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Word Studies — The Preterist Reading of Daniel 7

H1080 -- bela (wear out) -- CRITICAL HAPAX

  • Transliteration: bela | Pronunciation: bel-aw | POS: verb (Aramaic)
  • BLB Count: 1 (hapax legomenon)
  • Definition: (Aramaic) corresponding to H1086 (balah, Hebrew); to afflict: wear out
  • BDB: Pa'el: wear away, out; Imperfect 3ms yeballe (Dan 7:25), figurative for harass continually (acc. of person)
  • Occurrences: 1 total -- "shall wear out" (Dan 7:25)

Morphological analysis (Dan 7:25): yeballe = Pa'el (intensive) Imperfect 3ms from bela - Pa'el stem = intensive action (not merely "age" but "actively grind down") - Imperfect aspect = ongoing, incomplete action (sustained attrition, not a single event) - Combination: sustained intensive wearing-down -- "shall continuously wear out"

PRET significance: The PRET reading maps this to Antiochus IV's 167-164 BC persecution (~3.5 years). The question is whether Pa'el imperfect (sustained intensive action) is compatible with a 3.5-year period or demands a longer timeframe. The cognate H1086 (balah) provides evidence for the time-scale implied.

Cognate: H1086 -- balah (Hebrew) -- wear out, decay

  • Transliteration: balah | POS: verb (Hebrew) | BLB Count: 16
  • Definition: to fail; by implication to wear out, decay (causatively: consume, spend)
  • Key translations: shall wax old (3), waxed (2), old (2), waxen old (2), waste them (1), consumeth (1)
  • Key verses:
  • DEU 8:4: "Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee... these forty years" -- 40 years as timeframe for "wearing out"
  • JOS 9:13: "these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey" -- wear from extended use
  • PSA 102:27: "they all shall wax old like a garment" (cosmic wearing out)
  • ISA 50:9; 51:6: garments moth-eaten / heavens waxing old

Observation for analysis: The Hebrew cognate describes physical wearing-out processes that typically operate over extended periods (40 years in DEU 8:4, a long journey in JOS 9:13). However, the Aramaic Pa'el (intensive) could compress the process. The 3.5-year timeframe is not inherently excluded but does push against the typical semantic range.

H6132 -- aqar (pluck up by the roots)

  • Transliteration: aqar | POS: verb (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 1
  • Definition: (Aramaic) corresponding to Hebrew aqar: pluck up by the roots
  • BDB: denominative Hithpe'el: be rooted up; Perfect 3fp et'aqaru (Dan 7:8)
  • Occurrences: 2 total -- "there were" (1), "plucked up by the roots" (1)

Morphological analysis (Dan 7:8): et'aqaru = Hithpe'el (reflexive-passive) Perfect 3fp - The three horns "were uprooted" -- passive voice indicates something done TO them - The agricultural metaphor of uprooting implies complete, forcible, permanent removal - Compared with Dan 7:20 "before whom three fell" (nephalu) and Dan 7:24 "he shall subdue" (yehashpil, Haph'el of H8214)

Three verbs for horn removal across Dan 7: 1. Dan 7:8 -- et'aqaru (Hithpe'el, "were rooted up") -- most violent: complete extraction 2. Dan 7:20 -- nephalu ("fell") -- less specific, could be defeat 3. Dan 7:24 -- yehashpil (Haph'el, "shall humble/subdue") -- bring low, humiliate

PRET significance: The PRET must identify three specific Seleucid rulers (or other candidates) who were "uprooted" by Antiochus IV. The verb demands forcible removal, which raises questions about whether Antiochus's actual method (subterfuge, bribery, political maneuvering) satisfies this language.

