H5931 H5931
Matter, affair, occasion; grounds for accusation or legal case
This Aramaic noun denotes a matter, affair, or occasion, particularly in legal contexts. All three occurrences in Daniel 6 concern the officials' search for 'grounds of accusation' against Daniel. Unable to find any corruption or negligence in his administration, they conspire to create a religious pretext for his condemnation. The word represents the legal case or charge they seek to bring against him. Cognate with Syriac terms for cause or occasion, the word emphasizes the formal, legal dimension of their plot. Their failure to find any 'illa' (grounds) in Daniel's governance testifies to his integrity—a frustration that drives them to manufacture a religious law he cannot obey.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Three occurrences in Daniel 6:4-5, all in the phrase seeking 'grounds for accusation' against Daniel. The multilingual evidence shows varied approaches: some versions give 'occasion,' others show transliteration or references to related verbs ('went up'). The legal context is clear: Daniel's enemies need a formal charge to bring before the king, but his blameless administration provides no opportunity. The repetition emphasizes their thorough but fruitless investigation—no corruption, no negligence, no grounds for accusation in his civic life. Only his uncompromising religious devotion offers them an angle. 3×
AR["عِلَّةً", "عِلَّةٍ"]·ben["কারণ"]·DE["[עלא]", "ging-hinauf"]·EN["ground"]·FR["[עלא]", "il-est-monté"]·heb["עילה"]·HI["कारण"]·ID["alasan"]·IT["[עלא]", "[עלה]"]·jav["alesan"]·KO["구실-과", "구실-을"]·PT["pretexto"]·RU["предлог", "предлога"]·ES["ocasión"]·SW["sababu"]·TR["bahane"]·urd["بہانہ"]
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
† עִלָּה n.f. matter, affair, occasion (Syriac ܥܶܠܬܳܐ, v. BH I. עלל);—abs. ע׳ Dn 6:5(×2), 6 (= ground of accusation).