Texts in Conversation
Daniel 4 and Ezekiel 31 both depict towering trees whose tops reach into the heavens, symbolizing exalted rulers brought low for their pride. This imagery also distantly echoes ancient Near Eastern traditions of a cosmic world tree or axis mundi, which linked heaven and earth and represented the very center of creation.
Share:
Ezekiel 31:10
Hebrew Bible
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not eclipse it, nor could the fir trees match its boughs; the plane trees were as nothing compared to its branches; no tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty. 9 I made it beautiful with its many branches; all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied it. 10 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height, 11 I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly, as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Daniel 4:11
Hebrew Bible
10 Here are the visions of my mind while I was on my bed. “While I was watching, there was a tree in the middle of the land. It was enormously tall. 11 The tree grew large and strong. Its top reached far into the sky; it could be seen from the borders of all the land. 12 Its foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful; on it there was food enough for all. Under it the wild animals used to seek shade, and in its branches the birds of the sky used to nest. All creatures used to feed themselves from it.
Date: 2nd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... The cedar of Ezekiel 31:10 set its top 'among the clouds.' The Old Greek of Daniel 4:8 combines the imagery of Ezekiel and the Masoretic text of Daniel here; 'Its top came dose to heaven and its trunk to the clouds.' The human attempt to scale heaven is a recurring biblical metaphor for hubris, beginning with the tower of Babylon in Genesis 11. The taunt of the Day Star, Helal ben Shachar, is applied to the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14. The motif of inordinate exaltation figures prominently in the second half of Daniel (8:10-11; 11:36) ..."
* 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.