H0399 H0399
eat, devour (literal); accuse, slander (idiom: eat pieces of)
Senses
1. eat, devour (literal) — Aramaic verb in the Pe'al stem meaning to eat or devour, used literally and in apocalyptic imagery. In Daniel 4:30 (Eng 4:33), Nebuchadnezzar eats grass like an ox during his madness. In Daniel's visions, the fourth beast 'devours the whole earth' (Dan 7:7, 19, 23), and the terrifying beast with iron teeth devours and crushes (Dan 7:5). The feminine imperative אֲכֻלִי 'devour!' appears in Dan 7:5. Multilingual glosses reflect literal consumption: arb يَأْكُلُ 'he eats,' hin खाता–था 'he used to eat,' fra manger 'to eat.' Cognate with Biblical Hebrew אָכַל (H0398). 5×
AR["كُلِي","وَ-يَأْكُلُ","يَأْكُلُ"]·ben["এবং-খাবে","খাও","খেত","খেলেন"]·DE["[אכלה]","[אכלי]","[ותאכל]","[יאכל]"]·EN["and-will-devour","devour","devouring","he-ate"]·FR["et-manger","manger"]·heb["אוכלת","אכל","אכלי","ו-תאכל"]·HI["और-खाएगा","खा","खाता-था"]·ID["dan-akan-memakan","ia-makan","makanlah","memakan"]·IT["[אכלה]","[אכלי]","[ותאכל]","[יאכל]"]·jav["lan-badhé-mangsa","nedha","piyambakipun-nedha","sami-mangsa"]·KO["그리고-먹을것이다","먹는","먹어라","먹었고"]·PT["comia","devora","devorando","e-devorará"]·RU["ел","ешь","и-пожрёт","пожирающий"]·ES["comía","devora","devoraba","y-devorará"]·SW["alikula","na-utaila","ula"]·TR["ve-yiyecek","ye","yedi","yiyen","yiyordu"]·urd["اور-کھائے-گی","کھا","کھاتا-تھا"]
2. accuse, slander (idiom: eat pieces of) — Aramaic idiom קָרְצֵיהוֹן אֲכַלוּ (literally 'they ate their pieces'), an expression meaning to bring malicious accusations or to slander. Used in Dan 3:8 where Chaldeans accused the Jews before Nebuchadnezzar, and Dan 6:24 (Eng 6:25) where accusers of Daniel were thrown into the lions' den. The idiom is paralleled in Akkadian karsu akalu. Multilingual glosses confirm the figurative meaning: arb اشْتَكَوْا 'they complained/accused,' hin दोष–लगाया 'leveled charges.' This is a genuinely distinct sense from literal eating, representing a fixed idiomatic expression in Imperial Aramaic. 2×
AR["اشْتَكَوْا","وَ-اشْتَكَوْا"]·ben["এবং-খেলেন","খেয়েছিল"]·DE["[אכלו]","[ואכלו]"]·EN["accused","and-accused"]·FR["et-mangez!","mangez!"]·heb["אכלו","ו-אכלו"]·HI["और-दोष-लगाया","खाई-थी"]·ID["dan-menuduh","menuduh"]·IT["[אכלו]","[ואכלו]"]·jav["lan-ndarmel-pitenah","sami-nggègoraken"]·KO["그리고-고발하였다","잡아먹었던"]·PT["acusaram","e-devoraram"]·RU["и-обвинили","обвинили"]·ES["habían-acusado","y-acusaron"]·SW["na-wakawashtaki","walishtaki"]·TR["suçlamıştı","ve-iftira-ettiler"]·urd["الزام-لگایا-تھا","اور-الزام-لگایا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [אֲכַל] vb. eat, devour (BH);— Pe. Pf. 3 mpl. אֲכַ֫לוּ Dn 3:8; 6:25; Impf. 3 ms. יֵאכֻל 4:30; 3 fs. תֵּאכֻל 7:23; Imv. fs. אֲכֻ֫לִי v 5; Pt. fs. אָֽכְלָה v 7, 19;— 1. eat, of beast, Dn 4:30 (acc. rei). 2. devour, of beast in vision, 7:5 (acc. rei), abs. v 7, 19; hence fig. of kingdom, devour, devastate, v 23 (acc. of earth). 3. in phr. א׳ קַרְצֵיהוֹן 3:8 eat their pieces, i.e. slander them, cf.6:25 (v. קְרַץ).