Original Word: פֶחָר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: pechar
Pronunciation: peh-khar
Phonetic Spelling: (peh-khawr')
KJV: potter
NASB: potter's
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) from an unused root probably meaning to fashion]

1. a potter

potter

(Aramaic) from an unused root probably meaning to fashion; a potter -- potter.

Word Origin
(Aramaic) of uncertain derivation
Definition
a potter
NASB Translation
potter's (1).

מֶּחָר noun masculine potter ( = pa——âr, ᵑ7 מַּחָר (also clay), Syriac ; probably loan-word from Assyrian pa—aru, potter, compare Brock Zim^Buhl); — absolute ׳פ Daniel 2:41.

Biblical Occurrence

The term פֶחָר appears once, in Daniel 2:41, within Daniel’s record of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great statue composed of diverse materials. The Berean Standard Bible reads: “As you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, just as you saw iron mixed with clay.”

Immediate Context in Daniel 2

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream outlines successive Gentile empires, climaxing in a composite of iron and potter’s clay at the statue’s feet and toes. The brittle mixture signals internal weakness and divisiveness, despite residual strength. Daniel interprets the clay-iron amalgam as a kingdom “partly strong and partly brittle” (Daniel 2:42), foretelling a confederation that never achieves true cohesion: “the people will mix with one another but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay” (Daniel 2:43).

Symbolic Meaning of Potters’ Clay

1. Frailty and Dependency: Clay is easily shaped and easily broken, emphasizing the creaturely fragility of human kingdoms (Psalm 103:14; Isaiah 64:8).
2. Subservience to the Potter: Clay’s identity derives from the potter’s intent (Jeremiah 18:6). By invoking potter’s clay, Daniel subtly affirms God’s sovereignty over the world powers that rise and fall at His decree (Daniel 2:21).
3. Incompatibility with Iron: Iron represents strength, conquest, and durability (Daniel 2:40). Mixing the two evokes instability—an empire outwardly formidable yet inwardly vulnerable.

Relation to Other Scriptural Passages

• Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9 – The clay-potter motif underscores the folly of human self-determination over divine authority.
• Jeremiah 18:4-6 – The potter remolding flawed clay mirrors God’s prerogative to reshape nations.
• Romans 9:21 – Paul expands the analogy to God’s sovereign choice in salvation history.
• 2 Corinthians 4:7 – Believers are “treasures in jars of clay,” highlighting divine power displayed through human weakness.

Although these texts use different Hebrew and Greek words, the thematic thread unites them: God governs the destiny of human vessels—individual or imperial.

Historical Background

Babylon’s craftsmen were renowned for kiln-fired bricks and ceramics. In the dream’s imagery, the prophet connects the well-known practice of shaping clay with the fleeting nature of earthly dominion. The feet-toes section likely points to the later fragmentation of the Roman Empire and any subsequent revivals characterized by alliances, federations, or unions lacking true cohesion. Historically, attempts at global dominance—whether through marriage alliances, political treaties, or ideological coalitions—have repeatedly demonstrated the brittleness Daniel foretold.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Sovereignty – The potter-clay picture declares that God alone determines the form and lifespan of kingdoms (Proverbs 21:1).
2. Human Limitation – However advanced, human societies remain as moldable—and breakable—as clay (Job 10:9).
3. Eschatological Certainty – The mixed feet give way to a stone “cut out, but not by human hands” that shatters the statue and grows into a mountain filling the whole earth (Daniel 2:34-35, 44), foreshadowing Messiah’s everlasting kingdom.

Eschatological Insights

Many conservative interpreters view the iron-clay phase as depicting a future confederation resembling the old Roman realm—a union of strong and weak states united in purpose yet divided in character. The inherent instability prepares the stage for Christ’s final intervention. Thus פֶחָר signals both the terminus of human rule and the imminence of God’s unshakable kingdom (Hebrews 12:28).

Ministry Applications

• Preaching: Contrast the brittle clay of human ambition with the sure foundation of Christ the Rock (Matthew 7:24-27).
• Discipleship: Encourage believers to find identity in the Potter’s hands, not in transient political structures (Colossians 3:1-3).
• Pastoral Care: Offer comfort that national upheavals fall within God’s prophetic blueprint; the ultimate kingdom is secure (Revelation 11:15).
• Missions: The vision propels global evangelism—God will gather every nation into the kingdom symbolized by the mountain filling the earth (Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 7:9).

Homiletical Considerations

• Title ideas: “Iron and Clay: The Fragile Power of Earthly Kingdoms”; “In the Potter’s Hands.”
• Outline suggestion: 1) The Dream Described (Daniel 2:31-33), 2) The Frailty Defined (Daniel 2:41-43), 3) The Kingdom Declared (Daniel 2:44-45), 4) The Response Demanded (Daniel 2:46-49).

Summary

פֶחָר in Daniel 2:41, though a single occurrence, opens a rich vista on God’s governance of history. Potter’s clay embodies the weakness of human dominion, the authority of the divine Potter, and the certainty that Christ’s kingdom will ultimately replace every brittle alliance of iron and clay.

פֶחָר֙ פחר feChar p̄e·ḥār p̄eḥārInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts