What Does Daniel 2:46 Mean?
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and bowed down to Daniel, and commanded that they bring an offering and sweet scent to him.
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 the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.THE KEY
The verb translated “worshipped” names prostration, so the king’s recognition of Daniel reaches the ground.
THE MEANING
Recognition here takes visible, embodied form: the king falls face-down before Daniel and directs an offering and sweet odors toward him. The interpreter stands at the center of the honor, not only the meaning he has revealed.
THE ROOT
סְגִד
sĕgid
GROWS FROM
סגד
sagad
To bow down or prostrate oneself.
“bowed down” in this verse is sĕgid. This root makes worship bodily: the word pictures someone lowering themselves before another. The same verb appears when Nebuchadnezzar commands others to bow before the image in Daniel 3, making the direction of homage especially striking.
ALSO GROWS
sĕgid: He bowed down or prostrated himself.
סְגִד
This is the form used for the king’s act before Daniel.
tisgədûn: You will bow down or worship.
תִּסְגְּדוּן
This form appears in the command to bow before the image in Daniel 3:5, echoing the king’s posture here.
לְנַסָּכָה
lĕnassākāh
GROWS FROM
נסך
nasakh
To pour out, or to pour into a mold.
The English “offer” can sound abstract, but this verb pictures pouring. The verse’s gift is an outpouring, and the same Hebrew root can describe metal poured into a mold, giving the act a concrete shape.
ALSO GROWS
nesekh: A poured libation or drink offering.
נֶסֶךְ
This branch names an offering made by pouring, illuminating the physical image inside the verse’s verb.
massekhah: A cast or molten image.
מַסֵּכָה
This branch uses the same root for metal poured into a form, showing how the root can hold both an outpouring and a shaped object.
THE PATTERN
A person’s perceived authority becomes visible when others bow the body before them.
And he made him ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried out before him, Bend the knee! And he set him over all the land of Egypt.And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and bowed down before him.Look, I give from the gathering of the Adversary those who call themselves Jews, and they are not, but they lie. Look, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will perceive that I have loved you.THE THREAD
At whatever time you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and bow down to the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.The Aramaic verb here shares the root סגד (sagad) with the command to worship in Daniel 3:5. In this verse, Nebuchadnezzar bows to Daniel; in the next chapter’s scene, he orders others to bow before an image, making the direction of homage impossible to miss.
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