The prophet Daniel was given a remarkable vision where he saw two distinct Divine entities reigning together and forever over all the nations:

“I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened… I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

What makes the one like the Son of Man figure so astonishing is that he rides the clouds like God does (cf. Exodus 13:21-22; 14:24-26; 33:7-11; 40:34-38; Num. 10:34; 12:4-5; Deut. 33:26; Pss. 68:4, 33-34; 104:1-2; Isa. 19:1; Nahum 1:3), receives the same worship that God receives from all nations, peoples and languages (cf. 7:27; 3:12, 14, 17-18, 28; 6:16, 20, 22), and rules for the same duration that God does (cf. 6:26; Lam. 5:21-22). Clearly, this is no created being!

Moreover, the Son of Man is depicted as having a throne alongside of the Ancient of Days, which is unlike the heavenly host whom Daniel saw. These celestial beings are all depicted as standing before God ready to serve and carry out his orders, a theme which is found elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible:

“Then Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. And the LORD said, “Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?” So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, “I will persuade him.” The LORD said to him, “In what way?” So he said, “I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.” And the LORD said, “You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.” Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.’” 2 Chronicles 18:18-22

“The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.” Psalm 103:19-21

Suffice it to say, this second Divine Being whom the prophet beheld has caused quite a stir among scholars and theologians.

THE BAFFLEMENT OF LIBERAL SCHOLARS

For a long time, liberal critical scholars that reject the inspiration of Scripture have been aware that this section of Daniel presents two distinct Divine figures, seemingly modeled after the Canaanite pantheon and/or myth of pagan god El, called the “father of years,” and his son Baal, known as the “rider of the clouds.”

Suffice it to say, these scholars have grappled with the identity of the Son of Man, with some of them taking this figure to be an angel, perhaps the archangel Michael himself:

“The prevailing academic position, however, takes Daniel’s ‘one like a son of man’ to be an angelic figure, and most likely to be identified with the archangel Michael, mentioned elsewhere in Daniel (10:13, 21; 12:1). In 12:1, he is called ‘the great prince.’ That Daniel 10:16 uses the expression ‘one in human form [kidmut benei ‘adam, literally ‘in the likeness of a son of man’]’ to refer to an angel, supports the identification of ‘one like a son of man’ in Daniel 7:13 with Michael. Daniel thus builds upon theimportance of Michael (and angels in general) during the Hellenistic period.

“Daniel’s confusing, disturbing vision of ‘one like a son of man’ who receives power can be understood to refer to a supernatural being, like an angel, and it can be understood to refer to Israel, the ‘holy nation’ (Exod 19:6)…” (Amy-Jill Levine & Marc Zvi Brettler, The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently [HarperOne, New York, NY 2020], Chapter 12: Son of Man, “In Search of the Son of Man,” pp. 398-399; bold emphasis mine)     

This imagery draws on old mythic traditions that can be traced back to the Canaanite texts from Ugarit but that are also reflected in the Hebrew Bible. In the Ugaritic myths, the Sea, Yamm, is a monster who challenges the authority of the god Baal and is crushed by him. In ancient Israel, YHWH, not Baal, is the God of life, and there are numerous allusions to a battle between him and the Sea and a monster that is called Rahab or Leviathan. According to Job 26:12-13, YHWH “stilled the sea, by his power he smote Rahab.” Isaiah 51:9-11 asks: “Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon? Was it not you who dried up the sea?” In Isa 27:1 the battle is projected into the future: “On that day the LORD with his cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.” In this myth, which is quite different from the account of creation in Genesis but very similar to creation myths of the ancient Near East, the work of creation involves subduing the sea and killing its monsters. In Daniel 7 the beasts rise up again. The four kingdoms are portrayed as manifestations of primeval anarchy let loose upon the world.

