Daniel 12:4 - Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

Bible Comments

shut. close up.

even to. until.

run to and fro: or, apostatize. The Hebrew shut. to rove, turn about, despise. Hence, to do despite (Ezekiel 16:57; Ezekiel 28:24; Ezekiel 28:26). But if we spell sut with (= S), instead of with (= Sh), the meaning is to swerve, turnaside, apostatise, "those who turn aside", or revolters (Psalms 101:3.Hosea 5:2; Hosea 5:2); as in Psalms 40:4 (5), "such as turn aside to lies". So the Oxford Gesenius, p. 962 (these are the only occurrence of sut, unless Daniel 12:4 be another). The dots over the letter making it (Sin. S) and (Shin. Sh), formed no part of the inspired primitive text, but were added by the Massoretic scribes, and with the vowel points were gradually introduced into the Hebrew text. The Septuagint, Swete's edition, vol. iii, p. 572 (A) reads heos an apomanosin. "till many shall have gone raving mad".

knowledge: or, calamities, or wickedness. Ginsburg would read hara'oth for hadda'ath. The Sept, (A) reads adikias, "wickedness" (Swete's edition, vol. iii, p. 572). The Vatican (B), Theodotion's translation, reads "knowledge" (gnosis): Ginsburg's hypothesis for this reading arises from the two letters (= R) for (= D), being not infrequently mistaken.

Daniel 12:4

4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.