Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Richard Bauckham on the Old Greek's use of λατρευω and Theodotian's Use of δουλευω to translate פלח for the Son of Man in Daniel 7:14

  

THE “WORSHIP” OF THE “ONE LIKE A SON OF MAN”

 

There is a third feature of OG-Daniel 7:13-14 that is alleged to indicate the “divinity” of the “one like a son of man”: the word λατρευουσα (7:14b). Th-Daniel here has δουλευσουσιν. Both are plausible renderings of the Aramaic verb פלח, which, like the Hebrew עבד, has the broad meaning of “to work” or “to serve (someone as a slave)” but can also be used of the cultic service of God or gods. In Daniel it has the latter sense in at least seven of its nine occurrences (3:12, 14, 17, 18, 28; 6:17, 21). The remaining two, which require discussion here, are in 7:14, 27. The Greek verb λατρευω, though it had a broader usage in nonbiblical Greek, is used in biblical Greek (as also in the New Testament) exclusively for the cultic service of God or gods, whereas δουλευω, though it can be used in this sense, also has a broader semantic range, referring to service to a human master or superior.

 

OG-Daniel translates פלח with λατρευω on seven of its nine occurrences (3:12, 14, 28[95]; 6:17, 21; 7:14). The OG translator’s tendency to vary vocabulary accounts for the use of φοβεω rather than λατρευω at 3:17. More notable is the OG’s use of υποτασσω to translate פלח in 7:27 (see table 3). In addition to the seven cases where λατρευω represents פלח, OG-Daniel also uses λατρευω twice where there is no corresponding word in MT-Daniel (4:34; 6:27).

 

Th-Daniel agrees with OG-Daniel in most of these cases. It translates פלח with λατρευω on seven occasions (3:12, 14, 17, 18, 28[95]; 6:17, 21). As we might expect of Th-Daniel, this use is somewhat more consistent than OG-Daniel’s, since it includes 3:17, but it is less consistent in that Th-Daniel uses δουλευω to translate פלח in both 7:14 and 7:27. It looks as though in 7:14, where “all the peoples, tribes, and languages” serve the “one like a son of man,” the Th-Daniel translator thought λατρευω, given its strong association with the worship of divinities, not appropriate, and preferred the more general word δουλευω, which could refer unproblematically to serving a human person. In Th-Daniel 7:27, however, the object of service is “the Most High” (υψιστου), and so we might expect the translator to revert to translating פלח with λατρευω. If the use of δουλευω here is more than an unreflective continuation of the use in 7:14, the reason for choosing δουλευω may be that it seemed more appropriate for use in combination with υπακουω (“they will serve and pay heed to him”).

 

It is striking that, whereas at 7:13 Th-Daniel diverges from its previous practice in translating פלח, OG-Daniel does not. The translator must have thought λατρευω an appropriate word to use for the service given by “all the nations of the earth” and “every glory” to the “one like a son of man,” after he was given “royal authority.” Before considering the significance of this, we should also note that OG-Daniel diverge from its previous practice in translating פלח at 7:27, where the verb υποτασσω (“to be subjected to”) is used. In OG-Daniel, different in this respect from Th-Daniel, the object of the verb may be “the holy people” (λαω αγιω) rather than “the Most High” (υψιστου). In that case, the OG translator may have thought that the “one like a son of man” was an appropriate object of λατρευω but the people of Israel were not. But it is perhaps more likely that, as I have suggested in the case of Th-Daniel, he thought that in the combination of two verbs (“will be subjected to him and obey him”) the sense was better conveyed by υποτασσω.

 

Th-Daniel’s use of δουλευω rather than λατρευω in 7:14 very likely reflects a monotheistic restriction of worship to the Ancient of Days. Evidently the OG translator did not feel this restraint. Two other features of 7:14 in OG-Daniel should be noted. First, the “royal authority” is given to the “one like a son of man” by (it is implied) the Ancient of Days. It does not belong to him inherently. It is only as a consequence of this investiture with authority that he receives the service of all the nations. Second, the emphatic description of the eternity of the authority of the ”one like a son of man” in 7:14c-d strongly echoes the description of the kingdom that God will set up in the future according to OG-Daniel 2:44, but also resembles the description of God’s eternal authority in OG-Daniel 4:34 . OG-Daniel lacks the descriptions of God’s eternal rule in MT-Daniel 4:3 and 6:26, but it is nevertheless clear that it is God’s eternal rule that is delegated to the humanlike figure in 7:14. No doubt this is why the OG translator thought λατρευω the appropriate rendering of פלח here. It is God’s sovereignty, exercised by the humanlike one, that the nations will serve. This is the limited sense in which OG-Daniel uses “divine” language about the “one like a son of man.”

 

There is a resemblance here to the passage in the Parables of Enoch in which “the kings and the mighty” do obeisance not only to God but also to the Messianic Figure. As in Daniel 7:14, this represents the subjection of the rebellious powers to the eschatological reign of God, and the Messianic Figure receives this obeisance as the one who carries out God’s judgment at that time. The difference between OG-Daniel and the Parables of Enoch, in this respect, is that the latter makes a clear terminological distinction between the cultic worship of God, given only to God, and the political obeisance that is offered to both God and the Messianic Figure. Th-Daniel also makes such a distinction (distinguishing λατρευω and δουλευω). In OG-Daniel, on the other hand, λατρευω is used for both the cultic worship of God and the political subjection of the nations to the “one like a son of man” when he receives the kingdom. But it is nevertheless true that in OG-Daniel 7:14 λατρευω refers at least primarily to political subjection. (Richard Bauckham, Son of Man [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2023], 1:161-64)

 

Here are the scans of table 3 (referenced above) found on pp. 171-72: