Book of Daniel: The Aramaic Part

By Henry Shpikelman

A closer look into chapters 2-7: Accurate, rich and easy to comprehend translation to English and modern Hebrew, including the original cantillated Hebrew scripts

• Language: English
• Publisher: Henry Shpikelman
• Release date: Nov 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005429041

Henry Shpikelman

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Preface

The book of Daniel is the 35th book in the Hebrew Bible and may immediately draw your attention when the language is switched to aramaic after the 3rd verse in the second chapter of the book. That is until the end of the seventh chapter, after which the language is switched back to hebrew.

These six chapters are thought to be a significant intellectual and archeological item as they describe several ancient kingdoms, their structures and ways of life, as well as the areas of interest surrounding their times.

The ancient aramaic language is considered to be deprecated, and even though modern branches of the language are widely used by african, arab and jewish people around the world,  they are not of much similarity to the one used in the book of Daniel.

Written in cantillated hebrew letters, this part of the book has somewhat of a poetic pace and introduces many insights about the world of dreams and their recognition and importance as perceived in the described eras.

Many translations of the aramaic part were written during modern history, and they were based upon the Hebrew translation and commentary - which are admitted by many to be incomplete, inaccurate and missing the plot of the original story.

The first dream introduced in this part is Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that consisted of the image of God, upon which a stone had landed and made it vanish. This may correspond to Genesis verse 10 of chapter 3, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Meaning that as man was created in the image of God, he would find it difficult to distinguish God from the spirits of his counterparts, until it is almost as if God had disappeared.

After being told an interpretation of the dream by Daniel, king Nebuchadnezzar decided to establish a golden statue similar to the one in his dream, to which everyone should bow down and worship, as an attempt to satisfy God and make him recognizable.

Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream, described to great detail in chapter 4, was a vision of a beautiful tree, and an angel who had descended from heaven and instructed to cut it down, leaving its roots in the ground. This was meant to show Nebuchadnezzar an analogy of the emergence of man from God, and it was interpreted with severity by Daniel, causing the banishment of Nebuchadnezzar from his own kingdom.

Daniel’s dream which he wrote in chapter 7 is the most complicated of the three, and it eventually portrays how man’s kingdom could evolve until any possible way of contacting God is maliciously and irreversibly cut off.

דניאל - פרק ב | Daniel - Chapter 2

א וּבִשְׁנַ֣ת שְׁתַּ֗יִם לְמַלְכוּת֙ נְבֻֽכַדְנֶצַּ֔ר חָלַ֥ם נְבֻֽכַדְנֶצַּ֖ר חֲלֹמ֑וֹת וַתִּתְפָּ֣עֶם רוּח֔וֹ וּשְׁנָת֖וֹ נִֽהְיְתָ֥ה עָלָֽיו׃

1: In the second year to Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar had been dreaming dreams and his spirit was amazed, and his sleep overcame him

ב וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַ֠מֶּלֶךְ לִקְרֹ֨א לַֽחַרְטֻמִּ֜ים וְלָֽאַשָּׁפִ֗ים וְלַֽמְכַשְּׁפִים֙ וְלַכַּשְׂדִּ֔ים לְהַגִּ֥יד לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חֲלֹֽמֹתָ֑יו וַיָּבֹ֕אוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

2: The king ordered to convene all the wise men, and all of the masters and sorcerers and Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams, and they came and stood before him

ג וַיֹּ֧אמֶר לָהֶ֛ם הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חֲל֣וֹם חָלָ֑מְתִּי וַתִּפָּ֣עֶם רוּחִ֔י לָדַ֖עַת אֶֽת־הַחֲלֽוֹם׃

3: And the king told them: I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit strives to know it to depth

ד וַֽיְדַבְּר֧וּ הַכַּשְׂדִּ֛ים לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲרָמִ֑ית מַלְכָּא֙ ׀ לְעָֽלְמִ֣ין חֱיִ֔י אֱמַ֥ר חֶלְמָ֛א לְעַבְדָ֖ךְ וּפִשְׁרָ֥א נְחַוֵּֽא׃

וידברו הכשדים למלך ארמית מלכותית: לעולמים תחיה! את החלום אמור לעבדיך, ואת פשרו נגיד

4: The Chaldeans spoke royal aramaic to the king: Thou shalt live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will decipher it

ה עָנֵ֤ה מַלְכָּא֙ וְאָמַ֣ר לְכַשְׂדָּאֵ֔י מִלְּתָ֖ה מִנִּ֣י אַזְדָּ֑א הֵ֣ן לָ֤א תְהֽוֹדְעוּנַּ֨נִי֙ חֶלְמָ֣א וּפִשְׁרֵ֔הּ הַדָּמִין֙ תִּתְעַבְד֔וּן וּבָֽתֵּיכ֖וֹן נְוָלִ֥י יִתְּשָׂמֽוּן׃

ענה המלך ואמר לכשדים: אני נותן לכם את מילתי, שאם לא תודיעו לי את החלום ופשרו - תוצאו להורג בהמוניכם ובתיכם יהרסו

5: The king answered and said to the