Benjamin E. Reynolds, «The 'One Like a Son of Man' According to the Old Greek of Daniel 7,13-14», Vol. 89 (2008) 70-80
While studies of the Old Greek (OG) of Daniel 7,13-14 are not uncommon, they are often undertaken as part of a broader examination of the 'one like a son of man'. Rarely, if ever, do these studies focus on the description of this figure in the
OG version and what readers of this version might have understood of this character. This study is an examination of the interpretation of OG Daniel 7,13-14, and the argument is made that the OG portrays the 'one like a son of man' as similar to the Ancient of Days and as a messianic figure.
The “One Like a Son of Man†73
Codex 88:
13 b2 wJ" uiJo;" ajnqrwvpou h[rceto,
13 c kai; wJ" palaio;" hJmerw'n parh'n, (13)
Recently, Otfried Hofius has argued that the “one like a son of man†does
not come as the Ancient of Days but that the Ancient of Days is the subject of
v. 13c. He states: “Wie in V. 13b der Ausdruck wJ" uiJo;" ajnqrwvpou das Subjekt
zu h[rceto ist, so in V. 13c der Ausdruck wJ" palaio;" hJmerw'n das Subjekt zu
parh'n†(14). Hofius has correctly recognized the similar structure between
7,13b and 7,13c, but his interpretation implies the existence of two figures in
7,13 rather than the view taken by most scholars which only sees one figure.
Hofius understands this second figure in 7,13c to be the Ancient of Days who
is mentioned in 7,9-10 (15).
Hofius’ view faces difficulties at four points. First, the verb pavreimi
(parh'n) in 7,13c cannot merely be translated ‘to be present’ as Hofius
does (16). The verb more often carries the meaning ‘to have come’ or ‘to be
present’ with a sense of arrival (17). Secondly, a difference exists between the
absolute use of palaio;" hJmerw'n in 7,9-10 and its descriptive use in the phrase
w" palaio;" hJmerw'n in 7,13. The reference to the Ancient of Days in 7,13 is not
J
to the Ancient of Days himself, but rather wJ" palaio;" hJmerw'n is used as a
description of the “one like a son of man†(18). Thirdly, unlike Q and Aramaic
Daniel, the pronoun in OG Dan 7,13d (aujtw'/) refers back to the son of man
figure and not to the Ancient of Days (19).
The fourth difficulty with Hofius’ position highlights the similarity
between the “one like a son of man†and the Ancient of Days. The
grammatical structure of the phrase wJ"…kai; wJ"… (20), which is found here in
OG Dan 7,13, typically indicates a parallelism. A subject or a verbal action is
described as like one thing and like another. Even if different verbs are used in
each of the wJ" clauses, as we find in OG Dan 7,13, a parallelism still exists.
The subject of each clause is assumed to be the same unless it is clearly stated
otherwise and the nouns in the wJ" clauses do not function as the subjects of
clauses (21).
wJ" machtai; dramou'ntai kai; wJ" a[ndre" polemistai;
Joel 2,7 –
ajnabhvsontai ejpi; ta; teivch
Isa 38,14 – wJ" celidw;n ou{tw" fwnhvsw kai wJ" peristera; ou{tw"
melethvsw
(13) The underlining notes the change of position in the verbs creating a chiastic
structure in P967 and a synonymous structure in Codex 88.
(14) O. HOFIUS, “Der Septuaginta-Text von Daniel 7,13-14â€, ZAW 117 (2005) 84-85.
(15) HOFIUS, “Septuaginta-Textâ€, 86.
(16) HOFIUS, “Septuaginta-Textâ€, 86, esp. n. 67.
(17) See for example Num 22,20; JudgA 19,3; 2 Sam 5,23; 13,35; 15,18; Ezra 6,3; Esth
9,1; Job 1,7; 2,2; Prov 1,27; Isa 58,9; 1 Macc 12,65.
(18) See KIM, Son of Man, 23-24.
(19) KIM, Son of Man, 23. Cf. HOFIUS, “Septuaginta-Textâ€, 87.
(20) By ‘wJ"…kai; wJ"…’, I am referring to passages in which wJ" is used more than once
in close succession and separated by a kaiv.
(21) I could find no instance in the OT, Apocrypha, or the NT of a wJ"…kai; wJ"…
construction in which wJ" and the noun following it served as the subject of the phrase.
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