Aramaic word · H2499

חֲלַף

yachlefun

to pass

'To pass, go by, pass over'; related to Hebrew ḥālap 'pass on, pass away; change, replace.'

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

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to pass by, pass over

1a) (Pe) to pass by, pass over

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 4:32

Range of meaning

'To pass, go by, pass over'; related to Hebrew ḥālap 'pass on, pass away; change, replace.'

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'pass over thee' is accurate. BSB 'will pass you by' is misleading in modern English, because 'pass someone by' now means to go past without affecting them.

How it drifted

English idiom changed. 'Pass by' once just meant 'go past.' The phrase 'pass someone by' now suggests being missed or skipped.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 4:16, 23, 25, 32, always with ʿiddānîn ('times') and ʿal ('over'). Theodotion's Greek renders it 'will be changed over you' (alloiōthēsontai / allagēsontai), and the Vulgate has 'mutabuntur super te' ('will be changed over you'). Both read the root's 'change' sense.

From the study of Daniel 4:16

Range of meaning

To pass by, pass on, pass over. Used in Biblical Aramaic only in Daniel 4 (vv. 16, 23, 25, 32), always of the 'seven times' passing over the king. The Hebrew related verb has a wider range: pass on, change, be renewed, sprout again.

Against the English

'Pass over him' (KJV, WEB) keeps the picture of time passing over a passive man. BSB 'pass him by' could suggest the time misses him, which is the opposite of the sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

Theodotion (ἀλλαγήσονται) and the Vulgate (mutentur) render it 'be changed', following the 'change' sense of the related Hebrew verb.

Where it appears

Daniel · 4

  1. Daniel 4:16 יַחְלְפ֥וּן let them pass

    Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the mind of a beast till seven times pass him by.

    Here: 'Let them pass', a future-or-wish form. The periods are pictured moving over him one after another, like seasons rolling over a stump left in the field.

  2. Daniel 4:23 יַחְלְפ֥וּן they will pass

    And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying: ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass him by.’

    Here: 'They will pass': the periods sweep by in turn, like seasons changing.

  3. Daniel 4:25 יַחְלְפ֣וּן they will pass

    You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.

    Here: "They will pass". Time moves on over him like a passing season, and it is not under his control.

  4. Daniel 4:32 יַחְלְפ֣וּן they will pass

    You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.”

    Here: 'They will pass.' The seven periods will roll over him one after another. The root also carries the idea of change and replacement, which the Latin and later Greek picked up ('be changed').

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