Aramaic word · H3745
כְּרַז
vehakhrizu
to proclaim
"To proclaim, to announce by a herald." The related noun kārôz means "herald" (Dan 3:4). Where the word comes from is debated: it may be borrowed from Greek kēryssō/kēryx or from an Iranian word. Whichever is right, it is the technical word for an official public announcement.
A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?
Appears once in the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Aphel) to herald, proclaim, make proclamation
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
- Range of meaning
"To proclaim, to announce by a herald." The related noun kārôz means "herald" (Dan 3:4). Where the word comes from is debated: it may be borrowed from Greek kēryssō/kēryx or from an Iranian word. Whichever is right, it is the technical word for an official public announcement.
- Against the English
KJV has "made a proclamation concerning him." BSB and NIV have "proclaimed him." The older wording keeps the picture of a formal announcement about him.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In Daniel 3:4 a herald (kārôz) proclaims the order to worship the image. Theodotion's Greek translates the verb with ekēryxen and the Vulgate with praedicatum est.
Where it appears
Daniel · 1
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Daniel 5:29 וְהַכְרִ֣זֽוּ and they made proclamation
Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
Here: "And they made a herald's announcement." The same root gives kārôz, the herald of Daniel 3:4. The appointment was announced aloud in public, so it carried legal and social force.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.