Daniel 5
Summary for Dan 5:1-30: 5:1-30 a Earthly kingdoms all pass away. As Nebuchadnezzar’s dream implied, Babylon would pass away and a new sovereign kingdom would take its place (2:39 b). After Nebuchadnezzar’s death in 562 BC, violence and debauchery increased in the palaces of Babylon until, during Belshazzar’s feast in 539 BC, even God’s holy vessels were polluted and defiled. God’s judgment came with lightning swiftness that night (5:30 c), and the next kingdom took over (see 2:32 d, 39 e; 5:31 f). 5:1 g Many years later: This chapter opens in October 539 BC (see study note on 5:30).• The name Belshazzar means “Bel Protects [the King]” (Bel was a Babylonian god). Nabonidus (556–539 BC) placed his son Belshazzar on the Babylonian throne around 553 BC as ruler in his stead. Then Nabonidus moved to Tema in northwest Arabia, where he stayed for ten years. He returned to Babylon only in the unsuccessful attempt to oppose the Persians (cp. 5:30-31 h).
Summary for Dan 5:2-4: 5:2-4 i The gold and silver cups from the Temple in Jerusalem had been taken into captivity along with the people (1:2 j), but previous Babylonian kings had not defiled them. They were eventually returned to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:7-11 k).
• predecessor (literally father): Belshazzar was the oldest son of Nabonidus; his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar is uncertain.
• While they drank from them they praised their idols: If Belshazzar had ever known of the honor Nebuchadnezzar had shown toward the Most High God decades earlier (Dan 4:34-37 l), he had long forgotten it. Two ancient Greek historians, Herodotus and Xenophon, record the all-night festivities, dancing, and excessive drinking that took place as the city was taken by Persia.
Summary for Dan 5:5-6: 5:5-6 m The supernatural hand shocked and terrified the carousers. Yet Belshazzar remained unrepentant (5:29 n; cp. Jer 38:19-24 o; Acts 24:25 p).
5:7 q Purple robes and a gold chain are associated with royalty and power.
• third highest: After Nabonidus and Belshazzar himself (see study note on 5:1).
5:8 r As before, the Babylonian wise men were unable to interpret the omen (cp. 2:4-11 s; 4:7 t; 5:15 u).
5:10 v the queen mother (literally the queen): She was probably Belshazzar’s mother, not his wife.
• Long live the king! was the standard greeting (also in 2:4 w); ironically, Belshazzar would die that night (5:30 x).
• Don’t be so pale and frightened: Cp. 1 Sam 28:20-25 y.
Summary for Dan 5:11-12: 5:11-12 z The queen mother reasoned that someone who had the spirit of the holy gods and could interpret dreams (see 1:17 aa) should also be able to interpret the writing.
5:15 ab None of the Babylonian wise men could break the heavenly code (cp. 2:27 ac; 4:7 ad). Only true wise men or prophets can interpret God’s messages. Daniel knew that it was the Spirit of God who enabled him to do so (cp. 2:28 ae; 5:24 af).
5:17 ag Daniel interpreted the writing but required no pay from the wicked king (cp. Gen 14:21-24 ah; 2 Kgs 5:15-16 ai).
Summary for Dan 5:18-21: 5:18-21 aj Daniel presented Nebuchadnezzar as an object lesson that should have guided his successors. Instead, Belshazzar had made the same mistake of exalting himself and dishonoring the Most High God.
5:20 ak A rebel against God characteristically has a heart and mind that are puffed up (or hardened) with arrogance (see Exod 7:13 al; Josh 11:20 am; Isa 14:3-5 an). Nebuchadnezzar was brought down when he became puffed up with arrogance, and Belshazzar would be as well.
5:21 ao the Most High God rules ... and appoints anyone he desires: God had taught Nebuchadnezzar this lesson, and it was the heart of God’s message to Belshazzar. God would appoint a new ruler that very night (5:30-31 ap).
Summary for Dan 5:25-28: 5:25-28 aq Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin: These Aramaic units of measure are used on a balance to weigh quantities of goods being bought and sold. Belshazzar knew the words, but Daniel explained what they meant in this context. The God of Israel measures kings and kingdoms in the balances of justice and righteousness (cp. 4:27 ar).
5:26 as Mene means ‘numbered’: In this context, it means “reckoned, scrutinized.”
5:27 at Tekel means ‘weighed’—you ... have not measured up: Babylon’s king would be destroyed because he did not measure up to God’s demand for righteousness and mercy (see 4:27 au; 5:22-24 av).
5:28 aw Parsin means ‘divided’ (or halved): The Babylonian Empire would be divided and given to two peoples, the Medes and the Persians.
