Aramaic word · H3729

כְּפַת

lekhapatah

to bind

The root kpt means 'to bind, tie up.' It appears in Biblical Aramaic only in Daniel 3 (vv. 20, 21, 23, 24). It is related to Hebrew/Aramaic words for tying and fettering.

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 bind

1a) (P'il) to be bound

1b) (Pael) to bind

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 3:23

Range of meaning

The root kpt means 'to bind, tie up.' It appears in Biblical Aramaic only in Daniel 3 (vv. 20, 21, 23, 24). It is related to Hebrew/Aramaic words for tying and fettering.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV give simply 'bound.' BSB and NIV add 'firmly.' That fits the context (v. 21 lists their clothing being tied on with them) and the king's emphatic question in v. 24, but the Aramaic word itself does not say 'firmly.' YLT is closest to the Aramaic order, putting '— bound' at the very end.

Used elsewhere in the period

v. 20: the king orders strong soldiers 'to bind' them; v. 21: 'these men were bound in their cloaks, trousers, hats and other garments'; v. 23: 'fell ... bound'; v. 24: 'Did we not throw three men bound into the fire?' v. 25 then gives the contrast: 'I see four men loose (šᵉrayin), walking in the midst of the fire.'

From the study of Daniel 3:24

Range of meaning

To bind or tie up. The participle means 'bound'.

Against the English

'Bound' (KJV, WEB) or 'firmly bound' (BSB). BSB's 'firmly' comes from the emphasis of the repetition and the intensive verb form, not from a separate word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Repeated in 3:20, 21, 23, 24. Elsewhere in Aramaic the root is used of tying up prisoners.

Where it appears

Daniel · 4

  1. Daniel 3:20 לְכַפָּתָ֔ה to bind

    and he commanded some mighty men of valor in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing fiery furnace.

  2. Daniel 3:21 כְּפִ֙תוּ֙ they were bound

    So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

  3. Daniel 3:23 מְכַפְּתִֽין׃ פ bound

    And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, firmly bound, fell into the blazing fiery furnace.

    Here: A passive participle (a verb used like an adjective), 'bound, tied up,' in the plural. It comes last in the sentence for emphasis. The king repeats it in v. 24 ('Did we not throw three men bound?'), and v. 25 answers with its opposite: 'loose, walking.'

  4. Daniel 3:24 מְכַפְּתִ֔ין bound

    Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and asked his advisers, “Did we not throw three men, firmly bound, into the fire?” “Certainly, O king,” they replied.

    Here: A passive participle meaning 'in a bound state'. Placed at the end of the question, it lands with emphasis: they were tied up. This prepares the contrast with 'loose' (šərayin) in v. 25.

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