211 THE “LITTLE HORN” OF DAN 7,8: MALEVOLENT OR BENIGN? merely a synonym for wr) and that there is no particular signifi- cance in its use 11. However, it is much more likely that wl) was employed deliberately and introduced by the same person who composed the vision 12. wl) appears also in Dan 2,31; 4,7 [10]. 10[13]. In 2,31 it draws attention to the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream whose component parts are shattered by a stone that has been cut out without hands. In Dan 4,7[10].10[13] wl) heralds first a great tree and then the appearance of “a watcher and holy one” who pronounces judgment and orders the cutting down of the tree. In both chapters, then, a common theme appears in association with wl). It heralds new and extraordinary events where an instrument of God appears prior to judgment being carried out upon earthly powers. If the same pattern applies to the vision in Daniel 7, the in- ference is that the little horn is not a wicked character, rather God’s instrument, for the judgment scene and the destruction of the fourth beast occur after the appearance of the “little horn” to whom atten- tion is drawn, not once, but twice through the use of wl). 2. Expressions reflecting earlier Danielic and other biblical passages The phrases, “eyes like the eyes of a man” and “a mouth speaking great things”, have been linked by scholars who believe the little horn is evil to biblical passages that mention the eyes and mouth (or a eu- phemism for them) in association with arrogance or wickedness 13. There are many such passages, but Danielic scholars in general appear to overlook passages that mention the “eyes” or “mouth” of the right- eous. More importantly, it does not seem to have been noted that the way in which the “little horn” is described in Dan 7,8 reuses the vo- cabulary associated with Nebuchadnezzar’s recognition of God in Daniel 4. The similarities between individual words or phrases which H.H. ROWLEY, “The Unity of the Book of Daniel”, The Servant of the 11 Lord and Other Essays on the Old Testament (London 1952) 258, points out that Jer 10,11 and the Elephantine Papyri have examples of wl) and wr) used side by side. LUCAS, Daniel, 164 says that wl), plus a stronger verb used of Daniel’s 12 contemplation, indicate that verse 8 is the climax of the vision of the beasts. E.g. GOLDINGAY, Daniel, 164 refers to Isa 10,12-13. J.A. MONTGOMERY, 13 A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel (ICC; Edinburgh 1927) 291, followed by COLLINS, Daniel, 299, cites Isa 2,11; 5,15; Ps 101,5. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati