9. The drama of the writing on the wall and its interpretation is now brought to its fulfillment as Belshazzar keeps his promise. Too often the world, like Belshazzar, is not willing to seek the wisdom of God until its own bankruptcy becomes evident. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield (Is 21:4-5). Finally, the tidings come, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground (Is 21:9). The next four years Neriglisar occupied the throne. [42], It is possible that a noteworthy return to orthodox Babylonian religion, following early attempts by Nabonidus to exalt the moon god Sn over the traditional Babylonian supreme deity Marduk, can be attributed to Belshazzar. Daniel 6:26-27, Daniel prays and fasts about what lies ahead and the Jewish peoples indifference to their captivity. He was clearly the highest legal authority in Babylonia during Nabonidus's absence. Within these walls were beautiful avenues, parks, and palaces. 5:30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. Omissions? But the Babylonians, having taken the field, awaited his coming; and when he had advanced near the city, the Babylonians gave battle, and, being defeated, were shut up in the city. PERES means divided, and is merely another form for UPHARSIN as in verse 25 having the u, which is equivalent to the English and, with PHARSIN being the plural of PERES. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Isaiah and Jeremiah had prophesied that Babylon would fall to the Medes on just such a night of revelry as Daniel records (Is 13:17-22; 21:1-10; Jer 51:33-58). He praises God, and after seven months, his sanity is restored. As Nabonidus was relatively old at the time, Belshazzar could expect to become king within a few years. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. This distinction is supported by Keil.265, Their pride in their deities may have been bolstered by the magnificence of the city of Babylon itself, interpreted as an evidence of the power of their gods. [7] The story of Belshazzar's feast is historical fiction, and several details are not consistent with historical facts. With what eloquent scorn Daniel declares that Belshazzar, his lords, wives and concubines had drunk wine from these sacred vessels and had praised gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.278. 57-59; cf. In one case, sacred garments that Belshazzar ordered to be granted to a temple in Uruk were held back because Nabonidus had given a contrary order before departing for Tayma. - Daniel 12:13: 538 BC: Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Judea and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem . Whereas Neriglissar's career as a businessman prior to becoming king can be followed through a trail of surviving business documents, Belshazzar appears to have become a prominent member of the Babylonian oligarchy overnight[18] (Belshazzar, in contrast to his co-conspirators was notably not a member of the old Babylonian aristocracy),[19] not being mentioned in any business documents or private transactions prior to Nabonidus becoming king. 264 Otto Zockler, Daniel, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, p. 126. [50], In the Book of Daniel, Belshazzar (Hebrew: , Blaar)[1] plays a significant role in the tale of Belshazzar's feast, a variation on the story of Nebuchadnezzar's madness showing what happens when a king does not repent. In the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible, Belshazzar is referred to as Nebuchadnezzar's (grand)son. That would make him about 85 to ninety years old at his death. Verse 1 of chapter 5 introduces the fact that Belshazzar as king of Babylon had made a great feast to which a thousand of his lords had been invited with their wives. This would involve the premise that Nabonidus, although usually living at Teima, had returned to Babylon for a visit just prior to the siege of Babylon, had gone out to battle before Babylon was actually surrounded, and then was defeated, thereby permitting the Persians to besiege Babylon itself. Home; Blog; Bible survey. Since there is little change in the prominent members of Neriglissar's and Labashi-Marduk's former household under Belshazzar, it is probable that Belshazzar becoming the master of the household was met with relatively little opposition. Some have found, in the six materials mentioned, a typical reference to the number of the world amenable to judgment because of its hostility to God.264 In the original, the gods of gold and silver are separated by the conjunction and, not true of the listing of the gods of brass, iron, wood, and stone, as if there were two classes of deities. Norman Porteous, Daniel: A Commentary, p. 76. : heart) (and therefore) ordered him to march against his city Babylon He made him set out on the road to Babylon going at his side like a real friend. Now these holy vessels are distributed among the crowd and used as vessels from which to drink wine. [43] Belshazzar appears to have worked to restore Marduk's status in his father's absence. 9:41, cited by C. F. Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, p. 164. E. G. Kraeling (The Handwriting on the Wall, Journal of Biblical Literature 63 [1944]: 11-18) assuming that five kings are in viewi.e., mene is given twice and the upharsin equals two half-minassuggests that the five kings following Nebuchadnezzar were intended, viz., Evil-Merodach, Neriglissar, Labashi-Marduk, Nabonidus and Belshazzar. Belshazzar also lacked many of the prerogatives of kingship, most importantly he was not allowed to preside over and officiate the Babylonian New Year's festival, which was the exclusive right of the king himself. