a linking word that sets one thing over against another: facing it in place (in front of, opposite) or answering to it in thought (because, therefore, according to)
At its root this word points to the front of something, the side that faces you. From there it became a way of relating one thing to another, first in space and then in reasoning.
Used of place, it means standing in front of, opposite, or in the presence of someone. A great statue looms in front of the dreamer, officials stand before an image, and mysterious writing appears on the wall facing the lampstand.
Far more often it links ideas. In the set phrase that means "inasmuch as" or "because," it gives the reason for what follows; in the phrase that means "for this reason" or "therefore," it draws a conclusion from what came before. These two connectors carry much of the argument in the Aramaic chapters of Daniel and Ezra.
A related use is "according to" or "in keeping with," where one action matches an instruction. All of these grow from the same picture: something set over against, and answering to, something else.