221 THE “LITTLE HORN” OF DAN 7,8: MALEVOLENT OR BENIGN? eyes of an #n)”. On a deeper level, Biblical passages that lie behind the description of the “little horn” herald the coming of one who is aligned with God. These have been noted earlier in the present paper but will be drawn together here. a. Zech 9,1 which contains the expression “eye of a man” announces the coming judgment on the enemies of Israel that will be followed by the rule of one in Jerusalem who is “just, having salvation, hum- ble […] (who) will speak peace to the nations: and his dominion will be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth” (Zech 9,9-10). b. All biblical passages where an individual horn is said to rise up refer, without exception, to a horn that is favourable to, or favoured by, God (cf. Ps 148,14; Ezek 29,21; Ps 132,17; Ps 89,20{19}). The latter two citations indicate that this horn is Davidic although the former two do not specify its identity. c. The specification that the horn was “little” led to three passages: in Ps 119,141 it indicates someone who keeps God’s precepts; in Isa 60,21-22 “your people […] will be righteous forever […] the little one will become a strong nation” linking with Dan 7,27 which interprets Dan 7,13-14; in Mic 5,1(2) Bethlehem Ephrathah is said to be “little” and from it “will come forth one to be ruler in Israel”. It is clear, then, that all elements of the description of the “little horn” in Dan 7,8 refer to a character who expresses his dependence upon God. He is a leader of some kind, although there is ambiguity as to whether he is from the Davidic line. He is associated with call- ing for God’s judgment upon the wicked and appealing for divine recognition of those who are righteous. As such, he is an ideal char- acter whose appearance had been foretold in earlier biblical works and who is analogous to the “stone” in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Dan 2,34, for like the “stone” the little horn’s appearance is both sig- nalled by wl) and occurs immediately prior to the destruction of the existing political order. Whether the “little horn” can be equated with a historical character as well is more difficult to determine 36. It is the view of the present writer that the “little horn” of 7,8 does re- 36 present an actual person, but, in order to present a case regarding his identity, deep analysis of what is said about the fourth beast and the ten horns would be required and would go well beyond the confines of the present paper. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati