Commentary: Daniel 7:9-14

The persecution of faithful Jews is essential background for proper interpretation. The last half of Daniel (chaps. 7-12) consists of a series of visions of the end times. The first vision (7:1-27), of which our text is a part, is the only one written in Aramaic (as is 2:4-6:29; the other visions may have been translated from Aramaic into Hebrew). This vision is concerned with four succeeding world kingdoms, imaged as four beasts bent on destruction: Babylonian, Median, Persian and Greek (the little horn of v. 8 is the Seleucid king Antiochus). Standing in opposition to these kingdoms is the messianic kingdom of the people of God, imaged as a human being, with which our text is fundamentally concerned.

The unity of this chapter has been debated, and vv. 11-12 (which are prose and appear to preempt what is described in vv. 23-27) have been considered an interpolation; they may, however, be a preliminary description of the judgment which is later conveyed in verbal, prophetic form. These verses naturally follow upon the heavenly throne scene of vv. 9-10. Verses 15-22 introduce a heavenly interpreter, who interprets the judgment scene in prose; vv. 23-27 focus on an interpretation of the fourth beast and the judgment scene in poetic form.

This throne scene in vv. 9-10 is presided over by the "Ancient of Days," an epithet for God. The images used to depict this God include snow bright clothing (for purity), white hair (for the wisdom that comes with age), flames of fire surging from a wheeled throne (for holiness; see Ezekiel 1:10), with an entourage of thousands of ministering angels (see 1 Kgs 22:19). God is imaged as a judge, before whom the record books of life are opened (see Mal 3:16), and the nations will be called to account with respect to truth and justice. The fourth beast (Greek kingdoms) is most severely judged (see vv. 23-27); it is slain and consumed by the fire. The other three beasts (kingdoms) are stripped of their power, but spared for a time, and eventually, representing all the nations of the earth, bow before Israel and its God (see v. 27).

Verses 13-14 focus on the much debated "one like a son of man," a phrase unexplained in the chapter. After the judgment on the four kingdoms imaged as beasts, this one appears before the enthroned God in human form. He receives honor from God and is chosen to represent the rule of God over every nation on earth (though note that no savior role is given to him). Sovereignty passes from the four tyrannical beasts to him, as God gives him a dominion that shall never be destroyed. The roles are reversed from what has recently been the case, and the rule of the people of God will now be eternal (see 1 Cor 6:2; Rev 20:4).

As for the identification of the human figure, it is important to note that it is one "like" a son of man. The phrase "son of man" is used most commonly in the Old Testament to refer to the prophet Ezekiel as a human being, stressing his humanity (2:1-3; also Daniel himself in Dan 8:17). The one other reference in Daniel to one "like" a son of man refers to an angel (10:16). In v. 27, it is the people of God who are given the same dominion and kingship that are given to the one like a son of man in v. 14. Hence, it seems right to identify the one like a son of man in corporate terms as the faithful people of God, just as the beasts are understood in such terms, rather than an individual. The people of God are personified in this figure.

While some features of vv. 13-14 seem not to fit such an identification, this probably has to do with the way in which the images function. Hence, coming "with clouds of heaven"--the one like a son of man seems to go to God rather than come from God--is as figurative as the language about the beasts coming from the sea; both are represented in superhuman terms (7:2-3) . That it is not unusual for other peoples to serve Israel is shown by v. 27 (see Is 61:5-9). Verse 14 is not an advance to divine status or a burst of nationalism, but a recognition that God will exercise dominion through this people in ways that truly reflect God's own rule. While this is not a messianic promise in any usual sense, one could link this text with Jesus' own self-identification as the Son of Man in the sense of being the true Israel.

The image of king for God and Jesus Christ will not strike many positive personal chords in this democratic country; Roman emperors and British royalty may come first to many minds, without much positive content, while the standing of the American President has become increasingly less royal. What it means to rule over another, especially when all forms of authority are brought under the microscope and called into question, is no simple matter. How God can be said to rule, when we are all so unruly, is not easy. Perhaps the metaphors in this Daniel text can be recast into more contemporary images, but the modern preacher has no little work in store in seeking to make them meaningful. To enable such a task in the most beneficial way: begin with the king, Jesus, who hangs on a cross under a crown of thorns, and thereby breaks open all traditional royal images.

Terence E. Fretheim