Aramaic word · H1611

גַּף

vegapin

wing

In Aramaic, 'wing'. The Hebrew gap is a different word meaning 'body/self' or 'height'. In Daniel the Aramaic word appears only in 7:4 (the lion's eagle wings) and 7:6.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

wing (of bird)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 7:6

Range of meaning

In Aramaic, 'wing'. The Hebrew gap is a different word meaning 'body/self' or 'height'. In Daniel the Aramaic word appears only in 7:4 (the lion's eagle wings) and 7:6.

Against the English

All versions say 'wings'. They differ on whether to say 'wings of a bird' (KJV 'fowl'; ESV, NASB, WEB 'bird') or 'wings like those of a bird' (BSB, NIV), which smooths out the grammar.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is used in Syriac and in the Aramaic Targums. Winged four-footed creatures are common in Mesopotamian and Persian art, for example the winged bulls and lions that guarded palace gates. Daniel's audience would have seen such images as symbols of royal power.

Where it appears

Daniel · 3

  1. Daniel 7:4 וְגַפִּ֥ין גַפַּ֜יהּ and wings, wings its

    The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man and given the mind of a man.

    Here: "And wings." The Aramaic word for wings, used again for the leopard in v. 6. Wings stand for speed and reach, the ability to swoop on prey far away.

  2. Daniel 7:6 גַּפִּ֥ין wings

    Next, as I watched, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

    Here: 'Wings', the same word used for the eagle's wings of the first beast (7:4). On a four-footed animal they are unnatural and suggest added speed and reach.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.