Daniel 5 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

1. At a feast that Belshazzar gives, a hand writes something on the palace wall (1–6) 2. No one else can read the writing, but the queen mother recommends Daniel (7–12) 3. Daniel reads and interprets the writing (13–28) 4. Belshazzar rewards Daniel, but he is killed that night by the invading Persians (29–30)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Why did Belshazzar want to drink from vessels from the Jerusalem temple?

Belshazzar and his guests used vessels from the Jerusalem temple to drink toasts in honor of the gods their idols represented. This was most likely a deliberate act repudiating the God of that temple in favor of traditional Babylonian gods. Daniel reminds Belshazzar that he knew all about how his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had come to honor and worship that God as the true God. But many interpreters suggest that, with the Babylonians now under dire threat from the Persians, Belshazzar believed that if he returned to his traditional gods, they would rescue him and his kingdom. In this culture, when one kingdom conquered another, it would take the idols of the conquered kingdom and put them in the temple of one of its own gods as trophies of victory. There were no idols representing Yahweh, so the Babylonians took the vessels from his temple instead. It appears that Nebuchadnezzar had kept these in a temple and not used them for common purposes. Belshazzar, by using them at a banquet to drink toasts to false gods, was defiling them. That is why he came under such serious and immediate judgment.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin

No one could read what the writing on the wall said, so it is probable that it was written in some language and script other than the Aramaic that was spoken in Babylon. God enabled Daniel to understand what the writing was saying, and he translated it into Aramaic words. The meaning of these words is evident from what Daniel says about them: “mene” means to “number,” “tekel” means to “weigh,” and “peres” means to “divide.” (The term “mene” is probably repeated for emphasis, to show the certainty of God’s judgment against Belshazzar. “Parsin” in verse 25 is the plural of “peres” in verse 28.) The ULT and UST texts write these Aramaic words with English letters, spelling them the way they sound in English. Translators are encouraged to write these words with the letters of their own alphabets and to spell them the way they sound in their own languages.