Real Clear Truth

I have been intrigued by Daniel 5 verse 11 where it says that Daniel was found to have “light and understanding and wisdom”. When I initially looked up these words I found that all three can be translated as “wisdom”. But obviously, one does not describe something by using three words that ultimately mean the same thing. The words must convey some subtle differences that are hard to convey in an English translation, and thus I decided to look deeper.

The first word is “nehiyr“, a noun that can be translated as “light, illumination or wisdom”, but note how it is used in this verse:

Dan 2:22 He reveleth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.

This verse makes the meaning clearer. Because Daniel had a light that dwelled within him, he was able to see what was in the darkness, or really what was hidden from others. This light brought illumination to secret things allowing Daniel to know things that others did not know. Thus, one could say that the usage of “nehiyr” here means a light within that brings out knowledge hidden to others.

The second word used in Daniel 5:11 is “soklethanuw“, a noun that can be translated as “wisdom, insight or understanding”, but this word is derived from the verb “sekal” which means “to consider or to contemplate”. In other words, “soklethanuw” means that Daniel could consider and contemplate matters and that would lead him to an understanding of them.

The third word used in Daniel 5:11 is “chokmah“, a noun that can be translated as “wisdom, skill, shrewdness, prudence, the comprehending of various learning, or the wisdom ascribed to a ruler or king”. But this word is derived from the verb “chakam” which means “to be wise, to become wise, to act wisely or to judge and hence to rule wisely”. In other words, “chokmah” means that Daniel could learn and comprehend allowing him to become wise and giving him the ability to make shrewd judgments — just like a wise ruler or king should be able to.

To sum this up, when the verse says that Daniel was found to have “light and understanding and wisdom”, this means that Daniel had a light within him that illuminated and revealed hidden knowledge, that he also had the ability to contemplate and consider in a way that led to a true understanding, and that he could then comprehend in a way that gave him wisdom and allowed him to make shrewd judgments. The accumulation of these abilities enabled Daniel to function as a ruler which is why king Nebuchadnezzar appointed Daniel as the “master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and soothsayers” — supposedly the wise people of the day.

These other wise people may have had their own abilities, knowledge and talents, but clearly they didn’t have the combination of all three attributes that Daniel had.

What we can learn from this is that we don’t simply want knowledge, understanding and wisdom. We don’t even want simply the ability to bring understanding to the knowledge of man by pulling on the wisdom of God. We want God’s illumination of things that are hidden and missed by others who do not have His light. We want real understanding that is birthed from contemplation in the presence of God. And we want comprehension on how to act prudently that is based on insight and wisdom derived from the heart of God.

To be like Daniel is to have God’s light within us illuminating mysteries and knowledge. To be like Daniel is to have our contemplation and understanding be guided by His Spirit and character. And to be like Daniel is to have our decisions and judgments be ascribed to the nature and wisdom of God.

Daniel was found to have light and understanding and wisdom. May we be found to be able to illuminate things that are darkened to the world, to be able to contemplate with the mind of Christ and bring understanding to the things that have been illuminated, and to be able to make wise judgments on how to act based on the understanding of the things that have been illuminated.

In short, Daniel was able to step into spheres of authority and rulership because he had wisdom on how to prudently act based on a contemplative understanding of mysteries that had been illuminated by the light of God within him.

Or simply, Daniel was a man found to have light and understanding and wisdom.