Hebrew word · H1881

דָּת

dat

law

A loanword from Old Persian dāta-, 'law, decree, royal ordinance', also used for custom or regulation. Found almost only in late books (Esther, Ezra, Daniel in its Aramaic form).

Appears 21 times in 20 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) decree, law, edict, regulation, usage

1a) decree, edict, commission

1b) law, rule

Aramaic equivalent: dat (דָּת "law" H1882)

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 Esther 3:15

Range of meaning

A loanword from Old Persian dāta-, 'law, decree, royal ordinance', also used for custom or regulation. Found almost only in late books (Esther, Ezra, Daniel in its Aramaic form).

Against the English

KJV 'decree' and YLT 'law' are both fair; BSB 'edict' captures that it is a specific published order rather than a general legal code.

Used elsewhere in the period

Esther uses it about twenty times, for drinking rules (1:8), the law on Vashti (1:19), and Haman's and Mordecai's decrees. Ezra 7:12, 26 (Aramaic) uses it for 'the law of the God of heaven' and 'the law of the king'. Daniel 6:8, 12, 15 uses it for 'the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed'.

From the study of Esther 3:8

Range of meaning

A loanword from Old Persian dāta-, 'that which is laid down': law, decree, royal edict, the legally binding rule. In biblical Hebrew it appears almost only in Esther, where it usually means Persian royal law (1:8 'by law', 1:13 'law and judgment', 1:15, 1:19, 3:14–15, 4:11, 4:16 'against the law'). Its Aramaic counterpart dāt appears in Ezra and Daniel (Ezra 7:12, 25–26; Dan 6:8, 12, 15; 7:25).

Against the English

'Laws' (BSB, KJV, ESV, WEB) is accurate. Some versions use 'customs' for the first instance (Jewish practice), which describes Jewish life more naturally but loses Haman's tactic of calling it by the same word as the king's law.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezra 7:26 shows the Persian ideal: Artaxerxes orders that whoever will not obey 'the law (dāta) of your God and the law (dāta) of the king' be punished. There the two laws stand side by side and are enforced together. Daniel 6:5 is the closest parallel to Esther 3:8: Daniel's enemies can only find fault with him 'concerning the law (dāt) of his God' and so engineer a clash with royal law.

From the study of Esther 4:16

Range of meaning

A loanword from Persian (Old Persian dāta, 'what is laid down'). It means royal decree, edict, law or regulation. Almost all its uses are in Persian-period books (Esther, Ezra, Daniel's Aramaic), where it covers both the king's ad hoc edicts and standing court rules. It can also mean the customs or laws of a people (Esther 3:8, 'their laws are different').

Against the English

'Law' is acceptable. But dat is not the Torah (tōrāh), and it is not legislation in the modern sense. It is the king's word, enforced at the king's pleasure.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used about twenty times in Esther. Ezra 7:12, 26 speaks of 'the law (dat) of your God' alongside 'the law of the king'. Herodotus (Histories 1.99; 3.118, 140) describes Persian rules against approaching the king unannounced and shows a man executed for forcing his way in.

Where it appears

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 8:36 דָּתֵ֣י [the] decrees of

    They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, who proceeded to assist the people and the house of God.

Esther · 20

  1. Esther 1:8 כַדָּ֖ת [was] according to the law

    By order of the king, no limit was placed on the drinking, and every official of his household was to serve each man whatever he desired.

  2. Esther 1:13 דָּ֥ת <of> law

    Then the king consulted the wise men who knew the times, for it was customary for him to confer with the experts in law and justice.

  3. Esther 1:15 כְּדָת֙ according to [the] law

    “According to law,” he asked, “what should be done with Queen Vashti, since she refused to obey the command of King Xerxes delivered by the eunuchs?”

  4. Esther 1:19 בְּדָתֵ֥י in [the] laws of

    So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.

  5. Esther 2:8 וְדָת֔וֹ and orders his

    When the king’s command and edict had been proclaimed, many young women gathered at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the palace and placed under the care of Hegai, the custodian of the women.

  6. Esther 2:12 כְּדָ֤ת according to [the] regulation of

    In the twelve months before her turn to go to King Xerxes, the harem regulation required each young woman to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months, and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months.

  7. Esther 3:8 וְדָתֵיהֶ֞ם דָּתֵ֤י and laws their, [the] laws of

    Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

    Here: Dat is a Persian loanword for royal law or edict. Using it for Jewish ancestral customs presents those customs as a rival legal code.

  8. Esther 3:14 דָּת֙ law

    A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that they would be ready on that day.

  9. Esther 3:15 וְהַדָּ֥ת and the law

    The couriers left, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.

    Here: A Persian loanword for a royal law or edict. In Esther a dāt carries the irreversible weight of Persian royal law (1:19; 8:8).

  10. Esther 4:3 וְדָתוֹ֙ and law his

    In every province to which the king’s command and edict came, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

  11. Esther 4:8 הַ֠דָּת the law

    Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther, urging her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead before him for her people.

  12. Esther 4:11 דָּתוֹ֙ law his

    “All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days.”

  13. Esther 4:16 כַדָּ֔ת [is] according to the law

    “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”

    Here: 'Not according to the dat': against the Persian royal rule that anyone who approached the king without being summoned would be put to death (4:11).

  14. Esther 8:13 דָּת֙ law

    A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

  15. Esther 8:14 וְהַדָּ֥ת and the law

    The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.

  16. Esther 8:17 וְדָתוֹ֙ and law his

    In every province and every city, wherever the king’s edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many of the people of the land themselves became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

    Here: A Persian loanword for a royal decree with legal force. 'His word and his law' is a fixed pairing in Esther (4:3; 9:1) for an official edict.

  17. Esther 9:1 וְדָת֖וֹ and law his

    On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.

  18. Esther 9:13 כְּדָ֣ת according to [the] law of

    Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

  19. Esther 9:14 דָּ֖ת [the] law

    So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.

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