וְדָתָ֣א נֶפְקַ֔ת וְחַכִּֽימַיָּ֖א מִֽתְקַטְּלִ֑ין וּבְעֹ֛ו דָּנִיֵּ֥אל וְחַבְרֹ֖והִי לְהִתְקְטָלָֽה׃
(Daniel 2:13)
And the decree went out, and the wise men were being killed, and they sought Daniyyel and his companions to be killed.
Context and Structure
This verse continues the intensifying narrative after the king’s eruption in Daniel 2:12. We now move from royal fury to administrative execution. This verse highlights key grammatical forms in Biblical Aramaic: decrees in the feminine emphatic, the use of participles to express ongoing passive action, and infinitive constructions of purpose.
Word-by-Word Morphological Analysis
- וְדָתָ֣א – “And the decree”
- דָתָא: noun, “law” or “decree”
- Feminine singular, emphatic state
- וְ: conjunction (“and”)
- נֶפְקַ֔ת – “went out”
- Root: נ־פ־ק (“to go out, issue”)
- Stem: Peʿal
- Form: Perfect, 3fs (matching דָתָא)
- וְחַכִּֽימַיָּ֖א – “and the wise men”
- From חַכִּים, “wise man”
- Plural, emphatic state (definite)
- מִתְקַטְּלִ֑ין – “were being killed”
- Root: ק־ט־ל (“to kill”)
- Stem: Ithpeʿal (reflexive/passive of Peʿal)
- Form: Active participle, masculine plural
- Function: Denotes ongoing or progressive passive action
- Note: Though it overlaps with imperfect aspectually, this is formally a participle
- וּבְעֹ֛ו – “and they sought”
- Root: ב־ע־י (“to seek”)
- Stem: Peʿal
- Form: Perfect, 3mp
- וּ: conjunction; בְעֹו is the 3mp suffix in apocopated form
- דָּנִיֵּ֥אל – “Daniyyel”
- Proper noun; direct object of the verb “they sought”
- וְחַבְרֹ֖והִי – “and his companions”
- חַבְרָא: noun, “companion/fellow”
- וְ: conjunction “and”
- ־הִי: pronominal suffix, 3ms (“his”)
- לְהִתְקְטָלָֽה – “to be killed”
- Root: ק־ט־ל
- Stem: Ithpeʿal
- Form: Infinitive construct with lamed prefix
- Meaning: Expresses purpose: “in order to be killed”
Syntax and Narrative Flow
This verse forms a three-part sequence with increasing dramatic tension:
- וְדָתָ֣א נֶפְקַ֔ת – The decree is officially issued.
- וְחַכִּֽימַיָּ֖א מִתְקַטְּלִ֑ין – Its violent consequences are already unfolding.
- וּבְעֹ֛ו דָּנִיֵּ֥אל וְחַבְרֹ֖והִי לְהִתְקְטָלָֽה – The targeting of Daniyyel and his companions now emerges with fatal intent.
The use of the participle for מִתְקַטְּלִ֑ין emphasizes an action in process—this is not future or merely potential. Executions are underway, and the search for Daniyyel is not hypothetical, but urgent.
Royal Authority and Bureaucratic Language
The term דָתָא (decree) reflects the Persian administrative vocabulary adopted in the Aramaic of Daniel. Legal terminology is paired with precise verbal forms to show how sovereign authority becomes deadly policy. The grammar mimics the machinery of empire: efficient, faceless, unstoppable—until interrupted by revelation.
Theology in the Participle
The Ithpeʿal participle מִתְקַטְּלִ֑ין not only expresses continuous passive action but also implies helplessness. The wise men are not “killed” in a moment—they are in the state of “being killed.” It conveys not only physical danger but systemic persecution. The infinitive לְהִתְקְטָלָֽה shows that Daniyyel is not merely threatened—his execution is the explicit goal of the search.
A Verse on the Brink
Daniel 2:13 is grammar under pressure. The perfect verbs, participles, and infinitives aren’t just linguistic—they’re narrative pistons, driving the reader toward a moment of crisis. Daniyyel, like the faithful in every generation, faces the decree of death. But in the midst of empire and execution, this verse foreshadows divine interruption. The syntax of survival begins here.
