בֵּאדַ֣יִן דָּנִיֵּ֗אל הֲתִיב֙ עֵטָ֣א וּטְעֵ֔ם לְאַרְיֹ֕וךְ רַב־טַבָּחַיָּ֖א דִּ֣י מַלְכָּ֑א דִּ֚י נְפַ֣ק לְקַטָּלָ֔ה לְחַכִּימֵ֖י בָּבֶֽל׃
(Daniel 2:14)
Then Daniel replied with counsel and prudence to Arioch, chief of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.
In Biblical Aramaic, the particle דִּי functions primarily as a relative pronoun, equivalent to “who,” “which,” or “that” in English. In Daniel 2:14, we encounter it twice in quick succession, each occurrence linking a noun to its descriptive clause. This verse offers an excellent case study for exploring how דִּי shapes clause relationships, adds specificity, and mirrors or diverges from Biblical Hebrew relative constructions.
The Double Appearance of דִּי
The verse features two back-to-back uses of דִּי:
- רַב־טַבָּחַיָּא דִּי מַלְכָּא — “the chief of the king’s guard.” Here, דִּי marks possession or association, much like Hebrew אֲשֶׁר with a genitive nuance. It introduces a clause identifying to whom the chief belongs — the king.
- דִּי נְפַק לְקַטָּלָה — “who had gone out to kill.” Here, דִּי introduces a relative clause describing the previous noun phrase (“chief of the king’s guard”), specifying his immediate mission.
Syntax and Clause Nesting
Structurally, the verse nests a relative clause (דִּי נְפַק לְקַטָּלָה) inside another noun phrase already containing דִּי. This type of clause layering is a hallmark of Biblical Aramaic’s compact descriptive style. Hebrew can achieve a similar effect, but often with asyndetic (direct juxtaposition) structures or with אֲשֶׁר used once, relying on context to carry the nested meaning. Aramaic, however, does not shy away from repeating דִּי to clarify each syntactic link.
Historical-Linguistic Insight
The particle דִּי is common across Imperial Aramaic inscriptions and appears in Jewish Aramaic dialects well into the Rabbinic period. Its semantic range encompasses relative, causal (“because”), and sometimes explanatory uses. In contrast, Biblical Hebrew typically uses אֲשֶׁר for relative clauses and reserves כִּי or יַעַן for causal ones. The functional overlap of דִּי hints at a more flexible connective system in Aramaic, possibly reflecting contact with Akkadian ša, which also serves as both relative and genitive marker.
Table: Functions of דִּי in Biblical Aramaic
| Function | Example from Aramaic Sections | English Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| Relative pronoun | דִּי נְפַק | who went out |
| Possessive/genitive marker | רַב־טַבָּחַיָּא דִּי מַלְכָּא | chief of the king |
| Causal connector | [outside our verse] | because / since |
Masoretic and Reading Observations
The Masoretic pointing of דִּי is consistent across Daniel and Ezra, reflecting a fixed short vowel ḥiriq under the dalet and a ḥireq-yod sequence. This orthographic stability reinforces the particle’s grammaticalized status rather than being a lexical noun requiring variable pointing.
A Particle that Builds Bridges
In Daniel 2:14, דִּי is the hinge that links Daniel’s prudent reply not only to Arioch as an official but also to the deadly mission he was carrying out. Without it, the verse would lose its layered specificity and the precision of the narrative frame. Here, דִּי is more than a grammatical glue — it is the narrative’s bridge between identification and action.
