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Daniel 7's humanlike figure arrives with the clouds associated with Baal in the Baal Cycle, giving a ruler who looks human a sign of divine authority over all nations.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.2 IV:8
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
From his mouth his speech barely went forth, from his lips his word, and he gave forth his voice in groaning beneath the throne of Prince Yamm. And Kothar-wa-Hasis spoke: Indeed I say to you, O Prince Baal, I repeat, O Charioteer of the Clouds, now your foe, Baal, now your foe you must smite; now you must destroy your adversary. Take your everlasting kingdom, your eternal dominion. Kothar fashioned two maces, and he pronounced their names: You, your name is “Expeller”. Expeller, expel Yamm, expel Yamm from his throne, Nahar from the siege of his dominion! You must leap from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers. Strike the shoulders of Prince Yamm, the chest of Ruler Nahar! The mace leapt from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers.
Daniel 7:13
Hebrew Bible
11 “Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into the flaming fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their ruling authority had already been removed, though they were permitted to go on living for a time and a season. 13 “I was watching in the night visions, And with the clouds of the sky, one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. 14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed. 15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed, and the visions of my mind were alarming me.
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Notes and References
“... The notion of Yahweh using the clouds as a chariot or riding on the clouds/
heavens occurs in Isa 19:1; Ps 68:34; Deut 33:26; and probably Ps 68:5. The “one
like a son of man” in Dan 7 is also said to arrive “with the clouds of heaven.”
This is comparable to the Ugaritic notion of Baʿlu as the “rider on the clouds”
(KTU 1.2 IV 8, 29; 1.4 III 11, 18, V 60; 1.5 II 7), the Babylonian notion of Adad
as the “cloud-rider” (Enki and the World Order, l.313; CT xv 15–16: “Hymn to
Iškur”), and the description of Marduk riding on a storm-chariot (EE II 151, IV
50). The characteristic of riding on the clouds/storms/heavens was a widespread
and seemingly fitting description for ancient West Asian storm deities (Alberto
Green, The Storm-God in the Ancient Near East [Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns,
2003], 195; M. S. Smith, Early History of God, 80–82; Moshe Weinfeld, “ ‘Rider of
the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds,’ ” JANES 5 [1973]: 421–426). For depic
tion of a storm god’s chariot, see Antoine Vanel, L’iconographie du dieu de l’orage
dans le Proche-Orient ancien (Paris: J. Gabalda, 1965), 23, fig. 5.
31. ...”
Ballentine, Debra Scoggins
The Conflict Myth and the Biblical Tradition
(p. 222) Oxford University Press, 2015
* 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.
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