Daniel Disclosure
And they blessed, glorified, and extolled (the Lord) on account of the fact that the name of that (Son of) Man was revealed to them. 1 Enoch 69:27b (E. Isaac translation)[1]
Son of – Most of us have no idea that the Book of Enoch even exists. We are completely ignorant of the thousands of pages of Apocalyptic literature written during the time of the apostolic, canonized text of the New Testament because the Church determined that this material was not of sacred origin. That usually meant it was not written by one of the apostles or by Paul. Amazingly, many early assemblies used this material as part of their accepted texts, but most of it has now fallen away, with the notable exception of sensationalist publications such as The Gospel of Thomas. Nevertheless, books like Enoch sometimes give us insights into the general thinking of the time. Of course, there are difficulties.
Here is another translation of the same (supposedly) passage (with verses 28 and 29). Notice how strikingly different it is.
27 And he sat on the throne of his glory, And the sum of judgement [sic] was given unto the Son of Man, And he caused the sinners to pass away and be destroyed from off the face of the earth, And those who have led the world astray.
28 With chains shall they be bound, And in their assemblage-place of destruction shall they be imprisoned, And all their works vanish from the face of the earth.
29 And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible; For that Son of Man has appeared, And has seated himself on the throne of his glory, And all evil shall pass away before his face, And the word of that Son of Man shall go forth
And be strong before the Lord of Spirits.[2] The Book of Enoch, 69:27-29
Verses 28 and 29 are almost the same in the translation by Isaac, but verse 27 is considerably different. Perhaps that’s because there are three important extant documents of Enoch and they vary. The ultimate translation depends on which document the translator considers the original. Isaac chose the 15th Century manuscript from Kebran. But there is no question that Enoch influenced the early church fathers and was known by first century followers. Therefore, what it says can help us see what the populace might have considered important in the first century. Fragments of Enoch have been found in the Dead Sea scrolls.
Enough background. Now look at the text of verse 27. Do you notice that the translator has added “Son of” to his translation? A footnote says, “[the chosen Aramaic text] reads ‘the name of that man.’” You would also notice that the audience glorifies the Lord, not the man. The text goes on to say that the man whose name is now revealed “will never pass away or perish from before the face of the earth,” is called the “son of man” (verse 29), has appeared and seated himself on the throne of his glory (verse 29) and will deal with evil on the earth (verse 29). These are expectations found in New Testament literature. But here they are contained in a work that has to have been written before the apostolic authors recorded our New Testament. Clearly, the work of Daniel had effects before John and the others.
This forces us to consider the title “Son of Man” from the perspective of the Tanakh. Unless we understand what the larger community thought about this title from Daniel, we probably cannot appreciate how it is used in the New Testament, either by Yeshua or by the apostles. The bottom line is this: Daniel is critical for our understanding of the Jewish idea of the Messiah. There is little point in appealing to John or Peter or Paul if we first don’t understand Daniel.
And the tragedy is that most Christians have no idea what Daniel is really all about. Maybe we should fix that. What do you think?
Topical Index: 1 Enoch 69:27, Son of Man, Messiah, Daniel
[1]E. Isaac, “1 (Ethipoic Apocalypse of ) ENOCH” in James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, p. 49.
Skip, what you you think about Michael Heiser’s writings on the Son of Man, Memra and Word?
Yes. We should “fix that.” We should pray as Daniel prayed.. in the morning- noon and night. Daniel prayed habitually, “round-the-clock” in (both) good times and bad. May we also ~ “pray without ceasing!”
What is so wonderful, so amazing!- the very same God Daniel once knew (in a saving sort of way!) is the very same God who now is.
Yeshua, the son of man, did “teach us to pray,” and what is known today as “the LORD’s prayer” (or the model prayer) is nothing new! “Deliver us from evil” is a very ancient petition. We now have been (both) invited and instructed to pray in the Name of One whose very name is “YHWH is salvation/deliverance!”
I have been surprised by Paul’s “disturbance” “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”- When Paul knew (in a very intimate and powerful way) His Name is “Deliverer!” But that’s okay.. -it takes us “hard-headed/hard-hearted” stubborn, dead, deaf and blind creatures awhile to catch on.
How often do we have to be reminded? lol! -( and amen!) His Name is Immanuel !! – Which being interpreted is? (waiting for an answer!)
Carl, a lot of people, including theologians, are “disturbed” by Paul’s continuing struggle with sin – so much so that they say his statements in Romans 7 about that struggle must’ve had to do with the past, not his present. But there is a progression in Paul’s writings which shows that Paul went from viewing himself as equal to the other apostles (Galatians), to being the least of the apostles, to being the chief of sinners. I don’t think that we believers are either honest enough about sin in our lives or we simply are still too unaware of how pervasive it is and how much of a hold it still has on us.
Thank you Bruce for you comments.. may we perhaps dialog, and invite “whosoever will” to join us?
