As is well known, the reason we play dreidel on Hanukkah is this: Before the miracle of Hanukkah, when the gentiles who controlled the land severely restricted Torah study, Jewish children would gather to study Torah in secret, and brought dreidels with them so that, should they be discovered by the authorities, they could appear to be playing rather than studying.
Nowadays, the letters "נ ג ה פ" on a dreidel stand for "נס גדול היה פה", "a great miracle happened here", viz the miracle of Hanukkah. But these children were playing dreidel before the miracle of Hanukkah! So what did "נ ג ה פ" stand for at that time?
Answer
When the end of prophecy occurred at the destruction of the first temple, it was given to the children. Obviously then, the children knew by prophecy what was supposed to be on the dreidel.
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