Daniel 4:14 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 4:14
He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
aloud
בְחַ֜יִלve.Cha.yil
H2429
an army · preposition + noun, common both genders singular absolute
said
אָמַ֗ר'a.Mar
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
thus
וְכֵ֣ןve.Khen
H3652
so · conjunction + adverb
down
גֹּ֤דּוּGo.du
H1414
to cut down · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
tree
אִֽילָנָא֙'i.la.Na'
H363
a tree · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
off
וְקַצִּ֣צוּve.ka.Tzi.tzu
H7113
to chop off (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
branches
עַנְפ֔וֹהִיan.Fo.hi
H6056
a twig (as covering the limbs) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
off
אַתַּ֥רוּ'a.Ta.ru
H5426
to jump · verb, imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
leaves
עָפְיֵ֖הּ'a.fe.Yeh
H6074
a twig · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
scatter
וּבַדַּ֣רוּu.va.Da.ru
H921
to scatter · conjunction + verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
fruit
אִנְבֵּ֑הּ'in.Beh
H4
a green plant · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
beasts
חֵֽיוְתָא֙chei.ve.Ta'
H2423
an animal · noun, common feminine singular determined + particle of affirmation
away
תְּנֻ֤דte.Nud
H5111
to flee · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
from
מִןmin-
H4481
properly · preposition
it
תַּחַתtachath
H8479
the bottom (as depressed)
fowls
וְצִפְּרַיָּ֖אve.tzi.pe.rai.Ya'
H6853
a bird. · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
from
מִןmin-
H4481
properly · preposition
branches
עַנְפֽוֹהִיan.Fo.hi
H6056
a twig (as covering the limbs) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast int…
Ezekiel 31:12-13 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are…
Daniel 4:23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stu…
Daniel 3:4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
Daniel 4:12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the f…
Matthew 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Luke 3:9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast int…
Luke 13:7-9 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down;…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 4:4-18
Nebuchadnezzar, before he relates the judgments of God that had been wrought upon him for his pride, gives an account of the fair warning he had of them before they came, a due regard to which might have prevented them. But he was told of them, and of the issue of them, before they came to pass, that, when they did come to pass, by comparing them with the prediction of them, he might see, and say, that they were the Lord's doing, and might be brought to believe that there is a divine revelation in the world, as well as a divine Providence, and that the works of God agree with his word.
Now, in the account he here gives of his dream, by which he had notice of what was coming, we may observe,…
Hew down-- (Mat 3:10; Luk 13:7). The holy (Jde 1:14) one incites his fellow angels to God's appointed work (compare Rev 14:15, Rev 14:18).
beasts get away from under it--It shall no longer afford them shelter (Eze 31:12).
Adam Clarke on Daniel 4:14
Hew down the tree - As the tree was to be cut down, the beasts are commanded to flee away from under his branches. His courtiers, officers, etc., all abandoned him as soon as his insanity appeared; but he soon fled from the society of men.
John Gill on Daniel 4:14
He cried aloud,.... Or, with strengths; (l) being a mighty angel, and that he might be heard far and near:
and said thus, hew down the tree; remove this mighty monarch from his throne; take away his government from him: this is said to fellow angels employed in the affairs of Providence, and the execution of them, to bring about an event so momentous:
and cut off his branches; take away his provinces, each of the parts of his dominion, from him:
shake off his leaves: cause his deputy governors to shake off their allegiance to him:
and scatter his fruit; the revenues of his vast empire, and let others take them:
let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches; thos…
And so when the angel came down from heaven and said, "Cut down the tree and strip its branches and shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts be loosed from under it and the birds from its branches" [Daniel 4:14], this indicates the occurrence of a plot by the satraps against the king and by those who are in power under them. After he was banished by them, he fled to the desert and his kingdom and the authority and majesty which he had formerly were taken, because he boasted and said, "Who is the god, who shall take you from my hands?" [Daniel 3:15] Later stooping piteously to the earth, and wailing in the mountains, he lived with the beasts, fearing his satraps, lest he be killed by them. And on account of this Scripture says, "He shall lie outside in the grass and in the dew of heaven and with the beasts and his portion shall be in the grass of the earth. His heart shall be changed from men and a heart of a beast shall be given to him." [Daniel 4:15-16] For no longer did the great king and ruler live as a man administering the kingdom, but being alone in the desert he ate grass and herbs until his heart was changed and became as a beast who lived in forests and caverns, until his hair grew as a lion's and his nails grew large as a bird's and seven seasons passed over him. [Daniel 4:32] For in this way God the Most High interpreted these things to be, just as Daniel says, "The judgment is of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king." [Daniel 4:24] The Word, having heard the council of the Father, descended from heaven to proclaim the will of the Father through angels, as Scripture says, "A holy one descended from heaven." [Daniel 4:13] The angels consulted the Word, "What does the master command us?" For this is the request of the saints. The word to them was that God the Most High says this, "Cut down the tree and strip its branches and shake its leaves." [Daniel 4:14] Those who heard this routed the powers of the king, so that they took away his kingdom. For all the nations were handed over to the angels, as John says in the Apocalypse, "And I heard one saying, 'Release the four angels who reside on the great river Euphrates'" [Revelation 9:13-14] who are Persians, Medes, Assyrians, and Babylonians.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Daniel — God is my judge, or judge of God. (1.) David’s second son, “born unto him in Hebron, of Abigail the Carmelitess” (1 Chr. 3:1). He is called also Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3). (2.) One of the four great…
Leaf — Of a tree. The olive-leaf mentioned Gen. 8:11. The barren fig-tree had nothing but leaves (Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:13). The oak-leaf is mentioned Isa. 1:30; 6:13. There are numerous allusions to leaves,…
Media — Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.…
Oak — There are six Hebrew words rendered “oak.” (1.) ‘El occurs only in the word El-paran (Gen. 14:6). The LXX. renders by “terebinth.” In the plural form this word occurs in Isa. 1:29; 57:5 (A.V. marg.…
Trees · Parts of mentioned: The branches — Parts of mentioned: The branches
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Daniel 4:13-16
Daniel 4:13-16
13. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
13. Videbam etiam in visionibus capitis mei super cubile meum, et ecce vigil et sanctus descendit e coelis.
14. He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
14. Clamavit in fortitudine, hoc est, fortiter, et ita loquutus est, Succidite arborem, et diripite folia ejus, [211] excutite ramos ejus, et dispergite fructus ejus: fugiat bestia ex umbra ejus, de subtus, ad verbum, et aves ex frondibus ejus, vel ex ramis ejus.…
The messenger of God cried with might (cf. Dan 3:4), "as a sign of the strong, firm utterance of a purpose" (Kran.). The command, Hew it down, is not given to the angels (Hv., Hitz., Auberl.). The plur. here is to be regarded as impersonal: the tree shall be cut down. אתּרוּ stands for אתּרוּ according to the analogy of the verbs 3rd gutt., from נתד, to fall off, spoken of withering leaves. In consequence of the destruction of the tree, the beasts which found shelter under it and among its branches flee away. Yet the tree shall not be altogether destroyed, but its stock (v. 12 15) shall remain in the earth, that it may again afterwards spring up and grow into a tree. The stem is not the roya…
The messenger had full authority as the representative of the Most High to announce God’s decrees and demand that they be fulfilled.
Rashi on Daniel 4:14
the edict a decree, but since they take counsel from the Holy One, blessed be He, before they issue the decree, he calls it a question.
in order that Aram. עַד דִּבְרַת, like לְמַעַן.
that the living should know in order that all the living should know.
and to whom He wishes [as translated,] and to whom He wishes.
