78 Benjamin E. Reynolds like a son of man” has to do with kingship and for that reason hints at a possible messianic interpretation of this heavenly figure (40). When viewed in relation to the portrait of the Davidic Messiah in Pss. Sol. 17, this implication becomes more convincing. Pss. Sol. 17,21: “See, Lord, and raise up for them their king, the son of David, to rule over your servant Israel in the time which is known to you, o God.” Pss. Sol. 17,32: “And he will be a righteous king over them, taught by God. And in his days, unrighteousness will not be among them, for all will be holy, and their king will be the Lord Messiah.” 2. The Reception of an Eternal Kingdom Further evidence of the son of man figure’s messianic characteristics can be seen in his receiving of an eternal kingdom. In OG Dan 7,14 (also Aramaic Daniel and Q), the “kingly authority” which the “one like a son of man” receives is said to be eternal authority that will not pass away (kai; hJ ejxousiva aujtou' ejxousiva aijwvnio", h{ti" ouj mh; ajrqh'/). The next line states that the son of man figure’s kingdom will not be destroyed (kai; hJ basileiva aujtou', h{ti" ouj mh; fqarh'/). While the “one like a son of man” is not explicitly said to receive an eternal kingdom, the mention of authority and a kingdom that will not pass away are highly suggestive of an eternal messianic kingdom. In 2 Sam 7,12-13, God promised David that he would establish one of his offspring, and that the throne of this figure’s kingdom would last forever. 4QFlor 10-12 interprets this promise as referring to the kingdom of the Branch of David, or the Messiah: “And YHWH declares to you that he will build you a house. I will raise up your seed after you and establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me. This (refers to the) ‘branch of David’, who will arise with the Interpreter of the law who will rise up in Zion in the last days, as it is written: ‘I will raise up the hut of David which has fallen’” (41). Thus, the son of man’s receiving of an eternal kingdom, coupled with the kingly authority he receives, strongly implies that the OG portrays this figure with messianic undertones. 3. The “one like a son of man” and the Holy Ones of the Most High Thirdly, a distinction is made between the “one like a son of man” and the holy ones of the Most High which suggests that in the OG the “one like a son of man” is a representative ruler of the holy ones rather than merely a symbol for them. Those who argue that the “one like a son of man” is a symbol of the holy ones do so for a few of reasons. First, the primary reason is that the “one like a (40) See KIM, Son of Man, 25, who says that these phrases “could suggest an identification of the heavenly figure in v. 13 with the messiah.” (41) Translation from F. GARCÍA MARTÍNEZ, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated. The Qumran Texts in English (Leiden - Grand Rapids, MI 21996) 136.