218 ANNE E. GARDNER Two passages in the Hebrew Bible, where a horn rises or is lifted up, do not specify the identity of the horn. Ps 148,14, with God as the subject, reads, He has lifted up (Mry) a horn (Nrq) for his people the praise of all his pious ones (wydysx) […] This verse, part of a hymn of praise of God the creator, is inter- esting in its parallelism. The “horn” is a “praise”, thus it is obviously beneficial for God’s people who are “his pious ones” (wydysx). The term Mydysx does not appear in Daniel 30, but Daniel and his friends are portrayed as pious in the earlier chapters of the work (e.g. Dan 1,8; 2,18.20-23; 3,17-18; 6,10). Another passage is Ezek 29,21: In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel (l)r#y tybl Nrq xymc)) 31 And to you I will give opening of the mouth (hp) in the midst of them (Mkwtb) And they shall know that I am the Lord. It is interesting to note that in this passage from Ezekiel the horn has “opening of the mouth” which could be understood in two ways: either as the horn speaking (“a mouth saying great things”?) or as bringing new life (resurrection) in its wake, linking thematically with Daniel where everlasting life is given to the righteous and everlasting shame to the wicked (Dan 12,2). It is also interesting that Targum Jonathan renders “in the midst of them” in Ezek 29,21 by Nwhynyb, i.e. the same expression that appears in Dan 7,8. A few other Biblical passages use “horn” in the singular but link it with the Davidic line (Ps132,17): There (in Zion) I will cause a horn to sprout for David (dwdl Nrq xymc)) They appear in 1 Macc 2,42; 7,13; 2 Macc 14,6. 30 xmc in the hiphil may imply that the horn is the Davidic Messiah for 31 the same verb is used in Ps 132,17 of a horn of/for David and in Jer 33,15 of “a branch of righteousness” for David”. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati