In his commentary on Ezek 1-24, Protestant Daniel I. Bock, in the section, "Excursus: The Afterlife of Ezekiel's Inaugural Vision,” wrote the following about the relationship between the throne vision in Ezek 1 and the book of Daniel, including Dan 7:9-10, 13-14:
The vision of Yahweh enthroned on
his heavenly chariot would haunt Ezekiel until the day he died. But the vision
itself has lived on in both Jewish and Christian tradition. Within the OT one
may recognize its influence in Dan. 7, specifically the reference to the
fiery throne of the Ancient of Days, with its wheels of flaming fire, and
perhaps also the reference to the divine figure as kĕbar 'ĕnāš,
"like a son of man," which is slightly more explicit than dĕmût
kĕmar 'ēh 'ādām, "the form of human appearance." Evidence of
Ezekielian inspiration is even more evident in the description of the heavenly
figure in Dan. 10:5-6 (with the Ezekiel references in brackets):
I noticed a man dressed in linen,
with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body [gĕwîyātô, 1:11, 23] was like beryl [taršîš, 1:16], his face was like the appearance
of lightning [kĕmar 'ēh bārāq, 1: 13], and his eyes like flaming torches
[lappîdê 'ēš, 1:13], his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished
bronze (kĕ'ên nĕḥōšet qālāl, 1:7], and the sound of his words like the
roar of a multitude [qôl hāmōn, 1:24]. (Daniel I. Block, The Book of
Ezekiel: Chapters 1-24 [The New International Commentary on the Old
Testament; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1997], 109)
Elsewhere in the commentary, we read that
Ezekiel provides no further
information on the travels of the merkabah or its ultimate destination.
Would the glory have been headed for Babylon in fulfillment of Yahweh's promise
to be miqdāš mĕ'at, "a limited sanctuary," for the exiles (v.
16), thereby offering them the same reassurance that Ezekiel had received at
the time of his inauguration? Not likely, since this solution links the
prophet's inaugural vision too closely with this temple vision, which is dated
more than a year later. One should rather envision the throne-chariot conveying
the glory back to its real and eternal abode in the heavens. Ezekiel offers no
confirmation of this interpretation, but later tradition seems to assume it,
including Daniel's vision of the Ancient of Days in 7:9-10 and 13-14,
and John's vision of the enthroned Lord in Rev. 4:1-11. (Ibid., 358)
In the footnote to the above, Bock does not that
Dan. 10:5-6, 10-16 reflect a
greater dependence on Ezekiel's inaugural vision than the temple vision. (Ibid.,
358 n. 5)
