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Grammar Analysis: Daniel 10:1

Text

Hebrew: בִּשְׁנַת שָׁלוֹשׁ לְכוֹרֶשׁ מֶלֶךְ פָּרַס דָּבָר נִגְלָה לְדָנִיֵּאל אֲשֶׁר־נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר וֶאֱמֶת הַדָּבָר וְצָבָא גָדוֹל וּבִין אֶת־הַדָּבָר וּבִינָה לוֹ בַּמַּרְאֶה׃ KJV: In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

Word-by-Word Parsing

# Word Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 בִּ ב Prep in
2 שְׁנַת שׁנה Noun.fs.Cst year
3 שָׁלוֹשׁ שׁלשׁ Noun.s.Abs three
4 לְ ל Prep to/of
5 כוֹרֶשׁ כורשׁ PropN.ms.Abs Cyrus
6 מֶלֶךְ מלך Noun.ms.Cst king
7 פָּרַס פרס PropN.s.Abs Persia
8 דָּבָר דבר Noun.ms.Abs word/thing
9 נִגְלָה גלה Verb.Niphal.Perf.3ms was uncovered/revealed
10 לְ ל Prep to
11 דָּנִיֵּאל דניאל PropN.ms.Abs Daniel
12 אֲשֶׁר אשׁר Conj (relative) who
13 נִקְרָא קרא Verb.Niphal.Perf.3ms was called
14 שְׁמוֹ שׁם Noun.ms.Abs.+3ms his name
15 בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר בלטשׁאצר PropN.ms.Abs Belteshazzar
16 וֶ ו Conj and
17 אֱמֶת אמת Noun.fs.Abs truth/trustworthiness
18 הַדָּבָר ה + דבר Art + Noun.ms.Abs the word/thing
19 וְצָבָא ו + צבא Conj + Noun.ms.Abs and warfare/appointed time
20 גָדוֹל גדול Adj.ms.Abs great
21 וּבִין ו + בין Conj + Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms and he understood
22 אֶת את Prep (obj. marker) (direct object)
23 הַדָּבָר ה + דבר Art + Noun.ms.Abs the word/thing
24 וּבִינָה ו + בינה Conj + Noun.fs.Abs and understanding
25 לוֹ ל + 3ms Prep.+3ms to him
26 בַּמַּרְאֶה ב + ה + מראה Prep + Art + Noun.ms.Abs in the vision/appearance

Clause Structure

Clause Type Text Phrase Functions
1 XQtl (fronted-constituent + qatal) בִּשְׁנַת שָׁלוֹשׁ לְכוֹרֶשׁ מֶלֶךְ פָּרַס דָּבָר נִגְלָה לְדָנִיֵּאל [Time] בִּשְׁנַת שָׁלוֹשׁ... [Subj] דָּבָר [Pred] נִגְלָה [Cmpl] לְדָנִיֵּאל
2 xQtX (relative clause) אֲשֶׁר נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר [Rela] אֲשֶׁר [Pred] נִקְרָא [Subj] שְׁמוֹ [Objc] בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר
3 NmCl (nominal clause) וֶאֱמֶת הַדָּבָר [Conj] וֶ [PreC] אֱמֶת [Subj] הַדָּבָר
4 NmCl (nominal clause) וְצָבָא גָדוֹל [Conj] וְ [PreC] צָבָא גָדוֹל
5 WQt0 (waw-qatal) וּבִין אֶת־הַדָּבָר [Conj] וּ [Pred] בִין [Objc] אֶת הַדָּבָר
6 NmCl (nominal clause) וּבִינָה לוֹ בַּמַּרְאֶה [Conj] וּ [Subj] בִינָה [PreC] לוֹ [Cmpl] בַּמַּרְאֶה

Construct Chains

Head (Construct) Dependent (Absolute) Meaning
שְׁנַת (year) שָׁלוֹשׁ (three) year-of-three = the third year
מֶלֶךְ (king) פָּרַס (Persia) king-of-Persia

Key Grammatical Features

1. נִגְלָה (niglah) -- Niphal Perfect 3ms of גלה (galah)

  • Form: Niphal (passive) stem, perfect tense, 3rd masculine singular
  • Root meaning: גלה = to uncover, remove, reveal, go into exile
  • Niphal function: Simple passive -- was uncovered/revealed. The dabar is the subject receiving the action of being revealed. The revealer is unstated (divine passive: God is the implied agent).
  • Significance: This is the only place in Daniel where a dabar is said to be niglah (revealed/uncovered). The Niphal passive puts the emphasis on the dabar itself as the thing laid bare, rather than on the agent doing the revealing. Combined with the prepositional recipient לְדָנִיֵּאל, the grammar says: a word was laid open to Daniel -- the word came to him as something unveiled.
  • Grammar reference: stem-niphal.md

2. וּבִין (ubiyn) -- Qal Perfect 3ms of בין (biyn)