H1882 -- dat (law, decree)

  • Transliteration: dat | POS: feminine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 14
  • Definition: (Aramaic) decree, law (Persian loan-word)
  • BDB classifications:
  • decree of king: Dan 2:13,15; Ezra 7:26
  • unchangeable law of Medes/Persians: Dan 6:9,13,16
  • law of God (in mouth of non-Jews): Dan 6:6; Ezra 7:12,14,21,26, so (ABSOLUTE) Dan 7:25; laws of God: Ezra 7:25
  • Translations: according to the law (3), of the law (2), the law (2), the laws (1), And the decree (1), the decree (1), concerning the law (1), and laws (1), for you (1)

CRITICAL: Dan 7:25 uses the ABSOLUTE form (dat, no article, no construct chain) -- BDB classifies this specifically as "law of God." This is not a general decree or royal law but THE divine law. The PRET reading maps this to Antiochus banning Torah observance, which fits the divine-law specificity.

Dan 7:25 morphology: ve-dat = Conjunction + Noun.fs.Abs from dat - The conjunction joins it with zimnin (appointed times) - "think to change times AND law" -- both calendar/festivals AND Torah itself

H8133 -- shena/shanah (change, be different)

  • Transliteration: shena | POS: verb (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 21 (26 occurrences)
  • Definition: (Aramaic) alter, change, (be) diverse
  • BDB stems: Pe'al (intransitive: change, be different), Pa'el (transitive: change, frustrate), Ithpa'el (be changed), Haph'el (transitive: change, alter)

Daniel 7 stem mapping (CRITICAL for distinguishing intransitive vs. transitive):

Verse Form Stem Meaning
7:3 shanyan Pe'al Ptcp fp "diverse/different" (intransitive)
7:7 meshanneya Pa'el Ptcp fs "different" (intensive -- MORE different)
7:19 shanya Pe'al Ptcp fs "different" (intransitive)
7:23 tishne Pe'al Impf 3fs "shall be different" (intransitive)
7:24 yishne Pe'al Impf 3ms "shall be different" (intransitive)
7:25 lehashnayah Haph'el Inf "to change" (CAUSATIVE/TRANSITIVE)

Dan 2:21 parallel: meHashne = Haph'el Ptcp ms -- "he who changes" -- SAME STEM as Dan 7:25 - Dan 2:21: GOD changes (meHashne) times (iddanayya) and seasons (zimnayya) -- divine prerogative - Dan 7:25: The horn thinks to change (lehashnayah) times (zimnin) and law (dat) -- usurpation

Observation: The stem shift from Pe'al (intransitive, being different) to Haph'el (causative, making something change) at 7:25 is theologically loaded. The little horn does not merely "be different" (Pe'al, as described of each beast in 7:3,7,19,23,24) but actively "makes changes" (Haph'el) to sacred institutions -- the same verb-stem used for God's sovereign action in 2:21.

PRET significance: This Haph'el parallel is a PRET strength: Antiochus's religious edicts (banning Sabbath, festivals, Torah) were precisely an attempt to "change" the divinely-instituted calendar and law, usurping what Dan 2:21 says belongs to God alone.

H5732 -- 'iddan (time, year)

  • Transliteration: 'iddan | POS: masculine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 13 (15 occurrences)
  • Definition: (Aramaic) from a root corresponding to; a set time; technically, a year: time
  • BDB:
  • general: time, duration Dan 2:8; 7:12; specific conditions Dan 2:9,21; point of time Dan 3:5,15
  • definite time = year (as modern Greek chronos): shiv'ah 'iddanin = seven years Dan 4:13,20,22,29; 'iddan ve-'iddanin u-felag 'iddan Dan 7:25 (i.e. 3.5 years)

Dan 4 as internal control (Directive G): - Dan 4:16 (= 4:13 Aramaic): "let seven times (shiv'ah 'iddanin) pass over him" -- Nebuchadnezzar's madness - BDB explicitly identifies these as "seven YEARS" - Dan 4:20,22,29 use the same formula -- each 'iddan = one year

Dan 7:25 formula: 'iddan ve-'iddanin u-felag 'iddan = "a time and times and half a time" - If 'iddan = year (as in Dan 4): 1 + 2 + 0.5 = 3.5 years - BDB confirms: "i.e. 3.5 years"

