633. esar

Lexical Summary

esar: Oath, Vow, Pledge

Original Word: אֱסָר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: ecar
Pronunciation: ay-sar
Phonetic Spelling: (es-sawr')
KJV: decree
NASB: injunction
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H632 (אֱסָר אִסָּר - obligation) in a legal sense]

1. an interdict

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

decree

(Aramaic) corresponding to 'ecar in a legal sense; an interdict -- decree.

see HEBREW 'ecar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
(Aramaic) from the same as esur
Definition
an interdict
NASB Translation
injunction (7).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

אֱסָר noun masculine interdict (as binding); — ׳א absolute Daniel 6:8; Daniel 6:13; Daniel 6:16; construct V:13; emphatic אֱסָרָא Daniel 6:9; Daniel 6:10; Daniel 6:14.

Topical Lexicon

Definition and Semantic Range

אֱסָר describes a binding royal injunction—an officially issued prohibition or command that, once sealed, is meant to be absolute and unalterable. It functions as the formal mechanism by which a Near-Eastern monarch exercised supreme authority, particularly in the Medo-Persian context.

Occurrences in Scripture

All seven usages are concentrated in Daniel 6, narrating the conspiracy against Daniel:
• Daniel 6:7 – officials urge Darius to “enforce an injunction.”
• Daniel 6:8 – the king is pressed to “establish the injunction and sign the document so that it cannot be changed.”
• Daniel 6:9 – Darius complies and “signed the written decree.”
• Daniel 6:12 – conspirators remind the king of “the royal decree.”
• Daniel 6:12 (second clause) – “The decree stands, according to the law of the Medes and Persians.”
• Daniel 6:13 – Daniel is accused of ignoring “the injunction you signed.”
• Daniel 6:15 – the plotters insist that “no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed.”

Historical Background: Medo-Persian Jurisprudence

Unlike Babylonian autocracy, Persian protocol claimed that a law once ratified by the king had the force of permanence. This practice secured governmental stability while simultaneously allowing court officials to manipulate the monarch, as seen when jealous administrators exploit Darius’s vanity to entrap Daniel. אֱסָר therefore embodies a legal culture that prized immutability—yet paradoxically proved vulnerable to malevolent counsel.

Theological Significance Within Daniel 6

1. Conflict of Allegiance: The injunction forbade petitions “to any god or man” except the king. Daniel’s daily prayers brought a direct confrontation between human statute and divine command (compare Exodus 20:3; Acts 5:29).
2. Sovereignty of God: Although the decree was “unalterable,” the living God overruled it by preserving Daniel in the lions’ den, revealing the ultimate supremacy of divine law (Daniel 6:22).
3. Witness to the Nations: After Daniel’s deliverance, Darius issued another decree extolling the God of Daniel (Daniel 6:26–27), demonstrating how faithful resistance under an unjust אֱסָר can become a platform for evangelistic proclamation.

Typological and Christological Insights

Daniel’s ordeal anticipates the passion of Jesus Christ:
• Both suffer under an irrevocable legal sentence engineered by envious officials (Matthew 27:18).
• A sealed den corresponds to a sealed tomb (Daniel 6:17; Matthew 27:66).
• Deliverance on the following morning (Daniel 6:19–23) foreshadows resurrection at dawn (Mark 16:2–6).

Thus, the so-called “irrevocable” אֱסָר ultimately magnifies the greater decree of God to save through righteous suffering.

Practical Ministry Application

• Civil Obedience and Disobedience: Believers respect governing authorities (Romans 13:1–7) yet must disobey when earthly law contradicts God’s explicit commands.
• Consistency in Prayer: Daniel’s continued prayers “three times a day” (Daniel 6:10) model unwavering devotion regardless of external pressure.
• Courage under Persecution: Modern believers facing legislative hostility toward biblical convictions draw strength from Daniel’s example that faithfulness can outlast even the most rigid human decrees.

Related Biblical Themes

Irrevocable Law (Esther 1:19), Divine Deliverance (Psalm 34:7), Persevering Prayer (Luke 18:1), and God’s Sovereign Rule over Kings (Proverbs 21:1).

Forms and Transliterations

אֱסָ֑ר אֱסָ֣ר אֱסָ֥ר אֱסָרָ֖א אסר אסרא וֶאֱסָרָֽא׃ ואסרא׃ ’ĕ·sā·rā ’ĕ·sār ’ĕsār ’ĕsārā eSar esaRa veesaRa we’ĕsārā we·’ĕ·sā·rā

Englishman's Concordance

Daniel 6:7
HEB: מַלְכָּ֔א וּלְתַקָּפָ֖ה אֱסָ֑ר דִּ֣י כָל־
NAS: and enforce an injunction that anyone
KJV: and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask
INT: the king and enforce an injunction who to any

Daniel 6:8
HEB: מַלְכָּ֔א תְּקִ֥ים אֱסָרָ֖א וְתִרְשֻׁ֣ם כְּתָבָ֑א
NAS: establish the injunction and sign
KJV: establish the decree, and sign
INT: king establish the injunction and sign the document

Daniel 6:9
HEB: רְשַׁ֥ם כְּתָבָ֖א וֶאֱסָרָֽא׃
NAS: the document, that is, the injunction.
KJV: signed the writing and the decree.
INT: signed the document is the injunction

Daniel 6:12
HEB: מַלְכָּא֮ עַל־ אֱסָ֣ר מַלְכָּא֒ הֲלָ֧א
NAS: the king's injunction, Did you not sign
KJV: the king's decree; Hast thou not
INT: the king about injunction the king's not

Daniel 6:12
HEB: מַלְכָּא֒ הֲלָ֧א אֱסָ֣ר רְשַׁ֗מְתָּ דִּ֣י
NAS: Did you not sign an injunction that any
KJV: signed a decree, that every
INT: the king's not an injunction sign who

Daniel 6:13
HEB: טְעֵ֔ם וְעַל־ אֱסָרָ֖א דִּ֣י רְשַׁ֑מְתָּ
NAS: to you, O king, or to the injunction which
KJV: O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed,
INT: chancellor thee to the injunction who signed

Daniel 6:15
HEB: דִּֽי־ כָל־ אֱסָ֥ר וּקְיָ֛ם דִּֽי־
NAS: that no injunction or statute
KJV: [is], That no decree nor statute
INT: which no injunction statute which

7 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 633
7 Occurrences

’ĕ·sār — 4 Occ.
’ĕ·sā·rā — 2 Occ.
we·’ĕ·sā·rā — 1 Occ.