In Dan 7:9 thrones are set up and a white-haired “Ancient of Days” appears, surrounded by thousands of servants. This figure is evidently God. It is surprising, then, when another figure appears “with the clouds of heaven.” In the Hebrew Bible, the figure who rides on the clouds is YHWH, the God of Israel (cf. Pss. 68:5; 104:3). Yet in Daniel 7 this figure is clearly subordinate to the Ancient of Days. The juxtaposition of two divine figures can be understood against the background of the Canaanite myth. There the high god was El, a venerable figure with a white beard. The young fertility god was Baal, who is called the “rider of the clouds” in the Ugaritic texts. In the Hebrew Bible, YHWH usually combines the roles of El and Baal. In Daniel 7, however, they are separated. The influence of the Canaanite mythic tradition is clearly evident in the pattern of relationships between the Ancient of Days, the rider of the clouds, and the beasts from the sea. We do not know in what form the author of Daniel 7 knew this tradition. Some of it is reflected in biblical poetry, but the author probably had sources that are no longer available to us. Of course he adapted the tradition. The rider of the clouds does not attack the Sea as Baal had attacked Yamm. The conflict is resolved by a divine judgment. And of course the Jewish author would not have identified the Ancient One and the rider of the clouds as El and Baal.

The identity of the “one like a son of man” (7:13, RSV) in its Jewish context is the most controversial issue in the book of Daniel. Traditional Christian exegesis assumed that this figure was Jesus Christ, because of the way the phrase “Son of Man” is used in the Gospels. This understanding of the figure could not have been available to Jews before the Christian era, although Daniel’s son of man was identified as messiah both in Jewish and Christian exegesis for many centuries. But there is no other reference in Daniel to a messiah (a king who would restore the kingdom of David). Over the last century or so, there have been two main interpretations of the “one like a son of man.” Many scholars assume that this figure is simply a symbol for the Jewish people. The alternate, and most satisfactory, interpretation is that he is an angel, most probably the archangel Michael, who represents the Jewish people on the heavenly level.

The argument that the “one like a son of man” is the Jewish people takes the angel’s interpretation as the point of departure. According to the interpretation, the four beasts are four kings or kingdoms. Then, “the holy ones of the Most High” will receive the kingdom. Some scholars assume that the “one like a son of man” is a symbol for the holy ones, who are then identified with the Jewish people. In the literature of this period, however, holy ones are nearly always angels. (Compare the “watcher and holy one” who announced Nebuchadnezzar’s fate in Daniel 4.) Whenever else Daniel sees a “man” in his vision, the figure turns out to be an angel (see Dan 8:15; 9:21; 12:6-7). In Daniel 10, each people has a heavenly “prince” or protector. The “prince” of Israel was the archangel Michael.

Most probably, it is Michael who is depicted as “one like a son of man” coming with the clouds of heaven. (John J. Collins, A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible [Fortress Press, Third Edition 2018], pp. 366-368; bold emphasis mine)

The statements of this next liberal commentator highlight the struggle and bafflement that Daniel 7 has aroused in those who reject the inspiration of the Holy Bible:

“… The description compares with the coming of God to earth in, e.g., Isa 19:1; Ps. 18:9-12 [10-13]. But the figure who comes is ‘one in human likeness.’ As ben adam literally means ‘a human being’ (cf. 8:17)… bar enosh literally means a ‘human being.’ ‘Son of man’ is literalistic Semitism… In the case of ‘one like a human being’ there is no qualification, unless it lies in the preceding phrase ‘among the clouds of the heavens.’ The expression rather parallels the varied, though more complex, ke phrases in 8:15; 10:16, 18. Like the figures who appear there, the one here resembles a human being; it is not partly animal. It is not partly animal, like the sphinxes in Ezek 1. The ke does add mystery to the description, in a way appropriate to a vision. In Dan 7 the four creatures together, the fourth creature, and the one advanced in years are described without the ke; there is comparable variation within Eek 1, and it would be hazardous to infer that this was more than a matter of stylistic flexibility. The idea is not that the creatures and the one advanced in years exist, in a sense in which the human being does not, though it might be that the preposition clarified that the ‘human being’ is not actually human… Yet the humanlike figure does come in order to be invested as king (v. 14). The sovereignty he is given is like God’s own (cf. 4:3; 6:26), the rule described in the first symbolic dream (2:44-45). He is given the power Nebuchadnezzar once exercised (2:37; 5:19; cf. 6:25). In serving him, people indirectly serve God, like the foreigners pictured as serving Israel in Isa 60:7, 10; 61:6… The verses describe the appearing, presentation, and investiture of someone notable and imposing, not the exaltation of a previously lowly figure… As the animals stand for gentile kings who also represent their peoples, the humanlike figure could refer to a leader of Israel who at the same time presents Israel as a whole, as happens in some other OT passages (see Form)…

