Aramaic word · H4486

מַנְדַּע

umande'a'

knowledge

A noun from the root ydʿ, 'to know': knowledge, understanding, the capacity to know and reason. In Biblical Aramaic it occurs only in Daniel (2:21; 4:34, 36 [Aramaic text 4:31, 33]; 5:12). Late Biblical Hebrew has the matching word maddaʿ (2 Chronicles 1:10–12; Ecclesiastes 10:20; Daniel 1:4, 17).

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

knowledge, power of knowing

Aramaic of mad.da (מַדָּע "knowledge" H4093)

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 4:34

Range of meaning

A noun from the root ydʿ, 'to know': knowledge, understanding, the capacity to know and reason. In Biblical Aramaic it occurs only in Daniel (2:21; 4:34, 36 [Aramaic text 4:31, 33]; 5:12). Late Biblical Hebrew has the matching word maddaʿ (2 Chronicles 1:10–12; Ecclesiastes 10:20; Daniel 1:4, 17).

Against the English

KJV and WEB have 'understanding'. ESV and NASB have 'reason'. BSB, NIV and NLT have 'sanity'. 'Sanity' captures his recovery from madness but loses the word's tie to knowing.

How it drifted

'Sanity' is a modern idiom of mental health. It turns a word about knowing into a word about a clinical condition. That fits the situation (his 'heart' had been made an animal's, 4:16), but it hides the chapter's wordplay.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Daniel 2:21 God 'gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge (mandeʿa) to those who know understanding'. In 5:12 it is listed among Daniel's gifts. Theodotion's Greek renders it here with phrenes, 'wits, mind', and the Vulgate with sensus.

Where it appears

Daniel · 4

  1. Daniel 2:21 וּמַנְדְּעָ֖א and <the> understanding

    He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

    Here: "And the knowledge": insight, the capacity to know. The same word is used when Nebuchadnezzar's "reason" (his sanity) returns to him (4:34, 36), which suggests a deep, mind-level understanding rather than a set of facts.

  2. Daniel 4:34 וּמַנְדְּעִי֙ and understanding my

    But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives forever: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

    Here: 'And my knowing / understanding'. It means his capacity to reason, but the word comes from the root 'to know'. It answers the chapter's refrain 'until you know that the Most High rules' (4:25, 32).

  3. Daniel 4:36 מַנְדְּעִ֣י׀ understanding my

    At the same time my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne, and surpassing greatness was added to me.

  4. Daniel 5:12 וּמַנְדַּ֡ע and understanding

    did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon Daniel, therefore, and he will give you the interpretation.”

    Here: 'And knowledge', from the root 'to know'. The same word is used in 2:21 (God 'gives knowledge to those who have understanding') and in 4:34 when Nebuchadnezzar's sanity returns.

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