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Text -- Daniel 5:1-5 (NET)

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Belshazzar Sees Mysterious Handwriting on a Wall
5:1 King Belshazzar prepared a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of them all. 5:2 While under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels– the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father had confiscated from the temple in Jerusalem– so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. 5:3 So they brought the gold and silver vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them. 5:4 As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. The king was watching the back of the hand that was writing.
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Belshazzar the deputy king of Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar
 · Jerusalem the capital city of Israel,a town; the capital of Israel near the southern border of Benjamin
 · Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon who took Judah into exile


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Women | Wine | WINE; WINE PRESS | TASTE | SHAREZER | PLASTER (1) | LIME | IRON (1) | Hour | GODS | Feasts | FATHER | Drunkeess | Daniel | DAY | CYRUS | CHALKSTONE | CANDLE; CANDLESTICK | Belshazzar | BALTASAR | more
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Word/Phrase Notes
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

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TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable , Guzik

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Dan 5:1 - -- The grandson of Nebuchadnezzar.

The grandson of Nebuchadnezzar.

Wesley: Dan 5:1 - -- After the manner of the eastern kings who shewed their magnificence this way. But this is prodigious that he should carouse when the city was besieged...

After the manner of the eastern kings who shewed their magnificence this way. But this is prodigious that he should carouse when the city was besieged, and ready to be taken by Darius the Mede.

Wesley: Dan 5:2 - -- Triumphing thereby over God and his people.

Triumphing thereby over God and his people.

Wesley: Dan 5:4 - -- At the same time insulting the great God of heaven and earth.

At the same time insulting the great God of heaven and earth.

Wesley: Dan 5:5 - -- The likeness of a man's hand.

The likeness of a man's hand.

JFB: Dan 5:1 - -- RAWLINSON, from the Assyrian inscriptions, has explained the seeming discrepancy between Daniel and the heathen historians of Babylon, BEROSUS and ABY...

RAWLINSON, from the Assyrian inscriptions, has explained the seeming discrepancy between Daniel and the heathen historians of Babylon, BEROSUS and ABYDENUS, who say the last king (Nabonidus) surrendered in Borsippa, after Babylon was taken, and had an honorable abode in Caramania assigned to him. Belshazzar was joint king with his father (called Minus in the inscriptions), but subordinate to him; hence the Babylonian account suppresses the facts which cast discredit on Babylon, namely, that Belshazzar shut himself up in that city and fell at its capture; while it records the surrender of the principal king in Borsippa (see my Introduction to Daniel). The heathen XENOPHON'S description of Belshazzar accords with Daniel's; he calls him "impious," and illustrates his cruelty by mentioning that he killed one of his nobles, merely because, in hunting, the noble struck down the game before him; and unmanned a courtier, Gadates, at a banquet, because one of the king's concubines praised him as handsome. Daniel shows none of the sympathy for him which he had for Nebuchadnezzar. XENOPHON confirms Daniel as to Belshazzar's end. WINER explains the "shazzar" in the name as meaning "fire."

JFB: Dan 5:1 - -- Heaven-sent infatuation when his city was at the time being besieged by Cyrus. The fortifications and abundant provisions in the city made the king de...

Heaven-sent infatuation when his city was at the time being besieged by Cyrus. The fortifications and abundant provisions in the city made the king despise the besiegers. It was a festival day among the Babylonians [XENOPHON].

JFB: Dan 5:1 - -- The king, on this extraordinary occasion, departed from his usual way of feasting apart from his nobles (compare Est 1:3).

The king, on this extraordinary occasion, departed from his usual way of feasting apart from his nobles (compare Est 1:3).

JFB: Dan 5:2 - -- While under the effects of wine, men will do what they dare not do when sober.

While under the effects of wine, men will do what they dare not do when sober.

JFB: Dan 5:2 - -- That is, his forefather. So "Jesus . . . the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Mat 1:1). Daniel does not say that the other kings mentioned in other ...

That is, his forefather. So "Jesus . . . the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Mat 1:1). Daniel does not say that the other kings mentioned in other writers did not reign between Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar, namely, Evil-merodach (Jer 52:31), Neriglissar, his brother-in-law, and Laborasoarchod (nine months). BEROSUS makes Nabonidus, the last king, to have been one of the people, raised to the throne by an insurrection. As the inscriptions show that Belshazzar was distinct from, and joint king with, him, this is not at variance with Daniel, whose statement that Belshazzar was son (grandson) of Nebuchadnezzar is corroborated by Jeremiah (Jer 27:7). Their joint, yet independent, testimony, as contemporaries, and having the best means of information, is more trustworthy than any of the heathen historians, if there were a discrepancy. Evil-merodach, son of Nebuchadnezzar (according to BEROSUS), reigned but a short time (one or two years), having, in consequence of his bad government, been dethroned by a plot of Neriglissar, his sister's husband; hence Daniel does not mention him. At the elevation of Nabonidus as supreme king, Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, was doubtless suffered to be subordinate king and successor, in order to conciliate the legitimate party. Thus the seeming discrepancy becomes a confirmation of genuineness when cleared up, for the real harmony must have been undesigned.

JFB: Dan 5:2 - -- Not usually present at feasts in the East, where women of the harem are kept in strict seclusion. Hence Vashti's refusal to appear at Ahasuerus' feast...

Not usually present at feasts in the East, where women of the harem are kept in strict seclusion. Hence Vashti's refusal to appear at Ahasuerus' feast (Est 1:9-12). But the Babylonian court, in its reckless excesses, seems not to have been so strict as the Persian. XENOPHON [Cyropædia, 5.2,28] confirms Daniel, representing a feast of Belshazzar where the concubines are present. At the beginning "the lords" (Dan 5:1), for whom the feast was made, alone seem to have been present; but as the revelry advanced, the women were introduced. Two classes of them are mentioned, those to whom belonged the privileges of "wives," and those strictly concubines (2Sa 5:13; 1Ki 11:3; Son 6:8).

JFB: Dan 5:3 - -- This act was not one of necessity, or for honor's sake, but in reckless profanity.

This act was not one of necessity, or for honor's sake, but in reckless profanity.

JFB: Dan 5:4 - -- Sang and shouted praises to "gods," which being of gold, "are their own witnesses" (Isa 44:9), confuting the folly of those who fancy such to be gods.

Sang and shouted praises to "gods," which being of gold, "are their own witnesses" (Isa 44:9), confuting the folly of those who fancy such to be gods.

JFB: Dan 5:5 - -- That the cause of God's visitation might be palpable, namely, the profanation of His vessels and His holy name.

That the cause of God's visitation might be palpable, namely, the profanation of His vessels and His holy name.

JFB: Dan 5:5 - -- God admonishes him, not by a dream (as Nebuchadnezzar had been warned), or by a voice, but by "fingers coming forth," the invisibility of Him who move...

God admonishes him, not by a dream (as Nebuchadnezzar had been warned), or by a voice, but by "fingers coming forth," the invisibility of Him who moved them heightening the awful impressiveness of the scene, the hand of the Unseen One attesting his doom before the eyes of himself and his guilty fellow revellers.

JFB: Dan 5:5 - -- The candelabra; where the mystic characters would be best seen. BARNES makes it the candlestick taken from the temple of Jerusalem, the nearness of th...

The candelabra; where the mystic characters would be best seen. BARNES makes it the candlestick taken from the temple of Jerusalem, the nearness of the writing to it intimating that the rebuke was directed against the sacrilege.

