Aramaic word · H2635

חֲסַף

chasaf

clay

Clay as worked by a potter, and things made of it: earthenware, pottery, potsherds. In 2:41 it is called "potter's clay" (ḥăsap dî-peḥār) and "miry clay" (ḥăsap ṭînāʾ). It is related to words for sherds in later Aramaic and Syriac.

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

Appears 9 times in 7 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

clay, potsherd

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 2:34

Range of meaning

Clay as worked by a potter, and things made of it: earthenware, pottery, potsherds. In 2:41 it is called "potter's clay" (ḥăsap dî-peḥār) and "miry clay" (ḥăsap ṭînāʾ). It is related to words for sherds in later Aramaic and Syriac.

Against the English

"Clay" is acceptable. To a modern reader, though, "clay" may suggest soft modelling material. The ancient picture is potter's clay or ceramic, which is brittle, shatters easily and will not fuse with metal.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in the Bible pottery is a byword for fragility and easy smashing (Ps 2:9, "dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel"; Isa 30:14; Jer 19:11). Daniel 2:41–43 develops this: iron and clay "do not hold together".

From the study of Daniel 2:43

Range of meaning

Clay, earthenware, potsherd. Related to Akkadian ḫaṣbu, "potsherd, clay vessel". In 2:41 it is "potter's clay" (chasaf di-fechar); in 2:43 "clay of mud" (chasaf tina). It refers to pottery material, which in fired form is hard but shatters.

Against the English

"Clay" (BSB, KJV) suggests soft modeling clay; ESV's "soft clay" leans that way, while NIV's "baked clay" leans toward fired pottery. The Aramaic can cover potter's clay generally, but the related Akkadian word and v. 42's "brittle" point to earthenware.

How it drifted

English "clay" usually suggests the wet, soft material, not the fired product.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 2:33–45 (nine times). The related Akkadian ḫaṣbu is the ordinary word for potsherds in Mesopotamian texts, which suits a dream given to a Babylonian king.

From the study of Daniel 2:45

Range of meaning

Earthenware, fired clay, pottery, potsherd. In Daniel 2 it is further specified as "potter's clay" (ḥăsap dî peḥār, 2:41) and "clay of mud" (ḥăsap ṭînāʾ, 2:41, 43).

Against the English

All the major versions say "clay." That is acceptable, but modern readers picture soft wet clay. The word mainly means the fired, brittle product: ceramic.

How it drifted

English "clay" usually means the raw, moldable material. The Aramaic word, like its Akkadian cognate, mainly means baked ware and broken shards.

Used elsewhere in the period

Akkadian ḫaṣbu means "clay vessel, potsherd." Syriac ḥaspā is "potsherd, earthenware." Theodotion's Greek renders the feet as ostrakinon ("made of earthenware, potsherd"), and the Vulgate uses fictilis/testa ("earthenware").

Where it appears

Daniel · 9

  1. Daniel 2:33 חֲסַֽף׃ clay

    its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.

  2. Daniel 2:34 וְחַסְפָּ֑א and clay the

    As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

    Here: "And the clay": potter's clay or fired earthenware (2:41 calls it "potter's clay"). Pressed together with iron, it makes a base that will not hold together.

  3. Daniel 2:35 חַסְפָּ֨א clay the

    Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

    Here: Fired clay or pottery: the brittle material mixed with iron in the feet (vv.33, 41–43). It is the weak point where the stone hits.

  4. Daniel 2:41 חֲסַ֤ף בַּחֲסַ֥ף clay, with [the] clay of

    And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.

  5. Daniel 2:42 חֲסַ֑ף clay

    And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

  6. Daniel 2:43 בַּחֲסַ֣ף חַסְפָּֽא׃ with [the] clay of, <the> clay

    As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay.

    Here: "With the clay of". The word points to potter's material or earthenware, which hardens but stays brittle (v. 42 calls this part of the kingdom "brittle").

  7. Daniel 2:45 חַסְפָּא֙ clay the

    And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

    Here: "The baked clay": fired ceramic, which is hard but shatters, mixed with the iron in the feet (2:41–43). It is not soft modeling clay.

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