אֱדַיִן (edayin) marks a move forward in the action as “then,” shaping how events unfold in the Aramaic sections of Daniel. In the listed passages, it repeatedly sets the next step in a chain of decisions, revelations, and public responses.
Occurrences
“Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.” (Daniel 2:14)
Here “then” signals Daniel’s timely response at a critical moment. The narrative has reached a point where the king’s enforcement is already underway (“who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon”), and אֱדַיִן introduces Daniel’s measured reply as the next decisive action in that urgent situation.
“He answered Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree so urgent from the king?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.” (Daniel 2:15)
In this verse, the adverb places Arioch’s disclosure after Daniel’s question. The sequence matters: Daniel challenges the urgency—“Why is the decree so urgent from the king?”—and “then” marks the immediate result, that Arioch explains the matter to him. The word keeps the exchange tight and cause-and-effect in feel.
“Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:” (Daniel 2:17)
“Then” frames Daniel’s next move as a direct continuation from the preceding revelation of the crisis. It introduces a shift in setting (“went to his house”) and in audience (from the king’s captain to “Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah”), presenting this private communication as the next step in Daniel’s response.
“Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” (Daniel 2:19)
This verse contains two successive uses, creating a clear two-part progression. First, “then” introduces the moment of disclosure—“the secret was revealed… in a vision of the night”—placing it as the next development after Daniel’s actions. The second “then” immediately follows with Daniel’s reaction, “blessed the God of heaven,” presenting blessing as the fitting sequel to revelation. The paired uses emphasize ordered movement: revelation, then response.
“Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said this to him: “I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah who will make known to the king the interpretation.”” (Daniel 2:25)
Here “then” introduces a rapid escalation to the royal court. The verse itself underlines speed—“in haste”—and אֱדַיִן marks the transition from prior developments to this urgent presentation. It also highlights that Arioch’s action (bringing Daniel in) and his report to the king belong to the next procedural stage of addressing the king’s need for “the interpretation.”
“Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. The stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:35)
In this description of a dream sequence, “then” introduces the consequence of impact and collapse: the materials “were broken in pieces together.” The adverb places the breaking as the next event after what has already been narrated (the striking of the image is implied by “The stone that struck the image”). It cues the reader to see a chain of results: impact, then fragmentation, then dispersal (“The wind carried them away”), and then the stone’s expansion into a “great mountain.”
“Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.” (Daniel 2:46)
“Then” marks a sudden, dramatic reaction from the king. After Daniel has been involved with revealing and interpreting mysteries, the next narrated moment is Nebuchadnezzar’s physical and official response—he “fell on his face,” “worshiped Daniel,” and issued commands for offerings. The word sets these actions as the immediate aftermath in the story’s flow.
“Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.” (Daniel 2:48)
Here “then” introduces the administrative outcome that follows the king’s earlier response. The actions are cumulative—honor (“made Daniel great”), reward (“many great gifts”), and appointment (“made him rule… and to be chief governor”). אֱדַיִן signals that these are not isolated facts but the next stage that proceeds from what has just happened in the narrative.
“Then the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” (Daniel 3:3)
In this public scene, “then” opens a new phase: the summoning and assembling of officials. The extensive list of roles underscores the breadth of participation, and אֱדַיִן places their gathering as the next development after the image has been established. It also frames the dedication as an ordered civic action: officials are gathered, “and they stood before the image.”
“Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king.” (Daniel 3:13)
As in Daniel 2:19, the twofold “then” creates a tight sequence. First, it introduces the king’s command, explicitly colored by emotion: “in rage and fury.” Second, it introduces the compliance with that command: “Then these men were brought before the king.” The adverb thereby marks both the issuance of royal will and the immediate enactment of it, emphasizing how quickly the court’s machinery responds.
“Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.” (Daniel 3:19)
Here “then” introduces an intensification: the king’s anger becomes bodily visible (“the form of his appearance was changed”). The adverb cues that this is the next step in the confrontation, moving from earlier command to a deeper escalation that issues in harsher orders—he commands a furnace to be heated “seven times more.”
“Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace.” (Daniel 3:21)
In this grim continuation, “then” introduces the execution of the sentence. The verse lingers on concrete detail—specific garments and the act of being “bound”—before the final action, being cast into “the middle of the burning fiery furnace.” אֱדַיִן frames these steps as the next, consequent actions flowing from the king’s command.
Sense and Usage
Across these passages, אֱדַיִן functions as a narrative hinge that places one event after another with clarity and momentum. In dialogue scenes (Daniel 2:15), it links a question to an immediate disclosure; in private movement (Daniel 2:17), it shifts from public danger to counsel among companions; in revelatory material (Daniel 2:19), it orders spiritual disclosure and human response; and in court settings (Daniel 2:25; 2:46; 2:48; 3:13; 3:19; 3:21), it consistently frames the next procedural or emotional step—summoning, commanding, complying, rewarding, escalating, and punishing. The repeated placement of “then” keeps the reader oriented in sequences where timing and consequence are central: a decree prompts inquiry, inquiry prompts explanation, explanation prompts action, and actions lead into larger outcomes, whether honor in the palace or peril at the furnace.
Imagery
Because “then” is temporal and connective, its imagery comes from the scenes it stitches together: hurried movement to the king “in haste” (Daniel 2:25), a night vision followed by blessing (Daniel 2:19), the collapse of metals into “chaff of the summer threshing floors” carried by wind (Daniel 2:35), and the stark procession from royal fury to a “burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:19–21). In each case, אֱדַיִן helps portray events as unfolding in ordered steps, where the next moment arrives with weight.
Sources:
Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon. Occurrence data from the Westminster Leningrad Codex with STEPBible reference data (CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).
