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דַּיָּן

𐤃𐤉𐤍

dayân

H1781 noun

SILEX Entry

Root דין to judge, to govern, to decide controversy, to execute justice

Definition

Official who exercises judicial authority, presiding over legal disputes and rendering verdicts according to law or custom; may designate a judicial functionary at local or national level. The term connotes a recognized position of legal arbitration and decision-making within the social structure, generally in the context of organized governance or institutional adjudication.

Semantic Range

judge, judicial official, arbitrator, legal decision-maker; in later periods, professional or appointed judge in rabbinic courts

Root / Etymology

דַּיָּן (dayân) derives from the root דִּין (dîn), meaning 'to judge, govern, pass judgment, execute judgment or justice'. The term is a nomen agentis (agent noun), signifying one who performs the action of the root: thus, 'one who judges'. While the root emphasizes the act of judging, the noun specifies the person who embodies that function.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term דַּיָּן is relatively rare within the Hebrew Bible, with much more frequent use attested in later postbiblical Hebrew. In the Tanakh, appointed judicial officials are more commonly referenced by the participle שֹׁפֵט (shofet, 'ruler, judge') or elders (זְקֵנִים, zᵉqēnîm) who functioned as decision-makers. In biblically attested contexts, דַּיָּן appears primarily in later and poetic or liturgical passages (e.g., Daniel 7 as an Aramaic cognate), and becomes standard in Second Temple, rabbinic, and medieval Jewish legal terminology for judges adjudicating matters according to halakhic or communal law. English translations as 'judge' are generally accurate but do not convey the full institutional, sometimes professional, sense the term acquired in later usage, especially the developed concept of a rabbinic or legal judge distinct from general community elders or tribal heads. The word thus illustrates a shift: from the act of judging (דִּין/שָׁפַט) to the office or functionary of juridical authority. Care should be taken not to confuse דַּיָּן with שֹׁפֵט, the latter bearing both judicial and broader political connotations in early Israelite society (e.g., Judges 2:16).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from דִּין; a judge or advocate; judge.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

דין (d-y-n) — to judge, to govern, to decide controversy, to execute justice

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1777 דִּין Judge
H1778 דִּין those who judge
H1779 דִּין legal judgment
H1780 דִּין legal judgment
H1782 דַּיָּן and judicial officials

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1781-01 לְ/דַיָּ֔ן ledayan HR/Ncmsa for a judge to a judicial official 1
H1781-02 וְ/דַיַּ֣ן vedayan HC/Ncmsc and-judge and judicial official of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1781-01 1 Samuel 24:16 לְ/דַיָּ֔ן ledayan HR/Ncmsa for a judge to a judicial official
H1781-02 Psalms 68:6 וְ/דַיַּ֣ן vedayan HC/Ncmsc and-judge and judicial official of
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