Greek Anatomy
“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself” Daniel 1:8
Made up his mind – This English translation covers several Aramaic words (the book of Daniel is written in Aramaic, not Hebrew). But the translation has been modified to fit our culture. It doesn’t really say exactly what the text says and in the process, we might lose something quite important. Our cultural imagery about making decisions is rooted in the concept of mind. A decision for us is something cerebral or intellectual. The action follows the thought. Because the Greek anatomy of a decision is primarily about cognitive processes, we alter the Aramaic expression so that it appears to say something about Daniel’s intellectual determination. The verse makes it look like Daniel sat down and thought about what to do. But this imagery isn’t Daniel’s. The words in Aramaic actually say something quite a bit more powerful.
“But Daniel laid upon his heart” is the literal sense. The critical words are shavats (laid) and lev (heart). This is no intellectual inquiry. Lev tells us that it involved his entire being: his will, his thoughts, his emotions. All that Daniel was gets wrapped up in his action. Here is a picture of a young man who puts it all on the line. He’s passionate about this. He is rationally perceptive. And he is determined. His whole heart is in it.
The first word (shavats) is even more revealing. Shavats is made up of three consonants. These consonants can have two different meanings. The first is a verb for “setting in”. It is used to describe the placement of a jewel in some work of art. It carries the sense of carefully crafting a glorious end product. Certainly the metaphorical sense of this word applies to Daniel. He was carefully creating a jewel for God in the midst of Babylon. But shavats also has the meaning of anguish and agony. Look at 2 Samuel 1:9. Here is deep struggle and pain. Now we are a long way from a simple decision tree. Daniel went through real heartache and turmoil to come to this decision. The Greek anatomy just doesn’t capture it.
What’s the point of this look into the Aramaic roots? It’s simple. If you’re going to live in Babylon but not become a Babylonian, you’ll have to give it all you’ve got. It won’t be good enough to just think about it. A decision like this is going to be costly, painful, agonizing and carefully crafted. Babylon wants you to conform. All around you will be incentives to adopt the Babylonian way. If you choose to stand up for God, you better count the cost. Such decisions are expensive and they don’t come easily. Shavats and lev tell you the real story. Still want to be Daniel today? Don’t think you can take the Greek anatomy approach.