Other occurrences: - Dan 2:8,9 -- general "time" (buying time) - Dan 2:21 -- "times" (seasons, paired with zimnin) - Dan 3:5,15 -- "at the time" (point in time, immediate) - Dan 7:12 -- "season and time" (zeman ve-'iddan) -- indefinite period

PRET significance: The PRET argues that since 'iddan = literal year in Dan 4 (where all interpreters agree it means "year"), consistency demands it mean literal year in Dan 7:25 as well, yielding 3.5 literal years = the Maccabean persecution (167-164 BC). The PRET also rejects the day-year principle as inapplicable (see Directive G notes: Num 14:34 and Ezk 4:6 are specific divine instructions, not universal hermeneutical rules; Dan 10:2-3 shows Daniel using literal time within the same book).

H7162 -- qeren (horn, Aramaic)

  • Transliteration: qeren | POS: feminine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 14 (21 occurrences)
  • BDB: 1. instrument of music Dan 3:5,7,10,15; 2. symbolic, in vision Dan 7:7,8(3x),11,20(2x),21,24

Dan 7 occurrences: - 7:7 -- "it had ten horns" (qarnayyin 'asar) -- horns present on the beast from the start - 7:8 -- "another little horn" (qeren ochori ze'irah) -- arises AMONG the ten - 7:8 -- "three of the first horns" (qarnayya qadmayata) -- uprooted before the little horn - 7:11 -- "the voice of the great words which the horn spake" - 7:20 -- "ten horns that were in his head" + "the other which came up" - 7:21 -- "the same horn made war with the saints" - 7:24 -- "ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings"

Newton's argument (NEWTON 208): "A horn of a Beast is never taken for a single person: it always signifies a new kingdom." But Dan 7:24 says "ten kings" (malkin), and Dan 8:20-21 identifies horns as "kings" (not kingdoms). ZEC 1:18-21 uses horns for nations/powers that scattered Judah.

H4437 -- malkuw (kingdom, Aramaic)

  • Transliteration: malkuw | POS: feminine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 57 (65 occurrences)
  • BDB: 1. royalty, kingly authority Dan 4:23,28,33; 2. organized world-kingdom Dan 2:39(2x),40,41,42,44; 7:23(2x),24,27; of God Dan 3:33; 7:27 (both 'alam malkuw); of Messiah Dan 7:14(2x); of saints Dan 7:18(2x),22,27; 3. realm Dan 4:15,33b; 5:7,11,16,29; 6:2(2x),4,8,27; 4. reign Dan 5:26; 6:29(2x)

Dan 7 "everlasting kingdom" chain: - Dan 7:14 -- malkuw + sholtan + 'alam: "his dominion is an everlasting dominion... his kingdom shall not be destroyed" - Dan 7:18 -- "saints shall possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever" ('ad 'alma ve-'ad 'alam 'almayya) - Dan 7:27 -- "the kingdom... shall be given to the people of the saints... his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom" - THREE-FOLD repetition of "everlasting kingdom" = emphatic, non-negotiable permanence

PRET weakness: The Hasmonean state lasted ~77 years (164-63 BC). The everlasting-kingdom language demands something more permanent. PRET options: (a) inaugurated kingdom of God beginning at Christ's ascension; (b) eschatological hope not yet fulfilled; (c) acknowledge genuine weakness.

H7985 -- sholtan (dominion)

  • Transliteration: sholtan | POS: masculine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 14 (17 occurrences)
  • BDB: 1. dominion/sovereignty (usually of God): Dan 3:33; 4:19,31(2x); 6:27b; 7:6,12,14(3x),26,27(2x); 2. realm Dan 6:27a

Dan 7 distribution: - 7:6 -- "dominion was given to it" (third beast/leopard) - 7:12 -- "their dominion taken away" (rest of beasts) - 7:14 -- "there was given him dominion" (Son of Man), "his dominion is an everlasting dominion," "which shall not pass away" - 7:26 -- "they shall take away his dominion" (the little horn) - 7:27 -- "the kingdom and dominion... shall be given to the people of the saints," "all dominions shall serve and obey him"

Pattern: Dominion given (7:6) -> dominion taken (7:12, 7:26) -> everlasting dominion given (7:14, 7:27). God controls the dispensation and revocation of dominion.

