Hebrew Word Study – Wait – Chakah

Daniel 12:12:  “Blessed is he that waits, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”

Much has been said and written about this 1,335 and I will not get into any of that. I know there are many theories about what these 1,335 days (years?) represent and I am sure you have your own pet theory. You can pick up any dispensational book and get their multiple take on this as well as any commentary.  Not that your or their take is wrong, but I am persuaded that there are multiple meanings to many passages of Scripture for many periods of time. I just want to wave my particular flag over one theory you might not have heard yet. 

We need to remember that Daniel wrote this book for the people of  God who were in captivity.   They were still under a repressive rule and he had to be careful with what he wrote. Let’s face it, there were no printing presses in those days and very few literate people and those who could write did not spend their time writing personal memoirs. Anything anyone wrote was very likely to become public knowledge. So Daniel most likely wrote out a message to his people, the Jews, in a way that only Jews could understand its hidden meaning.  Daniel 2:4 – 7:28 was written in Aramaic, the language of the Babylonians which was also adopted by the Jewish people, but the rest was written in Hebrew the sacred, ceremonial language of the Jews. This portion was in Hebrew, most likely because Daniel wanted to use the sacred, and esoteric aspect of the language to express things specific to the people of that language.

First is the let’s look at the word blessed. This is not the Hebrew word baruch the most common word for bless but ‘asher which also means blessed but carries the idea of happiness and good fortune in a material sense. This would be good news for the Jewish people in captivity who had little in the way of material good fortune.  This happiness and good fortune goes to those who wait.  The word here for wait is in a Piel participle form. It shows a present action. It is not the word qavah like in Isaiah 40:31 for those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. That word has the idea of making rope, that is binding yourself to God.  This wait is chakah which is waiting for the right moment to act, like waiting in ambush. You do not want to attack too soon or too late. Your timing must be perfect to succeed. Hence, this is not just sitting down twiddling your thumbs waiting but involves an actual, disciplined effort to focus your attention on your ultimate goal, like a sniper or hunter so you do not miss your opportunity.  Being in a Piel form that means you are to pursue your relationship with God at all costs so you are ready when the Spirit of God is ready to move. Those who would receive this ‘ashar, this blessing of happiness and joy had to put out of their minds their hunger, their homelessness, their fear of the captors and their future and just focus totally on God.  Then such a person would come into the 1,335 days. Are these literal days or prophetic years, perhaps. The word come is naga’ which also means to touch.  It is in a Hiphal future form so it has the idea that if you pursue God with every fiber of your being you will be cause to touch 1,335. The definite article before one thousand is not found in the Hebrew text which suggests that there are multiple understandings or this may not be a literal 1,335.

I could go on for pages here, so this will be very abridged.  There are many symbolic meanings for 1,000.  It sometimes represents overcoming, sometimes it represents fullness, sometimes keeping the law or the fullness of the law, it could mean becoming a son, it could mean belief, or shinning and there is more. It could mean more than one of these or all of these possibilities   Which is it? Whatever the Holy Spirit is telling you personally.  Numerically it is the word aleph which means to cleave or bind yourself to something. Aleph also as the first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet represents God. So 1,000 could mean to cleave or bind yourself to God.

300  often represents the Holy Spirit, fullness of wisdom, and the Lion of Judah which we as Christians we interpret as Jesus Christ. To the Jew, it is the redeemer.  300 is also the letter Shin which represents divine power, peace, nearness of God, wholeness, and completion.   30 is often the symbol of consecration.  It is also the letter Lamed which represents prayer, divine knowledge, reaching up to heaven.  The word 30 comes from the root for sacrificial lamb or as a lamb.  5 represents grace and mercy.  This spells out the word shalah which is a word for undisturbed peace and prosperity. Thus, Daniel could be signaling to the Jews to be patient and waiting and anticipating for that right time when they will enter into a time of prosperity and peace. 

The word “days” “yomim” can mean days or years as we all know, but it can also mean a period of time or even the hidden message of God (yod, mem).   I personally think Daniel was given a coded message to the Jewish people about the coming of the Messiah. A very appropriate way to end his book with encouragement.  Just sit and wait for that right moment, be patient, do not act too quickly or so late and you will enter into a period of peace and prosperity.  That is a message for us today as it was for the Jews in ancient times.

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