5:29 ax Instead of responding to the message, Belshazzar honored Daniel.
• proclaimed the third highest ruler: Daniel did not desire the honor, and in a few hours it would be meaningless. God would reward Daniel in due time (12:13 ay).
5:30 az The conquest of Babylon by the Medes and Persians ushered in a new era of Persian dominance.
5:31 ba Darius the Mede is distinct from later Persian kings named Darius (see profile for The Medes and Persians at end of chapter). Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BC, and there is no mention of a Darius the Mede in other sources. Two solutions are possible: (1) Cyrus the Great might have appointed Darius the Mede to rule as “King of Babylon” in his place for a little over a year (cp. Dan 6:28 bb; 9:1 bc; 11:1 bd); or (2) Darius and Cyrus might have been the same man bearing two throne names—one name from the Medes, the other from the Persians (see also study note on 6:28). The portrayal of Darius in ch 6 be suggests that he was in fact Cyrus, the ruler of all Media, Persia, and Babylonia.
Profile: The Medes and Persians
The Medes (around 850–549 BC)
The early Medes left no written records. According to an inscription from Shalmaneser III of Assyria (858–824 BC), the Medes had settled around Ecbatana, their capital (modern Hamadan, Iran), by the mid-800s BC. The Medes were renowned horse breeders, so Shalmaneser raided their territory to steal large herds of fine horses. The Medes were subject to the Assyrians until the late 600s, when they gained their independence as Assyria weakened.
The Persians (around 700–549 BC)
Around 700 BC, a small kingdom of Persia was established under Achaemenes, who ruled around 700~675 BC. His son Teispes (675~640 BC) was under the domination of the Medes, who were gathering forces to overthrow Assyria. But trouble for the Medes later freed Teispes from their control. Cambyses (600~559 BC), son of Cyrus I and grandson of Teispes, married the daughter of the Median king Astyages; their son was Cyrus II (559–530 BC), who ascended the throne of Persia in 559 BC.
The Medo-Persian Empire (549–331 BC)
Cyrus II fought and defeated his grandfather, Astyages of Media, in 549 BC. He made Ecbatana in Media his capital and set up his archives there (see Ezra 6:1-5 bf). With a Persian father and Median mother, Cyrus II embodied the joining of Media and Persia.
Cyrus exhibited an attitude of benevolence and generosity toward defeated enemies. A capable military leader, Cyrus invaded Asia Minor and defeated Croesus, king of Lydia, and brought the Greek cities of the area into subjection. In 539 BC, he captured Babylon with virtually no resistance and decreed that exiled peoples could return to their homelands to rebuild their temples (see Ezra 1:1-4 bg).
The son of Cyrus, Cambyses II (529–522 BC), conquered Egypt, but the empire nearly disintegrated when he committed suicide. Cambyses was succeeded by Darius I (521–486 BC), the son of Hystaspes, satrap of Parthia. Darius, an energetic and efficient administrator, put down internal revolts and consolidated the empire into twenty provinces, each under a satrap or “protector of the kingdom,” with inspectors (“the ears of the king”) to check on the activities of the satraps. Darius changed the principal capital of Persia to Persepolis, where a tremendous palace complex was eventually constructed. Darius was a follower of Zoroaster and a worshiper of Ahura Mazda, the principal god of Zoroastrianism, as were Xerxes and Artaxerxes after him.
During the latter part of Darius’s reign, he suffered defeat at the hands of the Greeks at Marathon (491 BC).
Darius was succeeded by his son Khshayarsha, better known as Xerxes in Greek or as Ahasuerus in Hebrew. During his rule (486–465 BC), the Persian fleet was defeated by the Greeks at Salamis (480 BC).
The loss of the empire has been attributed to the cowardice of Darius III (336–330 BC), whose armies were defeated by Alexander the Great at Issus in 333 BC and ultimately at Gaugamela, near modern Erbil (Arbela) in 331 BC.
Persia and the Bible
The earliest mention of Persia in Israel’s history is in Isaiah 44:28–45:13 bh, a predictive prophecy that was given to Isaiah more than 150 years before Cyrus captured Babylon and decreed the return of the exiled Jews to Jerusalem. The rest of the biblical references to Persia occur in the later period of Old Testament history (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther) and in the writings of the exilic and postexilic prophets (Daniel, Zephaniah, Haggai). Persia is portrayed in Scripture as a stern but usually benevolent master that generally let the Jews govern themselves and worship in their own way. Nevertheless, the fact that the postexilic community of Judea was under foreign rule was never far from their minds.
Passages for Further Study
Ezra 4:5-7 bi
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