Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Well, my friends, our look at 'heart/ hearts' as translated in the NIV 84 has brought us to the last of the Major Prophets, Daniel. We are quickly approaching the end of the Old Testament...hard to believe that we have really stuck to it for all this time...or is that just me?
We have only three passages in Daniel to look at today, but buckle your seatbelts; we are digging into some prophetic imagery before we are done...
The first reference is contained in Daniel's scathing address to Belshazzar prior to interpreting the writing on the wall, in which he summarizes the fall and restoration of Nebuchadnezzar:
But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledges that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. --Dan. 5:20-21, speaking of Nebuchadnezzar; 'Heart' is Strong's H 3825, Lebab - heart, mind . It is identified as an Aramaic word corresponding to the Hebrew H 3824 and only shows up in the book of Daniel; all but three times it is translated as 'mind' in the NIV 84; it isn't directly translated at all in one verse ('Humbled your heart/ mind' is translated as 'humbled yourself' in 5:22).
The referenced episode with Nebuchadnezzar is recorded in Daniel 4, if you are interested in looking it up.
The next reference to 'heart/hearts' is also Strong's 3825 - in a description of one of Daniel's prophetic visions, describing the first of four beasts:
The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. -- Dan. 7:4. Mr. Scofield's notes in my margins indicate that these beasts represented world empires, the first being Babylon. To be honest, digging into the scope of that vision is beyond the scope that I can handle at this time; reading the whole chapter it does seem to make sense that the four empires (Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome) are the beasts but I can't begin to figure out the symbolism of each one.
The final reference is an equally mystical reference; Mr. Scofield implies the passage speaks of Antiochus Epiphanes, who famously defiled the altar in the Temple by sacrificing a pig and throwing its blood around, but I have also seen this passage referenced in attempts to explain the events of the last days of earth...
"The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. the he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant." -- Dan. 11:27- 30; the first two instances of hearts/heart in verses 27 and 28 are both Strong's H 3824, the actual Hebrew word Lebab - inner man, mind will, heart, soul, understanding; what we have come to see over the course of the study as being the particular aspect of one's heart that bonds to God...but in this case, it speaks of folks whose hearts are set against God. The reference to 'heart' in verse 30 is an NIV idiom; the word there is Strong's H3512, ka'a - to be sad, be disheartened, be cowed. King James renders this as 'shall be grieved' Either way, the evil king will give up his attack and turn back to oppose God's covenant.
There are whole books written to try and unravel the prophetic images Daniel describes; for our purposes, it's enough to see that the heart can be a source of rebellion and evil, and can influence decisions.
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