Daniel9:21

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Translation

while I was yet speaking in prayer, GABRIEL,

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the man whom I had seen in the previous vision, touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice, while I was extremely weary.

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Paraphrase

yes, while I was still conversing with God in prayer, THE MIGHT OF GOD, personified as the man whom I had seen in the previous vision, touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice, when I was in a state of extreme weariness.

Footnotes

1

The name “Gabriel” means “man of God,” but also denotes strength, hence, “the mighty and valiant warrior.” Preferably, “mighty man of God” or even “mighty warrior of God” or simply “THE MIGHT OF GOD” which happens to be personified in an angel.

 

2: “extremely weary”

There are two possible words this phrase could come from. One is from a root meaning “to cover,” and can be rendered, “to obscure, to cover with wings, to flee, to fly, to shine forth, to be weary or faint.” The other word means “to be weary, to be worn out,” and possibly “to fly.” Thus there appears to be some overlap between these two words although their root meanings point different directions. Therefore, it either means that the angel was “caused to fly to him swiftly,” or that Daniel had been “caused to become extremely worn out.” I think that the latter fits the context best. He had been involved in intense prayer for an unknown length of time and had become weary in the process. This a verb form shows intensity and it is followed by another form of the same word, which also means “weary.”  When Hebrew used two words from the same root back-to-back, it was a form of emphasis. He was totally worn out. It may be that Daniel, like Jacob, would not stop until he heard a response from God on this matter.