5732. iddan
Lexical Summary
iddan: Time, period, season

Original Word: עִדָּן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: `iddan
Pronunciation: id-dawn'
Phonetic Spelling: (id-dawn')
KJV: time
NASB: time, moment, times, situation
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) from a root corresponding to that of H5708 (עֵד - Witness)]

1. a set time
2. technically, a year

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
time

(Aramaic) from a root corresponding to that of ed; a set time; technically, a year -- time.

see HEBREW ed

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to iddah
Definition
time
NASB Translation
moment (2), situation (1), time (8), times (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
עִדָּן noun masculineDaniel 2:9 time (ᵑ7 id., Syriac , perhaps loan-word from Assyrian adannu, fixed, appointed, or definite, time; [Arabic probably Aramaic loan-word, SchwZMG liii (1899), 197]); — absolute ׳ע Daniel 7:12 +; emphatic עִדָּנָא Daniel 2:8 +; plural absolute עִדָּנִין Daniel 4:13 +, emphatic עִדָּנַיָּא Daniel 2:21; —

1 in General, time, as duration Daniel 2:8; Daniel 7:12; involving specific conditions Daniel 2:9,21; (point of) time Daniel 3:5,15.

2 definite time, = year (as modern Greek χρόνος, see EASophocles1173): ׳שִׁבְעָה ע = seven years, Daniel 4:13; Daniel 4:20; Daniel 4:22; Daniel 4:29; עִדָּן וְעִדָּנִין וּפְלַג עִדָּן Daniel 7:25 (i.e. 3 2-Janyears, see Dr; perhaps read dual for plural, compare Bev GunkSchöpf. 201).

Topical Lexicon
Occurrences and Literary Setting

עִדָּן appears thirteen times, all in the Aramaic sections of Daniel (Daniel 2–7). The word punctuates royal dialogue (Daniel 2:8–9; 3:5, 15), hymnic praise (Daniel 2:21), narrative judgment oracles (Daniel 4:16, 23, 25, 32), and apocalyptic visions (Daniel 7:12, 25). Its strategic placement binds court tales to prophetic revelation, unifying the book around a single theme: all “times” are in the hand of the Most High.

Divine Sovereignty over History

Daniel 2:21 sets the theological keynote: “He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them”. Here עִדָּן anchors a hymn declaring that political change is not random but governed by God’s deliberate schedule. The same conviction re-surfaces when Nebuchadnezzar warns the advisers that they are “trying to gain time” (Daniel 2:8); the court magicians may bargain, yet the divine timetable is immovable.

Judgment and Restoration of Kings

Nebuchadnezzar’s punitive “seven times” (Daniel 4:16, 23, 25, 32) illustrate that God not only sets eras but also measures personal chastening. The king’s madness is neither arbitrary nor indefinite; its duration is divinely fixed to bring him to confession: “the Most High still rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes” (Daniel 4:25). The repeated phrase “seven times” emphasizes completeness—judgment lasts exactly as long as necessary for repentance.

Liturgical and Cultural Moment

In Daniel 3:5 and 3:15, עִדָּן marks the precise instant when worshippers must bow before the golden image. The earthly king attempts to control the moment of worship, but the fiery-furnace narrative proves that God alone determines the true “time” for allegiance. The faithful Hebrews recognize that temporal threats cannot override eternal authority.

Apocalyptic Chronology

Daniel 7:12 juxtaposes two terms: “a time and a season” (עִדָּן וְזִמְנָה). The fourth beast’s dominion is curtailed within a divinely allotted span, underscoring that evil empires operate on a leash. Verse 25 sharpens the focus: “the saints will be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.” The singular-plural-fraction pattern signals a limited oppression that nevertheless advances God’s redemptive agenda. Later biblical writers echo this schema—Revelation’s “time, times, and half a time” and “forty-two months” draw directly from Daniel’s vocabulary, reinforcing prophetic continuity.

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

• Confidence: Because God “changes the times,” believers may rest assured that geopolitical upheavals cannot thwart His kingdom (Psalm 31:15; Acts 17:26).
• Patience: Whether enduring personal trial (Nebuchadnezzar) or collective persecution (Daniel 7:25), the faithful know their suffering has an appointed limit.
• Discernment: The attempt to “change the set times and laws” (Daniel 7:25) warns the church to distinguish divine ordinances from human decrees, maintaining allegiance when political powers redefine morality.
• Worship: Earthly rulers may dictate the hour of music and prostration, yet true worship responds to God’s timing, not cultural pressure (Daniel 3:16–18; John 4:23).

Related Canonical Links

Genesis 1:14; Psalm 104:19 — heavenly bodies mark “seasons,” prefiguring God’s governance of time in Daniel.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 — “For everything there is a season,” thematically parallel to Daniel 2:21.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 — Paul speaks of “times and seasons” with the same certainty of divine control.
Revelation 12:14 — “time, times, and half a time” confirms the prophetic timetable inaugurated in Daniel.