  • Form: Qal (simple active) stem, perfect tense, 3rd masculine singular, with conjunctive waw
  • Root meaning: בין = to separate mentally, discern, understand
  • Significance: This is the resolution of the biyn chain that began in Dan 8:15. The Qal perfect states completed, achieved understanding -- Daniel did understand the dabar. Contrast with the earlier links in the chain:
  • Dan 8:15 -- Daniel sought (בקשׁ Piel) understanding (בִינָה, biynah) of the chazon
  • Dan 8:16 -- Gabriel is commanded: הָבֵן (Hiphil imperative) -- cause this one to understand the mar-eh
  • Dan 8:27 -- Daniel ends with וְאֵין מֵבִין (Hiphil participle negated) -- and none understanding (of the mar-eh)
  • Dan 9:23 -- Gabriel commands: וּבִין בַּדָּבָר וְהָבֵן בַּמַּרְאֶה (Qal imperative + Hiphil imperative) -- understand the dabar and gain insight into the mar-eh
  • Dan 10:1 -- וּבִין אֶת־הַדָּבָר (Qal perfect) -- and he understood the dabar

The shift from imperatives and negated participles to the Qal perfect marks the completed achievement of what was commanded. The biyn commission is fulfilled. - Word study: H995-biyn.md, TR-biyn-syniemi.md

3. וּבִינָה לוֹ בַּמַּרְאֶה -- Nominal clause: and understanding [was] to him in the mar-eh

  • Form: Nominal (verbless) clause with three components: subject (בִינָה, biynah), predicate complement (לוֹ, to him), and locative/sphere complement (בַּמַּרְאֶה, in the mar-eh)
  • בִינָה (biynah): Feminine noun from the root בין, H998 -- understanding, discernment. Not the verb but the noun: Daniel possesses the state of understanding, not merely the act.
  • Significance: This clause answers the exact deficiency stated in Dan 8:27 (וְאֵין מֵבִין, and there was no understanding) with its positive counterpart: וּבִינָה לוֹ (and understanding [belonged] to him). The nominal (verbless) clause expresses a stative reality -- understanding as Daniel settled possession. The prepositional phrase בַּמַּרְאֶה specifies the domain: his understanding is specifically in/concerning the mar-eh (vision/appearance). This completes the Hiphil imperative of 8:16: Gabriel was told to make Daniel understand the mar-eh, and now Daniel has understanding in the mar-eh.
  • Word study: H998-biynah.md, H4758-mareh.md, TR-mareh-opsis.md

4. וֶאֱמֶת הַדָּבָר -- Nominal clause: and true/trustworthy [was] the word

  • Form: Nominal (verbless) clause. The predicate אֱמֶת (emeth, truth/trustworthiness) is fronted before the subject הַדָּבָר (the word). Fronting the predicate gives it emphasis: the truth-character of the word is what the author highlights.
  • אֱמֶת (emeth, H571): From the root אמן (aman) -- to be firm, faithful, reliable. Not merely factually correct but firmly established, trustworthy, dependable.
  • Significance: The author certifies the dabar reliability before reporting Daniel comprehension of it. The sequence is deliberate: (1) a word was revealed, (2) the word is true, (3) Daniel understood it. Truth precedes understanding -- the dabar integrity is affirmed independently of Daniel capacity to grasp it.
  • Word study: H571-emeth.md

5. וְצָבָא גָדוֹל -- and great warfare/service

  • Form: Nominal clause. צָבָא (tsaba, H6635) + adjective גָדוֹל (gadol, great).
  • Semantic range of צָבָא: This word spans army, warfare, military service, appointed time, hardship. The KJV renders it the time appointed was long, reading tsaba as a temporal marker. But the word primary field is military/warfare. The same word appears in Dan 8:10-13 for the host (of heaven) that the little horn tramples, and in Job 7:1 and 14:14 for human life as a term of hard service.
  • Significance: The clause sits between the affirmation of the word truth and Daniel comprehension of it. Whether read as great warfare (the content of the revelation concerns a great conflict) or great appointed service (the scope of the prophetic period is vast), the phrase characterizes the weight of what was revealed. The adjective גָדוֹל (great) amplifies the scope.

The biyn Chain: 8:15 -> 8:16 -> 8:27 -> 9:23 -> 10:1

Dan 10:1 is the resolution verse of a grammatical and narrative arc spanning three chapters. The chain tracks through five forms of the root בין:

Verse Form Parsing Function
8:15 בִינָה Noun.fs.Abs Daniel seeks biynah concerning the chazon
8:16 הָבֵן Verb.Hiphil.Impv.2ms Divine command: cause [Daniel] to understand the mar-eh
8:27 מֵבִין Verb.Hiphil.Ptcp.ms (negated) Daniel has no understanding -- the commission is unfulfilled
9:23 וּבִין... וְהָבֵן Verb.Qal.Impv.2ms + Verb.Hiphil.Impv.2ms Gabriel re-issues the command: understand the dabar, gain insight into the mar-eh
10:1 וּבִין... וּבִינָה Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms + Noun.fs.Abs Daniel understood the dabar and had understanding in the mar-eh

The grammatical progression: noun (desire) -> Hiphil imperative (commission) -> negated Hiphil participle (failure) -> dual imperatives (renewed commission) -> Qal perfect + stative noun (completed achievement). The perfect tense in 10:1 is the narrative endpoint -- what was commanded in 8:16 and re-commanded in 9:23 is now an accomplished fact.

The objects also converge: - 8:15 seeks understanding of the chazon (prophetic vision content) - 8:16 commands understanding of the mar-eh (visual appearance/vision) - 9:23 commands understanding of both the dabar (word) and the mar-eh - 10:1 reports understanding of the dabar and understanding in the mar-eh

All three key terms -- dabar, biynah, mar-eh -- meet in 10:1, resolving the commission of 8:16.

Cross-References

Grammar Library

  • Niphal Stem -- passive/reflexive voice, applies to נִגְלָה and נִקְרָא

Word Studies