Original Word: גְּזַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: gzar
Pronunciation: geh-ZAHR
Phonetic Spelling: (ghez-ar')
KJV: cut out, soothsayer
NASB: diviners, cut
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H1504 (גָּזַר - cut off)]

1. to quarry
2. determine

cut out, soothsayer

(Aramaic) corresponding to gazar; to quarry; determine -- cut out, soothsayer.

see HEBREW gazar

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to gazar
Definition
to cut, determine
NASB Translation
cut (2), diviners (4).

[גְּזַר] verb cut, (divide,) determine (so ᵑ7 Syriac, in both meanings; Biblical Hebrew usually divide, Job, Esther, decree); —

Pe. Participle active as substantive, plural absolute גָָּֽזְרִין determiners (of fate; astrologers or soothsayers) Daniel 2:27; Daniel 5:11; emphatic גָָּֽזְרַיָּא Daniel 4:4; Daniel 5:7 (compare Dr.; Arabic RS^{JPhil. xiii (1885), 781}).

Hithpe`el Perfect3feminine singular הִתְגְּזֶרֶת Daniel 2:34 a stone was cut out, so ׳אִתְג (K^{§ § 23, 1; 30, 2}) Daniel 2:45 (with מִן of source).

Overview

The six occurrences of גְּזַר in Daniel present a single root expressed in two ways: (1) Babylonian “diviners” who attempt to pierce the unknown by human skill and occult practice, and (2) the supernatural “cutting” of the messianic stone that shatters human empire. Together these uses dramatize the contrast between man-made speculation and God-made certainty.

Occurrences in Daniel

1. Daniel 2:27; 4:7; 5:7; 5:11 — “diviners” called before the king.
2. Daniel 2:34; 2:45 — the “stone … cut out, but not by human hands.”

Diviners of Babylon

The court “diviners” stand at the pinnacle of pagan learning, yet every scene exposes their impotence when confronted with revelation. In Daniel 2:27 Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar, “No wise man, enchanter, magician, or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about.” The same failure recurs in Daniel 4:7 and 5:7. The text repeatedly couples גְּזַר with magicians and astrologers, underscoring that all occult insight collapses before the God who “reveals deep and hidden things” (Daniel 2:22).

The Stone Cut Without Hands

Daniel 2:34 and 2:45 pivot from failed human counsel to sovereign divine action: “As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands” (2:34). The passive voice marks God as the unseen cutter, the architect of history who needs no human tool. The stone’s violent collision with the statue seals the demise of every Gentile empire and prefigures the eternal kingdom of the Messiah (cf. Matthew 21:44; Revelation 11:15).

Theological Significance

1. Divine Exclusivity. Gazar shows that only God can “cut” history to His design; human prognostication is severed from true authority.
2. Revelation versus Speculation. The diviners dissect omens; Daniel receives revelation. Scripture thereby distinguishes inspired prophecy from occult guesswork (Deuteronomy 18:10-14; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
3. Messianic Certainty. The stone image foretells a kingdom “that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). The cutting alludes to a conception untouched by human origin—ultimately fulfilled in the virgin-born Son whose kingdom knows no end (Luke 1:31-33).

Historical Background

Neo-Babylonian kings employed a professional guild of dream-interpreters and omen-readers. Their Aramaic title echoes the root “to cut,” possibly from ritual cutting of animal organs for divination or the “cutting” of celestial charts. Daniel, educated in the same court, surpasses them not by technique but by communion with “the God of heaven” (Daniel 2:18-28).

Ministerial Application

• Discernment: Modern fascination with horoscopes, mediums, and secret knowledge is the contemporary face of the ancient gazar. The church is called to the same clarity Daniel displayed—affirming that mysteries yield only to God’s word.
• Confidence in Providence: The stone cut without hands fortifies believers engaged in hostile cultures. Empires rise and fall, but the kingdom of Christ advances inexorably.
• Evangelistic Bridge: Daniel’s promotion “chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners” (Daniel 5:11) models engagement without compromise; he served within pagan structures while testifying to the true God, a pattern for witness in secular settings today.

Typology and Christology

The cut stone foreshadows Jesus Christ, “the stone the builders rejected” (Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:11). Its origin apart from human hands parallels Christ’s divine conception, and its demolition of the statue mirrors His ultimate victory over the kingdoms of this world. The imagery anticipates Revelation 19:15 where the Word strikes the nations, completing what Daniel saw in outline.

Summary

Gazar threads through Daniel as a literary hinge. It exposes flawed human divination and exalts the decisive act of God, who alone can “cut” the future and inaugurate an indestructible kingdom. The term urges believers to forsake all rival sources of guidance, rest in the sufficiency of divine revelation, and live with expectancy for the consummation of the stone that was cut without hands.

אִתְגְּזֶ֨רֶת אתגזרת גָּזְרִ֔ין גזרין הִתְגְּזֶ֤רֶת התגזרת וְגָזְרַיָּ֑א וגזריא ’iṯ·gə·ze·reṯ ’iṯgəzereṯ gā·zə·rîn gazeRin gāzərîn hiṯ·gə·ze·reṯ hitgeZeret hiṯgəzereṯ itgeZeret vegazeraiYa wə·ḡā·zə·ray·yā wəḡāzərayyāInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts