The experience of prophecy often transports a person beyond the ordinary boundaries of time and space, placing them at the center of future events that carry deep historical and spiritual meaning. In his vision, Daniel finds himself transported to Shushan, a central city defined by its grand palaces [מצודת ציון] and the capital of the kingdom of Elam [יוסף אבן יחיא].
Regarding Daniel's actual physical location during this revelation, the primary approach among commentators is that he remained in Babylon, while his mind and spirit experienced standing in Shushan [מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא]. This visionary shift is highly intentional, as the city represents the rising Persian empire destined to overthrow the Babylonian rule of King Belshazzar [אבן עזרא]. Alternatively, there is a perspective suggesting that Daniel actually made a physical journey to Elam and returned to Babylon within that same year [אבן עזרא].
The prophecy reveals a political reality that had not yet come to pass. At the time of the vision, Shushan had not yet achieved its status as a capital city; Daniel was witnessing its future greatness under Persian dominance [מלבי״ם]. He also finds himself standing by a body of water known as the Ulai. Commentators generally agree that this refers to a specific river or stream by that name [רש״י, מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Much like the city itself, this waterway may not have existed at the time, with Daniel foreseeing a future canal that the Persian kings would eventually dig [מלבי״ם].
Beyond the physical geography, the river and its name carry a profound symbolic meaning tied to the prophet's inner struggles and the destiny of the people of Israel. The concepts of the stream and its title represent a sharp contrast between absolute certainty and lingering doubt. Daniel, having witnessed the tragic destruction of the Temple, was consumed by heavy thoughts. He wondered if the promised return to Zion was a guaranteed reality, or if the sins of the people had placed their future in jeopardy. Because of his deep spiritual preparation, God appeared to him, revealing the ultimate secret of both the Second Temple and the final, future Temple. Through this vision, God assured Daniel that the redemption and the rebuilding of the Temple would be an enduring, true, and absolute certainty forever [יוסף אבן יחיא].