Sermon Tone Analysis

Wenstrom Bible Ministries

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Tuesday February 18, 2014

www.wenstrom.org

Daniel: Daniel 10:7-Daniel Alone Saw The Revelatory Vision But His Companions Did Not But They Fled in Fear Because They Were Hiding Themselves

Lesson # 302

Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 10:1.

Daniel 10:1 During Cyrus’s third year, king over Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel who was called by his name Belteshazzar.

Specifically this message was truth and concerning a great conflict because he understood this message, yes he possessed understanding concerning this revelation.

2 During those days, I myself, Daniel caused myself to enter the state of mourning for three weeks.

3 I never ate expensive choice food or meat.

Also, wine never entered into my mouth likewise I never anointed myself with oil until the end of the three weeks.

4 Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the first month while I myself was beside that great river, namely the Tigris, 5 while I lifted up my eyes, I then stared as behold there was a certain man dressed in linen.

Specifically, his waist was girded with gold from Uphaz.

6 His torso like chrysolite, his face like a glittering appearance, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms as well as his legs like the appearance of polished bronze, and in addition the sound of his words like the sound of a large crowd.

(My translation)

Daniel 10:7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves.

(NASB95)

Verse 7 marks a transition from Daniel’s account of his description of the preincarnate Christ recorded in Daniel 10:5-6 to his account of the affect this revelation had on the men who were with him and its affect on him which is recorded in Daniel 10:8.

“The vision” is the noun mǎr·ʾā(h) (מַרְאָה) (mar-aw´), which is derived from the verb rā∙ʾā(h) and is used almost exclusively for visions as a vehicle of divine revelation to prophets (Ezekiel 1:1; 8:3; 40:2; Daniel 10:7, 8, 16).

In Ezekiel 1:1, 8:3; 40:2, 43:3 the word is used of the revelations Ezekiel received from God which were visual.

Here in Daniel 10:7, mǎr·ʾā(h) is referring to a revelation given to Daniel of the preincarnate Christ which was an audio-visual experience for him.

Therefore, this word is almost a synonym of ḥā∙zôn which is also used of extrasensory audiovisual experiences, which are revelatory in character.

The difference between the two words is that ḥā∙zôn means “vision” referring to an extrasensory audiovisual experience whereas mǎr·ʾā(h) describes this extrasensory audiovisual experience as revelation from God.

Thus we can translate the latter “revelatory vision.”

The articular construction of mǎr·ʾā(h) is anaphoric meaning that it is pointing back to Daniel 10:5-6, which records this audio-visual appearance of the preincarnate Christ which was revelation from God.

“While the men who were with me did not see the vision” is a temporal clause indicating that Daniel was not alone when he received this revelatory vision of the preincarnate Christ but it does indicate that he alone saw this revelatory vision.

“Nevertheless, a great dread fell on them” is an adversative clause which stands in contrast to the previous temporal clause that the men with Daniel never saw the revelatory vision of the preincarnate Christ like Daniel did.

“A great dread” is composed of the noun ḥǎrā·ḏā(h) (חֲרָדָה) (khar-aw-daw´), “a dread” and the adjective gā·ḏôl (גָּדוֹל) (gaw-dole´), “great.”

The noun ḥǎrā·ḏā(h) means “panic” since it refers to a sudden overpowering fright or acute extreme anxiety or unreasoning terror accompanied by flight.

The word describes human trembling before some strange or fearsome event.

Here in Daniel 10:7, it speaks of the great panic experienced by Daniel’s companions when he saw a revelatory vision of the preincarnate Christ.

The noun ḥǎrā·ḏā(h) is modified by the adjective gā·ḏôl which means “great” in the sense of degree.

Thus, these two words denote that “great panic” fell upon Daniel’s companions when he received this revelatory vision of the preincarnate Christ.

“And they ran away to hide themselves” is an emphatic clause meaning it advances upon and intensifies upon the previous statement that a great panic fell upon Daniel’s companions when he received this revelatory vision of the preincarnate Christ.

“To hide themselves” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh) “to” and its object is the verb ḥā·ḇā(ʾ) (חָבָא) (khaw-baw´), “hid themselves.”

The verb ḥā·ḇā(ʾ) means “to hide oneself” and is referring to Daniel’s companions “hiding themselves” from the presence of Christ who they could not see.

The preposition bĕ is prefixed to the infinitive construct form of this verb ḥā·ḇā(ʾ) and governs it.

The function of the verb is determined by the preposition when the verb is in the infinitive construct state.

Here the preposition bĕ is a marker of cause indicating that Daniel’s companions ran away “because” they were hiding themselves from the presence of the preincarnate Christ who they could not see.

Daniel 10:7 Now, I myself, Daniel alone saw this revelatory vision while the men who were with me never saw this revelatory vision.

However, a great panic fell upon them.

In fact, they fled because they were hiding themselves.

(My translation)

Daniel 10:7 marks a transition from Daniel’s account of the revelatory vision of the preincarnate Christ to his account of the affect that this event had on his companions as well as himself.

He received this revelatory vision while he was by the banks of the Tigris river during the third year of the reign of Cyrus the Persian who was the ruler of the Medo-Persian Empire at that time.

Daniel informs the reader for the first time that he was not alone when he received this revelatory vision.

He does not name the individuals with him or how many they were.

He only tells the reader that they were men and not women and that there was more than one man with him when all this took place by the banks of the Tigris.

Daniel says that he alone saw this revelatory vision while the men with him never saw it.

However, he says that even though they did not see this revelatory vision, a great panic fell upon them.

In fact, they ran away because they were hiding themselves from the presence of the preincarnate Christ who they could not see.

So this tells us that the presence of Christ can cause human beings great fear.

This is noted in other passages of Scriptures as well (cf.

Genesis 3:8; 28:17; Revelation 6:16).

The response of Daniel’s companions parallels the response of those who accompanied Saul to Damascus when he was knocked off his horse by the resurrected Christ.

Like Daniel’s companions, they never saw Christ like Daniel and Saul did.

This serves as evidence that Daniel saw the preincarnate Christ rather than an elect angel since both Daniel’s friends and Saul’s friends did not see Christ but both experienced great fear from being in His presence which prompted both to flee in order to hide themselves.

Acts 9:1 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

(NASB95)

The men who were with Saul were unbelievers since they were helping him persecute Christians.

Thus, when they were in the presence of Christ, they fled in fear.

There is a good chance that the men accompanying Daniel were unbelievers as well because their reaction to the presence of Christ is one of fear as well.

In the case with Saul’s companions and Daniel’s companions, they could not see Christ but they could sense His presence.

Also, Christ caused Himself to be seen and heard by Saul and Daniel because they were believers and wanted to reveal His glory to these men.