Daniel 10

Translator Notes

1. The phrase tsava gadol ('great conflict' or 'great army/warfare') is rendered 'a great conflict' rather than the KJV's 'the time appointed was long,' following the more natural meaning of tsava ('army, warfare, conflict, service'). Some translations read 'a great task' or 'a long time of warfare.' The dual naming — Daniel (Hebrew) and Belteshazzar (Babylonian) — reminds the reader of Daniel's bicultural existence. The verb niglah ('was revealed') is the Niphal passive, indicating divine initiative — the word was not discovered by Daniel but disclosed to him.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase sheloshah shavu'im yamim ('three weeks of days') adds yamim ('days') to distinguish these weeks as literal seven-day periods, unlike the symbolic 'sevens' (shavu'im) in chapter 9. This deliberate clarification suggests awareness that shavu'im in the previous chapter meant something other than literal weeks. The verb mit'abel ('mourning') indicates deep grief, not merely fasting — Daniel is in a state of lamentation, likely over the situation described in the revealed word.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase lechem chamudot ('rich food' or 'food of desire') describes delicacies or choice foods — Daniel did not fully fast but abstained from luxury and pleasure. This partial fast (sometimes called the 'Daniel fast' in later tradition) contrasts with the complete fast of chapter 9. The refusal to anoint with oil was a sign of mourning — anointing was associated with celebration and normal grooming (cf. 2 Samuel 12:20). The three-week period will prove significant: the angelic messenger was delayed exactly twenty-one days.

Translator Notes

1. The twenty-fourth day of the first month (Nisan) falls just after Passover and the seven days of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 14-21). Daniel's three-week mourning fast apparently overlapped with or followed the Passover season. The river Hiddekel is identified as the Tigris (one of the four rivers of Eden in Genesis 2:14). The setting by a great river echoes Ezekiel's vision by the Chebar canal (Ezekiel 1:1) — major prophetic visions are associated with rivers throughout the Hebrew Bible.

Translator Notes

1. The 'man' (ish echad, literally 'one man' or 'a certain man') is described in terms that transcend ordinary humanity. The linen garment (baddim) is priestly clothing — the high priest wore linen on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:4). Uphaz is an otherwise unknown location famous for gold, possibly identical with Ophir. The combination of priestly garments and royal gold suggests a figure who unites priestly and royal functions. The parallels with Revelation 1:13 (Christ clothed in a long robe with a golden sash) are striking.

Translator Notes

1. The description unfolds in five elements, each comparing the figure to something overwhelmingly vivid: tarshish (a precious stone, likely topaz or chrysolite — the exact identification is uncertain), lightning, fire, bronze, and the sound of a crowd. The word qalal applied to the bronze means 'polished, burnished' — gleaming metal. The 'voice of a multitude' (qol hamon) could also mean 'the sound of a tumult' — an overwhelming, composite sound. Compare Ezekiel 1:24 ('like the sound of many waters') and Revelation 1:15 ('like the sound of many waters'). This figure embodies concentrated divine radiance — every surface burns or gleams.

Translator Notes

1. The pattern of a visionary seeing what companions cannot parallels Paul's experience on the Damascus road (Acts 9:7; 22:9). The word charadah ('trembling, terror') is a deep, instinctive dread — the companions sensed the presence of something overwhelming even though they could not perceive it visually. Their flight was not cowardice but the natural human response to proximity with the numinous. This detail authenticates the vision as a genuine encounter, not a psychological episode — it affected others who were present.

Translator Notes

1. The Hebrew hodi ('my splendor, my vigor') refers to Daniel's physical vitality or healthy appearance — the vision drained him of all natural energy. The verb nehpakh ('was turned, overturned') suggests a total reversal — his life force turned to destruction (mashchit). The threefold emphasis on loss of strength (lo nishar bi koach... lo atsarti koach) conveys complete physical collapse. Encountering the divine drains human capacity — compare Isaiah 6:5, Ezekiel 1:28, and Revelation 1:17.

Translator Notes

1. The word nirdam ('deep sleep, stupor') describes an overwhelmed unconsciousness — not ordinary sleep but a state of incapacitation brought on by the encounter. Daniel could hear but could not remain conscious — the auditory impact alone was too much. The posture 'face down on the ground' (panai artsah) is the ultimate posture of human vulnerability before divine power.

