Aramaic word · H7990

שַׁלִּיט

shalit

ruling

"Having power, authorized, master, ruler". It comes from the root š-l-ṭ, "to have power over". It describes royal and official authority (Ezra 4:20 "mighty kings… ruling"; Dan 2:10 "no great and powerful king"; Dan 5:29 Daniel made "third ruler").

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

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) having mastery, having authority, ruling

1a) having or exercising mastery, ruling

1b) ruler (subst)

1c) having authority

1c1) it is authorised

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 4:25

Range of meaning

"Having power, authorized, master, ruler". It comes from the root š-l-ṭ, "to have power over". It describes royal and official authority (Ezra 4:20 "mighty kings… ruling"; Dan 2:10 "no great and powerful king"; Dan 5:29 Daniel made "third ruler"). It can also mean legal control ("it is permitted", Ezra 7:24). Hebrew šallîṭ (Gen 42:6, Joseph the "governor"; Eccl 8:8) and Arabic sulṭān come from the same root.

Against the English

"Rules" (BSB, KJV, ESV) is accurate. NIV's "is sovereign" catches the absolute claim, but it loses the plain court-language word that Nebuchadnezzar's own officials would use. YLT's "is ruler" keeps the fact that the Aramaic is an adjective or title, not a verb.

Used elsewhere in the period

Imperial Aramaic papyri and Ezra use the root for the authority of Persian officials. In Daniel the root is a thread through the chapters: the king "rules" (2:38–39, šleṭ); God "rules" (4:17, 4:25, 4:32, 5:21); Heaven "rules" (4:26, šalliṭin); and the dominion (šolṭān) finally given to "one like a son of man" (7:14).

From the study of Daniel 4:32

Range of meaning

'Ruler, one with authority, powerful.' Used as a noun ('a ruler') or as a statement ('is in control, has the say'). From the root šlṭ, 'to have power over,' the same root behind the later Arabic title sultān.

Against the English

KJV 'ruleth,' BSB/WEB 'rules,' YLT 'is ruler,' NIV 'is sovereign.' All are accurate. 'Sovereign' brings in a more abstract theological word, while the Aramaic word is the normal word for a real official with real authority.

Used elsewhere in the period

Aramaic: Daniel 2:10, 2:15 ('captain'), 4:17, 25, 26, 32, 5:21, 29; Ezra 4:20, 7:24. Hebrew: Genesis 42:6, where Joseph is 'the šallîṭ over the land'; Ecclesiastes 7:19, 8:8, 10:5. The root is common in Imperial Aramaic administrative texts.

From the study of Daniel 4:17

Range of meaning

Having power, master, ruler, one who is entitled to command. The related noun šolṭan means 'dominion'.

Against the English

'Rules' (BSB, KJV, WEB) is close. NIV's 'sovereign' captures the sense of supreme, unchallenged authority. In Aramaic it is an adjective used as a statement ('the Most High is master over…'), not an action verb. It describes standing authority.

Used elsewhere in the period

It becomes the refrain of the chapter and of the next one (Dan 4:17, 25, 32; 5:21). It also describes Daniel as 'third ruler' in 5:29 and is used in Ezra 4:20 and 7:24. In Hebrew the same word describes Joseph as 'ruler over the land' (Gen 42:6). The noun šolṭan ('dominion') is what the one like a son of man receives in Dan 7:14.

Where it appears

Ezra · 2

  1. Ezra 4:20 וְשַׁ֨לִּיטִ֔ין and having mastery

    And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.

    Here: "Holding authority": the power to give orders and collect what is owed. The same word comes back in Ezra 7:24, where no one is "authorized" to take these same three taxes from the temple staff.

  2. Ezra 7:24 שַׁלִּ֖יט [is] authorized

    And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

Daniel · 8

  1. Daniel 2:10 וְשַׁלִּ֔יט and powerful

    The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

  2. Daniel 2:15 שַׁלִּיטָ֣א captain the

    “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

  3. Daniel 4:17 שַׁלִּ֨יט [is] having mastery

    This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’

    Here: "Sovereign" or "has mastery". It is an adjective used as a statement: real power over human kingship belongs to the Most High. The same root gives the Arabic word *sultan*.

  4. Daniel 4:25 שַׁלִּ֤יט [is] having mastery

    You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.

    Here: An adjective, "is master, has authority". It is the vocabulary of the court: the same word is used for officials and for the king's own rule (cf. Dan 2:10, 5:29). Here it belongs to God.

  5. Daniel 4:26 שַׁלִּטִ֖ן [are] having mastery

    As for the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules.

  6. Daniel 4:32 שַׁלִּ֤יט [is] having mastery

    You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.”

    Here: 'Is ruler, holds power.' It is an adjective used as a statement: the Most High is the one with real control. The word is related to the later Arabic title 'sultan.'

  7. Daniel 5:21 שַׁלִּ֞יט [was] having mastery

    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: A word describing a state, 'is sovereign, holds power', with no time limit. It states a permanent fact, not an event.

  8. Daniel 5:29 שַׁלִּ֛יט having mastery

    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.

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