Lexical Summary chashal: shatters Original Word: חֲשַׁל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance subdue (Aramaic) a root corresponding to chashal; to weaken, i.e. Crush -- subdue. see HEBREW chashal NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origin(Aramaic) corresponding to chashal Definition to shatter NASB Translation shatters (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [חֲשַׁל] verb shatter by a blow (Assyrian —ašâlu, shatter, perhaps thresh; Late Hebrew חָשַׁל Pi`el shatter: Jewish-Aramaic חֲשַׁל forge, hammer, Syriac  forge, furbish; Buhl14 compare ᵑ7 חוּשְׁלָא barkley-groats (as pounded, beaten), and perhaps Assyrian —ûlu, barley; NöM 135 compare Arabic  thrust, drive away (Frey), ᵑ7 נַחְשׁוֺל storm (y sea; compare in English beaten, buffetted by waves; Assyrian loan-word BaZA ii. 117), Syriac  id.); — Pe`al Participle active חָשֵׁל Daniel 2:40 (accusative of thing). Topical Lexicon Scriptural Context Daniel 2:40 uses חֲשַׁל to describe the ruthless force of the fourth kingdom in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: “The fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron—for iron shatters and crushes everything—and like iron that smashes, it will crush and shatter all the others” (Daniel 2:40). The term stands within the Aramaic section of Daniel (Daniel 2–7) and appears only here in the canon, intensifying the verse’s repetition of destructive imagery. Semantic Range and Imagery Though rarely attested, חֲשַׁל communicates more than physical breakage; it conveys irresistible domination. The paired verbs in Daniel 2:40 (“shatters and crushes,” “smash,” “crush and shatter”) form a cacophony of devastation, portraying a kingdom that pulverizes opposition until it lies in fragments. The imagery draws on metallurgy: iron is not merely harder than preceding metals (gold, silver, bronze) but actively pulverizes them, stressing qualitative supremacy and totalizing conquest. Historical Setting in Daniel Nebuchadnezzar’s statue vision outlines successive Gentile empires. Conservative scholarship typically identifies the fourth kingdom as Rome. Rome’s military machine, legal systems, and administrative reach indeed “crushed” the Mediterranean world, fulfilling the lexical nuance of חֲשַׁל. The term thus anchors an historical reality: Rome’s iron legions trampled resistance from Judea to Britannia, accomplishing what no earlier empire achieved. Prophetic and Eschatological Implications Daniel’s prophecy sets Rome as the final pre-Messianic empire, after which “a stone was cut out, but not by human hands” (Daniel 2:34). The violent crushing of the fourth kingdom anticipates its own future shattering by the divine kingdom. Revelation 19:15 echoes the same motif when Christ “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God,” demonstrating canonical continuity: human empires crush, but ultimately are themselves crushed by the reign of Christ. Intercanonical Links 1. Genesis 3:15 promises the Seed who will “crush” the serpent’s head; Daniel 2:40–44 situates that crushing within history’s unfolding empires. Practical Ministry Applications • Assurance amid political upheaval: kingdoms that appear invincible are already scheduled for demolition by God’s sovereign plan. Christological Connections The destructive power ascribed to the iron kingdom highlights, by contrast, the constructive yet equally irresistible power of Christ’s kingdom. The same divine authority that permits Rome’s crushing conquest also orchestrates its downfall through the cross and resurrection. Thus, חֲשַׁל ultimately points beyond human violence to the decisive victory accomplished by Christ, “the stone the builders rejected” (Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42), whose kingdom “will never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). Summary חֲשַׁל embodies the concept of overwhelming, pulverizing force, captured in Daniel 2:40 to describe Rome’s might and, by extension, any earthly power that exalts itself. Its solitary biblical appearance magnifies the theological message: empires rise and devastate, yet God overrules them all, establishing a kingdom that ends every cycle of crushing conquest with eternal righteousness and peace. Forms and Transliterations וְחָשֵׁל֙ וחשל vechaShel wə·ḥā·šêl wəḥāšêlLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Daniel 2:40 HEB: פַרְזְלָא֙ מְהַדֵּ֤ק וְחָשֵׁל֙ כֹּ֔לָּא וּֽכְפַרְזְלָ֛א NAS: crushes and shatters all KJV: breaketh in pieces and subdueth all INT: iron crushes and shatters things iron 1 Occurrence |
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