Daniel 7 Footnotes

7:3 Commentators generally interpret these “four huge beasts” in the same manner as the four parts of the statue described in chap. 2—the head of gold and the first beast symbolize the Babylonian Empire, and so on (see note on 2:31-43).

7:6 In Scripture, “heads” may represent rulers or governments (2:38; Is 7:8-9; Rv 13:1,3). Daniel predicted that this one kingdom (the “leopard”) would ultimately evolve into four (“four heads”). Alexander the Great, ruler of Macedonia, spread Greek rule throughout the eastern Mediterranean region and as far eastward as Persia (modern Iran). After he died in 323 BC, his generals—after extended internal struggle—carved his empire into four parts (see Dn 8:8 with 8:21-22). No fourfold division of the Persian kingdom existed at any time throughout its history, compelling evidence against the proposal that the third beast symbolizes Persia.

7:13-14 “One like a son of man” has been interpreted in three primary ways—as an angel (Michael), a personification of the people of God (Israel), and the Messiah. The NT apostles (Jn 12:34) and Christ himself (Mk 14:61-62) confirm the latter view, specifically that the “son of man” is Jesus of Nazareth. Early postbiblical Jewish literature (1Enoch 46:1; 48:10; 4Ezra 13) also reflects the messianic view. That the “son of man” of v. 13 was considered a divine personage is affirmed by the high priest’s charge of blasphemy (Mk 14:64) when Jesus identified himself as the One “coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mk 14:62). Jesus’s use of this title for himself is one of the strongest evidences that he claimed to be the Messiah. “Son of man” is especially common in eschatological passages (Mt 16:27-28; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31), and the phrase “a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven” is an allusion to the second advent of Christ, as Mt 24:30 makes clear.