| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative formula aneh {עָנֵה | ʿā-neh} ‘answered’ + ve-amar {וְאָמַר | wə-ʾā-mar} ‘and said,’ marking Daniel’s speech. The participle chazeh {חָזֵה | ḥā-zēh} ‘saw’ combined with the perfect havveit {הֲוֵית | ha-vêṯ} ‘I was’ establishes an ongoing visionary state. The locative bechezevi {בְּחֶזְוִי | bə-ḥez-vî} ‘in my vision’ personalizes the revelation, while im-leilya {עִם־לֵילְיָא | ʿim-lēl-yā} ‘at night’ sets the temporal frame. The attention marker va'aru {וַאֲרוּ | wa-ʾă-rû} ‘and behold’ shifts focus to the vision itself. The construct chain arba ruchei shemayya {אַרְבַּע רוּחֵי שְׁמַיָּא | ar-baʿ rū-ḥê šə-may-yā} ‘four winds of heaven’ depicts cosmic forces, with the participle megikhan {מְגִיחָן | mə-gi-ḥān} ‘stirring’ indicating continuous agitation toward the destination leyamma rabba {לְיַמָּא רַבָּא | lə-yam-mā rab-bā} ‘the great sea.’ The formal rendering maintains linear reporting, while the dynamic emphasizes immediacy through active diction and tightened syntax. |