Aramaic word · H1923
הֲדַר
hadri
honor
Splendor, majesty, adornment: visible magnificence and grandeur. Hebrew hādār is used of kings (Ps 45:3–4) and above all of God (Ps 104:1, "clothed with splendor and majesty").
A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?
Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·
What it means
honour, majesty
Aramaic of ha.dar (הָדַר "to honor" H1921)
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
- Range of meaning
Splendor, majesty, adornment: visible magnificence and grandeur. Hebrew hādār is used of kings (Ps 45:3–4) and above all of God (Ps 104:1, "clothed with splendor and majesty").
- Against the English
"Majesty" (most versions) is fine. Modern readers may hear it mainly as a royal title ("Your Majesty"). The Aramaic word is about splendor you can see, a king's dazzling magnificence.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Daniel 4:34 has Nebuchadnezzar himself "glorifying" (hadderet, from the same root) the Most High. Daniel 4:36 says "my majesty (hadrî) and splendor returned to me." Daniel 5:18 lists majesty (hadrāʾ) among God's gifts to Nebuchadnezzar.
- Range of meaning
Splendor, majesty, adornment, the impressive outward display of royalty. It matches Hebrew hādār, used of royal and divine majesty (Ps 45:3; 96:6).
- Against the English
BSB and KJV 'honour', WEB and ESV 'majesty', NIV 'splendor'. English versions shuffle the last three nouns (greatness, glory, honor, majesty, splendor) because they overlap, so the same Aramaic word is called different things in different versions.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In Biblical Aramaic it appears only in Daniel 4:30, 4:36 and 5:18. That makes the echo deliberate: these are the exact terms of Nebuchadnezzar's boast and of his restoration ('my majesty and splendor returned to me').
Where it appears
Daniel · 3
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Daniel 4:30 הַדְרִֽי׃ majesty my
the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Here: "My splendor": the visible magnificence of a king. When his sanity returns in 4:36, this splendor is given back to him, and 5:18 calls it a gift from the Most High.
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Daniel 4:36 הַדְרִ֤י majesty my
At the same time my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne, and surpassing greatness was added to me.
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Daniel 5:18 וְהַדְרָ֔ה and majesty the
As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.
Here: 'And the majesty': the visible splendor of royal display. It is the second word of Nebuchadnezzar's boast (4:30) and of his restoration (4:36). It is spelled here with a final ה instead of the usual א for the definite ending, a spelling variant with no change in meaning.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.