Key Passages for Study and Teaching

Daniel 2:21; Daniel 3:15; Daniel 4:25; Daniel 7:12; Daniel 7:25

Summary

עִדָּן encapsulates the truth that every historical moment, from imperial rise to individual repentance, unfolds under God’s sovereign schedule. Recognizing this frees God’s people to live with courage, humility, and hope, trusting that the “Ancient of Days” will consummate His purposes at exactly the right time.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּעִדָּנָ֡א בְעִדָּנָ֡א בעדנא וְעִדָּֽן׃ וְעִדָּנִ֖ין ועדן׃ ועדנין עִדָּ֥ן עִדָּֽן׃ עִדָּנִ֖ין עִדָּנַיָּא֙ עִדָּנָ֖א עדן עדן׃ עדנא עדניא עדנין ‘id·dā·nā ‘id·dā·nay·yā ‘id·dā·nîn ‘id·dān ‘iddān ‘iddānā ‘iddānayyā ‘iddānîn bə‘iddānā ḇə‘iddānā bə·‘id·dā·nā ḇə·‘id·dā·nā beiddaNa idDan iddaNa iddanaiYa iddaNin veidDan veiddaNa veiddaNin wə‘iddān wə‘iddānîn wə·‘id·dā·nîn wə·‘id·dān
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Daniel 2:8
HEB: אֲנָ֔ה דִּ֥י עִדָּנָ֖א אַנְתּ֣וּן זָבְנִ֑ין
NAS: that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch
KJV: would gain the time, because
INT: I for time ye you are bargaining

Daniel 2:9
HEB: עַ֛ד דִּ֥י עִדָּנָ֖א יִשְׁתַּנֵּ֑א לָהֵ֗ן
NAS: me until the situation is changed;
KJV: me, till the time be changed:
INT: till forasmuch the situation is changed if

Daniel 2:21
HEB: וְ֠הוּא מְהַשְׁנֵ֤א עִדָּנַיָּא֙ וְזִמְנַיָּ֔א מְהַעְדֵּ֥ה
NAS: It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
KJV: And he changeth the times and the seasons:
INT: who changes the times and the epochs removes

Daniel 3:5
HEB: בְּעִדָּנָ֡א דִּֽי־ תִשְׁמְע֡וּן
NAS: that at the moment you hear the sound
KJV: [That] at what time ye hear the sound
INT: the moment forasmuch hear

Daniel 3:15
HEB: עֲתִידִ֗ין דִּ֣י בְעִדָּנָ֡א דִּֽי־ תִשְׁמְע֡וּן
NAS: you are ready, at the moment you hear
KJV: ready that at what time ye hear
INT: are ready who the moment who hear

Daniel 4:16
HEB: לֵ֑הּ וְשִׁבְעָ֥ה עִדָּנִ֖ין יַחְלְפ֥וּן עֲלֽוֹהִי׃
NAS: to him, And let seven periods of time pass
KJV: unto him; and let seven times pass
INT: be given seven of time pass over

Daniel 4:23
HEB: דִּֽי־ שִׁבְעָ֥ה עִדָּנִ֖ין יַחְלְפ֥וּן עֲלֽוֹהִי׃
NAS: until seven periods of time pass over
KJV: till seven times pass over
INT: forasmuch seven of time pass over

Daniel 4:25
HEB: מְצַבְּעִ֔ין וְשִׁבְעָ֥ה עִדָּנִ֖ין יַחְלְפ֣וּן [עֲלַיִךְ
NAS: and seven periods of time will pass
KJV: and seven times shall pass
INT: and be drenched and seven of time will pass and

Daniel 4:32
HEB: יְטַעֲמ֔וּן וְשִׁבְעָ֥ה עִדָּנִ֖ין יַחְלְפ֣וּן [עֲלַיִךְ
NAS: and seven periods of time will pass
KJV: and seven times shall pass
INT: will be given and seven of time will pass and

Daniel 7:12
HEB: עַד־ זְמַ֥ן וְעִדָּֽן׃
NAS: to them for an appointed period of time.
KJV: for a season and time.
INT: for an appointed of time

Daniel 7:25
HEB: בִּידֵ֔הּ עַד־ עִדָּ֥ן וְעִדָּנִ֖ין וּפְלַ֥ג
NAS: into his hand for a time, times,
KJV: until a time and times
INT: his hand until A time times and half

Daniel 7:25
HEB: עַד־ עִדָּ֥ן וְעִדָּנִ֖ין וּפְלַ֥ג עִדָּֽן׃
NAS: for a time, times, and half
KJV: a time and times and the dividing
INT: until A time times and half A time

Daniel 7:25
HEB: וְעִדָּנִ֖ין וּפְלַ֥ג עִדָּֽן׃
NAS: times, and half a time.
KJV: and times and the dividing of time.
INT: times and half A time

13 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5732
13 Occurrences


bə·‘id·dā·nā — 1 Occ.
‘id·dān — 2 Occ.
‘id·dā·nā — 2 Occ.
‘id·dā·nay·yā — 1 Occ.
‘id·dā·nîn — 4 Occ.
wə·‘id·dān — 1 Occ.
ḇə·‘id·dā·nā — 1 Occ.
wə·‘id·dā·nîn — 1 Occ.

5731
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