Translator Notes

1. The verb vateni'eni ('set me trembling, shook me') comes from the root n-w-' ('to shake, totter'). The hand is not identified — it may belong to the glorious figure of verses 5-6 or to a different angelic attendant. Daniel is raised only to hands and knees — he cannot yet stand. The progression from face down to hands and knees to standing upright (v. 11) depicts a staged recovery from the overwhelming vision, assisted by angelic touch at each stage.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase ish chamudot ('man of treasures' or 'treasured man') echoes 9:23 where Daniel is called chamudot attah ('you are treasured'). This is a title of exceptional divine favor. The command 'stand up' (amod al omdekha, literally 'stand on your standing place') restores Daniel's dignity and prepares him to receive the message. The angel's statement 'I have been sent to you' (shullachti eleykha) uses the passive — the angel was dispatched by a higher authority. Daniel obeys but cannot stop trembling (mar'id) — obedience does not eliminate awe.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase 'from the very first day' reveals that God's response was immediate — there was no delay on God's part. The twenty-one-day gap was caused by opposition en route, not by divine indifference. The verb lehit'annot ('to humble yourself') is the same reflexive verb used for the affliction of Yom Kippur fasting (Leviticus 16:29, 31). Daniel's three-week fast was an act of self-humbling before God. The phrase 'I have come because of your words' (ba'ti bidvareykha) establishes a direct causal link between Daniel's prayer and the angelic mission — prayer moves heaven.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The sar malkhut paras ('prince of the kingdom of Persia') is widely understood as an angelic or cosmic being assigned to Persia — a spiritual power behind the earthly empire. This interpretation is supported by the parallel with Michael, who is explicitly called one of the chief princes (sarim harishonim) and later identified as Israel's prince (12:1). The twenty-one-day delay matches Daniel's twenty-one days of fasting (v. 2), creating a direct correspondence between earthly prayer and heavenly warfare. The phrase malkhey paras ('kings of Persia') at the end of the verse is textually difficult — it may mean 'beside the kings of Persia' (i.e., the angelic powers over Persia) or may be emended to 'king of Persia' (singular). We follow the MT as it stands.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase be'acharit hayyamim ('in the latter days' or 'at the end of days') is a standard prophetic formula for the future era when God's purposes reach fulfillment (cf. Genesis 49:1, Numbers 24:14, Isaiah 2:2, Micah 4:1). Whether this refers to the Maccabean crisis, the messianic age, or the eschatological end depends on one's interpretive framework. The angel's purpose is explicitly pedagogical — lahavinekha ('to help you understand'). The vision 'concerns days yet to come' (od chazon layyamim) — from Daniel's perspective, the events are still future.

Translator Notes

1. The verb ne'elamti ('I was struck speechless, I became mute') is the Niphal of aleph-lamed-mem, meaning Daniel lost the capacity for speech. This is the second physical collapse — after the initial loss of strength (v. 8), Daniel now loses the ability to speak. The encounter with the heavenly progressively strips away human faculties — strength, consciousness, speech — before restoring them. The downward gaze (panai artsah) is both physical incapacity and instinctive reverence.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase kidmut beney adam ('in the likeness of human beings') echoes the 'son of man' language of Daniel 7:13, though here it describes an angelic being who appears in human form. The touch on the lips restores Daniel's speech — compare Isaiah 6:7 where a seraph touches Isaiah's lips with a coal. The word tsiray ('my pangs, my anguish') originally refers to birth pangs — the vision has caused Daniel a pain as intense and involuntary as labor.

Translator Notes

1. Daniel refers to himself as eved ('servant') of the angel — a posture of deep humility. The loss of neshamah ('breath') suggests Daniel is on the verge of death from the encounter — the breath of life itself (Genesis 2:7) is failing. The double address 'my lord... my lord' (adoni zeh... adoni zeh) expresses both deference and bewilderment. The rhetorical question — how can a mortal speak with a heavenly being? — echoes the ancient conviction that humans cannot survive direct contact with the divine.

Translator Notes

1. This is the third touch in the sequence (vv. 10, 16, 18), each restoring a lost faculty — first the ability to move, then speech, now strength. The phrase kemar'eh adam ('like the appearance of a human') is another variant of the human-likeness language — the angelic being has a recognizably human form. The verb vaychazeqeni ('he strengthened me') uses the Piel intensive of ch-z-q, indicating active, deliberate strengthening — the angel pours strength into Daniel.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The repeated imperative chazaq vachazaq ('be strong, yes, be strong') uses the emphatic doubling pattern common in Hebrew for emphasis and encouragement. The progression is complete: Daniel went from collapsed and speechless to upright and ready to hear. The word chamudot ('treasured') appears for the third time in relation to Daniel (9:23, 10:11, 10:19), establishing it as his angelic title. Daniel's response — 'let my lord speak' — signals readiness to receive the revelation that follows in chapters 11-12.

Translator Notes

1. The angel's question is rhetorical — he is about to explain. The cosmic warfare continues: the angel must return to the conflict with the prince (sar) of Persia, and a new antagonist, the prince of Greece (sar yavan), is approaching. Yavan ('Greece/Ionia') appears in Genesis 10:2 as a descendant of Japheth and becomes the standard Hebrew term for the Greek world. The sequence — Persia, then Greece — mirrors the historical succession of empires and the vision sequence of chapters 2, 7, and 8. The angelic conflict mirrors and drives the earthly political transitions.

Translator Notes

1. The 'writing of truth' (ketav emet) suggests a heavenly book in which future events are recorded — a concept found also in Psalm 139:16 and Malachi 3:16. The word rashum ('inscribed') indicates something permanently written, not subject to revision. Michael is called sarkhem ('your prince') — Israel's patron angel, the cosmic defender of the covenant people. The angel's statement that only Michael supports him reveals the intensity of the heavenly conflict — it is not a minor skirmish but a battle requiring the highest angelic powers. This verse sets the stage for the detailed revelation of chapters 11-12.