H5705 -- 'ad (until, to, even to)

  • Transliteration: 'ad | POS: preposition, conjunction (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 32 (37 occurrences)
  • BDB: 1a. space: even to Dan 7:13 1b. amount: up to Ezra 7:22 1c. time: until Dan 2:20; 6:15; 7:18(2x),26; = during Dan 6:8,13; 7:12,25 2a. conjunction 'ad di = until (past) Dan 2:34; 4:30; 7:4,9,11,22; (future) Dan 2:9; 4:20,22(2x),29

CRITICAL distinction in Dan 7: - Dan 7:13: 'ad = DIRECTIONAL "to" (space) -- "came TO the Ancient of Days" (movement toward) - Dan 7:25: 'ad = TEMPORAL "until" -- "given into his hand UNTIL a time and times..." - Dan 7:4,9,11,22: 'ad di = "until" (past tense, marking sequence)

Dan 7:13 significance: The Son of Man comes WITH clouds TO ('ad) the Ancient of Days, then is brought near BEFORE him (qedamohiy). The movement is TOWARD the throne, not FROM heaven to earth. This informs the PRET debate about whether Dan 7:13-14 describes (a) the ascension/enthronement (coming to God), or (b) the second coming (coming to earth).

H6050 -- 'anan (cloud, Aramaic)

  • Transliteration: 'anan | POS: masculine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 1
  • BDB: plural construct 'ananey shemayya Dan 7:13 = "clouds of heaven"
  • Sole occurrence: Dan 7:13 -- "came with the clouds of heaven"

Significance: Cloud imagery = theophany. In OT, God appears in/with clouds (EXO 13:21; 19:9; PSA 104:3; ISA 19:1). The Son of Man figure arriving "with clouds" carries divine-presence connotations. NT reception: MAT 24:30; 26:64; MRK 13:26; 14:62; REV 1:7; 14:14 all apply the cloud-coming imagery to Christ.

H5452 -- sbar (think, intend)

  • Transliteration: sbar | POS: verb (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 1 (hapax)
  • BDB: think, intend; Pe'al Imperfect 3ms yisbar Dan 7:25, followed by infinitive
  • Definition: bear in mind, i.e. hope/intend
  • Sole occurrence: Dan 7:25 -- "shall think (yisbar) to change (lehashnayah) times and law"

Significance: The verb adds a nuance of INTENTION or ASPIRATION. The horn "thinks/intends" to change -- this is deliberate, premeditated policy, not accidental. The hapax status prevents cross-referencing within biblical Aramaic, but the root corresponds to Hebrew sabar ("to hope, wait").

PRET significance: Antiochus's religious edicts were precisely "intentional" -- formal decrees (1 Macc 1:41-51) aimed at cultural uniformity, targeting Jewish law and calendar. The verb sbar + Haph'el infinitive lehashnayah = "shall deliberately purpose to alter."

H5870 -- 'ayin (eye, Aramaic)

  • Transliteration: 'ayin | POS: feminine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 5
  • BDB: construct 'eyn Ezra 5:5 (of God); plural of horn 'aynin Dan 7:8, 7:20; of man, dual construct 'ayne Dan 7:8; suffix 'aynay Dan 4:31

Dan 7 occurrences: - 7:8 -- "eyes like the eyes of a man" ('aynin ke-'ayney anasha) - 7:20 -- "that horn that had eyes" ('aynin)

PRET significance (Directive C): "Eyes like the eyes of a man" is a PERSONAL descriptor -- it describes an individual with human intelligence and cunning, not an impersonal institution. The PRET argues this supports identifying the horn as a specific individual king (Antiochus IV) rather than an institutional power. Combined with Dan 7:20's "look more stout than his fellows" (chezwah rav min chavratah), the horn is portrayed as an individual whose appearance exceeds the other horns.

