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  "description": "\n\n\n\nIn this post I will be quoting from the article by Benjamin E. Reynolds, The 'One Like a Son of Man' According to the Old Greek of Daniel 7, 13-14, pp. 2-9 and 12-13. The phrase “Old Greek” (OG) stands for the earliest surviving Greek translation of the Old Testament, which scholars often use as a synonym for the original form of the Septuagint (LXX). All emphasis will be mine.\n\n\n\nWhat makes this version rather unique and interesting is that in Daniel 7:13-14, the one like the Son is Man is ",
  "path": "/the-son-of-man-comes-as-the-ancient-of-days/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-15T02:05:20.000Z",
  "site": "https://answeringislam.blog",
  "tags": [
    "The 'One Like a Son of Man' According to the Old Greek of",
    "**Jesus – The Faithful Witness in the Skies [Part 2]**",
    "**Daniel’s Dyadic Monotheism**",
    "**YHWH The Most Highs Revealed**",
    "**The Son of Man Rides the Clouds Pt. 2b**"
  ],
  "textContent": "In this post I will be quoting from the article by Benjamin E. Reynolds, The 'One Like a Son of Man' According to the Old Greek of Daniel 7, 13-14, pp. 2-9 and 12-13. The phrase “Old Greek” (OG) stands for the earliest surviving Greek translation of the Old Testament, which scholars often use as a synonym for the original form of the Septuagint (LXX). All emphasis will be mine.\n\nWhat makes this version rather unique and interesting is that in Daniel 7:13-14, the one like the Son is Man is described as coming _as_ /_like_ the Ancient of Days, thereby associating him with the elderly enthroned figure that Daniel previously saw in vv. 9-10.\n\n## I. The Similarities between the “one like a son of man” and the Ancient of Days\n\nFour similarities between the “one like a son of man” and the Ancient of Days can be noted in the OG. **First, the son of man figure arrives like the Ancient of Days**. Second, the “one like a son of man” appears on the clouds of heaven. Third, the Danielic son of man receives service that suggests cultic worship, and fourth, those standing before the Ancient of Days approach the “one like a son of man” and appear to stand before him.\n\n### 1. _The “one like a son of man’s” Arrival like the Ancient of Days_\n\n> The most commonly noted and most significant verse in the OG of Dan 7 is v. 13, particularly line c. The entire verse reads: “I saw in a vision of the night and behold on the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man. And **_like the Ancient of Days_** he arrived, and those standing there came to him.”\n\nPapyrus 967 reads8:\n\n> 13 a _etheoroun en oramati tes nuktos_\n>\n> b _kai idou epi ton nephelon tou ouranou ercheto**hos** hyios anthropou_,\n>\n> c _kai**hos** palaios hemero(n) paren_,\n>\n> d _kai oi parestekotes prosegagon auto_.\n>\n> 14 a _kai edothe auto exousia Basilike_ ,\n>\n> b _kai panta ta ethne tes ges kata gene kai pasa doxa**latreuousa** auto_\n>\n> c _kai he exousia autou exousia aionios, hetis ou me arthe_ ,\n>\n> d _kai he Basileia autou, hetis ou me phthare_\n\nCodex 88, supported by the Syro-Hexaplar, reads9:\n\n> 13 a _etheoroun en oramati tes nuktos_\n>\n> b _kai idou epi ton nephelon tou ouranou**hos** hyios anthropou ercheto_,\n>\n> c _kai**hos** palaios hemeron paren_,\n>\n> d _kai oi parestekotes paresan auto_.\n>\n> 14 a _kai edothe auto exousia_ ,\n>\n> b _kai panta ta ethne tes ges kata gene kai pasa doxa auto**latreuousa**_\n>\n> c _kai he exousia autou exousia aionios, hetis ou me arthe_ ,\n>\n> d _kai he Basileia autou, hetis ou me phthare_\n\nThe significance of v. 13c is that the “one like a son of man” did not come to the Ancient of Days (as in the MT עַד and Θ), but as or like the Ancient of Days. Scholars have debated how the OG translation came to read _hos_ while the MT has andΘ has _heos_ , and many suggestions have been made. Since we are focusing on the OG as a separate tradition and interpretation, we will not spend time in discussion of the reasons for the difference.10 Therefore, the question to be answered is: What does _hos palaios hemeron_ mean in the OG of Daniel 7,13?\n\nTwo possible meanings for _hos_ in 7,13c were suggested by F.F. Bruce. The word _hos_ can either have a temporal referent: “When the Ancient of Days came, then those standing there came to him,” or it means the same as the previous _hos_ in 7,13b: “he came as the Ancient of Days.”11 One of the major difficulties with the temporal meaning is that it would require a different meaning of _hos_ in the previous line. While this is not impossible, the chiastic (P967) and the synonymous structure (Codex 88) of the two lines indicate that both uses of _hos_ should be taken to mean “as” or “like.”12\n\nP967\n\n> 13 b2 _hos hyios anthropou_ ,\n>\n> 13 c _kai hos palaios hemero(n) paren_\n\nCodex 88\n\n> 13 b2 _hos hyios anthropou ercheto_ ,\n>\n> 13 c _kai hos palaios hemeron paren_ ,13…\n\nWith respect to OG Dan 7,13, this means that _hos hyios anthropou_ and _hos palaios hemeron_ are placed in synonymous parallelism. Both phrases are descriptions of the figure that Daniel sees in his vision of the night coming with the clouds of heaven. The figure who comes with the clouds like a son of man also arrives like the Ancient of Days.19\n\n**Thus, the OG witnesses refer to the “one like a son of man” as similar to the Ancient of Days, but this similarity does not mean that the “one like a son of man” is the same being as the Ancient of Days in 7,9-10**.20 But, as with the Aramaic text of Daniel, the OG also presents the “one like a son of man” and the Ancient of Days as two distinct figures. Evidence