■ 18.
The holy ones of the Most High: The
traditional translation of קדישׁי עליונין (“holy ones
of the Most High”) assumes that עליונין is used substantivally,
presumably to refer to God, who is called עליא in 7:25*
and elsewhere in Daniel. The plural עליונין is then
explained as a plural of majesty, on the analogy of the Hebrew אלהים.
The construct chain is definite because עליונין is
considered a proper name. The Hebrew קדושׁי עליון
in CD 20:8 may be cited as a parallel, but its value is ambiguous, because it
renders “the Most High” by the singular and so does not relieve the anomaly of
Dan 7:18.
An alternative
translation, “most high holy ones” or “holy ones on high,” has recently been
defended by Goldingay, who explains the second term of the construct chain (עליונין)
as epexegetical or adjectival. The plural of the second term, then, would
correspond with the number of the first. The phrase would be
indefinite and is equivalent to קדישׁין עליונין. The
Aramaic for “highest,” however, is עליא (plural). עליון
is an epithet for the Deity. The plural, then, should be taken as a plural of
manifestations and the traditional translation maintained.
(John
Joseph Collins, Daniel: A Commentary on
the Book of Daniel [Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the
Bible; Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 1993], 312)