← Back to Lexicon
H1780 · Hebrew · Old Testament
דִּין
din
Noun, masculine (Aramaic)
judgment; legal decision; law

Definition

Din in its Aramaic form appears in Daniel and Ezra, where it refers to royal decrees, legal judgments, and matters of law. In Daniel 7:26 it appears in the cosmic courtroom scene: 'the court shall sit in judgment.' The Aramaic din connects to the broader Semitic concept of justice as the ordering principle of society — whether human or divine.

Usage & Theological Significance

Daniel 7 presents the most dramatic divine courtroom scene in the Old Testament: the Ancient of Days seated, books opened, judgment (din) issued, and the beast condemned. This is not punitive bureaucracy — it is the cosmic righting of all wrongs. The same din that condemned Belshazzar's feast (Daniel 5) is the din that vindicates the Son of Man and gives him everlasting dominion. God's justice is the guarantee that evil has a final reckoning and the oppressed will be vindicated.

Key Verses

Daniel 7:26 But the court shall sit in judgment [din], and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
Ezra 7:26 Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment [din] be strictly executed on him.
Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

Related Words

External Resources

🌙
☀️