Daniel 2:22: “He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.”
This morning I was reading in the Book of James and found myself cross referencing the term Father of Lights found in James 1:17 to the Book of Daniel. What I found interesting in Daniel 2:22 is that the word for light is the Aramaic word noohra. Daniel chapters 2-8 were written in a Chaldean form of Aramaic. There are basically three words in Aramaic for light. One is qal which is a small flickering light. Another word is “lampa’d’ which is a light coming from the sun or other natural sources like candle light. The third word is the common word for light and has multiple meanings. This is the word noohra which is used for the light of God. This is the light that Jesus declared himself to be when He spoke the word in the Old Galilean form of Aramaic. The Greek is not so specific, then again neither is the English. When Jesus said He was the light of the world in the Gospel of John the Greek word used was phos which is a reference to both natural light and spiritual light, just as we have only one word in English which is light.
The Hebrew word for light is ‘or which is spelled differently than the Aramaic word which is spelled Nun, Hei, and Resh. The Hebrew word is spelled “Aleph, Vav, Resh. The Hebrew word for light expresses a connection between the natural and the supernatural or more specifically a connection of God to man through the Holy Spirit. The Aramaic word has the Hebrew word ‘or embedded in it but is also expresses more of the wisdom and knowledge of God.
Here is what is interesting in Daniel 2:22. The Aramaic word light is repeated two times. Repetition of words is not practiced in our Western languages as it is considered redundant. Yet, it is a very common practice in the Semitic languages. This is done for various reasons. Sometimes to show emphasis, sometimes to express a poetic thought, sometimes just for clarification. However, just because a word is repeated, that does not mean the second time the word is used that it means the same thing. In Classical Hebrew there are only 7,500 words compared to a million in Modern Hebrew. Hence, a word must go a long ways in Classical Hebrew and one word can have multiple meanings. Many translators just ignore the redundant use of a word, others simply assume it means an emphasis and will render the English word more emphatically. Rarely will they consider the repetition of the word as an expression of a secondary meaning.
Considering the importance of the Aramaic word noohra in this passage, I believe the writer specially chose the repetition to encompass its double meaning as a connection between man and God and the use of the word to express wisdom. Indeed the first form of the word noohra is spelled as nihra and then is repeated as noohra. The use of the first form uses a Yod between the Hei and the Resh showing the wisdom of God and the second form uses a Vav between the Hei and the Resh showing the connection of God to man.
In other words Daniel was expressing exactly how he wanted to hear from God. He could have been given a word by a prophet, prophetic event, or an angel. This was too important so Daniel wanted to hear it directly from God.
The sages teach that our dreams are a connection to the wisdom of God. Jewish literature is filled with stories of rabbis writing out a dream question. They would write out a question and place it under their mattress or pillow and that night God would give them the answer in a dream. It is believed by the sages that when you dream your physical body and mind are inactive which allows your spirit the total freedom to interact with God. During your waken state your interaction with God is hindered by the natural body and mind and creates a barrier between your spirit and God. It is your spirit that communicates with God and not your mind or body. Thus one third of your life is spent with the body and mind at rest so your spirit is free to commune with God. It is during this time your mind and God’s mind are so interactive that you would not be able to bear all the revelation you receive so God puts this information in the form of symbolism and if it is too much for you to bear He may not even allow you to remember your dream.
Based upon the teachings of the ancient sages it would appear that nirhra noohra really means that Daniel was requesting God to give him an answer in a dream where it is not clouded in symbolism or forgotten but is a clear encounter with his spirit and the mind of God. God answered that prayer because we know in Daniel 2:22 that he received his answer from God in a night vision. The Aramaic word used here for vision is chazah which means a revelation through a vision or an appearance. Joined with the adjective layal (night) many sages believe this was a waking dream. The Talmud teaches that the last dream you have when you are waking up and are half awake and half asleep is considered a prophetic dream.
Hence the phrase, “and the light dwelleth with him” would suggest in the Aramaic that in this waking dream he made a connection with God and in that connection he knew what was in the heart of God.
I considered this because so many of my word studies have their origin from my waking dreams. For instance this morning as I was half awake and half asleep I saw the words “James 1:17” and actually heard the word spoken in my waking dream. Up to now I always figured that when I dreamed about a Hebrew word or a Scripture verse I must have read it somewhere and planned to study it out and my subconscious was just reminding me to study it out. Then again, maybe, just maybe it was a nirhra noohra and God was instructing me to search it out. Oh well, either way I certainly have nothing to lose by making a study of a verse or word that appears in a waking dream? No?
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