H6933 -- qadmay (first, former)

  • Transliteration: qadmay | POS: adjective (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 3
  • BDB: former, first; fs emphatic qadmayeta "the first" Dan 7:4; fp emphatic qarnayya qadmayata "the former horns" Dan 7:8; mp emphatic qadmaye Dan 7:24

Three Dan 7 occurrences: 1. Dan 7:4 -- qadmayeta = "the first" (sequential ordering of beasts) 2. Dan 7:8 -- qadmayata = "the former/first" (horns plucked up before the little horn) 3. Dan 7:24 -- qadmaye = "the first/former" (different from the first/former)

Directive F analysis: The PRET argues that qadmay can mean "former/previous" as well as "first," supporting sequential succession rather than requiring all horns to be simultaneously present. In Dan 7:4, qadmayeta clearly means "first" in sequence. If the same root in 7:24 means "former/earlier," this supports reading the ten horns as sequential Seleucid rulers.

H4406 -- millah (word, thing)

  • Transliteration: millah | POS: feminine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 24
  • BDB: 1. word, utterance Dan 4:28; 6:15; pl. Dan 5:10; 7:11,25; in bad sense Dan 2:9; millaiya ravrevatah "great words" Dan 7:11 (compare rabrevan alone Dan 7:8,20); 2. thing, matter Dan 2:10-11,15,17,23; 5:15,26; 7:28

Dan 7 occurrences: - 7:8 -- pum memallil rabrevan = "a mouth speaking great things" (rabrevan = H7260) - 7:11 -- millaiya ravrevatah = "the great words which the horn spake" - 7:25 -- millin letsad illa'ah = "words against the Most High" - 7:28 -- "the end of the matter" (milleta)

Directive E (Theos Epiphanes): The "great words" (millaiya ravrevatah / rabrevan) and "words against the Most High" (millin letsad illa'ah) are mapped by PRET to Antiochus IV's self-deifying title "Theos Epiphanes" (God Manifest), his coins depicting himself as Zeus, and his installation of the Zeus Olympios altar in the Jerusalem temple (2 Macc 6:2).

H7260 -- rabrab (great, reduplicated)

  • Transliteration: rabrab | POS: adjective/noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 8
  • BDB: huge (in size); domineering (in character); beast Dan 7:3,17; teeth Dan 7:7; gifts Dan 2:48; signs Dan 3:33; words Dan 7:8,11,20
  • Translations: great (6), great things (1), very great things (1)

Dan 7 distribution: - 7:3 -- "four great (rabrevan) beasts" - 7:7 -- "great (rabrevan) iron teeth" - 7:8 -- "mouth speaking great things (rabrevan)" - 7:11 -- "great words (ravrevatah)" -- variant feminine form - 7:17 -- "these great (ravrevata) beasts" - 7:20 -- "spake very great things (rabrevan)"

Note: The reduplicated form (rab + rab) = "exceedingly great, domineering." When applied to the horn's words, it implies grandiose, arrogant speech -- boastful self-exaltation.

H8214 -- shephel (humble, subdue)

  • Transliteration: shephel | POS: verb (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 4
  • BDB: Haph'el: bring low, humble
  • Occurrences:
  • Dan 5:22 -- "not humbled thine heart"
  • Dan 7:24 -- yehashpil, Impf 3ms: "he shall subdue"
  • Dan 4:37 -- Inf: "to abase"
  • Dan 5:19 -- Ptcp: "put down"

Dan 7:24 usage: "he shall subdue (yehashpil) three kings" -- Haph'el = causative: "he shall cause three kings to be brought low." This is the interpretation-section equivalent of the vision-section's aqar (H6132, "uproot") in 7:8.

H3028 -- yad (hand, power, Aramaic)

  • Transliteration: yad | POS: feminine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 17
  • BDB: 1. hand of man Dan 2:34,45; Ezra 5:8; 6:12; Dan 5:5(2x),24; figurative "in thy possession" Ezra 7:14,25; of God Dan 4:32; 2. power, of man Dan 2:38; 3:15,17; 7:25; Ezra 5:12; of God Dan 5:23

Dan 7:25: "they shall be given into his hand (bi-ydeh)" -- the saints are placed under the horn's power. BDB classifies the Dan 7:25 usage under "power of man," not literal physical hand.

