Daniel’s Dyadic Monotheism
The prophet Daniel saw a vision where he beheld two distinct divine Persons reigning forever over the entire world, where all nations and peoples in all languages worshiped them both:
“As I looked, ‘thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened… 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. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped (yipelachun) him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed… Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High (elyonin). His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship (yipelachun) and obey him.’ Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, 27 New International Version (NIV)
The Aramaic word elyonin is plural and literally means “Most Highs/Highest Ones.” It is apparent from the context that the plural is an obvious reference to the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man, since they both reign over all creation together and forever.
The following expositor brings out the significance of Daniel’s imagery and its implication the complex nature of the one true God of Israel:
“The imagery of clouds in this scene is significant… But by far, its most frequent association is with theophanies–that is, appearances of God. Fifty-eight of the eighty-seven occurrences of anan appear in the context of God’s presence.63 The Pentateuch, especially, speaks of visible manifestations of YHWH’s glory in the cloud atop Sinai and over the tent of meeting (e.g., Exod 24:16; 40:34-35), and his presence in the pillar of cloud guides the people through the wilderness (e.g., Num 14:14; Deut 31:15). Later texts about the temple also refer to the cloud (1 Kgs 8:11; Ezek 10:4).
“But it is not just the presence of clouds in Dan 7 that is significant–we already know YHWH (the Ancient of Days) is present in the throne room (see above on 7:9-10). What is particularly significant about the clouds in Dan 7 is that someone is coming with them (7:13b). Those of us outside of Daniel’s context may well picture someone floating into the throne room on a billowy heap of clouds,64 but this is probably not what Daniel would have seen. In Daniel’s ancient Near Eastern context, he would have seen someone riding the clouds like a chariot. The Old Testament speaks of YHWH riding his cloud chariot through the heavens (Ps 104:3; cf. Ps 65:5[4] where the rider imagery is present without specifying the clouds), and the prophets speak of YHWH riding a cloud in judgment (Isa 19:1; cf. Jer 4:13; Nah 1:3). In the wider Canaanite world, the storm god Baal, was the Rider of the Clouds who controlled the weather and thus agricultural fertility. Armed with a bolt of lightning, he bestowed rain on faithful worshipers. In Ugarit, a fifteenth-century-BCE city-state on the Syrian coast north of Israel, Baal was the divine hero who had defeated Yamm in the sea god’s attempt to become god over the pantheon. Baal’s victory won him kingship among the gods, and he served as vice-regent under his father, the high god El, an aged wise figure who presided over the world and was attended by a divine council.
“Do not miss what is happening in Daniel’s vision. There is a fiery scene surrounding YHWH, seated on the throne, and there is a cloud with someone riding on it. In the Old Testament, YHWH is the one who rides the clouds. In this single vision, there are two YHWH figures: the Ancient of Days on the throne and the cloud-riding YHWH receiving the eternal right to rule. Daniel was seeing two powers in heaven–the one on the throne and a vice-regent, sharing YHWH’s essence and receiving everlasting dominion and power.
“Daniel’s vision of the throne room provides a stunning portrayal of the divine council in Israelite theology, as well as highlighting its most significant difference from other divine councils of the ancient Near East. In the Canaanite divine council, the Rider of the Clouds was El’s vice-regent and received eternal right to rule when he defeated Yamm. But Baal was a different god than El. In the Israelite divine council, however, the vice-regent position ‘was not filled by another god, but by Yahweh himself in another form. This “hypostasis” of Yahweh was the same essence as Yahweh but a distinct, second person.’65 Israel’s divine council was headed by YHWH (El/Elohim), but its vice-regent shared the essence of YHWH. This has profound implications for understanding monotheism according to the Old Testament. Israel’s divine council had a ‘second person’ sharing YHWH’s essence–exactly what was needed to understand Jesus’ claim to be one with the Father in the New Testament.66” (Wendy Widder, Daniel: A Discourse Analysis of the Hebrew Bible (23) (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament), Daniel L. Block (general editor) [Zondervan Academic, 2023], pp. 378-380; emphasis mine)
And:
“Perhaps the second reason ‘the Son of Man’ was Jesus’ favorite title is because it is in Daniel’s vision of ch. 7 that we find the clearest Old Testament picture of the divine council and in it, Jesus’ relationship to YHWH–probably the truth about him that his listeners had the hardest time grasping and accepting. In Daniel’s vision of the Israelite divine council, YHWH sat at the head of the council but shared his essence with a second power that was a distinct figure,142 to whom he gave everlasting dominion and power. This portrayal of the divine council shows that the Old Testament ‘monotheism’ had room for a ‘second person.’ Perhaps sending his listeners back to the vision of Dan 7 was Jesus’s repeated invitation for people to recognize him as that second person, to understand and believe that he was one with the Father (see the discussion above, pp. 378-380).143
“We know that at least Jesus’s educated audience understood what he was doing in claiming to be ‘the Son of Man.’ We know this because they charged him with blasphemy when he used the title at his trial. Jesus told the Sanhedrin, ‘In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’ (Matt 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69), a clear reference to Dan 7:13, and they all heard him claim to share the essence of the Father,144 the one who would ultimately exalt him and give him the everlasting kingdom. It was not a claim they could– or would–tolerate; they demanded his death.”
142. Any discussion of the nature of the Trinity ventures into a field of heretical landmines. Jesus will identify himself as the great “I Am,” which means he too is YHWH of the Old Testament; that is, “YHWH” is not simply God the Father, but all of the Godhead in singular reference. What we can say (without falling into heresy) is that there is an internal complexity within God that was not altogether apparent in the Old Testament. Jesus can be both distinguished from God and also identified as God…
144. The language of “essence” is loaded with later patristic theological value, but for our purposes, it means that the New Testament religious leaders understood Jesus to be claiming a specialized and exclusive relationship with God that put him on a par with him. Jesus was claiming an ontological share in the identity of Israel’s God. (Ibid., pp. 398-399; emphasis mine)
FURTHER READING
EARLY CHURCH & DANIEL’S MESSIANISM
Appearances of Christ in Daniel
Daniel’s Son of Man as the Messiah
The Son of Man Rides the Clouds Pt. 1a, Pt. 1b, Pt. 2a, Pt. 2b