Lexical Summary
millah: matter, command, words
Original Word: מִלָּה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: millah
Pronunciation: mil-lah'
Phonetic Spelling: (mil-law')
KJV: commandment, matter, thing word
NASB: matter, command, words, message, statement, word, anything
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H4405 (מִלָּה מִלֶּה - words)]
1. a word, command, discourse, or subject
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
commandment, matter, thing
(Aramaic) corresponding to millah; a word, command, discourse, or subject -- commandment, matter, thing. Word.
see HEBREW millah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin(Aramaic) corresponding to
millahDefinitiona word, thing
NASB Translationanything (1), command (4), matter (5), message (2), revelation (1), statement (2), thing (1), things (1), word (2), words (3).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
; — absolute
Daniel 2:9 +, construct
Daniel 2:10 +; emphatic
Daniel 2:5 +, ,
Daniel 2:8 +; plural absolute
Daniel 7:1,25, construct
Daniel 5:10, emphatic
Daniel 7:11,16; —
word, utterance Daniel 4:28; Daniel 6:15, plural Daniel 5:10; Daniel 7:11,25; in bad sense, Daniel 2:9, Daniel 7:11 (compare alone Daniel 7:8; Daniel 7:20); word of God's judgment Daniel 4:30; = command Daniel 2:5,8; Daniel 3:22,28; Daniel 6:13.
thing, affair, matter: Daniel 2:10 (twice in verse); Daniel 2:11,15,17,23; Daniel 5:15,26; Daniel 7:28 (twice in verse), plural Daniel 7:1; Daniel 7:16.
Topical Lexicon
Semantic Scope מִלָּה (millāh) is the Aramaic counterpart to the Hebrew דָּבָר, denoting “word,” “matter,” “command,” or “decree.” In Daniel it ranges from the most casual utterance to irrevocable royal legislation and even to direct speech from heaven, underscoring that every spoken “word” has weight before the God who ultimately rules speech and history.
Canonical Distribution
All twenty-four occurrences appear in the Aramaic sections of Daniel (Daniel 2–7). Concentration in a single book allows the student to trace a deliberate literary strategy: by repeatedly using the same term, Daniel contrasts fallible human words with the infallible word of God.
Royal Authority Versus Divine Authority
1. Human sovereignty: Nebuchadnezzar’s “firm word” (Daniel 2:5), the “harsh decree” that threatened the wise men, and Darius’s unalterable edict (Daniel 6:12, Daniel 6:14) illustrate the absolute claims of Near-Eastern monarchs.
2. Divine counterpoint: God’s “word” breaks in and overrules. “While the words were still in the mouth of the king, a voice came from heaven” (Daniel 4:31). Earthly commands prove fragile when confronted with the heavenly proclamation.
Vehicle of Revelation
Daniel receives and relays divine mysteries through מִלָּה. After prayer he blesses God: “You have made known to us the matter of the king” (Daniel 2:23). In apocalyptic vision he later records, “I wrote down the dream and this is the summary of the matters” (Daniel 7:1). The term therefore binds narrative history to prophetic revelation, affirming the unity of God’s self-disclosure.
Confronting Human Pride
The repeated references to the “word” expose arrogance:
• The boastful horn speaks “blasphemous words” (Daniel 7:11, Daniel 7:25).
• Belshazzar is judged by the divine “message” on the wall (Daniel 5:26).
• Nebuchadnezzar’s pride is crushed “while the words were still in his mouth” (Daniel 4:31).
Each episode demonstrates Proverbs 16:18 in narrative form: prideful speech invites swift downfall.
Eschatological Context
In Daniel 7 the term shifts toward last-days significance. Human kingdoms fall before the Ancient of Days, and the Antichrist figure “will speak words against the Most High” (Daniel 7:25). Millāh ties the immediate historical setting to final judgment, reminding readers that God keeps account of every utterance (Matthew 12:36).
Pastoral and Homiletical Applications
• Integrity of speech: Daniel 2:15 shows Daniel seeking clarity before acting, modeling measured, wise conversation.
• Courage to testify: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego “violated the king’s command” (Daniel 3:28) because they valued God’s word above man’s.
• Confidence in prayer: Daniel and his friends pray until God reveals “the matter,” encouraging believers to persevere until the Lord answers (Daniel 2:17–23).
• Hope under persecution: When evil powers “speak words” against God (Daniel 7:25), saints may suffer temporarily, yet the outcome is secure—“the kingdom will be handed over to the saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:27).
Conclusion
מִלָּה in Daniel weaves a theological tapestry: human words may appear dominant, but God’s word is decisive, revelatory, and eschatologically triumphant. The believer is therefore called to submit to, proclaim, and trust the Lord’s unfailing word in every generation.
Forms and Transliterations
וּמִלְּתָ֖א וּמִלְּתָ֨א וּמִלִּ֗ין וּמִלַּ֤ת וּמִלָּ֨ה ומלה ומלין ומלת ומלתא מִלְּתָ֑א מִלְּתָ֔א מִלְּתָ֖א מִלְּתָ֛א מִלְּתָ֣א מִלְּתָ֥א מִלְּתָֽא׃ מִלְּתָא֙ מִלְּתָא֮ מִלִּ֖ין מִלֵּ֤י מִלַּ֣ת מִלַּ֤ת מִלַּ֥ת מִלַּיָּ֖א מִלַּיָּ֣א מִלָּ֤ה מלה מלי מליא מלין מלת מלתא מלתא׃ mil·lāh mil·laṯ mil·lay·yā mil·lê mil·lə·ṯā mil·lîn milLah millāh millaiYa milLat millaṯ millayyā millê milLei milleTa milləṯā milLin millîn ū·mil·lāh ū·mil·laṯ ū·mil·lə·ṯā ū·mil·lîn umilLah ūmillāh umilLat ūmillaṯ umilleTa ūmilləṯā umilLin ūmillîn
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