אוּבַל

From the study of Daniel 8:2

Range of meaning

A watercourse, stream or canal. It occurs only in Daniel 8:2, 3 and 6. It is generally connected with the root ybl ('to carry, flow'), as in yuval, 'stream' (Jeremiah 17:8), and yivle mayim, 'channels of water' (Isaiah 30:25; 44:4).

Against the English

KJV and WEB 'river' and YLT 'stream' suggest a natural river. BSB, ESV and NIV 'canal' reflect the view that this was a man-made or regulated channel, which was common in the irrigated plains around Susa. The Hebrew can cover either.

How it drifted

The disagreement is about scholarship more than drift. Ancient translators unsure of the rare word guessed 'gate' (perhaps linking it to Akkadian abullu, 'city gate'), and modern versions are divided between 'river' and 'canal'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Old Greek reads 'the gate of Ailam' (pros tē pulē Ailam), the Vulgate 'super portam Ulai' ('at the gate of Ulai'), and Theodotion transliterates it ('Oubal'). The Ulai itself (Akkadian Ulaya) appears in Assyrian records of Ashurbanipal's victory over Elam at the Ulai near Susa (653 BC). Classical writers call it the Eulaeus.

From the study of Daniel 8:3

Range of meaning

A watercourse: stream, river or canal. It occurs only in Dan 8:2, 3, 6, and is usually connected with the words yuval (Jer 17:8, 'stream') and yaval (Isa 30:25; 44:4, 'watercourses').

Against the English

KJV, WEB and NLT say 'river', while BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB say 'canal'. YLT says 'stream'. Either may fit the Ulai, which was a real watercourse near Susa and may have been at least partly artificial. The Hebrew word itself does not settle whether it was natural or man-made.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Old Greek has 'gate' (pylē), apparently connecting it with Akkadian abullu, 'city gate', and a minority of scholars have followed this. Theodotion only copies the sound, and the Vulgate guesses 'marsh' (palus). The Ulai itself appears in Assyrian records of Ashurbanipal's Elamite wars, and classical writers know it as the Eulaeus at Susa.

From the study of Daniel 8:6

Range of meaning

A rare word, found only in Daniel 8:2, 3, 6. Most lexicons (BDB, HALOT) connect it with the root y-b-l, 'to carry, conduct', which gives yuval/yaval, 'stream, watercourse' (Isa 30:25; 44:4; Jer 17:8), and with Akkadian words for a channel. Hence 'canal, stream'. An older alternative, reflected in the Old Greek and Vulgate, linked it to Akkadian abullu, 'city gate'.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say 'river', YLT 'stream', BSB and most modern versions 'canal'. 'River' leads a modern reader to picture a large natural river like the Tigris. 'Canal' or 'watercourse' is closer to the Ulai (Greek Eulaeus), a waterway by Susa that may have been partly artificial.

How it drifted

Early English translators followed the general sense 'flowing water' and used 'river'. Later discoveries in Akkadian, along with better knowledge of how irrigation waterways around Susa worked, led modern translators to 'canal'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Classical writers (Strabo, Pliny, Arrian) mention the Eulaeus near Susa. The Old Greek of Daniel reads 'gate' at 8:2, 3 and 6. Theodotion's Greek transliterates the word as 'Oubal'. Jerome's Vulgate has 'gate' (porta).