Bible Strands

Daniel 10:3

I ate no rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I did not anoint myself with oil until the three weeks were completed.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Daniel records his own actions to himself, marking the end of a three-week mourning period that began on the first day of the month (Daniel 10:2). He stands on the bank of the Tigris River on its twenty-fourth day, having completed a strict period of physical denial (Daniel 10:4).

The words — The text emphasizes לֶ֣חֶם (Le.chem), meaning "food," and חֲמֻד֞וֹת (cha.mu.Dot), meaning "desirableness," to specify the rich meals he refused. He explicitly states that meat and wine did not enter his mouth, confirming a total dietary fast.

The thread — The verse’s refusal of rich food and wine aligns with the fasting discipline later prescribed in Matthew 6:17, while the loss of physical comforts mirrors the captivity of precious vessels and metal images in Daniel 11:8 and Amos 5:11.

Why it lands — The text establishes that prolonged mourning requires concrete physical restriction rather than symbolic gesture. It asks the reader to identify which specific comforts they must withhold to maintain spiritual focus.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לֶ֣חֶםLe.chemfood ofחֲמֻד֞וֹתcha.mu.Dotdesirableness<es>לֹ֣אlo'notאָכַ֗לְתִּי'a.Khal.tiI ateוּבָשָׂ֥רu./va.Sarand/ meatוָיַ֛יִןva./Ya.yinand/ wineלֹא־lo'-notבָ֥אva'it cameאֶל־'el-intoפִּ֖יp/imouth/ myוְס֣וֹךְve./Sokhand/ indeed <anoint>לֹא־lo'-notסָ֑כְתִּיSa.khe.tiI anointed myselfעַד־'ad-untilמְלֹ֕אתme.Lotwere completedשְׁלֹ֥שֶׁתshe.Lo.shetthreeשָׁבֻעִ֖יםsha.vu.'Imsevensיָמִֽים׃ פya.Mimdays

King James Version

I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

Cross-references