Aramaic word · H2597

חֲנֻכָּה

lachanukat

dedication

Dedication or inauguration: the act of formally opening something for its intended use. The related verb can mean to begin using something (Deuteronomy 20:5, a man who has built a house but not yet 'dedicated' it) and, in Proverbs 22:6, to train someone up. The word's ultimate origin is uncertain.

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

dedication

Aramaic of cha.nuk.kah (חֲנֻכָּה "dedication" H2598)

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 Ezra 6:16

Range of meaning

Dedication or inauguration: the act of formally opening something for its intended use. The related verb can mean to begin using something (Deuteronomy 20:5, a man who has built a house but not yet 'dedicated' it) and, in Proverbs 22:6, to train someone up. The word's ultimate origin is uncertain.

Against the English

'Dedication' is a fair rendering. KJV and WEB's 'kept the dedication' can sound like observing a recurring holiday, while BSB's 'celebrated' stresses the festivity. The Aramaic says they 'did' it, as an action performed once.

How it drifted

Today 'dedication' suggests either a ceremony with speeches or personal commitment. The ancient event centred on putting a sanctuary into service through sacrifice.

Used elsewhere in the period

In biblical Aramaic it occurs here, in Ezra 6:17, and in Daniel 3:2–3 for the inauguration of Nebuchadnezzar's statue, so it was not exclusively Israelite. The Hebrew form is used for the altar in Numbers 7:10–11 and 84–88 and in 2 Chronicles 7:9, and for Jerusalem's wall in Nehemiah 12:27. The Greek translation of this verse has enkainia, the word John 10:22 uses for the later winter festival that began with the temple's rededication in 164 BC (1 Maccabees 4:36–59). Near Eastern rulers also marked such openings with feasts, as in Gudea's temple cylinders and Ashurnasirpal II's banquet stele.

Where it appears

Ezra · 2

  1. Ezra 6:16 חֲנֻכַּ֛ת [the] dedication of

    Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

    Here: The formal opening of the building for its purpose, carried out here through sacrifice (verse 17). This is the same word as the later name Hanukkah, though that festival did not yet exist.

  2. Ezra 6:17 לַחֲנֻכַּת֮ for [the] dedication of

    For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.

Daniel · 2

  1. Daniel 3:2 לַחֲנֻכַּ֣ת to [the] dedication of

    Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.

  2. Daniel 3:3 לַחֲנֻכַּ֣ת for [the] dedication of

    So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

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