What Does Daniel 2:46 Mean in the King James?
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 analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
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.
“worshipped” 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 to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.THE THREAD
That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath 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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