Aramaic word · H2122

זִיו

vezivi

splendor

Brightness, radiance, luster. It is used for (1) the dazzling brightness of an object, (2) the healthy color or glow of a person's face, and (3) the splendor of a king's bearing and majesty.

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

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

brightness, splendour

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 5:6

Range of meaning

Brightness, radiance, luster. It is used for (1) the dazzling brightness of an object, (2) the healthy color or glow of a person's face, and (3) the splendor of a king's bearing and majesty.

Against the English

KJV 'countenance', BSB/NIV/NLT 'face' (turned pale), ESV 'color'. 'Face' and 'pale' get the physical result right, but they lose the word's sense of shining. The original is not just 'his face changed' but 'his brightness changed'.

How it drifted

English 'countenance' and 'face' are neutral words for the front of the head. The Aramaic word names a quality of light. In English the sense of 'radiance' is lost because no single English word covers 'face-color' and 'majesty' at once.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Biblical Aramaic it occurs only in Daniel: the brightness of the great statue (2:31); Nebuchadnezzar's 'splendor' restored together with his kingdom and majesty (4:36 Eng. / 4:33 Aram.); Belshazzar's face here and in 5:9–10 ('let not your color change'); and Daniel's own color after a vision (7:28). It is widely taken to be a loanword from Akkadian zīmu, 'appearance, face, luster' (HALOT). Later Jewish Hebrew and Aramaic use ziw for radiance, as in ziw ha-shekhinah, 'the radiance of the divine Presence'.

From the study of Daniel 7:28

Range of meaning

Brightness, radiance, splendour. Used of a dazzling object, of royal majesty, and of the face: its healthy glow or colour. Commonly linked (HALOT) with Akkadian zīmu, 'appearance, face, lustre'.

Against the English

KJV 'countenance', WEB 'face', ESV 'color', BSB/NIV 'face turned pale'. 'Pale' gives the actual picture best. 'Countenance changed' can be misread as a change of expression.

How it drifted

'Countenance' now sounds formal and suggests facial expression. The Aramaic is about light and colour leaving the face.

Used elsewhere in the period

Dan 2:31, the statue's 'extraordinary brightness'; 4:36, Nebuchadnezzar's 'splendour returned to me'; 5:6, 9, 10, Belshazzar's zîw changes. Hebrew Ziw is also the name of a spring month (1 Kgs 6:1, 37), probably 'brightness' or 'bloom'.

Where it appears

Daniel · 6

  1. Daniel 2:31 וְזִיוֵ֥הּ and splendor its

    As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome.

  2. Daniel 4:36 וְזִוִי֙ and splendor 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.

  3. Daniel 5:6 זִיוֹ֣הִי brightness<es> his

    his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.

    Here: 'His radiance' or 'his color' (plural in form, 'his brightnesses'). It means the healthy glow of his face. The same word is used for royal splendor elsewhere in Daniel, so it also suggests the king's majestic bearing draining away.

  4. Daniel 5:9 וְזִיוֹ֖הִי and brightness<es> his

    Then King Belshazzar became even more terrified, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were bewildered.

  5. Daniel 5:10 וְזִיוָ֖יךְ and brightness<es> your

    Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.

  6. Daniel 7:28 וְזִיוַי֙ and brightness<es> my

    Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”

    Here: Literally 'my brightnesses': the healthy glow or colour of the face. The plural is idiomatic. The picture is of the colour draining out of him.

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