“Jewish and Christian tradition has commonly understood the humanlike figure to be the hoped for future Davidic king of Israel who would fulfill the hopes expressed in OT prophecy–the Messiah. One of the thrones mentioned in v. 9 might then be meant for him, so that the scene parallels Ps 110:1; cf. 80:17 [18]. For the Messiah to be a heavenly figure would be a novel idea; by definition, he is an earthly descendant of David. But the portrayal of him coming with the clouds of the heavens might simply signify that he comes by God’s initiative and as his gift, without suggesting that he is other than human. Psalm 2 describes the anointed king as begotten by God and installed by God without implying he is other than human. Nevertheless, if the humanlike figure is the messiah, he has a transcendent dimension. If the idea of the Messiah moves between a God pole and a human pole, this humanlike figure is at the former. Seeing the humanlike figure as the fulfillment of Israel’s hopes of a coming king draws attention to links between Dan 7 and 1-6 in the latter’s focus on God’s reign. As the one whom God commissions to exercise his kingly authority, the humanlike figure fulfills the role of the anointed one, whether or not he is an earthly Davidide. Daniel 7 is concerned with God’s reign in the world rather than with God’s temple in Jerusalem–a concern of chs. 8-9. Whether or not the human figure is royal, he is not priestly. But the grounds for identifying the humanlike figure as the Davidic anointed one are circumstantial. There are no direct pointers to this idea in the text. While Daniel later refers to an anointed leader (nagid, 9:25 mashiach, 9:26), that anointed leader is not a ‘Messiah’ (see Comment).

“… In Dan 7, where the humanlike figure balances the creatures, it would not be surprising if it had both individual and corporate reference, like them (in connection with a vision, there is no need for appeal to the idea of corporate personality in this connection).   

“Describing the figure as humanlike implies a contrast over against the four animals, but it need not imply the figure is human, still less that its extra-visionary referent is human, any more than the animal figures refer to animals. In isolation from the context v. 13a would most naturally denote God himself: he characteristically appears with the clouds of the heavens (Baal’s entourage in myths) and characteristically appears humanlike (cf. Ezek 1:26). Thus the humanlike figure has been taken as a hypostatized manifestation of God like the figure of Wisdom in Prov 8, or as taking up the portrayal of God as humanlike in Ezek 1, a hypostatized image of God, embodying his lordship, or as a heavenly being with honors and powers normally predicated of God, or as standing for a divine figure who suggests the deification of Israel at the End. But it is a long step from a belief in a renewed and celestial Israel, such as the interpretive vision may envisage, to the deification of Israel, and given that the one advanced in years stands for God, it is difficult to attribute divine significance to this second figure.

“The scene’s pointers toward the unlikely [sic] conclusion that it envisages two divine beings reflect its background in mythic material concerning the installation of a junior god by a senior god, and the OT often pictures the heavens as having the same hierarchy as the ancient Near Eastern material but with the place of lesser gods being taken by the one God’s heavenly but nondivine aides. Further, humanlike figures are regularly celestial beings in subsequent visions in Daniel (8:15-16; 9:21; 10:5 [?], 16, 18; 12:6-7). Human beings over against animals in apocalypses such as 1 En. 89-90, too, suggest supernatural (but not divine) beings over against human beings. To speak of a scheme of symbolism in the apocalypses, whereby God is represented by light, fire, and cloud, celestial beings by stars or human beings, the righteous by clean animals, the wicked by unclean animals and predators, demons by hybrids, is to overschematize the presentation. But the parallels are suggestive, and they add to hints that the humanlike figure has a celestial rather than a human referent. Celestial beings other than God do not appear in or on the clouds of the heavens elsewhere in the OT; ONLY God comes on the clouds (Isa 19:1; Ps 104:3). But it then may be significant that the humanlike figure comes with/among them, not on them. Moses enters the theophanic cloud in Exod 24:18, and the cloud comes to collect Moses in Josephus (Ant 4.4.48 [4.326]; cf. Yoma 4a; Pesiq Rab. 20:4), to collect Jesus in Acts 1:9, to collect believers in 1 Thess 4:17, and to carry Israel in targums to Exod 19:4.