JFB: Dan 5:5 - -- Written in cuneiform letters on slabs on the walls, and on the very bricks, are found the perpetually recurring recital of titles, victories, and expl...

Written in cuneiform letters on slabs on the walls, and on the very bricks, are found the perpetually recurring recital of titles, victories, and exploits, to remind the spectator at every point of the regal greatness. It is significant, that on the same wall on which the king was accustomed to read the flattering legends of his own magnificence, he beholds the mysterious inscription which foretells his fall (compare Pro 16:18; Act 12:21-23).

JFB: Dan 5:5 - -- The anterior part, namely, the fingers.

The anterior part, namely, the fingers.

Clarke: Dan 5:1 - -- Belshazzar the king made a great feast - This chapter is out of its place, and should come in after the seventh and eighth. There are difficulties i...

Belshazzar the king made a great feast - This chapter is out of its place, and should come in after the seventh and eighth. There are difficulties in the chronology. After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach his son ascended the throne of Babylon. Having reigned about two years, he was slain by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar. He reigned four years, and was succeeded by his son Laborosoarchod, who reigned only nine months. At his death Belshazzar the son of Evil-merodach, was raised to the throne, and reigned seventeen years, and was slain, as we read here, by Cyrus, who surprised and took the city on the night of this festivity. This is the chronology on which Archbishop Usher, and other learned chronologists, agree; but the Scripture mentions only Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach, and Belshazzar, by name; and Jeremiah, Jer 27:7, expressly says, "All nations shall serve him (Nebuchadnezzar), and his son (Evil-merodach), and his son’ s son (Belshazzar), until the very time of his land come;"i.e., till the time in which the empire should be seized by Cyrus. Here there is no mention of Neriglissar nor Laborosoarchod; but as they were usurpers, they might have been purposely passed by. But there remains one difficulty still: Belshazzar is expressly called the son of Nebuchadnezzar by the queen mother, Jer 27:11 : "There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and in the days of Thy Father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him: whom the king Nebuchadnezzar Thy Father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians."The solution of this difficulty is, that in Scripture the name of son is indifferently given to sons and grandsons, and even to great grandsons. And perhaps the repetition in the above verse may imply this: "The king, Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king thy father."The king thy father’ s father, and consequently thy grandfather. If it have not some such meaning as this, it must be considered an idle repetition. As to the two other kings, Neriglissar and Laborosoarchod, mentioned by Josephus and Berosus, and by whom the chronology is so much puzzled, they might have been some petty kings, or viceroys, or satraps, who affected the kingdom, and produced disturbances, one for four years, and the other for nine months; and would in consequence not be acknowledged in the Babylonish chronology, nor by the sacred writers, any more than finally unsuccessful rebels are numbered among the kings of those nations which they have disturbed. I believe the only sovereigns we can acknowledge here are the following

1.    Nabopolassar

2.    Nebuchadnezzar

3.    Evil-merodac

4.    Belshazzar; and with this last the Chaldean empire ended

Clarke: Dan 5:1 - -- To a thousand of his lords - Perhaps this means lords or satraps, that were each over one thousand men. But we learn from antiquity that the Persian...

To a thousand of his lords - Perhaps this means lords or satraps, that were each over one thousand men. But we learn from antiquity that the Persian kings were very profuse in their entertainments; but it does not follow that the Chaldeans were so too. Besides, one thousand lords and their appropriate attendants would have been very inconvenient in a nocturnal assembly. The text, however, supports the common translation. Literally, "Belshazzar the king made bread for his lords a thousand; and against the thousand he drank wine."That is, say some, he was a very great drinker.

Clarke: Dan 5:2 - -- Whiles he tasted the wine - He relished it, got heated by it, and when Wine got fully in, Wit went wholly out; and in consequence he acted the profa...

Whiles he tasted the wine - He relished it, got heated by it, and when Wine got fully in, Wit went wholly out; and in consequence he acted the profane part of which we immediately read.

Clarke: Dan 5:4 - -- And praised the gods of gold - They had gods of all sorts, and of all metals; with wooden gods, and stone gods, beside!

And praised the gods of gold - They had gods of all sorts, and of all metals; with wooden gods, and stone gods, beside!

Clarke: Dan 5:5 - -- Fingers of a man’ s hand - The fingers were collected about the style or pen as in the act of writing.

Fingers of a man’ s hand - The fingers were collected about the style or pen as in the act of writing.

Calvin: Dan 5:1 - -- Daniel here refers to the history of what happened at the taking of Babylon; but meanwhile he leaves those judgments of God to the consideration of h...

Daniel here refers to the history of what happened at the taking of Babylon; but meanwhile he leaves those judgments of God to the consideration of his readers, which the Prophets had predicted before the people had become exiles. He does not use the prophetic style, as we shall afterwards see, but is content with simple narrative; while the practice of history may be learnt from the following expressions. It is our duty now to consider how this history tends towards building us up in the faith and fear of God. First of all we notice the time at which Belshazzar celebrated this banquet. Seventy years had passed away from the time when Daniel had been led into exile with his companions. For although Nebuchadnezzar will soon be called the father of Belshazzar, yet it is clear enough that Evil-Merodach lived between them; for he reigned twenty-three years. Some reckon two kings before Belshazzar; for they place Regassar after Labassardach; and these two will occupy eight years. Metasthenes has stated it so, and he has many followers. But Nebuchadnezzar the Great, who took Daniel captive, and was the son of the first king of that name, evidently reigned forty-five years. Some transfer two years to the reign of his father; at any rate, he held the regal power for forty-five years; and if the twenty-three years of Evil-Merodach are added, they will make sixty-eight years — in which Belshazzar had reigned eight years. We see, then, how seventy-two years had passed away from the period of Daniel being first led captive. Metasthenes reckons thirty years for the reign of Evil-Merodach; and then, if we add eight years, this makes more than eighty years — which appears probable enough, although Metasthenes seems to be in error in supposing different kings instead of only different names. 240 For Herodotus does not call Belshazzar, of whom we are now speaking, a king, but calls his father Labynetus, and gives him the same name. 241 Metasthenes makes some mistakes in names, but I readily embrace his computation of time, when he asserts Evil-Merodach to have reigned thirty years. For when we treat of the seventy years which Jeremiah had formerly pointed out, we ought not to begin with Daniel’s exile, no,’ yet with the destruction of the city, but with the slaughter which occurred between the first victory of king Nebuchadnezzar, and the burning and ruin of the temple and city. For when the report concerning the death of his father was first spread abroad, as we have elsewhere said, he returned to his own country, lest any disturbance should occur through his absence. Hence we shall find the seventy years during which God wished the people’s captivity to last, will require a longer period for the reign of Evil-Merodach than twenty-three years; although there is not any important difference, for soon after Nebuchadnezzar returned, he carried off the king, leaving the city untouched. Although the temple was then standing, yet God had inflicted the severest punishment upon the people, which was like a final slaughter, or at least nearly equal to it. However this was, we see that Belshazzar was celebrating this banquet just as the time of the deliverance drew nigh.

