Original Word: אֲכַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: akal
Pronunciation: ah-KAHL
Phonetic Spelling: (ak-al')
NASB: devour, devoured, brought, eating
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H398 (אָכַל - eat)]

1. + accuse, devour, eat

accuse, devour, eat

(Aramaic) corresponding to 'akal -- + accuse, devour, eat.

see HEBREW 'akal

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to akal
Definition
to eat, devour
NASB Translation
brought (1), devour (2), devoured (2), eating (1), maliciously accused* (1).

General Sense and Scope

The verb denotes the act of eating or devouring and, by extension, the consuming of persons, kingdoms, or reputations. All seven occurrences are in the Aramaic sections of Daniel, illustrating literal ingestion, violent destruction, and figurative slander.

Occurrences and Contexts

1. Daniel 3:8 – Court astrologers “maliciously accused” (“devoured the pieces of”) the Jews.
2. Daniel 4:33 – Humbled Nebuchadnezzar “ate grass like an ox.”
3. Daniel 6:24 – The conspirators who “had maliciously accused Daniel” are themselves thrown to lions that “overpowered” them.
4. Daniel 7:5 – The bear-like beast is commanded, “Arise, devour much flesh!”
5. Daniel 7:7 – The terrifying fourth beast “devoured and crushed its victims.”
6. Daniel 7:19 – Daniel seeks clarification about the beast “which devoured and crushed.”
7. Daniel 7:23 – The interpretation: the fourth kingdom “will devour the whole earth.”

Literal Consumption

Nebuchadnezzar’s diet of grass (Daniel 4:33) testifies to God’s power to abase the proud. The lions’ consuming fury (Daniel 6:24) underscores divine justice: the plotters’ own “devouring” words return upon them (cf. Proverbs 26:27).

Figurative Slander

In Daniel 3:8 and 6:24 the word forms an idiom for slander—men who “eat the pieces” of others. Scripture thus likens character-assassination to carnivorous violence. “He who slanders his neighbor in secret, him I will destroy” (Psalm 101:5).

Imperial Predation

Each beast of Daniel 7 embodies successive Gentile powers; their mandate to “devour” depicts systemic oppression. The bear’s gluttony (7:5) speaks of swift conquest; the fourth beast’s global appetite (7:23) foreshadows the final, relentless world empire. Yet even the mightiest devourer is temporally bounded: “The court will convene, and his dominion will be taken away” (Daniel 7:26).

Theological Threads

• Divine Sovereignty: God raises and removes rulers who devour (Daniel 2:21; 4:17).
• Human Pride Humbled: The king who once “devoured nations” is reduced to grazing (Daniel 4:33).
• Retributive Justice: Those who consume others are consumed in turn (Daniel 6:24; Galatians 6:7).
• Eschatological Hope: The kingdom “that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44) supersedes every devouring power.

Ministry Reflections

1. Guard the tongue: malicious accusation is spiritual cannibalism (James 4:11).
2. Warn of predatory systems: believers must discern and resist structures that “eat up My people” (Psalm 14:4).
3. Trust the Sovereign Judge: however voracious the beast, Christ will “consume” the lawless one “with the breath of His mouth” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
4. Model humility: Nebuchadnezzar’s pasture experience teaches leaders to yield glory to God alone.

Summary

The word paints a spectrum from common eating to kingdom-level conquest. Each scene in Daniel presses the same lesson: what men or empires ravenously seize, the Lord ultimately reclaims.

אֲכַ֤לוּ אֲכֻ֖לִי אָֽכְלָ֣ה אכלה אכלו אכלי וְתֵאכֻל֙ וַאֲכַ֥לוּ ואכלו ותאכל יֵאכֻ֔ל יאכל ’ă·ḵa·lū ’ā·ḵə·lāh ’ă·ḵu·lî ’ăḵalū ’āḵəlāh ’ăḵulî aChalu acheLah aChuli vaaChalu veteChul wa’ăḵalū wa·’ă·ḵa·lū wə·ṯê·ḵul wəṯêḵul yê·ḵul yeChul yêḵulInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts