Angels dressed like Lightning - Literary Echoes and Emotion in Luke 24:1-7
Angels Dressed like Lightning - Literary Allusion and Emotion in Luke 24.1-7
I have been busily working on my thesis. Something I came across while doing my research was too good NOT to share with you before it is finished.
Hope you enjoy!
Allusion to Daniel 10-12 in Luke 24:1-7
Luke 24:1-8 is connected to other passages in the Bible through the angelic appearance scene, the idea that the hearts of the disciples were unable to receive spiritual revelation apart from Christ’s action, and through stylistic throwbacks to the LXX via key words, themes, and discourse markers.
The scene in Luke 24:1-8 is reminiscent of numerous angelic appearances in the New Testament and in the Old Testament. In line with appearances throughout Scripture, the scene includes the angelic refrain “do not be afraid” in response to obvious human fear (cf. Luke 2:8ff; Revelation 1:9ff). Concerning scenes in the OT, Luke 24:1-12 most closely aligns with the angel's appearance to Daniel (Dan. 10-12). There are at least seven notable similarities, as outlined in the table beneath:
| Similarity | Daniel | Luke |
|---|---|---|
| Both humans are mourning and seeking understanding. | 10:2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. | 24:1 The women came carrying the burial spices which they had prepared |
| Both angelic encounters begin with καὶ ἐγένετο. | 10:4 And it came to pass… | 24:4 And it came to pass… |
| In both accounts, the angels are introduced with “and behold.” | 10:5 and behold! | 24:4 and behold! |
| The angel is described as "a man clothed in lightning." | 10:5, 6 one man dressed in linen clothes… and his face looked like the appearance of lightning | 24:4 two men stood in clothes like lightning |
| The human falls "face to the ground." | 10:8-9 behold my spirit turned in me to great distress and I had no strength… I had fallen on my face on the ground. | 24:5 And when they were struck with fear they also bent their faces to the ground |
| The angel explains the significance of a mysterious, supernatural event of eschatological and eternal importance. | Chapters 10-12 | 24:5-7 |
| Both prophecies pertain to the resurrection, with Daniel 12:2 being one of the clearest OT prophecies on the topic. | 12:2 and many who are sleeping in the breadth of the earth will rise | 24:6 and on the third day to rise |
The description of “lightning” deserves a special comment. Of the 26 occurrences of the word “lightning” in the LXX, most references to lightning occur in battle scenes where YHWH is preparing weapons of lightning or sharpening them to be like lightning. Daniel 10:6 is the only time that an angel is described as having the appearance of lightning. This scene in Luke and its parallel in Matthew 28 are the only times that the appearance of angels in the New Testament is compared to lightning.
Given the prominent role Daniel’s apocalyptic prophecies played in Second Temple Judaism (Beale 1984) and in the New Testament apocalyptic passages (Beale 2011, ch. 4-5)2, it is quite reasonable to presume that Luke’s ideal audience would detect the connections between the angelic encounters in Daniel 10-12 and Luke 24:1-7. In fact, the connections between Daniel 10-12 and Luke 24:1-7 arguably meet the four criteria for true allusions (Beale et al. 2023, “Quotation, Allusion, and Echo”): intentionality, a single identifiable source, sufficient explicitness, and an essential interpretive link.1 Such an allusion could have created an aesthetic experience for the audience by activating the themes and motifs of Daniel 10-12, and created an emotional bond between Luke as a communicator and those who treasured the contents of Daniel 10-12 enough to recognize the connection in Luke 24:1-7 (cf. Beale et al. 2023).
Alluding to the prophecies of Daniel 10-12, in which the end of time and the resurrection of the dead are prophesied, is an incredibly appropriate way to begin the section of Luke’s Gospel that marks the inauguration of the resurrection age and time in which those who understand God’s revelation will be wise and shine like stars in heaven (cf. Daniel 12:3). In bringing Daniel 10-12 to mind, Luke would have also brought some of the emotional ambiance and expectations of that scene to mind. Audience members who recognized the reference to Daniel 10-12 would have felt a special bond with Luke because shared knowledge of prophecy. Particularly, the message that the women are given to share would be understood to have eternal and eschatological significance. As with facets of the passage discussed above, the prophetic weight of their message adds to the gravitas of the scene.
TL;DR
If the email was too long to read, here are the main points:
- There are 7 prominent overlaps between Luke 24:1-7 and Daniel 10-12.
- Luke’s audience was likely very familiar with Daniel and would have caught these connections.
- Upon catching the connection between Luke 24:1-7 and Daniel 10-12, the audience would have felt some of the emotional “ambiance” of Daniel 10-12.
Challenge for You
I discovered the information above by following a guide for studying the Bible that I have refined over the last 2 years. This guide systematically incorporates the aspects I have found most important when studying meaning in communication. Following this template has opened my eyes to a lot of connections in the Bible, even connections that most commentators do not discuss.
If you are interested in using the guide yourself, it is freely available here.
Hours of meticulous research and commitment went into creating this newsletter. Knowledge grows when it's shared. So, don't hesitate to pass this on!
References
- Beale, G. K. 2011. A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New. First Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.
- Beale, G. K., D. A. Carson, Benjamin L. Gladd, and Andrew David Naselli, eds. 2023. Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.
- Beale, G. K. 1984. The Use of Daniel in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature and in the Revelation of St. John. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. http://archive.org/details/useofdanielinjew0000beal.
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The only point that the reference to Daniel 10-12 may not meet is an essential interpretive link, because the significance of the events can still be understood without inferring information from Daniel 10-12. In that case, the connection to Daniel 10-12 would more properly fall under the category of an “echo,” which can still create the same emotional bond between the communicator and the audience (Beale et al. 2023). ↩
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G. K. Beal has done extensive scholarship on this issue. In chapters 4 and 5 of A New Testament Biblical Theology, he discusses how the eschatological passages of the New Testament are influenced by the prophecies of Daniel. ↩