דָּֽרְיָוֵשׁ
𐤃𐤓𐤉𐤅𐤔
Dareyavesh
H1867 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Darius; a royal title or throne name borne by several Persian rulers referred to in the Hebrew Bible, most notably Darius I (also called Darius the Great) and Darius II. The name/designation is used for foreign monarchs ruling over parts of the ancient Near East, signifying an individual occupying the throne of Persia during the later biblical period.
Semantic Range
Darius (Persian throne name), king of Persia, foreign monarch; throne name for multiple Persian kings
Root / Etymology
The name is of Persian origin, not native to Hebrew. Likely derived from Old Persian 'Dārayavahuš' (𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁), meaning 'he who holds firm the good' or 'upholder of good', from 'dâraya-' ('to hold', 'possess') and 'vahu-' ('good'). The Hebrew form is an adaptation of this foreign royal name. Root: uncertain in Hebrew, as it is a loanword.
Historical & Contextual Notes
דָּֽרְיָוֵשׁ appears exclusively in Second Temple period texts (particularly Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah), reflecting Israelite interaction with the Persian imperial administration. In these books, the term designates historical Persian monarchs rather than any Israelite ruler or office. 'Darius' is consistently used in English translations, but the Hebrew usage may encompass the throne name for more than one historic king. Importantly, while the English word 'Darius' appears as a proper name, in Persian it was more of a titulary throne name taken by several kings. The use of דָּֽרְיָוֵשׁ demonstrates the Israelites' awareness of and engagement with imperial politics of the Achaemenid Empire. The word's presence highlights the linguistic influence of imperial Persian administration on late biblical Hebrew.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
of Persian origin; Darejavesh, a title (rather than name) of several Persian kings; Darius.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
— (—) — foreign royal name, Persian throne-name
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H116 | אֱדַיִן | then |
| H133 | אַדְמָתָא | Admatha |
| H175 | אַהֲרוֹן | and in Aharon |
| H1834 | דַּמֶּשֶׂק | Damascus |
| H1868 | דָּֽרְיָוֵשׁ | to Darius |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1867-02 |
לְ/דָרְיָ֣וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
of Darius | to Darius | 8 |
H1867-01 |
דָּרְיָ֥וֶשׁ | dareyavesh | HNp |
Darius | Darius | 2 |
Occurrences in Scripture
10 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1867-02 |
Haggai 1:1 | לְ/דָרְיָ֣וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
of Darius | to Darius |
H1867-02 |
Haggai 1:15 | לְ/דָרְיָ֥וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
of Darius | to Darius |
H1867-02 |
Haggai 2:10 | לְ/דָרְיָ֑וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
to-Darius | to Darius |
H1867-02 |
Zechariah 1:1 | לְ/דָרְיָ֑וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
of Darius | to Darius |
H1867-02 |
Zechariah 1:7 | לְ/דָרְיָ֑וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
of Darius | to Darius |
H1867-02 |
Zechariah 7:1 | לְ/דָרְיָ֖וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
Darius | to Darius |
H1867-02 |
Daniel 9:1 | לְ/דָרְיָ֛וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
of Darius | to Darius |
H1867-02 |
Daniel 11:1 | לְ/דָרְיָ֖וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | HR/Np |
to-Darius | to Darius |
H1867-01 |
Ezra 4:5 | דָּרְיָ֥וֶשׁ | dareyavesh | HNp |
Darius | Darius |
H1867-01 |
Nehemiah 12:22 | דָּרְיָ֥וֶשׁ | dareyavesh | HNp |
Darius | Darius |