224 ANNE E. GARDNER peared in Dan 7,8 but one who usurps divine prerogatives. He has also gone beyond what was said about the eleventh horn in Dan 7,20 and 7,21. The question then arises, although it cannot be an- swered within the present paper, whether the horn of 7,24-25 should be identified with the horn of 7,20-21, and whether either, or both, indicate the same person as the “little horn” 39 of Dan 8,9-11. Several details about the little horn of Daniel 8 call to mind what is known about Antiochus Epiphanes 40. In Dan 8,9 the little horn “waxed exceedingly great (rty-ldgtw) towards the south, the east and the glorious (land)”. This is a reflection of Antiochus’s aspira- tions. He made military expeditions to Egypt in the south (1 Macc 1,16-20; 2 Macc 5,51; Dan 11,29-30) and to Persia in the east, dying on foreign soil after his attack on Persia (1 Macc 6,1-16; 2 Macc 9,1- 28). The description of Israel as “the glorious” reflects biblical im- agery of the land (e.g. Jer 3,19; Ezek 20,6.14-15) which was attacked by Antiochus 41. The little horn also “waxed great even to the host of heaven”. “Host of heaven” elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible indicates the sun, moon and stars (e.g. Jer 8,2; Deut 4,19; 17,13); Baal and/or Asherah (e.g. 2 Kgs 17,16; 21,3) and other gods (Jer 19,13). In the few passages where it is not stated that the host are objects of false worship, they are clearly subordinate to God: standing by Him on his right hand and his left in 1 Kgs 22,19; 2 Chr 18,18, and worship- ping him in Neh 9,6. The little horn then is exalting himself above the heavenly bodies, the gods of the nations and the beings around God himself. As recognized by a number of scholars 42, his action It may be that the expression in the MT of Dan 8,9 is corrupt. For a re- 39 cent discussion of the problems and the most likely solution cf. H. GZELLA, Cosmic Battle and Political Conflict. Studies in Verbal Syntax and Contextual Interpretation of Daniel 8 (BibOr 47; Roma 2003) 35-37. While it is generally accepted that Antiochus is symbolized by the “little 40 horn” of Daniel 8, there is no agreement about the meaning of the phrases in Dan 8,9-11. They are elucidated here, and a close correlation is shown be- tween them and the actions of Antiochus as described in other primary works. Some commentators, e.g. SEOW, Daniel, 122, think the “glorious” is a 41 reference to the Temple, but it is more likely to be to the land as the directions of the compass appear in the same verse. E.g. COLLINS, Daniel, 332; HARTMAN – DILELLA, The Book of Daniel, 42 236; K. KOCH, “Vom profetischen zum apokalyptischen Visionsbericht”, Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East. Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Apocalypticism. Uppsala, August 12-17, 1979 (ed. D. HELLHOLM) (Tübingen 1983) 387-411; SEOW, Daniel, 122. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati