Jurnal Koinonia, Volume 15, No.1, June 2023 1 Daniel’s Use of ŠBḤ and Its Worship Implication Elisha Kwabena Marfo Valley View University elisha.marfo@vvu.edu.gh Abstract Different concepts and motifs have been studied from the book of Daniel by expositors and interpreters without much consideration to the Aramaic terms that have worship nuances, undertones, and connotations. Through a contextual study, this paper contends that the Aramaic שבחhighlights worship and its implication as integral to the book of Daniel. The study argues that שבחis an Aramaic worship expression and its contextual use emphasizes the sovereignty of God. The term’s usage in Daniel highlights the milieu of worship and uplifting either a deity or gods and the God of heaven. However, when idol worship is amplified, the effect is the pronouncement of judgment on the people carrying out such worship. Keywords: שבח, worship, praise, book of Daniel, Aramaic Introduction Though groundbreaking work on worship from the perspective of the Book of Daniel has been published during the past thirty years, 1 no adequate paradigm has been developed for understanding the Aramaic terms and expressions that connote worship as it is 1 Laura K. Morrow, “A Study of the Language Shifts in the Book of Daniel: A Comparative Narrative Analysis of Daniel 1 and 2, 7 and 8” (PhD diss., Andrews University, 2022); Andre Lacocque, The Book of Daniel, 2nd ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2018), Paul Petersen, “The Theology and Function of Prayers in the Book of Daniel” (PhD diss., Andrews University, 1998); Martin Probstle, “Truth and Terror: A Text -Oriented Analysis of Daniel 8:9-14” (PhD diss., Andrews University, 2005); Joe M. Sprinkle, Daniel, EBTC (St. Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2020); Andrew E. Steinmann, Daniel, Concordia Commentary (St. Louis: Concordia, 2008); Paul J. Tanner, Daniel, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2020); Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on Daniel, trans. Robert C. Hill (Atlanta: SBL, 2006); Amber Warhurst, “The Associative Effects of Daniel in the Writings,” in The Shape of the Writings, ed. Julius Steinberg and Timothy J. Stone (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015), 187-205; Samuel Wells and George Sumner, Esther and Daniel, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2013); Zdravko Stefanovic, Daniel—Wisdom to the Wise: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2007); G. L. Archer, Jr., “Daniel,” Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985); S. R. Driver, The Book of Daniel, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), 37; D. Ford, Daniel (Nashville, TN: Southern, 1978); A. Lacocque, The Book of Daniel (Atlanta, GA: John Knox, 1979); Stephen R. Miller, Daniel, The New American Commentary, vol. 18 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1994); Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 9 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996).