What Does Daniel 1:13 Mean?
Let our appearance be seen before your face, and the appearance of the children who eat the king's bread; and as you see, so do with your servants."
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.THE KEY
The verse makes the face a visible record: what is received becomes something another can see.
THE MEANING
The comparison is placed in the open: you can see the condition of those receiving one portion beside the condition of those receiving another. What is visible becomes evidence, and the one who sees must decide how to respond.
THE ROOT
מַרְאֶה
mar'eh
GROWS FROM
ראה
To see, look at, or perceive.
Appearance, being seen, and seeing all grow from the same root here. The verse repeats that root from “let our appearance be seen” to “as thou seest,” making visible condition the evidence for the decision.
ALSO GROWS
ra'ah: To see or perceive.
רָאָה
This is the root verb behind the verse’s repeated language of seeing.
ro'eh: One who sees; a seer.
רֹאֶה
It echoes the role of the person asked to inspect the two groups and judge what to do.
mar'eh: Appearance or vision; what is seen.
מַרְאֶה
This is the form translated “countenance,” tying visible appearance directly to the act of seeing.
THE PATTERN
Visible outcomes can serve as evidence for judgment, even though appearance alone does not disclose the whole person.
At the edge of ten days their appearance was seen good, and full in flesh, more than all the children who ate the king's bread.But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have pushed him away. The LORD does not see as the human sees. The human sees what is outside, but the LORD sees the heart.You will know them by their fruits. Do people gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?THE THREAD
At the edge of ten days their appearance was seen good, and full in flesh, more than all the children who ate the king's bread.מַרְאֶה (mar’eh, appearance) and ראה (ra’ah, see) connect the request to look in this verse with the result that appears in the next. The comparison becomes something visible, answering the test the verse sets out.
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