Aramaic word · H3825

לְבַב

ulevav

heart

In Aramaic and Hebrew the heart is the centre of the person: thinking, planning, will, moral orientation and self-understanding, with feeling included but not in charge. In 5:21 the BSB translates it 'mind'.

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

Appears 7 times in 6 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

heart, mind

Aramaic of le.vav (לֵבָב "heart" H3824)

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 5:22

Range of meaning

In Aramaic and Hebrew the heart is the centre of the person: thinking, planning, will, moral orientation and self-understanding, with feeling included but not in charge. In Daniel 4–5 the 'heart' of Nebuchadnezzar is changed from a man's to a beast's (4:16), and it is 'lifted up' and 'hardened' (5:20). In 5:21 the BSB translates it 'mind'.

Against the English

KJV, ESV, NASB, BSB and WEB keep 'heart'. NIV and NLT have 'yourself'. 'Heart' keeps the link to verses 20–21 but can sound emotional to a modern reader. 'Yourself' keeps the whole-person sense but loses the link between the verses.

How it drifted

In modern English 'heart' means mostly feelings and affection, as opposed to the 'head'. That contrast did not exist in the Semitic idiom. The ancient heart did most of what we assign to the head.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Biblical Aramaic: Dan 2:30 ('the thoughts of your heart', i.e. the king's mind); 4:16; 5:20, 21; 7:4 ('a man's heart was given to it'), 7:28. The same range appears in Hebrew lēḇ/lēḇāḇ throughout the Old Testament and in the Aramaic of Ahiqar.

From the study of Daniel 7:4

Range of meaning

The inner person: mind, understanding, thoughts, intentions, will, and moral character. The heart was where one thinks, plans and decides. It could carry feeling too, but feeling was not its main sense.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT keep "heart". BSB and several modern versions say "mind." "Mind" is closer to the core meaning in English, but it can lose the sense of the whole inner self and moral character. "Heart" keeps the word, but modern readers tend to hear emotion or compassion.

How it drifted

In modern English "heart" mainly means feelings, love and kindness. In Semitic languages it meant the place of reason and will. So "a man's heart was given to it" can be heard as "it became gentle and compassionate," which is more than the word itself says.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel's Aramaic uses the word in a tight cluster about Nebuchadnezzar. In 2:30 Daniel speaks of "the thoughts of your heart (mind)." In 4:16 (Aram. 4:13) the decree is "let his heart be changed from that of a human, and let the heart of a beast be given to him." In 5:20–21, "when his heart was lifted up... his heart was made like the beasts'." In 5:22 Belshazzar "has not humbled your heart."

From the study of Daniel 4:16

Range of meaning

In Aramaic, as in Hebrew, the heart is the center of the inner person. It covers thinking, understanding, planning, will, moral self-awareness and also feeling. In ancient Semitic thought the heart is mainly where a person thinks and decides. Daniel uses it for thoughts that rise in the mind (2:30), for a proud and hardened inner self (5:20, 'his heart was lifted up'), for humility or its lack (5:22), and for the human mind given to the lion-beast (7:4).

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT have 'heart'. BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB have 'mind'. 'Mind' gets the reasoning side right but loses the will and moral self. 'Heart' keeps the whole person but leads modern readers to think of emotions.

How it drifted

Since the Romantic period, English 'heart' has come to mean mainly feelings and affection, set against the 'head'. The Aramaic word has no such split. The heart is the head.

Used elsewhere in the period

Biblical Aramaic has both lēv and lĕvav (Dan 2:30; 4:16; 5:20, 21, 22; 7:4, 28). The retelling in Dan 5:21 says 'his heart was made like the beast's'. Daniel 7:4 gives the exact reverse: a lion 'was made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it' (ûlĕvav ʾĕnāš yĕhîv lah), using nearly the same words. In Hebrew, 'heart' is likewise the seat of understanding (e.g. 1 Kgs 3:9, 'an understanding heart').

Where it appears

Daniel · 7

  1. Daniel 2:30 לִבְבָ֖ךְ heart your

    And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

  2. Daniel 4:16 לִבְבֵהּ֙ וּלְבַ֥ב heart its, and [the] heart of

    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: 'His heart.' This is the inner person: reason, understanding, will and self-awareness, not mainly the emotions. The word comes first in the sentence for emphasis. 'His' points back to the felled tree of verse 15, but by now the picture has plainly become a man.

  3. Daniel 5:20 לִבְבֵ֔הּ heart his

    But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.

    Here: 'His heart': the inner person who thinks, plans and wills, not mainly the feelings. The same word returns in v. 21, where this lifted-up heart is made like an animal's.

  4. Daniel 5:21 וְלִבְבֵ֣הּ׀ and heart his

    He was driven away from mankind, and his mind was like that of a beast. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind, setting over it whom He wishes.

    Here: In Aramaic and Hebrew the heart is the seat of thinking, judgment and will, not mainly of feelings. What changed was his human reason and self-awareness (compare 4:34, 'my reason returned to me').

  5. Daniel 5:22 לִבְבָ֑ךְ heart your

    But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this.

    Here: The inner person: mind, will, attitude and self-estimate. It is not mainly the emotions. In the verse before, the same word is rendered 'mind' (Nebuchadnezzar's mind became like a beast's). To 'make the heart low' is to change your stance toward God from the inside.

  6. Daniel 7:4 וּלְבַ֥ב and a heart of

    The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man and given the mind of a man.

    Here: "And a heart (mind) of." In Aramaic and Hebrew the heart is the seat of thinking, understanding and will, not mainly of feeling. It reverses Daniel 4:16, where Nebuchadnezzar's human heart is replaced with "the heart of a beast."

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