Aramaic word · H5182

נְחֵת

nachit

to descend

'To come down, descend'. The Aramaic equivalent of Hebrew nāḥat. It is used for going down physically (Ezra 6:1, 5 for depositing items) and in Daniel for this heavenly descent (4:13, 23).

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

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

What it means

1) to descend

1a) (P'al) to descend

1b) (Aphel) to deposit

1c) (Hophal) to be deposed, be cast down

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 4:13

Range of meaning

'To come down, descend'. The Aramaic equivalent of Hebrew nāḥat. It is used for going down physically (Ezra 6:1, 5 for depositing items) and in Daniel for this heavenly descent (4:13, 23).

Against the English

'Came down' (KJV) gives a finished action. 'Coming down' (BSB) and 'is coming down' (YLT) better keep the Aramaic participle, which shows the descent happening.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is common across Imperial and Biblical Aramaic.

From the study of Daniel 5:20

Range of meaning

Basic form: to come down, descend (4:13, 23, of the heavenly 'watcher' coming down). Causative: to bring down, deposit, store (Ezra 5:15; 6:1, 5). The passive causative used here means 'was caused to come down, was brought down'. That form is rare in Aramaic and looks like Hebrew.

Against the English

BSB and KJV 'was deposed' is a political word, and it hides the spatial picture. YLT 'hath been caused to come down' is clumsy but exact. Other modern versions say 'was brought down', which keeps both the movement and the hidden agent.

How it drifted

KJV's 'deposed' follows the Latin Vulgate (depositus est). Today 'deposed' calls up a coup or a constitutional removal carried out by people. The Aramaic form leaves the agent unstated, and the context (4:17, 25, 32; 5:21) makes clear it is the Most High.

Used elsewhere in the period

Same root in Dan 4:13, 23: 'a holy one coming down from heaven' who announces the sentence. Compare Isa 14:15 (Hebrew yārad, a different word with the same idea): the king of Babylon who rose up is 'brought down to Sheol'.

Where it appears

Ezra · 3

  1. Ezra 5:15 אֲחֵ֣ת deposit!

    and instructed, ‘Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.’

    Here: A causative command from the root 'to go down', meaning 'cause to go down, set down, deposit'. Ezra 6:5 uses the same verb for placing the vessels in God's house. It is the language of putting something in its proper storage or place.

  2. Ezra 6:1 מְהַחֲתִ֥ין [were] deposited

    Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.

  3. Ezra 6:5 וְתַחֵ֖ת so you may deposit [them]

    Furthermore, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, must also be returned to the temple in Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.

Daniel · 3

  1. Daniel 4:13 נָחִֽת׃ [was] coming down

    As I lay on my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

    Here: A participle, 'coming down'. The descent is shown as it happens. The upward reach of the tree is met by a downward movement from heaven.

  2. Daniel 4:23 נָחִ֣ת׀ coming down

    And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying: ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass him by.’

    Here: A participle, 'coming down': the dream showed the messenger in the act of descending from heaven to earth with a verdict.

  3. Daniel 5:20 הָנְחַת֙ he was deposed

    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: 'He was made to come down, was brought down.' The verb form means someone else did the bringing down, and the context shows that someone is God. It is the exact opposite of 'rose high' at the start of the verse.

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