Here we must consider the Providence of God, in arranging the times of events, so that the impious, when the time of their destruction is come, cast themselves headlong of their own accord. This occurred to this wicked king. Wonderful indeed was the stupidity which prepared a splendid banquet filled with delicacies, while the city was besieged. For Cyrus had begun to besiege the city for a long time with a large army. The wretched king was already half a captive; and yet, as if in spite of God, he provided a rich banquet, and invited a thousand guests. Hence we may conjecture the extent of the noise and of the expense in that banquet. For if any one wishes to entertain only ten or twenty guests, it will occasion him much trouble, if he wishes to treat them splendidly. But when it was a royal entertainment, where there were a thousand nobles with the king’s wife and concubines, and so great a multitude assembled together, it became necessary to obtain from many quarters what was required for such a festival; and this may seem incredible! But Xenophon though he related many fables and preserved neither the gravity nor the fidelity of a historian, because he desired to celebrate the praises of Cyrus like a rhetorician; although he trifles in many things, yet here had no reason or occasion for deception. He says a treasure was laid up, so that the Babylonians could endure a siege of even ten or more years. And Babylon was deservedly compared to a kingdom; for its magnitude was so large as to surpass belief. It must really have been very populous, but since they drew their provisions from the whole of Asia, it is not surprising that the Babylonians had food in store, sufficient to allow them to close their gates, and to sustain them for a long period. But in this banquet it was most singular that the king, who ought to have been on guard, or at least have sent forth his guards to prevent the city from being taken, was as intent upon his delicacies as if he had been in perfect peace, and exposed to no danger from any outward enemy. He had a contest with a strong man, if any man ever was so. Cyrus was endued with singular prudence, and in swiftness of action by far excelled all others. Since, then, the king was so keenly opposed, it is surprising to find him so careless as to celebrate a banquet. Xenophon, indeed, states the day to have been a festival. The assertion of those Jews who think the Chaldeans had just obtained a victory over the Persians, is but trifling. For Xenophon — who may be trusted whenever he does not falsify history in favor of Cyrus, because he is then a very grave historian, and entirely worthy of credit; but when he desires to praise Cyrus, he has no moderation — is here historically correct, when he says the Babylonians were holding a usual annual festival. He tells us also how Babylon was taken, viz., by Gobryas and Gadatas his generals. For Belshazzar had castrated one of these to his shame, and had slain the son of the other in the lifetime of his father. Since then the latter burnt with the desire of avenging his son’s death, and the former his own disgrace, they conspired against him. Hence Cyrus turned the many channels of the Euphrates, and thus Babylon was suddenly taken. The city we must remember was twice taken, otherwise there would not have been any confidence in prophecy; because when the Prophets threaten God’s vengeance upon the Babylonians, they say their enemies should be most fierce, not seeking gold or silver, but desiring human blood; and then they narrate every kind of atrocious deed which is customary in war. (Jer 50:42.) But nothing of this kind happened when Babylon was taken by Cyrus; but when the Babylonians freed themselves from the Persian sway by casting off their yoke, Darius recovered the city by the assistance of Zopyrus, who mutilated his person, and pretended to have suffered such cruelty from the king as to induce him to betray the city. But then we collect how hardly the Babylonians were afflicted, when 3000 nobles were crucified! And what usually happens when 8000 nobles are put to death, and all suspended on a gallows — nay, even crucified? Thus it easily appears, how severely the Babylonians were punished at the time, although they were then subject to a foreign power, and treated shamefully by the Persians, and reduced to the condition of slaves. For they were forbidden the use of arms, and were taught from the first to become the slaves of Cyrus, and dare not wear a sword. We ought to touch upon these things shortly to assure us of the government of human events by the judgment of God, when he casts headlong the reprobate when their punishment is at hand. We have an illustrious example of this in King Belshazzar.

The time of the deliverance predicted by Jeremiah was at hand — the seventy years were finished — Babylon was besieged. (Jer 25:11.) The Jews might now raise up their heads and hope for the best, because the arrival of Cyrus approached, contrary to the opinion of them all; for he had suddenly rushed down from the mountains of Persia when that was a barbarous nation. Since, therefore, the sudden coming of Cyrus was like a whirlwind, this change might possibly give some hope to the Jews; but after a length of time, so to speak, had elapsed in the siege of the city, this might east down their spirits. While king Belshazzar was banqueting with his nobles, Cyrus seems able to thrust him out in the midst of his merriment and hilarity. Meanwhile the Lord did not sit at rest in heaven; for he blinds the mind of the impious king, so that he should willingly incur punishments, yet no one drew him on, for he incurred it himself. And whence could this arise, unless God had given him up to his enemy? It was according to that decree of which Jeremiah was the herald. Hence, although Daniel narrates the history, it is our duty, as I have said, to treat of things far more important; for God who had promised his people deliverance, was now stretching forth his hand in secret, and fulfilling the predictions of his Prophets. (Jer 25:26.)

It now follows — King Belshazzar was drinking wine before a thousand Some of the Rabbis say, “he strove with his thousand nobles, and contended with them all in drinking to excess;” but this seems grossly ridiculous. When he says, he drank wine before a thousand, he alludes to the custom of the nation, for the kings of the Chaldeans very rarely invited guests to their table; they usually dined alone, as the kings of Europe now do; for they think it adds to their dignity to enjoy a solitary meal. The pride of the kings of Chaldea was of this kind. When, therefore, it is said, Belshazzar drank wine before a thousand , something extraordinary is intended, since he was celebrating this annum banquet contrary to his ordinary custom, and he deigned to treat his nobles with such honor as to receive them as his guests. Some, indeed, conjecture that he drank wine ordeals, as he was accustomed to become intoxicated when there were no witnesses present; but there is no force in this comment: the word before means in the presence or society of others. Let us go on:

Calvin: Dan 5:2 - -- Here king Belshazzar courts his own punishment, because he furiously stirred up God’s wrath against himself, as if he was dissatisfied with its del...

Here king Belshazzar courts his own punishment, because he furiously stirred up God’s wrath against himself, as if he was dissatisfied with its delay while God put off his judgment for so long a period. This is according to what I have said. When the destruction of a house is at hand, the impious remove the posts and gates, as Solomon says. (Pro 17:19.) God therefore, when he wishes to execute his judgments, impels the reprobrate by a secret instinct to rush forward of their own accord, and to hasten their own destruction. Belshazzar did this. His carelessness was the sign of his stupidity, and also of God’s wrath, when in the midst of his own pride and crimes he could delight in reveling. Thus his blindness more clearly points out God’s vengeance, since he was not content with his own intemperance and excesses, but must openly declare war against God. He ordered, therefore, says he, the gold and silver vessels to be brought to him which he had taken away from Nebuchadnezzar These vessels appear to have been laid up in the treasury; hence Nebuchadnezzar had never abused these vessels in his lifetime; we do not read that Evil-Merodach did anything of this kind, and Belshazzar now wishes purposely to inflict this insult on God. There is no doubt he brought forth those vessels by way of ridicule, for the purpose of triumphing over the true God, as we shall afterwards see.

