8:10 the host of heaven. The “host of heaven” or the “stars” (cf. Jer. 33:22) symbolize the people of God (cf. 12:3; Gen. 15:5) or a heavenly army (Is. 14:13; also see 2 Macc. 9:10). The attack against the people of God amounts to an attack against heaven itself.

some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground. This is a symbolic depiction of the severe persecution of God’s people under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who attempted to abolish their traditional worship and way of life and forcibly Hellenize them (see 11:21–35 and 1 Macc. 1:10–64 for additional details; see also Introduction to the Intertestamental Period).