Original Word: עוּר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: `uwr
Pronunciation: oor
Phonetic Spelling: (oor)
NASB: chaff
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) chaff (as the naked husk)]

1. chaff

chaff

(Aramaic) chaff (as the naked husk) -- chaff.

Word Origin
(Aramaic) of uncertain derivation
Definition
chaff
NASB Translation
chaff (1).

עוּר noun [masculine] chaff (J Aramaic (Talmud, rare), Syriac ; Arabic , mote (in eye, tending to cause blindness [עִוֵּר]) according to Arabic Lexicons, Lane²¹⁹⁵); — absolute ׳ע Daniel 2:35 (in simile).

[עֵז], עִזִּין see ענז

Meaning and Imagery

עוּר (Strong’s 5784) denotes the loose husks—“chaff”—that are separated from grain on the threshing floor and easily scattered by a breeze. In Scripture, chaff portrays what is lightweight, worthless, and temporary in contrast to what is weighty, valuable, and enduring.

Single Old-Testament Occurrence

Daniel 2:35 employs the term when the shattered statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream “became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found.” The vision places the mightiest human empires on the scale and judges them as insubstantial as summer dust when the kingdom of God strikes and fills the whole earth.

Broader Biblical Parallels

Though 5784 itself is rare, the chaff image is frequent:
• Psalm 1:4 – “Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.”
• Job 21:18 – “Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?”
• Isaiah 5:24; Hosea 13:3; Zephaniah 2:2 – each links chaff with divine judgment.
• Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17 – John the Baptist warns that Messiah “will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Together these passages underline a consistent biblical theme: what is opposed to God, however impressive for a season, is destined to be blown away or consumed, while what is united to Him endures.

Historical and Cultural Context

Threshing floors were hard, level surfaces—often hilltops—where farmers used wind currents to winnow grain. Summer’s arid winds in the Ancient Near East accentuated the contrast between heavy kernels that fell back to the floor and weightless chaff whisked out of sight. Daniel 2 intentionally places the dream’s climax “in summer” to heighten the image of utter removal.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Sovereignty: The kingdoms of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay represent real imperial powers, yet they crumble effortlessly before the “stone cut without hands.” The vision affirms that every political or cultural system stands or falls at God’s pleasure.
2. Eschatological Hope: The wind that drives away chaff anticipates the final judgment, foreshadowed in Psalm 1 and fulfilled in Revelation 19–22, when only the righteous, likened to grain, remain in God’s eternal kingdom.
3. Moral Warning: The chaff metaphor warns against trusting in human strength or temporal wealth. What seems solid can prove weightless when divine judgment blows.

Ministry and Practical Application

• Preaching and Teaching: Daniel 2:35 provides a vivid sermon illustration contrasting the permanence of Christ’s kingdom with the fragility of worldly glory.
• Personal Discipleship: Believers are encouraged to invest in what endures—faith, hope, love, and obedience—rather than pursuits that the “wind” will remove.
• Counseling and Pastoral Care: When worldly powers intimidate, the chaff image reassures the faithful that God alone controls history’s outcome.
• Evangelism: The stark destiny of chaff offers an urgent call to repentance, inviting hearers to become part of the unshakable kingdom (Hebrews 12:28).

Thus, although עוּר appears only once, its placement in Daniel 2 amplifies a pattern found throughout Scripture: human pride is fleeting, but the reign of God is everlasting.

כְּע֣וּר כעור kə‘ūr kə·‘ūr keUrInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts