What Does Daniel 6:17 Mean?
And a stone was brought and set upon the mouth of the pit, and the king sealed it with his own ring, and with the ring of his great ones, that the word might not change concerning Daniel.
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 a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.THE KEY
The king seals the den to make his sentence seem unchangeable, but the same word for “mouth” returns inside the den, where his seal has no reach.
THE MEANING
Stone, royal signet, and the lords’ signets surround Daniel with visible authority and make the king’s intention look irreversible. The danger is real; this is a boundary built to contain him and fix his fate. Yet a seal records a claim about what will happen, it does not decide what can happen next.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A powerful verdict, once publicly sealed, cannot be changed.
THE ROOT
פום
pūm
GROWS FROM
פום
Mouth; an opening or entrance.
“mouth of the den” in this verse is pūm. The Aramaic word פום (pūm, “mouth”) names the den’s opening here and returns for the lions’ mouths in Daniel 6:22. The stone covers the opening outside Daniel; the later verse says the mouths within are shut.
ALSO GROWS
pūm gubbā: The opening of the pit.
פום גובא
This is the mouth the stone covers in this verse.
pūm aryawātā: The lions’ mouths.
פום אריותא
The same mouth-word appears when Daniel says they do not harm him.
וְחַתְמַהּ
we-ḥatmeh
GROWS FROM
חתמ
To seal or impress a mark that makes an act official.
“sealed” in this verse is we-ḥatmeh. The Aramaic verb חתם (ḥ-t-m, “seal”) connects the physical closure to an official claim: the king marks the den so the purpose concerning Daniel will not change. The seal gives that intention public force, while the following account shows that it does not control the whole outcome.
ALSO GROWS
ḥōtām: A seal or the mark made by one.
חוֹתָם
It makes authority visible, as the king’s and his lords’ signets do here.
ḥātūm: Closed or marked with a seal.
חָתוּם
It names the state the king intends the den, and Daniel’s fate, to remain in.
אבן
ʾeven
GROWS FROM
אבן
Stone; a solid piece used as a boundary, support, or marker.
The same stone-word can name an obstruction or a foundation, depending on where the stone is set. It can also be heard in the wordplay אב (av, “father”) + בן (ben, “son”), with bet shared; here the stone lies across the den’s mouth, holding a boundary in place.
ALSO GROWS
ʾeven pinnah: A stone set at the corner as a foundation or structural marker.
אבן פינה
The same stone-word can mark what supports a structure, though here the stone is placed to close an opening.
ʾeven negef: A stone that causes someone to stumble.
אבן נגף
The stone-word can also mark an obstruction; here it becomes a barrier meant to contain Daniel.
THE PATTERN
A seal can make a boundary authoritative for a time, but it cannot place that boundary beyond every later change.
And a stone was brought and set upon the mouth of the pit, and the king sealed it with his own ring, and with the ring of his great ones, that the word might not change concerning Daniel.So they went and made the tomb firm, pressing a seal onto the stone, and posted the guard.And he throws the dragon into the pit without floor, shuts him in, and presses a seal upon him, so that he leads the nations off the path no more until the thousand years are finished. After that he must be loosed for a little while.THE THREAD
My God sent his messenger, and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not harmed me, for before him cleanness was found in me, and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.In the Aramaic, פום (pūm, “mouth”) names the den’s opening in 6:17 and the lions’ mouths in 6:22. The repeated word shifts the pressure point: a stone covers the outer mouth, while Daniel’s report says the mouths within are shut.
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