We have already explained the sense in which the Prophet calls Nebuchadnezzar the father of Belshazzar, since it is usual in all languages to speak of ancestors as fathers; for Belshazzar was of the offspring of Nebuchadnezzar, and being really his grandson, he is naturally called his son; and this will occur again. There are some who think Evil-Merodach was stricken with that grievous affliction mentioned in the last chapter: possibly his name was Nebuchadnezzar, but there is no reason for adopting their opinion; 245 it is frivolous to fly directly to this conjecture when the name of the father occurs. the Prophet says Belshazzar committed this under the influence of wine Since טעם , tegnem, signifies “to taste,” no doubt he here speaks of tasting; and since this may be metaphorically transferred to the understanding, some explain it to mean being impelled by wine, and thus his drunkenness took the place of reason and judgment. Nights and love and wine, says Ovid, have no moderation in them. 246 This explanation I think too forced; it seems simply to mean, when Belshazzar grew warm with wine, he commanded the vessels to be brought to him; and this is the more usual view. When, therefore, the savor of the wine prevailed, — that is, when it seized upon the king’s senses, then he ordered the vessels to be brought It is worth while to notice this, to induce us to be cautious concerning intemperance in drinking, because nothing is more common than the undertaking many things far too rashly when our senses are under the influence of wine. Hence we must use wine soberly, that it may invigorate not only the body but the mind and the senses, and may never weaken, or enervate, or stupify our bodily or mental powers. And this is, alas! too common, since the vulgar proverb is well known — pride springs from drunkenness. For this reason the poets supposed Bacchus to have horns, since intemperate men are always puffed up, and the most wretched fancy themselves kings. What then must happen to monarchs, when in their forgetfulness they dream themselves kings of kings, and even deities? The Prophet wishes to mark this fault when he says, Belshazzar, under the influence of wine, ordered vessels to be brought to him It now follows, —

Calvin: Dan 5:3 - -- The Prophet uses the word “ golden, ” probably, because the most precious vessels were brought; silver might also have been added, but the more ...

The Prophet uses the word “ golden, ” probably, because the most precious vessels were brought; silver might also have been added, but the more splendid ones are noticed. He does not say that Nebuchadnezzar carried them off, but implies it to be the common act of all the Babylonians. They obtained the victory under the direction of this king, hence he used the spoils; and since they were all engaged in the victory, the Prophet speaks of them all. In using the phrase, “the temple,” he expresses more than before, by saying, not from Jerusalem only but from the temple of God’s house.

Calvin: Dan 5:4 - -- Here the Prophet shews more distinctly and clearly how the king insulted the true and only God, by ordering his vessels to be brought to him. For whe...

Here the Prophet shews more distinctly and clearly how the king insulted the true and only God, by ordering his vessels to be brought to him. For when they had been brought forth, they praised, says he, all their gods of gold and silver; meaning in defiance of the true God they celebrated the praises of their false deities, and thanked them, as we find in Habakkuk. (Hab 1:16.) Although there is no doubt they sacrificed heartily the produce of their industry, as the Prophet there expresses it, yet they exalted their own gods, and thus obliterated the glory of the true God. And this is the reason why the Prophet now takes pains to state those vessels to have been brought from the temple of God s house For he here strengthens the impiety of the king and his nobles for erecting their horns against the God of Israel. There is then a great contrast, between God who commanded his temple to be built at Jerusalem, and sacrifices to be offered to him and false gods. And this was the head and front of Belshazzar’s offending, because he thus purposely rose up against God, and not only tyrannically and miserably oppressed the Jews, but triumphed over their God — the Creator of heaven and earth. This madness accelerated his ultimate destruction, and it occurred for the purpose of hastening the time of their deliverance. Hence I have represented him to have been drawn by God’s great instinct to such madness that vengeance might be ripened.

They drank, says he, wine, and praised their gods. The Prophet does not ascribe the praise of their gods to drunkenness, but he obliquely shews their petulance to have been increased by drink. For if each had been sober at home, he would not have thus rashly risen up against God; but when impiety exists in the heart, intemperance becomes an additional stimulus. The Prophet seems to me to mean this, when he repeats, they were drinking; for he had said, the king and his nobles, his wife, and concubines, were drinking He now inculcates the same thing in similar words, but adds, they drank wine, — meaning their madness was the more inflamed by the excitement of the wine. Then they praised the gods of silver, etc. The Prophet here reproachfully mentions gods of gold, silver, brass, wood, and stone, since we know God to have nothing in common with either gold or silver. His true image cannot be expressed in corruptible materials; and this is, the reason why the Prophet calls all the gods which the Babylonians worshipped, golden, silver, brazen, wooden, and stone. Clearly enough the heathen never were so foolish as to suppose the essence of Deity to reside in gold, or silver, or stone; they only called them images of their deities; but because in their opinion the power and majesty of the deity was included within the material substance, the Prophet is right in so completely condemning their criminality, because we hear how carefully idolaters invent every kind of subtlety. In the present times, the Papacy is a glaring proof how men cling to gross superstitions when they desire to excuse their errors; hence the Prophet does not here admit those vain pretenses by which the Babylonians and other heathens disguise their baseness, but he says, their gods were of silver and gold And why so? for although they orally confessed that gods reign in heaven, (so great was the multitude and crowd of their deities that the supreme God was quite shrouded in darkness,) although therefore the Babylonians confessed their gods to have dwelt in heaven, yet they fled to statues and pictures. Hence the Prophet deservedly chides them for adoring gods of gold and silver. As to his saying, then the vessels were brought, it shews how the slaves of tyrants obey them in the worst actions, because no delay intervened in bringing the vessels from the treasury. Daniel therefore signifies how all the king’s servants were obedient to his nod, and desirous of pleasing a person brutish and drunken; at the same time he shews the shortness of that intemperate intoxication; for he says, —

Calvin: Dan 5:5 - -- Here Daniel begins his narration of the change which took place, for at that instant the king’ acknowledged something sorrowful and disturbing to b...

Here Daniel begins his narration of the change which took place, for at that instant the king’ acknowledged something sorrowful and disturbing to be at hand. Yet, as he did not at once understand what it was, God gave him a sign as an omen of calamity, according to the language of the profane. In this way God sent him warning when he saw the king and his nobles raging with mad licentiousness. There appeared, then, the hand of a man, says the Prophet, using this expression from its similitude and form. We are sure it was not a man’s hand; it had the appearance of one, and hence was called so. Scripture often uses this method of expression, especially when treating external symbols. This is, then, a sacramental form of speech, 251 if I may use the expression. God, indeed, wrote the inscription by his own power, but he shews King Belshazzar the figure as if a man had written it on the wall; hence the fingers of a hand were put forth. This expression conduces in no slight degree to the reality of the miracle; for if Belshazzar had seen this on the wall from the very first, he might have supposed some artifice had placed the hand there; but when the wall was previously bare, and then the hand suddenly appeared, we may readily understand the hand to have been a sign from heaven, through which God wished to shew something’ important to the king. The fingers of a hand, then, were put forth, and wrote from the midst of the candlestick, or lamp. Clearly, then, this was a feast by night, and Babylon was taken in the midst of the night. No wonder their banquets were protracted to a great length, for intemperance has no bounds. When men are accustomed to spend the day in luxury, I confess indeed they do not usually continue their banquets till midnight; but when they celebrate any splendid and remarkable feast, they do not find the daylight sufficient for their festivites and the grosser indulgences of the table.

Hence the hand appeared from the candlesticks to render it the more conspicuous. That hand, says the Prophet, wrote on the surface of the palace wall. If any one had announced to the king this appearance of a human hand, he might have doubted it; but he says the king was an eye-witness, for God wished to terrify him, as we shall afterwards see, and hence he set before him this spectacle. The king, then, perceived it; perhaps his nobles did not; and we shall afterwards see how the terror operated upon the king alone, unless, indeed, some others trembled with him. When, therefore, they saw his countenance changed and exhibiting proofs of terror, they began to fear, although they were all desirous of affording him some consolation. Hence God wished to summon this impious king to His tribunal when the hand of a man appeared before him in the act of writing. We shall see what it wrote in its proper place.

