8:11 there are actually two received forms of the
Hebrew H7311.
[NB: In respect to the above presentation
the initial row shows the Hebrew without
any added vowels. The second row shows
the Hebrew with vowels added. ]
The first Hebrew form  (without vowels) is most commonly
rendered not as H7311, but as H2022 where the meaning is 'mountains'.
The second Hebrew form  (without vowels) is used less
frequently and has been translated as 'heaved' in Exodus 29:27.
It seems that the Masoretic Text placed the first form in the
actual Hebrew text (for this reason some interlinears only show
this form). The second form was referenced in the margin of the
Masoretic Text.
However, both are still conveying the same meaning, i.e. to 'raise'.
To make the distinction clearer the following will help to explain.
Strong's reference H7311 is also encountered in a few other verses
in the Book of Daniel.
Dan 11:12  NKJV 'lifted up'
YLT 'high'
Dan 11:36  NKJV 'he shall exalt'
YLT 'and exalteth himself'
Dan 12:7  NKJV 'when he held up'
YLT 'and he doth lift up'
These verses confirm the true meaning of this Hebrew word is to
'be high', 'rise', or 'raised'.
So, this still leaves the issue that in Daniel 8:11 it is clearly
unacceptable to render a word with such an inference in way that
denies or diametrically opposes its true meaning. It can not be
rendered as 'taken away', 'thrown down, 'cast down' or anything
similar.
Does the Current Rendering Flow Smoothly?
What is the sequence of thoughts being presented?
It is clear that verse 10 is talking about the little horn rising to
the host of heaven and casting down some of the symbolic host and some
of the symbolic stars.
Comment: The indication is that the host of heaven is above the
location where the little horn initially resided.
"It grew up to the host of heaven"
Then, skipping past verse 11, we have verse 12 talking about an army
being given to the little horn to oppose the daily sacrifice and cast
down truth. The little horn being given this army because of ongoing
transgression at the Jerusalem sanctuary.
Comment: The end-time role of the little horn is to decimate
Jerusalem. He is given this role because of ongoing
religious transgression.
When we look at the normal translation of the middle verse, Dan 8:11,
it does not harmonize with the prior or subsequent verse.
Dan 8:11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the
host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away,
and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
Comment: 1) The common translation seems to repeat the teaching of
verse 10. An approach which initially seems acceptable.
2) Then it states the little horn will take away the daily.
The little horn does indeed do that, but he does not take
away the daily in the symbolic heaven (where the host and
stars are located).
Also, it seems that verse 12 is actually the verse which
introduces the taking away of the daily at Jerusalem.
It is verse 12 that provides the reason (transgression),
then advises he will be given an army to enable this task
to be accomplished.
Therefore, it seems that verse 11 should not be addressing
this topic, as this is a topic introduced in verse 12.
3) The place of His (ie, God's) sanctuary will be cast down?
This is not right. The place of the sanctuary at Jerusalem
is going to be brought down. So the verse implies the
wrong location.
It seems to be fair to say that the translators were unsure how to
render Dan 8:11, and they just did their best. Subsequent translations
just followed.
So How Should Daniel 8:11 Have Been Understood?
Before looking closer at Dan 8:11 let us take a closer look at the
prior verse Dan 8:10.
What is the Hebrew of the preceding Daniel 8:10 saying?
and And
H1431 waxed great
H5704 unto
H6635 host
H8064 heavens
and and
H5307 casting
H776 earthward
H4480 from
H6635 the host
and and
H4480 from
H3356 the stars
and and
H7429 trampling
Providing the text. "And waxed great unto the host of heavens and
casting earthward from the host and from the
stars and trampling.
Therefore, the normal renderings of Dan 8:10 are indeed correct.
What does the Hebrew of Daniel 8:11 show?
H5704 up to, unto, until
H8269 chief, prince
H6635 host
H1431 he (did) great (things), he magnified (himself}
and and
H4480 and from him, and hence from or out of
H7311 to be high actively, to rise, raise
H8548 the continual, the continually
and and
H7993 fling/cast down/forth/off/out
H4349 site of
H4720 consecrated thing/place, hallowed, sanctuary
Hence, a reasonable rendering would be something like the following;
Dan 8:11 Until the Prince of the host did great things,
and by him was elevated the daily sacrifice,
and was flung down the site of the consecrated.
So the verse would be stating that the Prince of the Host would do
great things. Elevate the daily and cast down to earth the location
of the consecrated.
The 'consecrated' being Strong's H4720, meaning a consecrated thing,
especially a palace or sanctuary. Whether of God or of idols.
In this text - the heavenly abode of the little horn.
Is there in Scripture an equivalent description?
Rev 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon
and his angels fought,
:8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found
for them in heaven any longer.
:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent
of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives
the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and
his angels were cast out with him.
So in summary let us consider how Daniel 8:10-13 should have been
translated.
Dan 8:10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it
flung down some of the host and some of the
stars to the ground, and trampled them.
:11 Until the Prince of the host did great things,
and by him was elevated the daily sacrifice,
and was flung down the site of the consecrated.
:12 And a host was given against the continual
which was in transgression, and was flung
down truth to the ground. And it did this
and prospered.
So the importance of a proper translation of Dan 8:11 is to reflect
a spiritual war amongst the host of heaven. A war which the little
horn loses.
The daily offering in the symbolic heaven is raised in quality,
while the daily offering upon the symbolic earth is brought to an
end. It seems that it was this contrast, which caused confusion.
The verse also has the little horn being relocated from amongst
the host of heaven to being cast down upon the earth. Where it stops
transgression in Jerusalem and defeats all present (including those
of faith still trying to provide a witness - those of faith who
unwisely failed to leave when the sign of the Abomination of
Desolation became manifest).
The little horn prospers, at least until his allotted time expires.
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