Daniel 4:8 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with a temporal-concessive sequence veʿad ʾaḥărēn {וְעַד אָחֳרֵין | wə-ʿaḏ ʾā-ḥo-rēn} that functions idiomatically as “but at last” or “finally,” marking Daniel’s appearance as the culmination of prior, unsuccessful attempts to obtain an interpretation. The prepositional chain ʿal qodamay {עַל קֳדָמַי | ʿal qo-ḏā-mai} “upon/before me” establishes the spatial setting “in my presence” before introducing the subject dāniyyel {דָּנִיֵּאל | dā-nî-yēl}. The clause is verbless, a common Aramaic structure where the copula or motion verb is understood from context; English therefore supplies “came” to convey the narrative action. The relative expression dî-šəmēh {דִּי־שְׁמֵהּ | dî-šə-mēh} “whose name” introduces an explanatory clause, followed by the appositive bēlṭəšaʾṣṣar {בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר | bēl-ṭə-ša-ʾaṣ-ṣar} “Belteshazzar.” The phrase kəšum ʾĕlāhī {כְּשֻׁם אֱלָהִי | kə-šum ʾĕ-lā-hî} “according to the name of my god” explains that this court name is patterned after Nebuchadnezzar’s own deity, signaling religious and cultural assimilation. A second relative clause begins with wədî {וְדִי | wə-dî}, functioning here as “and in whom,” and predicates of Daniel that there is ruaḥ-ʾĕlāhīn qaddišîn {רוּחַ־אֱלָהִין קַדִּישִׁין | rû-aḥ-ʾĕ-lā-hîn qad-dî-šîn} “a spirit of the holy gods,” with qaddišîn modifying ʾĕlāhīn. The prepositional phrase bēh {בֵּהּ | bēh} “in him” identifies Daniel as the bearer of this extraordinary spirit, encapsulating the king’s polytheistic perception of Daniel’s God-given wisdom. The final clause foregrounds the object with wəḥelmā {וְחֶלְמָא | wə-ḥel-mā} “and the dream,” followed by the prepositional phrase qodāmōhî {קֳדָמוֹהִי | qo-ḏā-mō-hî} “before him,” and concludes with the verb ʾămart {אֲמַרְתּ | ʾă-mart} “I said / I told.” This object–prepositional phrase–verb order places rhetorical emphasis on the dream itself and on Daniel as its hearer, while English normalizes the sequence to “I told the dream before him” to maintain clarity yet still let “the dream” stand close to the verb of speaking.