Defender: Dan 5:1 - -- Belshazzar, meaning "Bel protect the king," was long believed by skeptics to have been a non-existent mythical personage; this contention was used by ...

Belshazzar, meaning "Bel protect the king," was long believed by skeptics to have been a non-existent mythical personage; this contention was used by critics to prove that the book of Daniel was written much later than Biblical scholars have surmised. Historians and archaeologists later proved that Belshazzar did exist and was actually co-regent in Babylon at the time of the Persian conquest. Nebuchadnezzar was his "father" (Dan 5:2) in the ancestral sense. His actual father, Nabonidus, who was either a son or son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar, was king at the time but in Arabia on an archaeological reconstruction project. The Medo-Persian army was outside of Babylon and possibly had either captured Nabonidus or at least had cut him off from returning to the city. Belshazzar, ruling in his father's place, and knowing of the threat to the city but feeling secure behind its great walls, had the effrontery to make a great feast and drink wine in praise to Babylon's many nature gods."

Defender: Dan 5:4 - -- Belshazzar, who certainly must have heard of his grandfather's humiliation and possible conversion to the God of Israel, used the temple vessels from ...

Belshazzar, who certainly must have heard of his grandfather's humiliation and possible conversion to the God of Israel, used the temple vessels from "the house of God"(Dan 5:3) in what must have been a drunken orgy. As a result of this final and greatest blasphemy of Belshazzar, God could no longer endure Babylonian insolence."

Defender: Dan 5:5 - -- This was probably an angel sent from God with His message of judgment. If angels can appear as men (Gen 19:1, Gen 19:15, Gen 19:16), they can undoubte...

This was probably an angel sent from God with His message of judgment. If angels can appear as men (Gen 19:1, Gen 19:15, Gen 19:16), they can undoubtedly materialize as any part of a man's body."

TSK: Dan 5:1 - -- made : Gen 40:20; Est 1:3; Isa 21:4, Isa 21:5, Isa 22:12, Isa 22:14; Jer 51:39, Jer 51:57; Nah 1:10; Mar 6:21, Mar 6:22

TSK: Dan 5:2 - -- Belshazzar : Belshazzar is said by Josephus to be the same as Naboandelus, the Nabonadius of Ptolemy, and the Labynetus of Herodotus. He reigned seve...

Belshazzar : Belshazzar is said by Josephus to be the same as Naboandelus, the Nabonadius of Ptolemy, and the Labynetus of Herodotus. He reigned seven years, during which time he was engaged in unsuccessful wars with the Medes and Persians; and at this very time was besieged by Cyrus.

the golden : Dan 1:2; 2Ki 24:13, 2Ki 25:15; 2Ch 36:10,2Ch 36:18; Ezr 1:7-11; Jer 27:16-22; Jer 52:19

father : or, grandfather, Dan 5:11, Dan 5:13, Dan 5:18; 2Sa 9:7; 2Ki 8:25-27; 2Ch 11:20, 2Ch 15:16; Jer 27:7

taken out : Chal, brought forth

might : Dan 5:4, Dan 5:23

TSK: Dan 5:4 - -- praised : Dan 5:23, Dan 4:37; Jdg 16:23, Jdg 16:24; Isa 42:8; Hos 2:8-13; Rev 9:20,Rev 9:21 of gold : Dan 3:1-7, Dan 3:8-18; Psa 115:4-8, Psa 135:15-1...

TSK: Dan 5:5 - -- the same : Dan 4:31, Dan 4:33; Job 20:5; Psa 78:30,Psa 78:31; Pro 29:1; Luk 12:19, Luk 12:20; 1Th 5:2, 1Th 5:3 wrote : Dan 5:8, Dan 5:15, Dan 5:24-28;...

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Dan 5:1 - -- Belshazzar the king - See Introduction to the chapter, Section II. In the Introduction to the chapter here referred to, I have stated what seem...

Belshazzar the king - See Introduction to the chapter, Section II. In the Introduction to the chapter here referred to, I have stated what seemed to be necessary in order to illustrate the history of Belshazzar, so far as that can be now known. The statements in regard to this monarch, it is well understood, are exceedingly confused, and the task of reconciling them is now hopeless. Little depends, however, in the interpretation of this book, on the attempt to reconcile them, for the narrative here given is equally credible, whichever of the accounts is taken, unless that of Berosus is followed. But it may not be improper to exhibit here the two principal accounts of the successors of Nebuchadnezzar, that the discrepancy may be distinctly seen. I copy from the Pictorial Bible. "The common account we shall collect from L’ Art de Verifier les Dates, and the other from Hales’ "Analysis,"disposing them in opposite colums for the sake of comparison:

From L’ Art de Verifier From Hales's Analysis
605Nebuchacnezzar, who was succeeded by his son.604Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son.
562Evil-Merodach, who, having provoked general indignation by his tyranny and atrocities, was, after a short reign of about two years, assassinated by his brother-in-law.561Evil-Merodach, or Ilverodam, who was slain in a battle against the Medes and Persians, and was succeeded by his son.
560Nerigilassar, or Nericassolassar, who was regarded as a deliverer and succeeded by the choice of the nation. He perished in a battle by Cyrus, and was succeeded by his son.558Neriglissar, Niricassolassar, or Belshazzar, the common accounts of whom seem to combine what is said both of Neriglissar, and his son opposite. He was killed by conspirators on the night of the ‘ impious feast,’ leaving a son (a boy).
555Laborosoarchod, notorious for his cruelty and oppression, and who was assassinated by two nobles, Gobryas and Gadatas, whose sons he had slain. The vacant throne was then ascended by.553Laborosoarchod, on whose death, nine months after, the dynasty became extinct, and the kingdom came peaceably to ‘ Darius the Mede,’ or Cyaxares who, on the will-known policy of the Medes and Persians, appointed a Babylonian nobleman, named Nabonadius, or Labynetus, to be king, or viceroy. This person revotled against Cyrus, who had succeeded to the united empire of the Medes and Persians. Cyrus could not immediately attend to him, but at last marched to Babylon, took the city, b.c. 536, as foretold by the prophets.
554Nabonadius, the Labynetus of Herodotus, the Naboandel of Josephus, and the Belshazzar of Daniel, who was the son of Evil-Merodach, and who now succeeded to the throne of his  
538father. After a voluptuous reign, his city was taken by the Persians under Cyrus, on which occasion he lost his life.  

It will be observed that the principal point of difference in these accounts is, that Hales contends that the succession of Darius the Mede to the Babylonian throne was not attended with war; that Belshazzar was not the king in whose time the city was taken by Cyrus; and, consequently, that the events which took place this night were quite distinct from and anterior to that siege and capture of the city by the Persian king which Isaiah and Jeremiah so remarkably foretold.

Made a great feast - On what occasion this feast was made is not stated, but is was not improbably an annual festival in honor of some of the Babylonian deities. This opinion seems to be countenanced by the words of the Codex Chisianus, "Belshazzar the king made a great festival ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τῶν βασιλείων en hēmera engkainismou tōn basileiōn ) on the day of the dedication of his kingdom;"and in Dan 5:4 it is said that "they praised the gods of gold, of silver, and of brass,"etc.

