Lexical Summary soph: end, forever, ended Original Word: סוֹף Strong's Exhaustive Concordance end (Aramaic) corresponding to cowph -- end. see HEBREW cowph NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origin(Aramaic) corresponding to soph Definition an end NASB Translation end (2), ended (1), forever (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs סוֺף noun [masculine] end; — construct ׳ס end of the earth Daniel 4:8; Daniel 4:19; emphatic סוֺפָא Daniel 7:28 end, conclusion of the matter; ׳עַדסֿ = for ever Daniel 6:27; Daniel 7:26. סוּמֹּנְיָה, סיפניה see סוּמְמֹּנְיָה. above Topical Lexicon Semantic Nuances The term conveys the idea of a limit reached—whether upward, outward, or forward in time. In Daniel it serves both spatially (“top”) and temporally (“end”), uniting the imagery of a height that touches heaven with the certainty of an appointed conclusion. The word therefore frames two complementary truths: human power has a ceiling, and history has a terminus fixed by God. Occurrences in Daniel 1. Daniel 4:11 and Daniel 4:22 portray the colossal tree of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: “its top reached the heavens”. The upward “end” accentuates the king’s seeming invincibility, only to be humbled by the God whose rule is higher still. Eschatological Emphasis and Divine Sovereignty Throughout Daniel the term marks the transition from human ambition to divine determination. The towering tree and the arrogant horn share the same destiny: they reach their limit. By contrast, God’s kingdom is explicitly said to endure “to the end,” affirming His absolute sovereignty over both space and time and foreshadowing the New Testament disclosure that the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13). Historical and Literary Setting Daniel’s Aramaic chapters (2–7) were composed within the Babylonian and early Medo-Persian periods. The choice of a word that can denote the pinnacle of greatness as well as the termination of rule fits the exile context, where Jewish captives witnessed the heights of imperial power yet trusted the prophetic promise of its demise. The vocabulary thus reinforces the book’s purpose: to comfort the faithful by revealing that the ultimate “end” is in God’s hands, not in those of their captors. Practical Ministry Applications • Perseverance: Believers are called to faithfulness because God alone defines the conclusion of their trials and the culmination of their service. Christological Foreshadowing The repeated contrast between finite rulers and the everlasting kingdom prepares the way for the Messiah whose dominion “will never pass away” (Daniel 7:14). The temporal “end” in Daniel converges with the Person who both inaugurates and consummates history, fulfilling the prophetic pattern in Jesus Christ. Intertextual Resonances The theme finds echoes in Isaiah 46:10 (“declaring the end from the beginning”) and in Matthew 24:14, where the gospel must be proclaimed “and then the end will come.” From Genesis to Revelation the same storyline unfolds: God sets the boundary, God brings matters to completion, and God alone remains when every other “end” is reached. Forms and Transliterations לְס֥וֹף לסוף סוֹפָ֣א סוֹפָֽא׃ סופא סופא׃ lə·sō·wp̄ leSof ləsōwp̄ sō·w·p̄ā soFa sōwp̄āLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Daniel 4:11 HEB: לִשְׁמַיָּ֔א וַחֲזוֹתֵ֖הּ לְס֥וֹף כָּל־ אַרְעָֽא׃ NAS: And it [was] visible to the end of the whole KJV: and the sight thereof to the end of all INT: to the sky and it visible to the end of the whole earth Daniel 4:22 Daniel 6:26 Daniel 7:26 Daniel 7:28 5 Occurrences |
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