הַדָּם (had.dam)
had.dam
piece
A:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- A:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun hadam refers to a specific part or member of the body, such as a limb. It appears only twice in the Old Testament, both times within the book of Daniel. In these contexts, the word describes physical parts of living beings, emphasizing their tangible, bodily nature rather than abstract concepts.
Lexical sources identify hadam as a loanword from Persian, which explains its limited usage in biblical Hebrew. This foreign origin suggests it was likely used to describe body parts in a technical or administrative context, fitting the official tone of Daniel’s court narratives. By borrowing this term, the text distinguishes these specific members from more common Hebrew words for flesh or bone.
Its rarity makes each occurrence significant. When used in Daniel, it grounds the visions in physical reality, reminding readers that the prophecies concern actual bodies and human experience. The word serves as a precise anatomical term, ensuring clarity in descriptions of judgment or restoration where specific body parts are mentioned.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word hadam refers to a limb or piece of the body, appearing only twice in Scripture within Daniel’s court narratives. Its Persian origin highlights how God uses foreign languages and official decrees to reveal His sovereignty over earthly powers.
When kings threaten to cut people into pieces, the text reminds us that human authority is limited. Yet even in these stark descriptions of judgment, we see God’s protection over those who remain faithful, as seen with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
This rare word grounds biblical prophecy in physical reality. It assures us that God sees our tangible struggles and will ultimately restore what power tries to destroy.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- members2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- הַדָּמִין֙1×
- הַדָּמִ֣ין1×
Key Verses
-
Daniel 2:5
The king answered the Chaldeans, “The thing has gone from me. If you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill.
The king uses the threat of cutting Daniel and his friends into pieces to emphasize the severity of failing to reveal the dream.
-
Daniel 3:29
Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”
Nebuchadnezzar decrees that anyone speaking against their God will be cut in pieces, showing how divine protection overrides royal power.