To a thousand of his lords - The word thousand here is doubtless used as a general term to denote a very large number. It is not improbable, however, that this full number was assembled on such an occasion. "Ctesias says, that the king of Persia furnished provisions daily for fifteen thousand men. Quintus Curtius says that ten thousand men were present at a festival of Alexander the Great; and Statius says of Domitian, that he ordered, on a certain occasion, his guests ‘ to sit down at a thousand tables.’ "- Prof. Stuart, in loc .

And drank wine before the thousand - The Latin Vulgate here is, "And each one drank according to his age."The Greek of Theodotion, the Arabic, and the Coptic is, "and wine was before the thousand."The Chaldee, however, is, as in our version, "he drank wine before the thousand."As he was the lord of the feast, and as all that occurred pertained primarily to him, the design is undoubtedly to describe his conduct, and to show the effect which the drinking of wine had on him. He drank it in the most public manner, setting an example to his lords, and evidently drinking it to great excess.

Barnes: Dan 5:2-3 - -- Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine - As the effect of tasting the wine - stating a fact which is illustrated in every age and land, that men,...

Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine - As the effect of tasting the wine - stating a fact which is illustrated in every age and land, that men, under the influence of intoxicating drinks, will do what they would not do when sober. In his sober moments it would seem probable that he would have respected the vessels consecrated to the service of religion, and would not have treated them with dishonor by introducing them for purposes of revelry.

Commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels - These vessels had been carefully deposited in some place as the spoils of victory (see Dan 1:2), and it would appear that they had not before been desecrated for purposes of feasting. Belshazzar did what other men would have done in the same condition. He wished to make a display; to do something unusually surprising; and, though it had not been contemplated when the festival was appointed to make use of these vessels, yet, under the excitement of wine, nothing was too sacred to be introduced to the scenes of intoxication; nothing too foolish to be done. In regard to the vessels taken from the temple at Jerusalem, see the note at Dan 1:2.

Which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken - Margin, "grandfather."According to the best account which we have of Belshazzar, he was the son of Evil-Merodach, who was the son of Nebuchadnezzar (see the Introduction to the chapter, Section II.), and therefore the word is used here, as in the margin, to denote grandfather. Compare Jer 27:7. See the note at Isa 14:22. The word father is often used in a large signification. See 2Sa 9:7; also the notes at Mat 1:1. There is no improbability in supposing that this word would be used to denote a grandfather, when applied to one of the family or dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar The fact that Belshazzar is here called "the son"of Nebuchadnezzar has been made a ground of objection to the credibility of the book of Daniel, by Lengerke, p. 204. The objection is, that the "last king of Babylon was "not"the son of Nebuchadnezzar."But, in reply to this, in addition to the remarks above made, it may be observed that it is not necessary, in vindicating the assertion in the text, to suppose that he was the "immediate"descendant of Nebuchadnezzar, in the first degree. "The Semitic use of the word in question goes far beyond the first degree of descent, and extends the appellation of "son"to the designation "grandson,"and even of the most remote posterity. In Ezr 6:14, the prophet Zechariah is called "the son of Iddo;"in Zec 1:1, Zec 1:7, the same person is called "the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo."So Isaiah threatens Hezekiah Isa 39:7 that the sons whom he shall beget shall be conducted as exiles to Babylon; in which case, however, four generations intervened before this happened. So in Mat 1:1, ‘ Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.’ And so we speak every day: ‘ The sons of Adam, the sons of Abraham, the sons of Israel, the sons of the Pilgrims,’ and the like."- Prof. Stuart, "Com. on Dan."p. 144.

That the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein - Nothing is too sacred to be profaned when men are under the influence of wine. They do not hesitate to desecrate the holiest things, and vessels taken from the altar of God are regarded with as little reverence as any other. It would seem that Nebuchadnezzar had some respect for these vessels, as having been employed in the purposes of religion; at least so much respect as to lay them up as trophies of victory, and that this respect had been shown for them under the reign of his successors, until the exciting scenes of this "impious feast"occurred, when all veneration for them vanished. It was not very common for females in the East to be present at such festivals as this, but it would seem that all the usual restraints of propriety and decency came to be disregarded as the feast advanced. The "wives and concubines"were probably not present when the feast began, for it was made for "his lords"Dan 5:1; but when the scenes of revelry had advanced so far that it was proposed to introduce the sacred vessels of the temple, it would not be unnatural to propose also to introduce the females of the court.

A similar instance is related in the book of Esther. In the feast which Ahasuerus gave, it is said that "on the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, etc., the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty,"etc. Est 1:10-11. Compare Joseph. "Ant."b. xi. ch. 6: Section 1. The females that were thus introduced to the banquet were those of the harem, yet it would seem that she who was usually called "the queen"by way of eminence, or the queen-mother (compare the note at Est 5:10), was not among them at this time. The females in the court of an Oriental monarch were divided into two classes; those who were properly concubines, and who had none of the privileges of a wife; and those of a higher class, and who were spoken of as wives, and to whom pertained the privileges of that relation. Among the latter, also, in the court of a king, it would seem that there was one to whom properly belonged the appellation of "queen;"that is, probably, a favorite wife whose children were heirs to the crown. See Bertholdt, in loc . Compare 2Sa 5:13; 1Ki 11:3; Son 6:8.

Barnes: Dan 5:4 - -- They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, ... - Compare the note at Dan 5:1. Idols were made among the pagan of all the mat...

They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, ... - Compare the note at Dan 5:1. Idols were made among the pagan of all the materials here mentioned. The word praised here means that they spake in praise of these gods; of their history, of their attributes, of what they had done. Nothing can well be conceived more senseless and stupid than what it is said they did at this feast, and yet it is a fair illustration of what occurs in all the festivals of idolatry. And is what occurs in more civilized Christian lands, in the scenes of carousal and festivity, more rational than this? It was not much worse to lavish praises on idol gods in a scene of revelry than it is to lavish praises on idol men now; not much less rational to "toast"gods than it is to "toast"men.

Barnes: Dan 5:5 - -- In the same hour - On the word "hour,"see the note at Dan 4:19. Came forth fingers of a man’ s hand - Not the whole hand, but only t...

In the same hour - On the word "hour,"see the note at Dan 4:19.

Came forth fingers of a man’ s hand - Not the whole hand, but only the parts usually employed in writing. Not a man writing; not even an arm, but fingers that seemed to move themselves. They appeared to come forth from the walls, and were seen before they began to write. It was this that made it so impressive and alarming. It could not be supposed that it was the work of man, or that it was devised by man for the purpose of producing consternation. It was perfectly manifest to all who were there that this was the work of some one superior to man; that it was designed as a Divine intimation of some kind in regard to the scene that was then occurring. But whether as a rebuke for the sin of revelry and dissipation, or for sacrilege in drinking out of the consecrated vessels, or whether it was an intimation of some approaching fearful calamity, would not at once be apparent. It is easy to imagine that it would produce a sudden pause in their revelry, and diffuse seriousness over their minds.

The suddenness of the appearance; the fingers, unguided by the hand of man, slowly writing in mysterious characters on the wall; the conviction which must have flashed across the mind that this must be either to rebuke them for their sin, or to announce some fearful calamity, all these things must have combined to produce an overwhelming effect on the revellers. Perhaps, from the prevalent views in the pagan world in regard to the crime of sacrilege, they may have connected this mysterious appearance with the profane act which they were then committing - that of desecrating the vessels of the temple of God. How natural would it be to suppose - recognizing as they did the gods of other nations as real, as truly as those which they worshipped - that the God of the Hebrews, seeing the vessels of his worship profaned, had come forth to express his displeasure, and to intimate that there was impending wrath for such an act.

