Daniel 5

Daniel 5:1

V. BELSHAZZAR’S DOOM ANNOUNCED BY THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL (Chap. 5)5:1-4 Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar (“father” in v. 2 may also mean “grandfather”). He made a great feast, using the sacred gold and silver vessels which . . . Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from the temple . . . in Jerusalem for an idolatrous carnival. The king and his entourage drank themselves drunk on wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. 5:5-9 While he and his lords became drunken and riotous, the fingers of a man’s hand appeared, writing on the . . . wall. The terrified king offered a purple robe, a chain of gold, and promotion to be one of three rulers (probably with Nabonidus and Belshazzar), to anyone who could interpret the writing. 5:10-16 At the queen’s suggestion, Daniel was summoned to interpret the writing. Even after all these years and the changes in government, the excellent wisdom and spirituality of Daniel were remembered at least by someone. So Daniel was brought in before the king. 5:17-24 After reviewing the experience of Nebuchadnezzar and boldly rebuking Belshazzar for desecrating the vessels of the temple by using them in a drunken, idolatrous feast, Daniel proceeded to reveal the writing and its meaning. 5:25-31 The writing was MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. MENE means “numbered.” God had numbered the Babylonian Empire and finished it. TEKEL means “weighed.” Belshazzar was weighed in the balances, and found wanting. UPHARSIN means “divided” or divisions. (PHARSIN is the plural of PERES. The “U” means “and.”) Belshazzar’s kingdom was divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. That same night, the Medo-Persian armies marched into Babylon, slew Belshazzar, and seized world dominion. Darius the Mede was the new king.