More Gooder
Paul’s “continuing struggle with sin,” was finally settled. -Or was it? Paul himself had problems or issues.. after all, he was himself, (just as we are) “human.”
What do we know of ourselves unless the Spirit of Truth opens our hearts and minds and reveals these things to us? We truly cannot “save” ourselves! We need (amen) outside intervention.. “Help from Above!” God has promised to each of us this help, this aid, this comfort, this (yes) empowerment and authority.
Spiritual authority (in a nutshell) is this – To be “over” we first must be “under!” By whose authority? Not mine, Mr. Nope. Not at all!. I pray in the Name of One who does have the authority, One in whose Name- all oppression shall cease.
Ahh.. prayer! Have we ever found a “key” that unlocks the door to the kingdom of God!
When I was a young Christian, some years ago.. I was quite the Bible student. I love to study and to memorize God’s word. But allow me to confess.. – my prayer life was “anemic” at best! But today? I just don’t know how to say this (properly?) – I really do love to pray! Prayer changes/transforms the pray-er, (the one who prays!) Prayer has a reflexive quality to it. Hope and change? Try prayer! – Too much to say about it- and far better to do it rather that talk about doing it! What shall we say to these things? “Try it,- you’ll like it!”
Now what does prayer have to do with sin? Forgive me, but lol! How can I possibly write this down and be concise about it- when there is so much to say?
Without being specific, let us guard about sinning retail and confessing wholesale – (forgive all my sins – or bless all the people everywhere!), allow the Breath of God to press His finger on the “sore spot!”- and to say- “Friend, – this is where you erred..”
We (all-self included) need to develop sensitivity! Not only sensitivity to sin, but also “Spirit- sensitivity!” If we sin, (more accurately would be) – when we sin we have an Advocate, a Mediator with the Father, – Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Shall we, (need we) define “sin?” What is sin? or who is a sinner? For that matter.. – what is a “saint?” Am I a saint? And then, there is the matter of sonship and stewardship! Am I a child of God? One of His own? Or stewardship.. – what am I doing (today) with what God has given me? God gives us gifts- but how are we using the gifts God gives unto us? To further His kingdom? – or our own?
Our answer as to the “mastery or authority of sin” is easily found in the scriptures. Our Bible, the word of God says simply: “Sin shall no longer have dominion/authority over you!” (Romans 6.14) Okay then, – we must ask, – how is this possible? How can this be so? It is because no man can have two masters! We (who are His) have “traded” one master (sin) for Another (the Savior!). And? We (i’m talkin’ to u) have a choice as to which one to serve! Yes, it is a rather ancient truth, but truth never changes! ~ Choose you this day “who” you will serve! Do you belong to Him? Are you one of His own?
One of the keys to defeating (perhaps a “besetting” sin) is this. It is as simple as “refusing and choosing.” Say “NO” but (please) don’t stop here. Don’t say no- say YES!! Don’t just refuse- CHOOSE something (or SomeOne!) better! More gooder! (My English professor would be proud!)
I’ve recently read Daniel Boyarin’s ,The Jewish Gospels-The Story of the Jewish Christ, and in it he goes in to Skip-Moenesque detail defining the phrases Son of God and Son of Man using the foundation in Daniel and considering Enoch. I’ll be interested to follow Skip’s discussion to deepen my understanding of these phrases.
I think you are right. We should correct that and look forward to what you will bring to light for us on Daniel. Thank you!
I have been involved with a group studying Daniel for the last 6 weeks. I am excited and looking forward to your view on Daniel’s use of Son of Man.
Daniel Boyarin is interesting in that he appears to be creating a bridge between today’s Judaism and today’s Christianity, and that link is ancient Judaism and the early Nazarene sect. One problem that many complain of is that scholarship rarely makes it down to the masses, and if it does, it is often simplified beyond recognition.
I wish I could go back in time and truly understand the mindset of the people during the first century and prior. It seems the closest approximation is studying the writings of those times, however, we are still influenced by our Western education and upbringing.
I can’t agree with Boyarin’s take that a good Jew is a passive Jew with his head in his holy books. Our ancestors were both holy men and warriors and there is no contradiction. I would take issue with his comparison that Christianity died at Auschwitz with the idea that Judaism died with Israeli soldiers behaving badly. Moshe also overreacted and overreached when he ordered the slaying of the calf worship party. It also appears the Moshe’s order to kill all the women and male children of the Midyanites was not carried out. There will be a time to sit under our own vine and fig tree, but I don’t believe the time is now.
Yes please Skip, we look forward to it.
I must be missing something. What is the connection between 1 Enoch and Daniel?
It appears that 1 Enoch borrowed themes from Daniel and expanded them about 100 BCE. These expansion were later used by Christian writers post 100 CE to develop the idea of a divine Messiah. More is coming on this interesting historical connection.