The crime of sacrilege was regarded among the pagan as one of the most awful which could be committed, and there was no state of mind in which men would be more likely to be alarmed than when they were, even in the midst of scenes of drunken revelry, engaged in such an act. "The pagan,"says Grotius, "thought it a great impiety to convert sacred things to common uses."Nuerous instances are on record of the sentiments entertained among the pagan on the subject of sacrilege, and of the calamities which were believed to come upon men as a punishment for it. Among them we may refer to the miserable end of the Phocians, who robbed the temple of Delphos, and whose act was the occasion of that war which was called the Holy War; the destruction of the Gauls in their attempt upon the same temple; and of Crassus, who plundered the temple of Jerusalem, and that of the Syrian goddess. - See Lowth, in loc . That a conviction of the sin of sacrilege, according to the prevalent belief on the subject, may have contributed to produce consternation when the fingers of the hand appeared at Belshazzar’ s feast, there is no good reason to doubt, and we may suppose that the minds of the revellers were at once turned to the insult which they had thus offered to the God of the Hebrews.

And wrote over against the candlestick - The candlestick, or lamp-bearer, perhaps, which had been taken from the temple at Jerusalem, and which was, as well as the sacred vessels, introduced into this scene of revelry. It is probable that as they brought out the vessels of the temple to drink in, they would also bring out all that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Two objects may have been contemplated in the fact that the writing was "over against the candlestick;"one was that it might be clearly visible, the other that it might be more directly intimated that the writing was a rebuke for the act of sacrilege. On the probable situation where this miracle occurred, the reader may consult Taylor’ s "Fragments to Calmet’ s Dictionary,"No. 205. He supposes that it was one of the large inner courts of the palace - that part of the palace which was prohibited to persons not sent for. See the note at Dan 5:10.

Upon the plaster of the wall - The Chaldee word means "lime,"not inappropriately rendered here "plaster."The "manner"of the writing is not specified. All that is necessary to suppose is, that the letters were traced along on the wall so as to be distinctly visible. Whether they seemed to be cut into the plaster, or to be traced in black lines, or lines of light, is not mentioned, and is immaterial. They were such as could be seen distinctly by the king and the guests. Compare, however, the remarks of Taylor in the "Fragment"just referred to.

And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote - It is not necessary to suppose that the others did not see it also, but the king was the most important personage there, and the miracle was intended particularly for him. Perhaps his eyes were first attracted to it.

Poole: Dan 5:1 - -- Belshazzar’ s name is from riches and power. They were wont, when they were promoted, to take new names, which also were significant, as this i...

Belshazzar’ s name is from riches and power. They were wont, when they were promoted, to take new names, which also were significant, as this is, Belshazzar; Bel hath or gives power and riches; this they attributed to the honour of their idol, which belongs only to the God of heaven. There is much contest among the learned who this Belshazzar was; let us mind the Scripture, and not trust to heathen historians. In the second verse here he is called the son of Nebuchadnezzar, his father, so Dan 5:11 twice, and Dan 5:13,18,22 ; if he were his son, then was he called also Merodach, or Evil-merodach. Yet he might be called his son though his grandson; under these three was the captivity, Jer 27:7 , Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach, and Belshazzar.

Made a great feast after the manner of the East, who showed their magnificence this way, and pleased the epicurean palates of his nobles herein, it being no small piece of policy with some princes to oblige their grandees by balls and compotations; this I believe: yet I conceive also, this feast was anniversary for the honour of their idol Bel, as Herodotus testifieth. But this is prodigious, that he should carouse when the city was besieged and ready to be taken by Darius the Mede, for, saith the text, he drank wine before the thousand . These Bacchanalian feasts have often proved fatal and tragical, Es 1 .

Poole: Dan 5:2 - -- This king having the wine, liked it so well, that he resolved to make a merry day of it, and in order to it, sent for the vessels of God’ s tem...

This king having the wine, liked it so well, that he resolved to make a merry day of it, and in order to it, sent for the vessels of God’ s temple, which he did in scorn and contempt, triumphing thereby over God and his people; but this sport lasted not long: they had more honour for the vessels of their own idols, which they kept sacred and untouched; therefore the prophet upbraids them with this insolent profaneness, for the concubines also drank of them.

Poole: Dan 5:4 - -- At the same time insulting the great God of heaven and earth. The name of God is never more profaned than among drunkards and epicures.

At the same time insulting the great God of heaven and earth. The name of God is never more profaned than among drunkards and epicures.

Poole: Dan 5:5 - -- In the same hour: by this it did appear what was the cause of the king’ s punishment and ruin, namely, his reproaching of God and profaning the ...

In the same hour: by this it did appear what was the cause of the king’ s punishment and ruin, namely, his reproaching of God and profaning the holy vessels.

Fingers of a man’ s hand the likeness of a man’ s hand, which Rabbi Solomon saith was managed by the angel Gabriel; it is clear it was immediately from God. This was a plainer testimony then that of his father’ s dream, for hereof were above a thousand witnesses, besides his conscience that shook him, a thousand more.

Over against the candlestick by this it appears how the feast continued far in the night in which Babylon was taken and Belshazzar slain, Dan 5:30 .

The king saw the part of the hand that wrote: God intended it for him, and that he should see it with his own eyes, and it should not be brought him by report, which affords ground of doubting; but here was undeniable proof and conviction, the visible hand of God was here; and it was also for terror to him, and spoiled his draughts of wine, and was a cooler to their jollities.

Haydock: Dan 5:1 - -- Baltassar. He is believed to be the same as Nabonides, the last of the Chaldean kings, grandson to Nabuchodonosor. He is called his son (ver. 2, 11...

Baltassar. He is believed to be the same as Nabonides, the last of the Chaldean kings, grandson to Nabuchodonosor. He is called his son (ver. 2, 11, &c.) according to the style of the Scriptures, because he was a descendant from him. (Challoner; St. Jerome in Isaiah xiii.; Usher, &c.) ---

Some think that he was brother of Evilmerodac. (ver. 11.; Baruch i. 11.) But he seems rather to have been his son. (Jeremias xxvii. 7.) Profane authors place Neriglissor and Laborosoarchod between them. They were not of the royal family, and might be looked upon as usurpers, or reigned in some other place; or they did not meddle with the Jews. (Calmet) ---

It is wonderful that Josephus should prefer these authors; (Tirinus) yet he abandons the dates given by them. (Antiquities x. 12. & c. Ap. 1.) They represent Nabonides as a simple Babylonian raised to the throne, defeated by Cyrus, and suffered to retire into Carmania; whereas, Baltassar was slain. (ver. 29.) (Calmet) ---

The others were of a different lineage, and are mentioned by Eus.[Eusebius,] &c. Evilmerodac certainly preceded him on the throne, and honoured Joachim in the 37th years of his captivity. (Worthington) ---

Thousand; or, "for his officers over a thousand men." (Theodot.) ---

Every. Chaldee: "and drank wine before the thousand," more than any, for this was deemed a great perfection; or he drank in their presence, but apart. (Calmet) ---

The Persian monarchs used to sit in a separate apartment, with a veil before the door, so that they could see the guests without being seen. A great chandelier was before them; (Atheneus iv. 10.) probably on the outside, otherwise it would have defeated their purpose. Light sufficient would appear for Baltassar to see the hand-writing on his chamber wall. (ver. 5.) (Haydock) ---

According to the order of time, this chapter should be placed after the vii. and viii. (Calmet) ---

But those contain visions. (Haydock)

Gill: Dan 5:1 - -- Belshazzar the king made a great feast,.... This king was not the immediate successor of Nebuchadnezzar, but Evilmerodach, Jer 52:31, who, according t...

