Original Word: בְּהל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: bhal
Pronunciation: beh-hal'
Phonetic Spelling: (be-hal')
KJV: in haste, trouble
NASB: alarmed, alarm, alarming, haste, hurriedly, kept alarming
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H926 (בָּהַל - dismayed)]

1. to terrify, hasten

in haste, trouble

(Aramaic) corresponding to bahal; to terrify, hasten -- in haste, trouble.

see HEBREW bahal

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to bahal
Definition
to alarm, dismay
NASB Translation
alarm (2), alarmed (3), alarming (2), haste (2), hurriedly (1), kept alarming (1).

[בְּהַל] verb Pa`el alarm, dismay (so usually ᵑ7 (not Syriac); Biblical Hebrew [בָּהַל]); — Imperfect . 3 masculine singular suffix יְבַהֲלָךְ Daniel 4:16 and 3 masculine plural suffix לֻגַּנִי- Daniel 4:2; Daniel 7:15,28 (both jussive Str^{§ 18 c} M^{§ 52 a}); לוּךְ- Daniel 5:10, לֻנֵּ֑ךְ- Daniel 4:16, לוּנֵהּ- Daniel 5:6.

Hithpe`el hasten (so Pi`el in late Biblical Hebrew; ᵑ7 Ithpe`el (rare)); Infinitive בְּהִתְבְּהָלָה = in haste (originally 'in alarm') Daniel 2:25; Daniel 3:24; Daniel 6:20.

Hithpa. Passive participle מִתְבָּהַל Daniel 5:9 was greatly alarmed.

Overview

Strong’s Hebrew 927 conveys the sense of sudden alarm that drives either inner turmoil or outward urgency. Its eleven attestations are confined to Daniel, linking Babylonian courts, prophetic revelations, and divine interventions with the same electric moment of dread or rush.

Occurrences and Literary Setting

1. Royal courtiers: Arioch “brought Daniel before the king in haste” (Daniel 2:25).
2. Nebuchadnezzar: “rose up in haste” at the miracle of the furnace (Daniel 3:24) and later confessed that “the visions in my mind terrified me” (Daniel 4:5).
3. Daniel himself: “astonished for a while, and his thoughts troubled him” when hearing the king’s dream (Daniel 4:19), and again after his own visions (Daniel 7:15; Daniel 7:28).
4. Belshazzar: twice “greatly alarmed” by the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:6, 9), prompting the queen to counsel, “Do not let your thoughts alarm you” (Daniel 5:10).
5. Darius: hurried “at the first light of dawn” to the lions’ den (Daniel 6:19).

All usages fall within the Aramaic chapters (Daniel 2–7), underscoring a chiastic structure in which Gentile monarchs and Jewish prophet alike are shaken by the Most High.

Behal in Scenes of Royal Alarm

The word punctuates moments where earthly power meets heavenly sovereignty. Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius, each secure in political authority, are abruptly destabilized. Their alarm validates Daniel’s repeated declaration that “the God of heaven” rules over kings (Daniel 2:37). The motif testifies to the Lord’s ability to penetrate pagan confidence, calling rulers to humility or judgment.

Behal and the Prophetic Heart of Daniel

Daniel is not exempt from the same trembling he announces to others. After interpreting dreams (Daniel 4:19) and receiving apocalyptic visions (Daniel 7:15, 28), his own spirit is “deeply troubled.” The prophet’s alarm authenticates the weight of revelation and demonstrates that true prophecy does not spring from human bravado but from an encounter with holiness that unsettles the flesh (cf. Isaiah 6:5; Ezekiel 1:28).

From Alarm to Action

Behal can also mean rushing movement (Daniel 2:25; Daniel 3:24; Daniel 6:19). Fear of missing the divine moment propels Arioch, Nebuchadnezzar and Darius into immediate action. The same pattern appears elsewhere in Scripture: Elijah “ran” before Ahab (1 Kings 18:46) and the women “hurried away from the tomb” (Matthew 28:8). Holy urgency is a fitting response to God’s acts.

Theological Themes

1. Sovereignty: God engineers circumstances that unnerve the powerful, demonstrating that “He removes kings and sets them up” (Daniel 2:21).
2. Revelation: Alarm serves as a prelude to unveiled truth; dreams, visions and miracles break into complacency.
3. Judgment and mercy: For Nebuchadnezzar alarm became the doorway to repentance, for Belshazzar to destruction, showing that fear can lead to salvation or doom depending on the heart.
4. Eschatological weight: Daniel’s distress over future kingdoms anticipates New Testament warnings of “men fainting from fear” at the end of the age (Luke 21:26).

Pastoral and Devotional Applications

• Allow divine conviction: When Scripture or providence disturbs the conscience, the correct posture is humble inquiry, not suppression.
• Move with urgency: As Arioch and Darius illustrate, godly haste seeks God’s wisdom or mercy without delay (2 Corinthians 6:2).
• Comfort the alarmed: The queen’s counsel (Daniel 5:10) models pastoral care—point the fearful to the one who can interpret the mystery.
• Embrace holy fear: Daniel’s own trembling reminds believers that intimacy with God includes reverent awe (Hebrews 12:28–29).

Echoes of Christ

Jesus’ ministry often induced behal-like reactions: the disciples “were terrified” when He stilled the storm (Mark 4:41), and the guards at the resurrection “shook for fear” (Matthew 28:4). These scenes, like Daniel, reveal that alarm signals the in-breaking kingdom and calls hearers to faith.

Summary

Strong’s 927 paints a theology of alarm: God interrupts history, disturbs complacent hearts, and compels urgent response. Whether it leads to repentance, judgment, mission, or prophetic insight hinges on one’s surrender to the sovereign Lord whose revelations both unsettle and save.

בְּהִתְבְּהָלָ֑ה בְּהִתְבְּהָלָ֔ה בהתבהלה וּבְהִ֨תְבְּהָלָ֔ה ובהתבהלה יְבַהֲלָ֔ךְ יְבַהֲלֻנֵּ֑הּ יְבַהֲלֻנַּ֗נִי יְבַהֲלֻנַּֽנִי׃ יְבַהֲלוּךְ֙ יְבַהֲלוּנֵּ֑הּ יבהלוך יבהלונה יבהלך יבהלנה יבהלנני יבהלנני׃ מִתְבָּהַ֔ל מתבהל bə·hiṯ·bə·hā·lāh behitbehaLah bəhiṯbəhālāh miṯ·bā·hal mitbaHal miṯbāhal ū·ḇə·hiṯ·bə·hā·lāh ūḇəhiṯbəhālāh uveHitbehaLah yə·ḇa·hă·lāḵ yə·ḇa·hă·lūḵ yə·ḇa·hă·lun·na·nî yə·ḇa·hă·lun·nêh yə·ḇa·hă·lūn·nêh yəḇahălāḵ yəḇahălūḵ yəḇahălunnanî yəḇahălunnêh yəḇahălūnnêh yevahaLach yevahaluCh yevahalunNani yevahalunNehInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts