Thank you also, and the pleasure is all mine! Indeed, Dan 7-12 seems to be a main supplier for the whole conceptual framework of NT christology etc., and I also find the concepts and ideas from Daniel in many places. I think one might also mention 1 Cor 6:2-3, 15:35ff (resurrection as shiny stars) and Rev 12. I think it’s clear that an important background for the Christian idea of this ‘son of God’ messiah king figure as a divine ruler in the heavenly sphere was the developing angelology, which is also witnessed clearly in Daniel, where the archangels are leaders and even ‘princes’ or ‘rulers’ (e.g. Dan 10,13), and they function like heavenly leaders for the earthly people, with Michael as the leader of Israel.
See also this article by John J. Collins (JBL, 1974), where he argues that the 'son of man’ figure in Dan 7 is a symbol for the angelic host of God and its leader, Michael, but also the faithful Israel insofar they were associated with the heavenly host, which seems to be the case. Collins lists several examples, he finds of heavenly savior figures of which the ‘son of man’ figure in Dan 7 according to him is a variant:
1. 1QM 17:6-8:
- "He will send eternal support to the company of His redeemed by the power of the majestic angel of the authority of Michael. By eternal light, He shall joyfully light up the covenant of Israel; peace and blessing for the lot of God, to exalt the authority of Michael among the gods and the dominion of Israel among all flesh."
3. Rev 12, where Daniel also battles the evil heavenly force (in this case Satan), but it is not Michael that receives the kingdom but instead Christ. In the Shepard of Hermes Christ is identified with Michael.
"The Son of Man and the Saints of the Most High in the Book of Daniel"
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3263865
In Philo and Christianity and elsewhere we certainly find the idea that God is sharing his divine-ship with another entity in some way, but Boyarin’s specific claims that “the doubleness of Israel’s God" was a "very ancient religious view” is nonsense, if you ask me. At least when we look carefully at certain key ‘arguments’ of his.
But what I was wondering about, though, was all the (non-existent) citations from Daniel in the NT to match the massive import of ideas from this work. Where on earth are all the citations in the NT that we could expect from this most important book of Scripture?
Regarding the "coming on the clouds" and the way Jesus got to heaven, have you noticed the ascension scene in the beginning of Acts:John2 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 19, 2017 8:32 am Regarding 1 Peter (and other Christians writings) and the "right hand of God" imagery, while I don't doubt that is based on Ps. 110:1 ("The Lord says to my lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' "), 1 Peter ties it to "angels, authorities and powers," and Jesus himself appears to have a quibble about Ps. 110:1 in Mk. 12:35-37:
As Acts 2:29-36 puts it:"Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.' David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
It's the "angels, authorities and powers" and "heaven" and "resurrection" parts that makes me think the "sit at my right hand" imagery could (also) be tied in with the "son of man" in Dan. 7:9-13 and that the way Jesus got to heaven is by being resurrected. The resurrection, of course, is mentioned in Dan. 12:1-3 and is associated with the coming of the archangel Michael, and Jewish Christians believed that the "Christ" aspect of Jesus was an archangel.Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' " Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.
Dan. 7:9-13:
As I looked, thrones were set in place ... In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
(Acts 1:9-11)
For an unforgettable visual representation of this see here!
I also have a related hypothesis that partly involves all these things that I'll try and write a post about tomorrow.