The following are notes taken from
John E. Goldingay, Daniel (Word Biblical Commentary 30; Dallas,
Tex.: Wordbooks, 1989)
[1] Translation of Dan 7:9
I watched
as thrones were set in place
and one advanced in years took his seat.
His clothing was like white snow,
the hair on his head like lamb’s wool.
His throne was flashes of flame,
his rings a blazing flame. (p. 142)
Commentary to “one advanced in years”:
Lit., “days.” The phrase is a
fairly straightforward one for someone of great age; cf. the use of עתק “advance”
in Job 21:7 and of בא בימים “gone [on] in days” in Gen. 24:1. Cf. the
description of God in Ps 9:8 p7]; 29:10; 90:2; also Sir 25:4. (p. 145)
[2] Translation of Dan 7:13-14
13 As I watched in the vision by
night, there before me
among the clouds of heavens
and in human likeness was coming.
He went to the one advanced in years
and was presented before him.
14 To him was given glorious kingly authority
so that people of all races, nations, and languages would honor him;
his authority would last for ever and not pass away,
and his kingship would not be destroyed. (pp. 142-43)
On “he went to” and the Son of Man being numerically distinct from
the Ancient of Days:
OG apparently has ως “as” now εως
(cf. Rahlfs; Ziegler emends). It thus identifies the human figure and the one
advanced in years. Lust thinks this reflects an old, pre-MT, Heb. text (ETL
54 [1978] 62-69), but this makes poor sense of vv 9-14 as a whole. More likely
it reflects OG midrash (F.F. Bruce, “The Oldest Greek Version of Daniel,” OTS
20 [1977] 25-26], perhaps subsequent to the main translation since OG elsewhere
does not suggest that the human figure is divine (Pace, 257-60). (p. 145)
[3] Ugaritic background to Dan 7
On how the Ugaritic combat myth Baal is likely the less
indirect background to Dan 7, Goldingay writes that:
. . . Sea tries to usurp the place
of Baal, the son of the highest god, the venerable, gray-headed, and gray-bearded
El. One of his titles, ‘b snm, might mean “father of years” and
corresponds to עתיק יומין “one advanced in days” . . . Before the assembly of
the holy ones, Baal, rider on the clouds, is declared destined for an eternal kingship,
and he duly kills Sea—later characterized as Leviathan, the seven=headed
dragon. In due course El agrees to a temple being built as a palace for Baal,
where he takes his seat as king over the earth. He is then overcome by Death,
but Death is eventually defeated. In the OT, Yahweh effectively combines the
positions of El and Baal, except in Dan 7, where the humanlike figure takes
Baal’s position. In recapitulating this old ritual pattern, Dan 7 may then have
its own links with these ancient myths via learned circles in Judaism rather
than because they lived on in the temple cult. (p. 151)
