Daniel's prophetic vision reaches its climax with the emergence of a fourth, terrifying entity. This creature represents a long, dark period of exile and is universally understood by commentators to symbolize the Roman Empire, a power destined to leave an indelible mark on the entire world.
The vision is explicitly noted as occurring during the night, a detail that underscores the unique severity of this creature. This event took place on a separate night from the appearance of the first three beasts, reflecting that the fourth is as devastating as the previous three combined [רש״י]. The repeated emphasis on the night highlights its status as the primary and most formidable power [יוסף אבן יחיא], while also serving as a potent symbol of an especially long and dark exile [מלבי״ם].
The creature is characterized by its terrifying nature, immense dread, and exceptional strength. These traits represent the three pillars of the Roman Empire's success [מלבי״ם]. First, it employed intense cruelty to strike fear into the hearts of other nations. Second, it possessed profound wisdom and maintained perfect order in its state leadership. Third, it demonstrated crushing military prowess to defeat its enemies. While previous empires possessed these qualities, Rome exhibited them to an unprecedented and extraordinary degree.
The empire's destructive force is depicted through its massive iron teeth, which it used to devour and crush its victims. This serves as a metaphor for Rome's policy of conquest [מלבי״ם]. Just as teeth grind food so it can be absorbed into the human body, Rome swallowed powerful nations and assimilated them, making them an inseparable part of the empire. Whatever remained was ruthlessly trampled and soiled under the creature's feet [מצודת ציון], [שטיינזלץ]. This remaining destruction refers to distant countries that Rome chose not to integrate into its empire, instead simply dispatching its military commanders to trample and ruin them [מלבי״ם].
The fourth beast is entirely distinct from all the creatures that preceded it. Unlike the earlier beasts, it is not compared to any known animal because it bore no resemblance to any creature on earth [מצודת דוד]. Its uniqueness permeated every aspect of its existence [מלבי״ם]. This included its style of leadership, the unprecedented longevity of the empire, and a profound cultural shift where the nations under its dominion eventually adopted new faiths, completely abandoning the idolatry that characterized the earlier kingdoms.
Finally, the creature is defined by its ten horns. These represent ten Roman kings destined to rule before the rise of Vespasian, the emperor who would eventually destroy the Temple [רש״י]. Alternatively, these horns parallel the ten toes of the statue seen in King Nebuchadnezzar's earlier dream [מלבי״ם]. In this view, they indicate that in the end of days, the Roman Empire will fracture into ten major kingdoms that will dominate the world. The horns are positioned on the head of the beast to show that the roots of these future kingdoms were already embedded within the Roman Empire from its very inception.