Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ANCIENT OF DAYS

Aram. ʿattîq yômîn appears in the “throne vision” of Dan. 7:9-14, after the initial appearance of the four great beasts who rise from the sea (cf. 7:22). Such a term in reference to God, presumably the referent here, is unprecedented in the Hebrew texts, although associations with “Everlasting Father” in Isa. 9:6b have been suggested. The most likely source of the imagery is Canaanite myth, since El, the head of the heavenly pantheon, is referred to as ʿabu šanima (“father of years”) and often portrayed on a throne with heavenly attendants (cf. Isa. 6). The association of El with age generally (“grey beard”) is also notable in Canaanite mythology. The context of the phrase, occurring in proximity to “One like a Son of Man,” which draws clearly on Baal imagery, further supports this association.

Bibliography. M. Pope, El in the Ugaritic Texts. VTSup 2 (Leiden, 1955).

Daniel L. Smith-Christopher

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ANCIENT OF DAYS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)