Texts in Conversation
Daniel describes an apocalyptic vision of beasts rising from the sea, each symbolizing a kingdom. Revelation takes the same animal features and merges them into one, combining the lion, bear, and leopard into a figure in its own apocalyptic vision.
Share:
Daniel 7:5
Hebrew Bible
3 Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another. 4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off, and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind was given to it. 5 “Then a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’ 6 “After these things, as I was watching, another beast like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. This beast had four heads, and ruling authority was given to it. 7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions a fourth beast appeared—one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. It had two large rows of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had 10 horns.
Date: 2nd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Revelation 13:2
New Testament
1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadem crowns, and on its heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority to rule. 3 One of the beast’s heads appeared to have been killed, but the lethal wound had been healed. And the whole world followed the beast in amazement; 4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?”
Date: 92-96 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... The Sea-Beast in Revelation 13:1–10 is personified as a terrifying beast who usurps God’s praise and his glory from humanity in general and persecutes God’s people in particular. In this section, by way of literary analysis, I will examine how for John, the Sea-Beast represents a tyrannical empire. I will show that John the Seer mainly uses Daniel 7 and adapts it to portray the Beast as the most tyrannical empire with a deceitful character. The first step is attempting to consider how John alludes to the animal-like features of Daniel 7 to describe the Sea-Beast in Revelation 13:2. Most scholars recognize that the depiction of the Sea-Beast in 13:1–10 primarily alludes to the vision of the four successive kingdoms in Daniel 7 ..."
Tipvarakankoon, Wiriya
The Theme of Deception in the Book of Revelation: Bringing Early Christian and Contemporary Thai Cultures into Dialogue
(pp. 106-107) Claremont Press, 2017
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.