212 ANNE E. GARDNER are applied to the “little horn” and Nebuchadnezzar restored will be considered below. Then other biblical passages that use the same word or phrase in a positive sense will be highlighted. It is demonstrated that some passages of this kind are linked with Daniel in more than one way. Consequently they are likely to have been drawn upon by the author of Dan 7,8 when he was composing his description of the “little horn”. All such passages feature someone who praises God and/or calls for his judgment or salvation. a) )#n) yny(k Nyny( “eyes like the eyes of a man” The “little horn” has “eyes like the eyes of a man” (Dan 7,8). In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar is punished by God for his arrogance with his heart being changed to that of a beast. He was destined to remain that way until, as he was told by Daniel, “you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men ()#n)) and gives it to whomever he wishes” (4,29{32}). In other words, Nebuchadnezzar was forced to recognise his limitations and his dependence upon God. Indeed, when his understanding returned to him he lifted up (his) eyes (yny() to heaven (4,31{34})! That Nebuchadnezzar’s “eyes” are the “eyes” of a “man” is implicit in Daniel 4 because Nebuchadnezzar has come to recognize that God rules in the kingdom of men ()#n)). It is accepted by most scholars 14 that there is a link between the story of the humanization of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4 and the pic- ture of the humiliated first beast. In Dan 7,4 #n) appears twice with reference to that beast, Babylon, who is stripped of its wings, “made to stand upon the feet as a man and a man’s heart was given to it”. The beast no longer has power, nor the means to go beyond its boundaries; it cannot “fly” nor does it have the swift movement of a beast. In other words, it has lost all its bestial qualities and been given those of an #n). As the eyes of the little horn in Dan 7,8 are like those of an #n), it indicates that they are eyes belonging to someone who acknowledges his dependence upon God and recognizes his lowly status vis-à-vis Him. Nebuchadnezzar’s transformation, then, in both Daniel 4 and 7, is indicative of the true intent of the statement that the little horn had “eyes like the eyes of a man”. Cf. e.g. MONTGOMERY, Daniel, 287; A. CAQUOT, “Les Quatre Bêtes et 14 le ‘Fils d’Homme’”, Sem 17 (1967) 44; COLLINS, Daniel, 297; GOLDINGAY, Daniel, 162; KRATZ, Translatio imperii, 43-48. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati