H2920 H2920
dew (Aramaic); the dew of heaven as a symbol of exposure and divine humbling
An Aramaic noun for dew, appearing exclusively in Daniel's account of Nebuchadnezzar's madness. Five times the text declares that the king's body would be 'wet with the dew of heaven' -- a repeated motif emphasizing his reduction from royal splendor to animal-like exposure in the open field. The phrase 'dew of heaven' (טַל שְׁמַיָּא) becomes almost a refrain. Spanish 'rocío' and French 'rosée' both capture the gentle yet relentless natural phenomenon that marks divine judgment.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Dew, specifically the dew of heaven (טַל שְׁמַיָּא), used in the Aramaic portions of Daniel as a repeated marker of Nebuchadnezzar's exposure to the elements during his divinely decreed madness (Dan 4:15, 23, 25, 33; 5:21). The construct phrase always pairs with 'heaven,' emphasizing that the mightiest king is humbled beneath open sky. Spanish 'rocío de' and French 'rosée' faithfully render the meteorological term, while the theological weight lies in its fivefold repetition as divine discipline. 5×
AR["وَ-بِنَدَى", "وَ-مِنْ-نَدَى"]·ben["এবং-শিশিরে"]·DE["[ובטל]", "[ומטל]"]·EN["and-with-dew-of"]·FR["et-de-rosée", "et-rosée"]·heb["ו-ב-טל", "ו-מ-טל"]·HI["और-ओस-से"]·ID["dan-dengan-embun"]·IT["e-dalla-rugiada", "e-rugiada"]·jav["lan-kalayan-ebun", "lan-saking-bun"]·KO["그리고-이슬-로"]·PT["e-com-o-orvalho-dos"]·RU["и-от-росы", "и-росой"]·ES["y-con-el-rocío-de"]·SW["na-kwa-umande-wa"]·TR["ve-çiyle"]·urd["اور-آسمان-کی-اوس-سے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† טַל n.[m.] dew (v. BH I. טלל);—cstr. טַל שְׁמַיָּא Dn 4:12, 20, 22, 30; 5:21.