“The humanlike figure might thus be a celestial being who represents Israel in the heavens. Elsewhere in Dan 7 celestial beings appear simply as attendants and interpreters (vv. 10, 16), but in v. 13 one of them might have a more substantial function… He might be equated with the further unnamed awesome and mysterious man dressed in linen of 10:15-12:13, who is also described in quasi-divine terms, linking him with Michael and the Metatron of 1 Enoch, though this identification seems to explain one enigma with another. A less opaque possibility is Gabriel, though he is supremely the heavenly interpreter (8:16-26; 9:21-27), and if he appears in ch. 7, it is as the one who fulfills this role in vv. 16-23…

“The role of the humanlike figure is closer to that of Michael in 10:13, 21; 12:1. Michael (mika’el, ‘who is like God’), is an ordinary OT name (e.g., Ezra 8:8), but Michael, like Gabriel, is one of the senior celestial beings in 1 Enoch (e.g., 9:1; 20:5; 71:9). In Daniel 10-12 he is one of the supreme celestial leaders who is especially identified with Israel and is committed to standing by them and standing firm on their behalf against celestial leaders identified with other peoples. The authority he exercises in heaven parallels that bestowed on the humanlike figure in 7:14, who appears at a similar moment to the one when Michael appears in ch. 12, the moment when evil power overreaches itself and God’s final intervention comes. The Qumran War Scroll (1QM 17:5-8) promises the overthrow of the leader of the wicked kingdom as the kingdom of Michael is exalted in the midst of the gods and the realm of Israel is exalted in the midst of all flesh, though the humanlike figure is not a combatant in Dan 7 as Michael is in chs. 10-12. But this difference may reflect the fact that the present scene takes place on earth; Michael’s battles take place in the heavens. That the same celestial person could have different roles in different contexts, as would be envisaged for Michael, is indicated by the portrait of Melchizedeq in 11QMelchizedeq… ‘Even if the humanlike one is originally a collective symbol for the angels, the subsequent visions in Daniel reinterpret this figure with increasing specificity, as a leader of the host (8:11) and as Michael (10:21; 12:1).’…” (John Goldingay, Daniel (World Biblical Commentary) [Zondervan Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, Revised edition 2019], Volume 30, pp. 364-370; bold and capital emphasis mine)

I will have more to say about whether Michael is the Son of Man figure in the subsequent parts of this series.

ANGELS AS MEN

The fact that the one like a Son of Man can be a reference to a specific Angel is supported from other texts in Daniel where angels are called men due to their taking on a human appearance:

“Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.’ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, ‘Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.’” Daniel 8:15-17

“Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.” Daniel 9:20-21

“Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?’ Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.” Daniel 12:5-7

This next one is rather interesting:

“In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. And he said to me, ‘O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.’ While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. Then he said to me, ‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words… Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.’ When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, ‘My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.’ Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, ‘O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!’ So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me. Then he said, ‘Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.’” Daniel 10:1-12, 14-20

Here Daniel sees several angels appearing as men, with one of them being described as having the likeness of the sons of men. Note that particular verse again:

“And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, ‘My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength.’” Daniel 10:16

The foregoing shows that is very likely that Daniel’s “one like a Son of Man,” may in fact be an angel, specifically THE Divine Angel of YHWH. I will have more to say in respect to this point in subsequent parts of my discussion: Daniel’s Son of Man: YHWH’s Angel? Pt. 2.