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The Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince describes gods with mixed animal and human forms, including a lion that stands upright. Daniel draws on these ancient Near Eastern traditions of hybrid creatures for the four beasts that rise from the sea.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince
SAA 3 32
Ancient Near East
The Evil Genie had a human head and hands, was crowned with a tiara and had the feet of an eagle. With his left foot he was trampling on a crocodile. Alluhappu had a lion's head, his four hands and feet were (like) those of human beings. The Upholder of Evil had the head of a bird, his wings were spread out and he flew here and there; (his) hands and feet were human. Humut-tabal, the ferryman of the underworld, had an Anzû head, his four hands and feet [...]. The Ghost had an ox's head, his four hands and feet were (like) those of human beings. The Evil Spirit had a lion's head, (his) hands and feet were those of Anzû. Šulak was a lion, standing constantly on his hind legs. The Oath had a goat's head, (his) hands and feet were human. Nedu, the porter of the underworld, had a lion's head, and human hands, his feet were those of a bird. Total Evil had two heads, one was the head of a lion, the second was the head of [...].
Date: c. 650 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Daniel 7:4
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.
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Notes and References
“... Daniel describes four beasts. Whether the fifteen gods of the Vision are really analogous is questionable. The point of comparison is that both are hybrid in form, and some of the same constituent parts occur in both but not in the same combination. What this suggests is that the conception of the beasts in Daniel is influenced in a general way by the hybrid forms that are typical not only of this text but of Mesopotamian mythology and art in general. ...”
* 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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