Original Word: אֲלַף
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: alaph
Pronunciation: ah-laf'
Phonetic Spelling: (al-af')
KJV: thousand
NASB: thousand, thousands
Word Origin: [properly, the same as H504 (אֶלֶף - herd)]

1. a thousand

thousand

(Aramaic) or meleph (Aramaic) {eh'-lef}; corresponding to 'eleph -- thousand.

see HEBREW 'eleph

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to eleph
Definition
a thousand
NASB Translation
thousand (2), thousands (2).

Meaning and Scope

The word designates the cardinal number “thousand” in the Aramaic sections of Daniel. In every instance it functions as a literal numeral that also carries connotative weight, underscoring either royal ostentation or inconceivable heavenly grandeur.

Occurrences in Daniel

1. Daniel 5:1 – Belshazzar “held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles.”
2. Daniel 5:1 – The king “drank wine in the presence of the thousand.”
3. Daniel 7:10 – “Thousands upon thousands attended Him.”
4. Daniel 7:10 – (implicit in the plural construction “thousand thousands”)

Literary and Historical Background

Daniel 5 records the final hours of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Belshazzar assembles one thousand nobles in a show of confidence, even as the Medo-Persian army presses the city. The same chapter contrasts human pomp with God’s immediate judgment, for the banquet ends with the handwriting on the wall and the king’s death that very night.

Daniel 7 moves from earthly courts to the heavenly tribunal. The Ancient of Days is attended by an innumerable host, dwarfing Belshazzar’s thousand-man audience. The juxtaposition within the book is deliberate: a single human king can summon merely thousands, whereas the sovereign Lord commands myriads.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Sovereignty vs. Human Pretension
• Belshazzar’s thousand cannot shield him from God’s decree (Daniel 5:26-30).
• In the throne-room vision “the court was convened, and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:10), revealing the ultimate authority of heaven.
2. Judgment and Worship
• The earthly feast ends in doom; the heavenly assembly gathers for righteous adjudication and, by implication, worship.
3. Magnitude of the Heavenly Host
• “Thousands upon thousands” suggests not merely a count but overwhelming might and order, anticipating later depictions of angelic armies (Revelation 5:11).

Symbolism of a Thousand in the Wider Canon

Although the lemma appears in Daniel alone, Scripture frequently employs “thousand” to express completeness and vastness:
• Exodus 20:6 – covenant faithfulness “to a thousand generations.”
• Psalm 50:10 – God owns “the cattle on a thousand hills.”
• 2 Peter 3:8 – “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years.”

These passages affirm that what seems large to humanity is still bounded by God’s infinite power.

Ministry Insights

• Pride is exposed when numbers become a measure of success. Leaders who trust large followings, budgets, or platforms mirror Belshazzar’s folly unless their confidence rests in the Lord.
• Worship gains awe when congregations envision themselves joining the “thousands upon thousands” around the throne. Corporate gatherings on earth prefigure the heavenly assembly.
• Pastoral reassurance arises from knowing that God’s resources outstrip any earthly need; one stands backed by legions of unseen servants (2 Kings 6:17).

Key Cross References

Daniel 5:1; 5:30 – the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms

Daniel 7:9-14 – the reign of the Son of Man over the innumerable host

Psalm 68:17 – “The chariots of God are tens of thousands, thousands of thousands”

Revelation 5:11 – “the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands”

Summary

The four uses of אֲלַף in Daniel frame a stark contrast: the fragile grandiosity of a doomed king and the limitless majesty of the Ancient of Days. Every appearance of “thousand” invites readers to measure earthly power against the immeasurable sovereignty of God and to live, worship, and minister in light of that eternal perspective.

אֲלַ֑ף אֶ֤לֶף אַלְפִין֙ אַלְפָּ֖א אלף אלפא אלפין ’ă·lap̄ ’al·pā ’al·p̄în ’ălap̄ ’alpā ’alp̄în ’e·lep̄ ’elep̄ aLaf alFin alPa ElefInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts