Daniel 10:18
Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
The three-fold pattern (strengthening in v.10, 16, 18) parallels biblical use of threefold repetition emphasizing completeness or intensification: Seraphim's 'Holy, holy, holy' (Isaiah 6:3), Peter's three-fold restoration (John 21:15-17), Paul's three-fold plea (2 Corinthians 12:8). God's repeated strengthening of Daniel demonstrates patience, thoroughness, and commitment to enabling His servant. Ancient peoples might have interpreted such repeated weakness as unfitness for ministry; biblical revelation reframes it as precisely the context for divine power's display. The repeated strengthening validated the vision's magnitude—requiring extraordinary divine grace to receive—and modeled for believers that ongoing ministry requires ongoing grace, not self-sufficiency.
Questions for Reflection
- What does the need for repeated strengthening teach about Christian life requiring continual grace rather than self-sufficiency?
- How does weakness becoming the context for divine strength challenge worldly ideas about fitness for ministry?
- Why doesn't God grant permanent strengthening but requires repeated divine touch?
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Analysis & Commentary
A third strengthening comes: 'Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me.' The repeated need for strengthening emphasizes sustained revelation's requirements—not one-time empowerment but continual grace. Each wave of revelation requires renewed enabling. This pattern teaches that Christian life and ministry similarly require continual divine grace—not self-sustained effort but repeated infusions of divine strength. Paul's 'My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness' (2 Corinthians 12:9) reflects this principle. The 'one like the appearance of a man' may be the same figure as v.16 or indicate angelic form accommodated to human perception. The strengthening enables Daniel to continue receiving and eventually recording the revelation for God's people.