225 THE “LITTLE HORN” OF DAN 7,8: MALEVOLENT OR BENIGN? here is reminiscent of the Daystar myth, for Isa 14,13 reads: “And you said in your heart I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God [...]”. The little horn then “cast some of the host and the stars to the ground and trampled on them” 43, linking with 1Macc 1,41-42 which says that at the time of Antiochus all nations had to give up their own laws, and with 2 Macc 9,2 that Antiochus carried out an assault on a temple in Persepolis, indicating that he had no regard for the gods of other nations 44. When the little horn “mag- nified himself even to the Prince of the host” (Dan 8,11), i.e. even to God Himself 45, there is another allusion to the Daystar myth, for Isa 14,14 represents the latter as saying, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High”. The corollary of that action would not be lost on those of Daniel’s readers who recognized this reference, for the day star was subsequently toppled and destroyed by God. According to 1 Macc 1,21-23.34-38.44-51.54-56; 2 Macc 6,1- 9, Antiochus attempted to wipe out the worship of God, thus matching what is said of the little horn in Dan 8,11. The character of the little horn in the vision of Dan 7,2-14 clearly differs from that presented in Dan 7,20-21.24-25; 8,9-11. This has obvious implications for the unity of both Daniel 7 and the rest of the Danielic apocalyptic chapters – a subject that has divided schol- ars in the past 46. While the little horn of Dan 8,9-11 closely resem- As COLLINS, Daniel, 332 indicates, the casting down of the host and 43 stars and trampling upon them do not appear in the Daystar myth. Daniel is probably alluding here to Ezek 28,17 where God casts down the King of Tyre and Isa 63,3 where he tramples peoples in vengeance. If so, the little horn was acting like God. It is not necessary to understand the assault on the heavenly bodies as a 44 battle among “supernatural forces” as does GZELLA, Cosmic Battle, 115-116. A. LACOCQUE, Le Livre de Daniel (CAT 15b; Neuchâtel – Paris 1976) 45 121, claims r# in Daniel always indicates an angel and, reviving the view of the Targum to Ps 137,7, thinks “Prince of hosts” refers to Michael. Some older commentators (cf. LACOCQUE, Le Livre de Daniel, 121) thought the “Prince” was the High Priest Onias. While a priestly interpretation can claim linguistic support from 1 Chr 24,5, it is rejected here, as is Lacocque’s angelic interpretation, by the majority of modern commentators who think that the “Prince of hosts” is God, for they link the appellation with “Prince of Princes” (Dan 8,25) and “God of Gods” in Dan 2,47. That they are correct is supported by the allusion in Dan 8,10-11 to the daystar myth. COLLINS, Daniel, 25-38 gives a review of scholarship on the unity, or 46 otherwise, of Daniel. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati