“As you saw
The feet
With the toes,
Partly of potter’s clay,
Partly of iron,
It shall be a divided kingdom.
Some of the strength
Of iron
Shall be in it,
Just as you saw
The iron mixed
With the clay.
As the toes
Of the feet were
Partly iron,
Partly clay,
Thus,
The kingdom shall be
Partly strong,
Partly brittle.
As you saw the iron
Mixed with clay,
Thus,
They will mix
With one another
In marriage.
But they will not
Hold together,
Just as iron
Does not mix
With clay.”
This appears to be a veiled reference to the future Greek iron kingdom with its problems between the different ruling parties of the Seleucids (312-63 BCE) and the Ptolemies (305-30 BCE). They each inherited parts of the Greek empire of Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE). They tried to join together through marriage, but that failed. Daniel here used the example of the feet made of iron and clay, the strength of the iron mixed with the weak clay. However, as the toes and feet became weak, so too this kingdom would be partly strong and partly brittle. Even a marriage could not hold it together, because iron and clay simply do not mix.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 