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? Then the kings countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The Cross And Unjust Suffering (1 Peter 2:19-25). [55] Daniel tells Belshazzar that because he has not given honor to God, his kingdom will be given to the Medes and Persians. . [10] It is alternatively possible that later traditions of Belshazzar being a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar are derived from royal propaganda, and that there was no connection to the previous ruling Chaldean dynasty. 315-16. 253 The new evidence confirming the theory that Nabonidus was absent is found in the statement in the Prayer of Nabonidus that Nabonidus was at the oasis of Teima in Arabia at this time. Daniel 7:1-7, Daniel receives a vision of a ram and a goat. For further discussion, see exposition of Daniel 5:25-27. See also Keil, p. 179, citing Athenaeus, as does Young, p. 118. To be clothed in scarlet and to wear a chain of gold about the neck were special tokens of the kings favor and certainly would have been coveted by any of the wise men. Nebuchadnezzar II was the eldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, founder of the Chaldean empire. In many respects, Babylon was the most fabulous city of the ancient world both for the beauty of its architecture and for the safety of its huge walls and fortifications. Ezra 1:1-4. The long chapter devoted to this incident which brought the Babylonian Empire to its close is undoubtedly recorded in the Word of God not only for its historic fulfillment of the prophecies relative to the Babylonian Empire but also as an illustration of divine dealing with a wicked world. Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, was the last king of Babylon during the time of Daniel . Daniel 8:1-12, Belshazzar holds a great feast and uses the holy vessels taken from Jerusalem. As he could lease out temple land, this suggests that Belshazzar, in administrative matters, could act with full royal power. Because he could hardly proclaim himself as king while his father was still alive, Belshazzar proclaimed Nabonidus as king. There may have been a division of the Babylonian army. Following Cyrus decree, around 50,000 Jews return home to Judea, led by Zerubbabel. How old was Belshazzar when Nebuchadnezzar died? Daniel dies at 84 years old. Still, orders by Nabonidus superseded orders by Belshazzar. The Writing on the Wall Belshazzar's feast: analysis. The Bible refers to him as his son ( Daniel 5:2 ), but really the original language seems to hint they're family, or. Having stationed his forces and given these directions, he himself marched away with the ineffective part of his army; and having come to the lake, Cyrus did the same with respect to the river and the lake as the queen of the Babylonians had done; for having diverted the river, by means of a canal, into the lake, which was before a swamp, he made the ancient channel fordable by the sinking of the river. the second year of Darius the King King of what, exactly ? According to Rex A. Turner, in his book "Daniel . The text is definitely from the sixth century B.C. Herodotus gives an interesting account of the circumstances surrounding the capture of Babylon: Cyrus then advanced against Babylon. 245 The actual text of Berosus is as follows: After beginning the wall of which I have spoken, Nabuchodonosor fell sick and died, after a reign of forty-three years, and the realm passed to his son Evilmaraduch. The implication in the clause whiles he tasted the wine is that Belshazzar in his right mind probably would not have committed this sacrilegious act. It was hard for the Babylonians to believe that even the Medes and the Persians who had surrounded their beloved city could possibly breach the fortifications or exhaust their supplies which were intended to be ample for a siege of many years. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The latter relates the story thus, Cyropd., lib. All Rights Reserved. In any case Daniel read the writing as Aramaic, and the suggestion of puns in the language (see later discussion) depends upon the Aramaic. Thus the later tradition states that Cyrus and Darius were employed as doorkeepers of the royal palace. If in cuneiform, the vowels would be included. Some have claimed that the text does not plainly indicate the language. Also known as: Baltasar, Balthasar, Bel-shar-usur. Daniel describes graphically in verse 19 how Nebuchadnezzar was feared and had absolute authority of life and death over his people and, accordingly, was an absolute sovereign. 