Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 7:17

"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth." — Daniel 7:17 (ASV)

These great beasts, which are four, are four kings - Four kings or four dynasties. There is no reason for supposing that they refer to individual kings, but the obvious meaning is that they refer to four dominions or empires that would succeed one another on the earth. So the whole representation leads us to suppose, and so the passage has always been interpreted. The Latin Vulgate renders it regna; the Septuagint βασιλεῖαι basileiai; Luther, Reiche; Lengerke, Konigreiche. This interpretation is also confirmed by Daniel 7:23, where it is expressly said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth. See also Daniel 7:24.

Which shall arise out of the earth - In Daniel 7:2, the beasts are represented as coming up from the sea—the emblem of agitated nations. Here the same idea is presented more literally—that they would seem to spring up out of the earth, thus thrown into wild commotion. These dynasties were to be upon the earth, and they were in all things to indicate their earthly origin. Perhaps, also, it is designed by these words to denote a marked contrast between these four dynasties and the one that would follow—which would be of heavenly origin.

This was the general intimation given concerning the meaning of the vision, and he was satisfied at once with the explanation, so far as the first three were concerned; but the fourth seemed to indicate more mysterious and important events, and concerning this, he was induced to ask for a more particular explanation.