Aramaic word · H2445

חַכִּים

chakimei

wise

ḥakkîm: wise; as a noun, a sage, a member of the professional class of court experts (diviners, interpreters, scholars). ḥokmāh: wisdom, skill, expert knowledge, including mantic skill (the ability to interpret signs and dreams).

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

wise man, wise

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 2:21

Range of meaning

ḥakkîm: wise; as a noun, a sage, a member of the professional class of court experts (diviners, interpreters, scholars). ḥokmāh: wisdom, skill, expert knowledge, including mantic skill (the ability to interpret signs and dreams).

Against the English

English "the wise" suggests generally sensible or thoughtful people. In Daniel 2 the term names a recognised profession, "the wise men of Babylon" (2:12–14, 18, 24, 27, 48), which Daniel and his friends belong to.

How it drifted

Modern English no longer has an official class called "the wise," so the professional meaning is lost and only the general moral or intellectual meaning remains.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 2:12–14, 2:27 (wise men alongside enchanters, magicians and diviners), 4:6, 5:7–8, 15. Babylonian court scholars (ummânu) produced dream interpretation and astronomical omen collections (such as Enūma Anu Enlil). Compare the Hebrew wisdom tradition: Proverbs 1:5; 9:9 ("give to a wise man and he becomes wiser").

From the study of Daniel 5:15

Range of meaning

Wise, skilled. In Daniel's court setting it is the umbrella term for the king's body of scholars: diviners, exorcists, astrologers and scribes, all together called 'the wise men of Babylon' (2:12–14, 2:48).

Against the English

English 'wise men' sounds like a moral or personal quality. Here it is a job title, close to 'court scholars' or 'the royal experts.' Daniel himself was appointed head over this class (2:48; 5:11).

Used elsewhere in the period

It corresponds to the Akkadian ummânu, the scholar-experts attested in Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian royal correspondence who advised kings on omens. Hebrew ḥăkāmîm is used for Egypt's court magicians and wise men (Gen 41:8; Exod 7:11).

From the study of Daniel 2:18

Range of meaning

Wise, skilled. As a plural noun it means the court's professional class of learned experts.

Against the English

'Wise men' is accurate but misleading to modern ears, which hear thoughtful philosophers or kindly sages. Here it is a job title for state-employed scholars of divination and ritual.

How it drifted

Modern English 'wise man' has drifted toward moral or philosophical wisdom. In Daniel the word names a guild: in 2:2 its members are listed as magicians, conjurers, sorcerers and 'Chaldeans' (here meaning astrologer-priests).

Used elsewhere in the period

Babylonian records describe the king's ummânu (scholars): exorcists (āšipu), diviners who read sheep livers (bārû), astrologers who worked from the omen series Enūma Anu Enlil, and dream interpreters who used dream-omen handbooks. Daniel uses the term in 2:12–14, 24, 27, 48; 4:6, 18; 5:7–8, 15. Daniel himself is later made chief over them (2:48).

Where it appears

Daniel · 14

  1. Daniel 2:12 חַכִּימֵ֥י [the] wise men of

    This response made the king so angry and furious that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

  2. Daniel 2:13 וְחַכִּֽימַיָּ֖א and wise men 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 2:14 לְחַכִּימֵ֖י <obj.> [the] wise men of

    When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, went out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel responded with discretion and tact.

  4. Daniel 2:18 חַכִּימֵ֥י [the] wise men of

    urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

    Here: The king's professional scholars: diviners, exorcists, astrologers and dream experts. These are the people who had just told the king that no human could do what he asked (2:10–11).

  5. Daniel 2:21 לְחַכִּימִ֔ין to wise men

    He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

    Here: "To wise ones." In Daniel 2 "the wise men" are the king's professional class of sages, diviners and dream-experts, the group under a death sentence (2:12–13) that includes Daniel. The line says that even their wisdom, when it is real, comes from God.

  6. Daniel 2:24 לְחַכִּימֵ֣י לְחַכִּימֵ֤י <obj.> [the] wise men of

    Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

  7. Daniel 2:27 חַכִּימִ֣ין wise men

    Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

  8. Daniel 2:48 חַכִּימֵ֥י [the] wise men of

    Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

    Here: "The wise men of." In Daniel 2 this is the umbrella term for the king's trained experts in dreams, omens, incantations and the stars (listed in 2:2 and 2:27). It does not mean philosophers in general.

  9. Daniel 4:6 חַכִּימֵ֣י [the] wise men of

    So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me.

  10. Daniel 4:18 חַכִּימֵ֣י [the] wise men of

    This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you are able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

  11. Daniel 5:7 לְחַכִּימֵ֣י to [the] wise men of

    The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

    Here: 'To the wise men of': the umbrella term for the whole court guild of scholar-diviners just listed. It means professional experts, not philosophers or simply sensible people.

  12. Daniel 5:8 חַכִּימֵ֣י [the] wise men of

    So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.

  13. Daniel 5:15 חַכִּֽימַיָּא֙ wise men the

    Now the wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this inscription and interpret it for me, but they could not give its interpretation.

    Here: Not 'wise people' in general but the professional class of royal scholars and diviners, the court's official experts in signs, texts and omens.

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