Aramaic word · H7981

שְׁלֵט

shelet

to rule

To have power, mastery or control over; to rule; to have authority. The causative form used here means 'to cause someone to rule, to give someone mastery'. Related words are šallîṭ ('ruler, one with authority', Dan 2:10, 4:17) and šolṭān ('dominion', 4:3, 7:14).

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

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

What it means

1) to have power, rule, domineer, rule over

1a) (P'al) have power upon or over, rule, fall upon, assault, be ruler

1b) (Aphel) make ruler

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 2:38

Range of meaning

To have power, mastery or control over; to rule; to have authority. The causative form used here means 'to cause someone to rule, to give someone mastery'. Related words are šallîṭ ('ruler, one with authority', Dan 2:10, 4:17) and šolṭān ('dominion', 4:3, 7:14). Later Arabic sulṭān comes from the same Semitic root.

Against the English

BSB 'made you ruler', KJV 'made thee ruler', YLT 'caused thee to rule' and WEB 'made you rule' all keep the sense. YLT keeps the causative most clearly.

Used elsewhere in the period

The root runs through the theme of Daniel's Aramaic chapters. In 4:17, 25 and 32, 'the Most High rules (šallîṭ) the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.' In 7:14 the one like a son of man receives an everlasting šolṭān. In 5:7, 16 and 29, Belshazzar offers the reader of the writing the post of third 'ruler'. Biblical Hebrew uses the root in late books (Ecclesiastes, Esther, Nehemiah).

From the study of Daniel 2:48

Range of meaning

"To have power, rule, master." The form here means "cause to rule, give authority over". The related noun šolṭān means "dominion" (Dan 4:3; 7:14).

Against the English

Every major version has "made him ruler" or close to it, which is accurate. What English cannot show is the repeated verb that connects this verse to 2:38.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in Aramaic for exercising authority. Through Arabic, the root later gave the word "sultan". In Daniel 2:38, Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that God "has made you ruler (hašlᵉṭāk) over them all", the same form of the same verb.

From the study of Daniel 3:27

Range of meaning

To rule, have authority or mastery over, to overpower, to get control of. Related nouns: šolṭān "dominion, rule" and šallîṭ "ruler, one with authority". The root is the source of the later Arabic sulṭān.

Against the English

KJV and WEB "had no power" keep the idea of power. BSB "had no effect" and NIV "had not harmed" give the physical result but lose the language of rule. ESV "had not had any power over" is closest.

Used elsewhere in the period

In biblical Aramaic the root runs through Daniel's central question of who truly rules. Nebuchadnezzar "rules" over all (2:38). The "Most High rules (šallîṭ) over the kingdom of men" (4:17, 25, 32). God's "dominion (šolṭān) is an everlasting dominion" (4:34; 7:14). The verb itself appears in 6:24, where the lions "overpowered" (šəleṭû bəhôn) Daniel's accusers before they reached the bottom of the pit. It is also common in Imperial Aramaic documents for legal control over property and people.

Where it appears

Daniel · 7

  1. Daniel 2:38 וְהַשְׁלְטָ֖ךְ and he has made ruler you

    Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

    Here: A causative form: 'he caused you to have mastery'. The king's rule is something done to him by God. He did not seize it. The same root is used in v.39 of the third kingdom that 'will rule all the earth', and in 4:17 of the Most High who 'rules the kingdom of men'.

  2. Daniel 2:39 תִשְׁלַ֖ט it will rule

    But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.

  3. Daniel 2:48 וְהַ֨שְׁלְטֵ֔הּ and he made ruler him

    Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

    Here: "And he made him rule." This form means "cause to have power", so it gives Daniel real authority. It is the same verb Daniel used in 2:38 when he said God "has made you (Nebuchadnezzar) ruler over them all". The king now passes down to Daniel the kind of authority God passed to him.

  4. Daniel 3:27 שְׁלֵ֨ט it had had power

    and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

    Here: "Had not had mastery": the fire did not rule over their bodies. This is the word of political power used for kings and dominion in Daniel, applied to the fire, which had "mastered" the executioners (3:22) but not these men.

  5. Daniel 5:7 יִשְׁלַֽט׃ ס he will rule

    The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

    Here: 'He shall rule' or 'exercise authority': real governing power, not only an honorary title. The promise is hollow, because the kingdom falls that night.

  6. Daniel 5:16 תִּשְׁלַֽט׃ פ you will rule

    But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

  7. Daniel 6:24 שְׁלִ֤טֽוּ they assaulted

    At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

    Here: 'Rule, have mastery over' (the root behind 'sultan'). The lions 'took control' of them. Daniel's book keeps asking who really holds dominion, and here the lions hold it over the men who tried to control Daniel.

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