5:29-31 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In Babylonia, temples usually carried out offerings to the king, such as sacrificing a specified number of sheep. Man may have the first word, but God will have the last word. Through the deposition of Labashi-Marduk, Belshazzar had positioned himself to become the heir of one of Babylonia's wealthiest families. Knowing Daniel was a wise elder statesman, the new leaders gave him a prestigious place in their government (Daniel 6:1-2). [24] Nabonidus made Tayma his provisional seat and he would stay there for about a decade, not returning to Babylon until September or October of 543 or 542 BC. Scholars are not agreed as to the precise meaning of this term, but the suggestion is made that it may be a title for an office of honor which did not necessarily correspond precisely to the meaning of the word. 2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. It is related by the people who inhabited this city, that, by reason of its great extent, when they who were at the extremities were taken, those of the Babylonians who inhabited the centre knew nothing of the capture (for it happened to be a festival); but they were dancing at the time, and enjoying themselves, till they received certain information of the truth. This is the first point at which this ch. The prophet Daniel, interpreting the handwriting on the wall as God's judgment on the king, foretold the imminent destruction of the city. After a decisive victory at the battle of Opis, the Persian army, on 12 October,[48] led by Ugbaru, entered Babylon without a fight. During his coregency Belshazzar administered the government, his own estates, and those of his father, though, according to the Book of Daniel, famine and economic setbacks occurred late in his rule. Babylonian chronicles refer to the crown prince being stationed at home in Babylonia with "his army". PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. The reference to Nebuchadnezzar as the father of Belshazzar, as previously indicated, should probably be either grandfather or greatgrandfather as the same term would be used for any of these designations. 283 Ibid., p. 126; cf. As Nabonidus assumed the throne in 556 B.C., only six years after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar was probably at least a teenager when Nebuchadnezzar diedif he was old enough to be coregent with Nabonidus in 553 B.C. it is possible that he was a genuine son of Nebuchadnezzar and that his mother, after Nebuchadnezzars death, was married to Nabonidus. The inability of the wise men to decipher the writing only increased the concern of Belshazzar. 208-14. [25] October 543 BC is the return date most supported by surviving Babylonian documentation. Belshazzar was evidently in no mood to bargain but was terrified and desperately desired to know the meaning of the writing. What do I do about calling a priest father at my Catholic University? This text indicates that a person known as Bel-sarra-usur was a res sarri, an officer of the king, under Neriglissar who came to the throne in 560 B.C., as had been earlier pointed out in a text YBC 3765:2 published by R. P. Dougherty in 1929 in Nabonidus and Belshazzar, pp. Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom. A voice tells him the meaning of the vision, and Daniel lies exhausted by the vision for many days after. and the fall of Babylon 539 B.C. In many respects, modern civilization is much like ancient Babylon, resplendent with its monuments of architectural triumph, as secure as human hands and ingenuity could make it, and yet defenseless against the judgment of God at the proper hour. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. J. Keil, pp. Though he is referred to in the Book of Daniel as the son of Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian inscriptions indicate that he was in fact the eldest son of Nabonidus, who was king of Babylon from 555 to 539, and of Nitocris, who was perhaps a daughter of Nebuchadrezzar. In this period, a number of monarchs had succeeded Nebuchadnezzar. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. Belshazzar goes on in verse 14 to repeat what his mother had said concerning Daniels wisdom. (30-31) The death of Belshazzar and the rise of Darius the Mede. It seems likely that skirmishes along the border were frequent from then until Babylon's fall. Herodotus pictures hundreds of towers at appropriate intervals reaching another 100 feet into the air above the top of the wall.266, Modern interpreters view Herodotus figures as greatly exaggerated, with the real dimensions only about one-fourth of what Herodotus claimed. The identity of this conqueror, unknown outside the Bible by this name, has touched off endless controversy and discussion which will be considered in the next chapter. [49][51][52] He may have alternatively been killed already at the battle of Opis,[1] captured and executed, or exiled together with his father. Cf. Herodotus's description of Nitocris contains a wealth of legendary material that makes it difficult to determine whether he uses the name to refer to Nabonidus's wife or mother, but William H. Shea proposed in 1982 that Nitocris may tentatively be identified as the name of Nabonidus's wife and Belshazzar's mother. The queen urged, however, that now he be brought in to solve the present problem. For other uses, see, List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources, "Nabonidus, Belshazzar, and the Book of Daniel: an Update", Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belshazzar&oldid=1147589796, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia without a Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages with numeric Bible version references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Belshazzar never assumed, and was not allowed to use, the title of king (.
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