Daniel 2:6 — Semitic Language Study
Note for new readers: This is part of a series that began on my Medium page. You can access all previous entries there.
Medium: https://medium.com/@webproductions28
In short, this is a lexicographical study of the book of Daniel.
וְהֵ֨ן חֶלְמָ֤א וּפִשְׁרֵהּ֙ תְּֽהַחֲוֹ֔ן מַתְּנָ֤ן וּנְבִזְבָּה֙ וִיקָ֣ר שַׂגִּ֔יא תְּקַבְּל֖וּן מִן־קֳדָמָ֑י לָהֵ֕ן חֶלְמָ֥א וּפִשְׁרֵ֖הּ הַחֲוֹֽנִי׃
And if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore, declare to me the dream and its interpretation.
The particle, הן hen, is functioning here as the word “if”. In Hebrew this root typically has the sense of “here” or “behold”. In Lebanese Arabic, the word for “here” is هون hon. It is also likely related to the Arabic word ان ’an — if that is found famously in the phrase إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ in sha’a allah — if God wills found in the Qur’an.
إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّـهُ وَٱذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ وَقُلْ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّى لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَـٰذَا رَشَدًا
Except: “If God wills.” And remember thou thy Lord when thou forgetest, and say thou: “It may be that my Lord will guide me nearer than this in rectitude.” — Q. 18:24
The next word תְּֽהַחֲוֹ֔ן tahaḥown is from the root חֲוָא ḥawa and means “to show”. In this context, it can also be rendered as “declare”. In Hebrew, it is consonantally equivalent to the name “Eve”, which is חַוָּה ḥawa. Due to this connection, it is clearly related to the function חָיָה ḥayah — to live. This connection is evocative of the old fashioned way a pregnancy would become evident. This was called “quickening” because there was movement in the womb. The evidence of life is movement, and movement is visual and declarative.
Next, we have מַתְּנָ֤ן matnan which is from the root נָתַן natan — to give, permit. This root is typically used in names such as Nathan and its descendants as well as Matthew. The mem preposition signals the nominalization of the verb, a typical construction in Semitic languages.
The next word in the sentence is another Persian loan word, נְבִזְבָּה nebizbah which refers to “rewards”. The modern Farsi equivalent for this is نواختن nuwachten which means to benefit, to load with gifts and praises, as a king or an ambassador.
The phrase וִיקָ֣ר שַׂגִּ֔יא wiyaqar sagi’ — and great honor is interesting in that it doesn’t include the more popular “kabod” to describe “honor” or “weightiness”. The root יָקַר yaqar simply refers to something of precious value. The Arabic equivalent is وقار waqaar — dignity. This root is relatively common in the Qur’an and has an interesting semantic range. Like kabod it also refers to “weightiness”. For example, it is often used to communicate “deafness” or literally a heaviness of the ears (6:25). It can also refer to reverence and respect as in (48:9) and (71:13). Here is the full functional definition according to the Qur’an Study App.
The second word שַׂגִּ֔יא sagi’ comes from שָׂגָא saga which simply refers to a greatness, growing, or enlargement. In Arabic, this root شجا shaja means to “wail” or “grieve”. Interestingly, the root سجو saja means to “grow dark” or to “grow in darkness”.
The construction תְּקַבְּל֖וּן is from קָבַל qabal — to receive. The direct Arabic counterpart is قَبَلَ qabala which means to “admit” or “accept”.
The phrase מִן־קֳדָמָ֑י min qadmay — from before me is another interesting construction, because it is from the root קֳדָם qadam — in front of, before, ancient which is also cross-functional with קֶדֶם qedem — east. This relationship between “east” and “old” is likely a reference to the sun rising in the east. In Arabic, the word قديم qadim means “old”. Interestingly, there is an Islamic school in China called “Gedimu”, a transliteration of “qadim”. It is so named, because it is oldest Islamic school in the country.
(LXX)
Ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἐνύπνιον διασαφήσητέ μοι καὶ τὴν τούτου σύγκρισιν ἀναγγείλητε, λήψεσθε δόματα παντοῖα καὶ δοξασθήσεσθε ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ· δηλώσατέ μοι τὸ ἐνύπνιον καὶ κρίνατε.
But if you clarify to me the dream and announce its interpretation, you shall receive gifts of all kinds and be honored by me: Declare to me the dream and discernment.
The translators incorporate an interesting Greek construction with διασαφήσητέ from the verb διασαφηνίζω, which means to “clarify”. It ultimately comes from the verb σαφηνίζω, from σαφής (clear). This captures the function of חֲוָא in that it isn’t necessarily communicating “speech”, but more about rendering something evident. This is contrasted with several English translations that render חֲוָא to “tell”. The LXX gives this word a much more accurate treatment.
Another interesting feature here is the verb κρίνω (to judge/discern) that shows up with σύγκρισιν and κρίνατε. Both verbs are employed to communicate the Aramaic root פשר fashar — to interpret/explain. Σύγκρισις refers to “comparison”, as in “syncretism”. Kρίνατε is more about discernment, but the two are essentially synonyms with a little nuance to consider. The Vulgate also uses two different words here, with coniecturam (conjecture) standing in for σύγκρισιν and interpretationem standing in for κρίνατε. The first one is about gathering the data, and the second one is about making a judgment call.