735. orach

Lexical Summary

orach: ways

Original Word: אֹרַח
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: orach
Pronunciation: o'-rakh
Phonetic Spelling: (o'-rakh)
KJV: way
NASB: ways
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H734 (אוֹרַח - paths)]

1. a road

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

way

(Aramaic) corresponding to 'orach; a road -- way.

see HEBREW 'orach

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to orach
Definition
a way
NASB Translation
ways (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[אֹ֫רַח ? as ᵑ7 Syriac] noun [masculine?] way (figurative) (Biblical Hebrew); — plural suffix אָרְחָתָךְ (compare K^{§ 51, 2, Anm. 3}) Daniel 5:23 thy ways (the progress and outcome of thine affairs); הֵתּ- Daniel 4:34 his ways (i.e. the course of God's dealings, "" מַעֲבָדוֺהִי).

אַרְיֵה see ארה. above

אַרְיוֺךְ

proper name, masculine in Babylonian (Biblical Hebrew id., compare Dl^{Baer Dn ix}); — Daniel 2:14,15 (twice in verse); Daniel 2:24,25; Αριωχ(ης).

Topical Lexicon

Textual Occurrences

1. Daniel 4:37 – Following seven years of divinely-imposed humiliation, Nebuchadnezzar concludes, “all His works are true and His ways just”.
2. Daniel 5:23 – Daniel rebukes Belshazzar for failing to honor “the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways”.

Semantic Range and Theological Emphasis

The noun denotes a road, path, or course of action. In both occurrences it is paired with divine sovereignty: the “ways” belong to God (His rule) and are controlled by God (human destiny). Thus it serves as a vivid metaphor for:
• Divine governance over world history.
• Human accountability for every “course” chosen.
• The contrast between God’s righteous path and prideful self-direction.

Historical Context in Daniel

Nebuchadnezzar’s testimonial (Daniel 4) and Belshazzar’s indictment (Daniel 5) bookend Babylon’s zenith and collapse. The same term highlights two opposite responses to God’s revelation:
• Nebuchadnezzar—repentant king who acknowledges that the Most High’s “ways” are always just. His restored throne illustrates that submission to God’s path leads to restoration.
• Belshazzar—unrepentant regent who profanes holy vessels and is told that the God who owns his “ways” has already numbered his kingdom. His immediate downfall illustrates that disregarding God’s path ends in judgment.

Relationship to Wisdom Literature

Although Daniel is in the Writings, its use of “path/way” echoes Proverbs and Psalms, where the righteous pursue the “path of life” (Proverbs 12:28) while the wicked walk a “crooked path” (Proverbs 2:15). Daniel applies that wisdom on the international stage: kings are judged by the same standard as common people.

New Testament Resonance

Greek hodos, “way,” carries forward the image:
• Jesus declares Himself “the way” (John 14:6), the definitive path to the Father.
• Early believers are known as “the Way” (Acts 9:2).
• Romans 11:33 speaks of the unsearchable “ways” of God, echoing Daniel’s stress on His inscrutable governance.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Preaching: Use Daniel 4–5 to call hearers from pride to humble alignment with God’s path.
• Discipleship: Teach believers to evaluate their daily “ways” (habits, decisions, ambitions) under the Lordship of Christ.
• Counseling: Remind the repentant that, like Nebuchadnezzar, they can be restored when they surrender their course to God.
• Worldview: Reinforce confidence that global events remain within the “ways” of the Sovereign King, encouraging prayerful trust rather than fear.

Summary

Strong’s Hebrew 735 אֹרַח, though appearing only twice, anchors a central Danielic theme: the Most High charts both His own righteous path and the destinies of kings. Recognizing and submitting to that path leads to praise and life; ignoring it leads swiftly to judgment.

Forms and Transliterations

אֹרְחָתָ֥ךְ ארחתך וְאֹרְחָתֵ֖הּ וארחתה ’ō·rə·ḥā·ṯāḵ ’ōrəḥāṯāḵ orechaTach veorechaTeh wə’ōrəḥāṯêh wə·’ō·rə·ḥā·ṯêh

Englishman's Concordance

Daniel 4:37
HEB: מַעֲבָד֙וֹהִי֙ קְשֹׁ֔ט וְאֹרְחָתֵ֖הּ דִּ֑ין וְדִי֙
NAS: are true and His ways just,
KJV: [are] truth, and his ways judgment:
INT: his works are true and his ways just who

Daniel 5:23
HEB: בִּידֵ֛הּ וְכָל־ אֹרְחָתָ֥ךְ לֵ֖הּ לָ֥א
NAS: are your life-breath and your ways, you have not glorified.
KJV: [is], and whose [are] all thy ways, hast thou not
INT: hand and whose all and your ways not glorified

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 735
2 Occurrences

’ō·rə·ḥā·ṯāḵ — 1 Occ.
wə·’ō·rə·ḥā·ṯêh — 1 Occ.