for this is seen in the giving of authority to the “one like a son of man”.21 Who else is capable of giving the son of man figure authority other than the Ancient of Days? Therefore, **although the “one like a son of man” is a portrayed as distinct from the figure of the Ancient of Days** in 7,9-10, **the OG closely aligns the Ancient of Days and the “one like a son of man” by describing the “one like a son of man” as _hos palaios hemeron_** in 7,13c…\n\n### 3. _The “one like a son of man” and Cultic Worship_\n\nThe third similarity to be noted is the word used for service in the OG, which communicates that the service the “one like a son of man” receives is of the nature of cultic worship. After the “one like a son of man” is given authority, v. 14 says that the nations of the earth will serve him. What is significant about v. 14 for the OG translation is the use of the word l _atreuo_. In the Greek OT, this word carries the connotation of service within the context of religious duties or cultic practice.26 This can be seen especially in Exodus and Deuteronomy.27 For example, in Exod 3,12, the sign given to Moses at the burning bush is that once the Lord has brought his people out of Egypt, they will worship (_latreusete_) him on that mountain. In Daniel, the word l _atreuo_ is connected with cultic worship and is used nine times.28 The first three (3,12, 14, 18) refer to the worship of the statue Nebuchadnezzar set up. The next five refer to the worship of God by Daniel or his friends, and the final use is in reference to the “one like a son of man” in 7,14.29 In the NT, service in worship is clearly the meaning of latreuo.30\n\nBy using the word _latreuo_ to refer to the service given to the “one like a son of man”, the OG may be indicating that the “one like a son of man” **will receive worship that is similar to the cultic worship given to God elsewhere in Daniel**. The implication of Dan 7,13-14 in the OG is that **this figure that looks like a human is something more than human**.\n\n### 4. _The “one like a son of man” and “the Standing Ones”_\n\nFourth, those standing before the Ancient of Days in vv. 9-10 approach the “one like a son of man” and appear to stand before him creating a further similarity with the Ancient of Days. Papyrus 967 reads: _kai oi parestekotes prosegagon auto_ , while Codex 88 has _kai oi parestekotes paresan auto_. The _oi parestekotes_ (“the ones standing” or “the bystanders”) refer to the heavenly multitude of v. 10 that stands before the Ancient of Days. This is highlighted by the use of the verb31 _paristemi_ in vv. 10 and 13.\n\n> Reference to the standing ones in v. 13d by both Papyrus 967 and Codex 88 indicates that these standing ones approached (_prosegagon_) or came (_paresan_) to him (_auto_), i.e. they approached the one like a son of man.32 **In the OG, the approach of the _oi parestekotes_ to the “one like a son of man” infers another similarity between the “one like a son of man” and the Ancient of Days**.33 In v. 10, the Ancient of Days is surrounded by the great multitude standing before the throne. **When the “one like a son of man” arrives, the great multitude approaches this figure**. Their approach to the “one like a son of man” shows similarity with their position before the Ancient of Days, **and it suggests that the son of man figure has a status similar to that held by the Ancient of Days in relation to the standing ones**. This portrayal implies both the “one like son of man’s” exalted state before the _oi parestekotes_ and therefore his similarity to the Ancient of Days, but the OG does so without going so far as to claim identity with the Ancient of Days.\n>\n> Thus, the OG of Dan 7,13-14 depicts the “one like a son of man” as similar to the Ancient of Days in four ways. (1) The son of man figure arrives like the Ancient of Days. (2) He appears on the clouds of heaven, (3) receives service that suggests cultic worship given to God, and (4) is approached by those who stood before the Ancient of Days…\n\n## III. Conclusion\n\nExamining the portrait of the “one like a son of man” in the OG has indicated some unique characteristics of the son of man figure. **This figure is more closely aligned with the Ancient of Days. He is described as having arrived like the Ancient of Days, appearing with the clouds, receiving service due a divine figure, and having those standing before the Ancient of Days approach him**. While the “one like a son of man” is similar to the Ancient of Days, **there is no indication of equivalency or identification**. In fact the giving of authority to the “one like a son of man” **implies that the son of man figure’s status is different from that of the Ancient of Days**.\n\nThe OG portrait of the son of man figure also suggests that the “one like a son of man” has a messianic nature. This is most clearly seen in the kingly authority that the figure receives. Other indications include his kingdom that will not pass away and his distinction from the holy ones of the Most High.\n\nIt is possible, then, that the interpretation of the “one like a son of man” in the OG may have provided a basis for the more openly messianic and heavenly interpretations of this figure that are found in later Jewish apocalyptic literature such as the Similitudes of Enoch and _4 Ezra_.\n\n## Further Reading\n\n**Jesus – The Faithful Witness in the Skies [Part 2]**\n\n**Daniel’s Dyadic Monotheism**\n\n**YHWH The Most Highs Revealed**\n\n**The Son of Man Rides the Clouds Pt. 2b**",
  "title": "The Son of Man Comes as the Ancient of Days",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-15T02:05:21.082Z"
}