עַתִּיק

From the study of Daniel 7:13

Range of meaning

'Attiq' means 'advanced, old, long-established'. With 'the days' it means 'the one advanced in days', the Aged One. The title is introduced in 7:9 ('ʿattîq yômîn'), with clothing white as snow, hair like pure wool, and a throne of fire on wheels.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, ESV, NIV and WEB keep 'Ancient of Days'. NLT's 'the Ancient One' is smoother but drops 'days', and so the image of a long life.

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears only in Daniel 7 (7:9, 13, 22). The picture of a white-haired divine king presiding over a council matches the Ugaritic El, called 'father of years' (ab šnm). It also echoes Israel's throne visions (1 Kings 22:19; Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1, whose wheeled throne-chariot Daniel 7:9 recalls). In 7:22 the Ancient of Days gives judgment for the holy ones, so he is plainly Israel's God.

From the study of Daniel 7:22

Range of meaning

ʿattîq means old, aged, advanced in years (the Hebrew cognate ʿātîq is used of 'ancient' things and of what is 'removed' or 'old', 1 Chr 4:22; Isa 23:7). Bound to 'days', it is a descriptive phrase: 'one advanced in days', an old man. It is not a personal name.

Against the English

'Ancient of Days' (KJV and almost all English versions) has become a fixed divine title in English hymnody and prayer, heard as an abstract statement of God's eternity. NLT's 'Ancient One' keeps the age but loses the 'days'.

How it drifted

Repeated as a title in liturgy and hymns, the phrase lost its visual force. In Daniel it is first an image: an elderly figure with white hair and clothing, seated on a fiery throne (7:9), whose age signals the authority and wisdom of the senior judge.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Ugaritic texts (Late Bronze Age Syria) the high god El is the grey-bearded 'Father of Years' (ʾab šnm) who presides over the divine council. Many scholars (e.g. Collins, Emerton) see Daniel's courtroom picture drawing on this older imagery, applied to Israel's God. 1 Enoch 46–47 develops the figure as the 'Head of Days', with a 'Son of Man' beside him. Revelation 1:14 gives the risen Jesus the white hair of the Ancient of Days.

From the study of Daniel 7:9

Range of meaning

ʿattîq means 'old, advanced'. Hebrew relatives cover things that are old or long-established (1 Chr 4:22; Isa 28:9 'weaned'). Combined with 'days' it means 'one advanced in days', a very aged person.

Against the English

'Ancient of Days' (KJV, BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB) keeps the Semitic phrasing, and most readers hear it as a fixed divine title. The WEB's 'one who was Ancient of Days' is closer to the grammar, because here the phrase has no article. NLT's 'the Ancient One' smooths it out.

How it drifted

The phrase became a name in later Jewish and Christian use, and in English 'ancient' can suggest abstract timelessness. Daniel's first use is a description he sees, an old man. Later in the chapter it gets the article and works as a title: 'the Ancient of Days' (7:13, 22).

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Ugaritic texts from the Late Bronze Age (the Canaanite city of Ugarit, 14th–13th c. BC), the high god El is called 'father of years' (ʾab šnm). He has a grey beard, sits enthroned, and presides over the assembly of gods. Some scholars see the pattern of Daniel 7 here: an aged enthroned figure gives dominion to a younger figure who comes with clouds. The Vulgate's 'antiquus dierum' passed into the English tradition.