קַ֫יִט (qa.yit)
qa.yit
summer
A:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- A:N-M
Word Overview
The Aramaic noun qa.yit means summer, appearing only once in the Hebrew Bible at Daniel 2:35. In this vision, it describes the time when a massive statue crumbles into chaff that the wind carries away. The word captures the season of harvest, marking the end of growth and the beginning of gathering.
This term is an Aramaic variant of the Hebrew qa.yits (H7019). While both words share the same core meaning, their usage reflects the linguistic context of the book of Daniel, which blends Hebrew and Aramaic sections. The image of summer here emphasizes fragility; just as dried grain from the harvest is light and easily scattered, so too are earthly kingdoms before God’s eternal rule.
Translators typically render this word simply as "summer," preserving its seasonal reference without adding metaphorical weight beyond what the text provides. Its singular occurrence highlights how specific agricultural imagery grounds Daniel’s apocalyptic vision in tangible reality.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word qa.yit appears just once in Scripture, nestled in Daniel’s vision of a colossal statue crumbling into dust. It translates simply to "summer," evoking the dry harvest season when grain is threshed and winnowed by the wind. This imagery reminds us that earthly powers, no matter how imposing, are as fragile as chaff on a summer floor.
For your faith, this offers profound comfort. When you feel overwhelmed by the instability of the world or the weight of current events, remember that God’s kingdom is not like the crumbling statue. It is the stone that becomes a mountain filling the earth—permanent and unshakable. Your hope rests not in human strength, but in the eternal rule of God.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- summer1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- קַ֔יִט1×
Key Verses
-
Daniel 2:35
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.
This verse uses 'summer' to describe the threshing floor where earthly kingdoms are scattered like chaff by the wind, contrasting their fragility with the enduring stone of God's kingdom.