Aramaic word · H1882

דָּת

dat

law

"Law, decree, royal edict, legal custom." It is borrowed from Old Persian dāta, "what is laid down, law". In the Bible it appears only in late books from the Persian period or set in it (Esther, Ezra, Daniel).

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

Appears 14 times in 13 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) decree, law

1a) a decree (of the king)

1b) law

1c) law (of God)

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 6:15

Range of meaning

"Law, decree, royal edict, legal custom." It is borrowed from Old Persian dāta, "what is laid down, law". In the Bible it appears only in late books from the Persian period or set in it (Esther, Ezra, Daniel). It can mean a single royal edict, the king's law in general, or a religious law: compare "the law of his God" in Dan 6:5 and Ezra 7:12, 25–26.

Against the English

"Law" is a good fit. English readers just do not see that the word itself is Persian imperial vocabulary.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Behistun inscription of Darius I, the king boasts that the subject lands "walked by my law (dātā)". In Esther, dāt is the word for the Persian king's edicts, including the decree that "cannot be revoked" (Esth 1:19; 8:8). In Dan 6:5 the plotters say they will find a charge against Daniel only "in connection with the law (dāt) of his God".

From the study of Daniel 6:5

Range of meaning

A Persian loanword (Old Persian dāta, “that which is laid down, law”). In Daniel, Ezra and Esther it means a royal decree or law, a binding order with state authority. It is also used for God's law: Ezra 7:12, 14, 21 speak of “the law (dāt) of the God of heaven” for the Torah Ezra carried.

Against the English

Every major English version has “law,” which is accurate. The NLT's “rules of his religion” brings out the practical side but loses the contrast with the king's dāt.

How it drifted

Not drift so much as narrowing. A modern reader may hear “law” as a written legal code, or think of debates about legalism. Here it means Daniel's whole way of life before his God. The specific practice at issue, praying three times a day toward Jerusalem (6:10), is not a commandment in the Torah. It reflects devotion grounded in texts like 1 Kings 8:48 and Psalm 55:17.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 6:8, 12, 15 (“the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked”); Daniel 2:9, 13, 15 (the king's decree); Ezra 7:12–26; it appears many times in Esther (e.g. 1:8, 13, 19; 3:8, where Haman says the Jews' “laws are different from every other people's”). In Theodotion's Greek this verse has en nomimois theou autou, “in the ordinances of his God.”

From the study of Daniel 6:8

Range of meaning

Law, decree, royal ordinance, what is officially laid down. It is a loanword from Old Persian dāta, 'what has been set or given, law'. It can mean a single royal order or the body of law of a people or a god.

Against the English

All the major versions have 'law'. To modern ears 'law' can suggest a code passed by a legislature. In the Persian setting a dāt was the king's word given legal force.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in Achaemenid-era texts. Babylonian documents speak of the dātu ša šarri, 'the king's law'. In the Bible it appears in Esther (Hebrew), Ezra 7:12, 14, 21, 25–26 ('the law of your God and the law of the king'), and Daniel 2:9, 13, 15; 6:5, 8, 12, 15; 7:25.

Where it appears

Ezra · 6

  1. Ezra 7:12 דָּתָ֜א law the

    Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.

  2. Ezra 7:14 בְּדָ֥ת in [the] law of

    You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.

  3. Ezra 7:21 דָּתָא֙ law the

    I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly,

  4. Ezra 7:25 דָּתֵ֣י <of> [the] laws of

    And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them.

    Here: A plural Persian loanword (dāta) for law with official force. The same word is used for 'the law of the king' in v. 26, so God's laws are placed on the same level as enforceable royal law.

  5. Ezra 7:26 דָּתָ֣א וְדָתָא֙ law the, and decree the

    If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

Daniel · 8

  1. Daniel 2:9 דָֽתְכ֗וֹן decree your

    If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.”

  2. Daniel 2:13 וְדָתָ֣א and decree the

    So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.

  3. Daniel 2:15 דָתָ֛א [is] decree the

    “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

  4. Daniel 6:5 בְּדָ֥ת in [the] law of

    Finally these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”

    Here: “In the law of…” Dāt is a Persian loanword used for royal decrees, including “the law of the Medes and Persians” in 6:8, 12 and 15. Here it is used for the law of Daniel's God, which sets up a contest between two laws.

  5. Daniel 6:8 כְּדָת־ according to [the] law of

    Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

    Here: 'According to the law of…' Dāt is a Persian loanword for a royal law or decree. The officials appeal to the empire's own legal custom so that the king cannot back out later.

  6. Daniel 6:12 כְּדָת־ according to [the] law of

    So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?” The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”

  7. Daniel 6:15 דָת֙ [the] law

    Then the men approached the king together and said to him, “Remember, O king, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed.”

    Here: "Law." This is a Persian loanword for royal law, the law of the empire. It has no article in Aramaic ("[it is] a law"), so they are stating a principle of Medo-Persian law.

  8. Daniel 7:25 וְדָ֔ת and law

    He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.

    Here: "And law". This is a Persian loanword for a decree or law. In 6:5 it means "the law of his God", Daniel's religious law. Here it most naturally means the Torah-based way of life that the horn tries to overturn.

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