Original Word: מְדוֹר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: mdowr
Pronunciation: meh-DOR
Phonetic Spelling: (med-ore')
KJV: dwelling
NASB: dwelling place, dwelling
Word Origin: [from H175 (אַהֲרוֹן - Aaron)3]

1. a dwelling

dwelling

(Aramaic) or mdor (Aramaic) {med-ore'}; or mdar (Aramaic) {med-awr'}; from duwr; a dwelling -- dwelling.

see HEBREW duwr

Word Origin
(Aramaic) from dur
Definition
a dwelling place
NASB Translation
dwelling (1), dwelling place (3).

[מְדוֺר] noun [masculine] dwelling place; — suffix מְדֹרָךְ Daniel 4:22; Daniel 4:29, מְדוֺרֵהּ Daniel 5:21.

[מְדָר] noun masculine id.; — suffix מְָ˜דרָהוֺן Daniel 2:11.

Semantic Range and Conceptual Overview

מְדוֹר communicates the idea of a fixed dwelling-place or habitation. In Daniel it functions both literally—describing where beings live—and theologically—exposing the chasm between human pride and the sovereign God who appoints every abode.

Canonical Distribution

Found exclusively in the Aramaic sections of Daniel (Daniel 2:11; 4:25; 4:32; 5:21), מְדוֹר is attached to three distinct subjects:

1. The gods (Daniel 2:11)
2. Nebuchadnezzar in warning (Daniel 4:25, 32)
3. Nebuchadnezzar in fulfilled judgment (Daniel 5:21)

Key Texts

• Daniel 2:11 – “the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
• Daniel 4:25 – “your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field.”

(Berean Standard Bible)

Historical Setting

Daniel ministered in Babylonian and early Medo-Persian courts during Judah’s exile. Royal counselors, pagan monarchs, and prophetic Jews collided in a milieu where claims of divine residence had political weight. The Babylonian worldview localized deities in temples; Daniel’s God, however, ruled every realm—and could relocate kings at will.

Theological Themes

1. Sovereignty over Abodes
• Earthly thrones are provisional. The Most High “rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He wishes” (Daniel 4:25). Changing a king’s מְדוֹר from palace to pasture dramatizes that truth.
• By placing Nebuchadnezzar among animals, God reverses Babel’s aspiration to ascend; He lowers humanity that exalts itself.

2. Transcendence versus Immanence
• Daniel 2:11 contrasts the gods’ non-human מְדוֹר with the living God who nevertheless intervenes. Scripture maintains both His transcendence (heavenly dwelling) and His immanence (answering prayer and revealing mysteries).
• The narrative anticipates John 1:14, where the Word “tabernacled” among us, bringing divine dwelling to human soil.

3. Anthropological Humility
• Loss of royal habitation pictures sin’s dehumanizing effect. When mankind refuses to acknowledge God, it forfeits true dignity and sinks to bestial existence (cf. Romans 1:22-23).
• Restoration follows repentance: “I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven … and my kingdom was restored to me” (Daniel 4:34-36).

4. Eschatological Foreshadowing
• The temporary bestial מְדוֹר prefigures final judgment where rebels are assigned an abode “outside” (Revelation 22:15). Conversely, the faithful receive an eternal dwelling “not made by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Ministry Significance

• Preaching: Use Nebuchadnezzar’s relocation to call hearers from pride to surrender, stressing that God alone secures both earthly and heavenly homes.
• Counseling: The text counsels identity. We are not animals; rebellion pushes us toward that degradation, but grace restores our true habitation as image-bearers.
• Missions: Daniel 2:11 undercuts relativism. Only the God who transcends every local מְדוֹר can rescue every culture.
• Worship: Adore the One who “dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16) yet chooses to indwell believers by His Spirit (John 14:17).

Intertextual Echoes

• Psalms 90:1 – “Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.”
• Isaiah 57:15 – the High and Exalted One “who dwells forever, whose name is holy: ‘I dwell in a high and holy place, and also with the contrite.’”

These texts sharpen Daniel’s message: the same God inhabits eternity and the humble heart.

Practical Reflection

1. Evaluate current “dwellings”—status, possessions, reputations—against the enduring security of abiding in Christ.
2. Remember that every earthly abode is stewardship; God can reassign it for discipline or mission.
3. Anticipate the consummate מְדוֹר: “the dwelling place of God is with men, and He will live with them” (Revelation 21:3).

Thus מְדוֹר, though a brief lexical note in Daniel, opens a rich vista on divine sovereignty, human humility, and the ultimate promise of eternal fellowship with God.

מְדָ֣רְה֔וֹן מְדֹרָ֗ךְ מְדֹרָ֜ךְ מְדוֹרֵ֔הּ מדורה מדרהון מדרך mə·ḏā·rə·hō·wn mə·ḏō·rāḵ mə·ḏō·w·rêh meDareHon məḏārəhōwn medoRach məḏōrāḵ medoReh məḏōwrêhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts