2:21 He changes times and seasons,
deposing some kings
and establishing others. 1
He gives wisdom to the wise;
he imparts knowledge to those with understanding; 2
2:37 “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has granted you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.
4:16 Let his mind 3 be altered from that of a human being,
and let an animal’s mind be given to him,
and let seven periods of time 4 go by for 5 him.
5:17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its 6 interpretation.
7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.
He will harass 8 the holy ones of the Most High continually.
His intention 9 will be to change times established by law. 10
They will be delivered into his hand
For a time, times, 11 and half a time.
1 tn Aram “kings.”
2 tn Aram “the knowers of understanding.”
3 tn Aram “its heart.” The metaphor of the tree begins to fade here and the reality behind the symbol (the king) begins to emerge.
4 sn The seven periods of time probably refer to seven years.
5 tn Aram “over” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).
5 tn Or “the.”
7 tc In the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate the verb is active, understanding “judgment” to be the object rather than the subject of the verb (i.e., “the Ancient of Days rendered judgment”). This presupposes a different vocalization of the verb ( יְהַב [yÿhav] rather than the MT יְהִב [yÿhiv]).
9 tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”
10 tn Aram “he will think.”
11 tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.
12 sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”