What Does Daniel 12:8 Mean?
And I heard, but I could not discern. Then I said, "My lord, what shall come after these things?"
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
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?THE KEY
The “end” Daniel asks about is what comes after, the outcome beyond what he does not yet understand.
THE MEANING
You can hear the words clearly and still not discern what they mean; the verse gives that gap plain language. Not understanding does not erase the question of what comes next, the uncertainty itself can be named.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that hearing a message means you must already understand it.
THE ROOT
אַחֲרִית
acharit
GROWS FROM
אחר
After, behind; what comes later.
“what shall come after these things” in this verse is acharit. The word translated “end” carries the sense of what follows, the latter outcome or future. Daniel’s question reaches toward what comes after, even while the meaning of what he hears remains unclear.
ALSO GROWS
aḥar: After, behind.
אַחַר
This root sense gives “end” the shade of what follows, not only a stopping point.
aḥaron: Last, latter.
אַחֲרוֹן
This related form describes what comes later, echoing Daniel’s question about the outcome ahead.
אָבִין
avin
GROWS FROM
בין
Discern, understand, perceive distinctions.
“could not discern” in this verse is avin. Daniel hears, but the words do not yet resolve into discernment. The root connects his “understood not” with a whole family of words for understanding, making the gap one of perception rather than hearing.
ALSO GROWS
binah: Understanding, discernment.
בִּינָה
This noun names the understanding missing from Daniel’s hearing.
tevunah: Insight, discernment.
תְּבוּנָה
This related form shows that the root reaches beyond receiving words to seeing how they fit together.
THE PATTERN
Hearing words and discerning their meaning are distinct; the gap can remain visible and become a question.
And he said, Go, and say to this people, Hear and hear again, but do not discern; see and see again, but do not perceive.And they did not put any of these things together, and this word was covered from them, and they did not know what was spoken.Then Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah, the prophet, and said, Do you know what you are reading?THE THREAD
Give me discernment, and I keep watch over your instruction. I guard it with my whole heart.“Understanding” here comes from the same root, בין (bin, discern or understand), as Daniel’s “understood not.” The shared word-family holds both the absence of discernment and the capacity being asked for.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us