H5957 -- 'alam (perpetuity, everlasting)

  • Transliteration: 'alam | POS: masculine noun (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 20
  • BDB: perpetuity in the future: malkut 'alam Dan 3:33; 7:27, compare Dan 4:31; 7:14; adverb "for ever" Dan 4:31; 'ad 'alma ve-'ad 'alam 'almayya Dan 7:18; plural le-'alam "for ever" Dan 2:4,44(2x); 3:9; 5:10; 6:6,21,26
  • Translations: for ever (8), ever (4), everlasting (4), old (2), never (1), and ever (1)

Dan 7 everlasting-kingdom triple declaration: - 7:14 -- sholtan 'alam = "everlasting dominion" - 7:18 -- 'ad 'alma ve-'ad 'alam 'almayya = "for ever, even for ever and ever" (superlative) - 7:27 -- malkut 'alam = "everlasting kingdom"

H6966 -- qum (arise, stand)

  • Transliteration: qum | POS: verb (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 35 (36 occurrences)
  • BDB: Pe'al: arise Dan 3:24; 6:19; figurative = come on scene of history: kingdom Dan 2:39, king Dan 7:17,24 (both min of source); arise (from inaction) Ezra 5:2; stand Dan 2:31; 3:3; 7:10,16; endure Dan 2:44
  • Haph'el: set up image Dan 3:1-18; set up kings Dan 2:21; kingdom Dan 2:44

Dan 7:24: yequmun = Pe'al Impf 3mp -- "ten kings shall arise" - The verb describes historical emergence -- kings "arising" on the scene - Could support sequential arising (one after another) rather than simultaneous existence - Compare Dan 7:17: "four kings which shall arise (yequmun) out of the earth" -- sequential empires

H5922 -- 'al (upon, against, concerning)

  • Transliteration: 'al | POS: preposition (Aramaic) | BLB Count: 99 (105 occurrences)
  • BDB: 1a. upon; 1b. of emotion/experience; 1c. on account of; 1d. on behalf of; 1e. regarding, concerning; 2. over (ruling); 3. above, beyond (comparative); 4a. to (direction); 4b. against

Note: In Dan 7:25, the preposition used is letsad ("to the side of") rather than 'al, for the horn's speech "against" the Most High.

G2768 -- keras (horn, Greek)

  • Transliteration: keras | POS: neuter noun (Greek) | BLB Count: 11
  • Occurrences: LUK 1:69; REV 5:6; 9:13; 12:3; 13:1,11; 17:3,7,12,16
  • Translations: horns (10), an horn (1)

NT horn symbolism in Revelation: - REV 5:6 -- Lamb with seven horns (= perfect power) - REV 12:3 -- dragon with seven heads and ten horns - REV 13:1 -- sea beast with ten horns (= Dan 7:7) - REV 13:11 -- earth beast with two horns like a lamb - REV 17:3,7,12,16 -- beast with ten horns = ten kings

Dan 7 reception: REV 13:1's ten-horned sea beast is a deliberate allusion to Dan 7:7. REV 17:12 interprets the ten horns as "ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet" -- future to John's time, which creates a constraint for the PRET reading if Antiochus was already past.

Cross-Testament Parallel Summary

Dan 7:25 Haph'el shanah + 'iddan/zimnin chain: | Text | Verb | Object | Agent | |------|------|--------|-------| | Dan 2:21 | meHashne (Haph'el Ptcp) | 'iddanayya ve-zimnayya (times and seasons) | GOD | | Dan 7:25 | lehashnayah (Haph'el Inf) | zimnin ve-dat (times and law) | THE HORN |

The identical Haph'el stem + overlapping vocabulary ('iddan/zimnin) creates a deliberate parallel: the horn usurps what belongs to God. This is one of the strongest PRET data points for the Antiochus identification -- Antiochus's edicts against Jewish festivals and Torah were precisely an attempt to "change" divinely-instituted times and law.