Belshazzar the king made a great feast,.... This king was not the immediate successor of Nebuchadnezzar, but Evilmerodach, Jer 52:31, who, according to Ptolemy's canon, reigned two years; then followed Neriglissar, his sister's husband, by whom he was slain, and who usurped the throne, and reigned four years; he died in the beginning of his fourth year, and left a son called Laborosoarchod, who reigned but nine months, which are placed by Ptolemy to his father's reign, and therefore he himself is not mentioned in the canon; and then followed this king, who by Ptolemy is called Nabonadius; by Berosus, Nabonnedus t by Abydenus u, Nabannidochus; by Herodotus w, Labynitus; and by Josephus x, Naboandelus, who, according to him, is the same with Belshazzar; whom some confound with the son of Neriglissar; others take him to be the same with Evilmerodach, because he here immediately follows Nebuchadnezzar, and is called his son, Dan 5:11, and others that he was a younger brother, so Jarchi and Theodoret; but the truth is, that he was the son of Evilmerodach, and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, which agrees with the prophecy in Jer 27:7, for though Nebuchadnezzar is called his father, and he his son, Dan 5:2 this is said after the manner of the eastern nations, who used to call ancestors fathers, and their more remote posterity sons. He had his name Belshazzar from the idol Bel, and may be rendered, "Bel's treasurer": though, according to Saadiah, the word signifies "a searcher of treasures", of his ancestors, or of the house of God. Hillerus translates it, "Bel hath hidden". This king

made a great feast; or "bread" y, which is put for all provisions; it was great, both on account of plenty of food, variety of dishes, and number of guests, and those of the highest rank and quality. On what account this feast was made is not easy to say; whether out of contempt of Cyrus and his army, by whom he was now besieged, and to show that he thought himself quite safe and secure in a city so well walled and fortified, and having in it such vast quantities of provision; or whether it was on account of a victory he had obtained that morning over the Medes and Persians, as Josephus Ben Gorion z relates; and therefore in the evening treated his thousand lords, who had been engaged in battle with him, and behaved well: though it seems to have been an anniversary feast; since, according to Xenophon and Herodotus, Cyrus knew of it before hand; either on account of the king's birthday, or in honour to his gods, particularly Shach, which was called the Sachaenan feast; See Gill on Jer 25:26, Jer 51:41 which seems most likely, since these were praised at this time, and the vessels of the temple of God at Jerusalem profaned, Dan 5:2, this feast was prophesied of by Isaiah, Isa 21:5 and by Jeremiah, Jer 51:39, it had its name from Shach, one of their deities, of which See Gill on Dan 1:4, Dan 1:7 the same with Belus or the sun. The feasts kept in honour of it were much like the Saturnalia of the Romans, or the Purim of the Jews; and were kept eleven days together, in which everyone did as he pleased, no order and decorum being observed; and, for five of those days especially, there was no difference between master and servant, yea, the latter had the government of the former; and they spent day and night in dancing and drinking, and in all excess of riot and revelling a; and in such like manner the Babylonians were indulging themselves, when their city was taken by Cyrus, as the above writers assert b; and from the knowledge Cyrus had of it, it appears to be a stated feast, and very probably on the above account. According to Strabo c, there was a feast of this name among the Persians, which was celebrated in honour of the goddess Anais, Diana, or the moon; and at whose altar they placed together Amanus and Anandratus, Persian demons; and appointed a solemn convention once a year, called Saca. Some say the occasion of it was this; that Cyrus making an expedition against the Sacse, a people in Scythia, pretended a flight, and left his tents full of all provisions, and especially wine, which they finding, filled themselves with it; when he returning upon them, finding some overcome with wine and stupefied, others overwhelmed with sleep, and others dancing and behaving in a bacchanalian way, they fell into his hands, and almost all of them perished; and taking this victory to be from the gods, he consecrated that day to the god of his country, and called it Sacaea; and wherever there was a temple of this deity, there was appointed a bacchanalian feast, in which men, and women appeared night and day in a Scythian habit, drinking together, and behaving to one another in a jocose and lascivious manner; but this could not be the feast now observed at Babylon, though it is very probable it was something of the like nature, and observed in much the same manner. And was made "to a thousand of his lords"; his nobles, the peers of his realm, governors of provinces, &c.; such a number of guests Ptolemy king of Egypt feasted at one time of Pompey's army, as Pliny from Varro relates d; but Alexander far exceeded, who at a wedding had nine (some say ten) thousand at his tables, and gave to everyone a cup of gold, to offer wine in honour of the gods e; and Pliny reports f of one Pythius Bythinus, who entertained the whole army of Xerxes with a feast, even seven hundred and eighty eight thousand men.

And drank wine before the thousand; not that he strove with them who should drink most, or drank to everyone of them separately, and so a thousand cups, as Jacchiades suggests; but he drank in the presence of them, to show his condescension and familiarity; this being, as Aben Ezra observes, contrary to the custom of kings, especially of the eastern nations, who were seldom seen in public. This feast was kept in a large house or hall, as Josephus g says, afterwards called the banqueting house, Dan 5:10.

Gill: Dan 5:2 - -- Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine,.... As he was drinking his cups, and delighted with the taste of the wine, and got merry with it: or, "by the ad...

Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine,.... As he was drinking his cups, and delighted with the taste of the wine, and got merry with it: or, "by the advice of the wine" h, as Aben Ezra and Jarchi interpret it, by a personification; as if that dictated to him, and put him upon doing what follows; and which often puts both foolish and wicked things into the heads of men, and upon doing them: then he

commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; what these vessels were, and the number of them, we learn from the delivery of them afterwards to the prince of Judah by Cyrus, Ezr 1:9, these were put into the temple of Bel by Nebuchadnezzar, Dan 1:2 and from thence they were now ordered to be brought to the king's palace, and to the apartment where he and his nobles were drinking:

that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein; Saadiah says, this day the seventy years' captivity ended; and so, in contempt of the promise and prophecy of it, he ordered the vessels to be brought out and drank in, to show that in vain the Jews expected redemption from it.

Gill: Dan 5:3 - -- Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem,.... That is, the servants to whom t...

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem,.... That is, the servants to whom the orders were given fetched them from the temple of Bel, and brought them to the king's house; and though only mention is made of golden vessels, yet no doubt the silver ones were also brought, according to the king's command:

and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them; by which they were profaned, being dedicated to holy uses, but now put to common use, and that by such impious persons; and who did it, not on account of the value and antiquity of these vessels, and in admiration of them, and to the honour of their festival; but in contempt of them, and in a profane and scurrilous way, as follows:

Gill: Dan 5:4 - -- They drunk wine,.... That is, out of the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem, and perhaps till they were drunk: and praised the gods of gold, and of...

They drunk wine,.... That is, out of the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem, and perhaps till they were drunk:

and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone; for they had gods of all these materials; See Gill on Dan 1:2, and these they praised by offering sacrifices unto them; or rather by singing songs, and drinking healths, and by ascribing all their victories over the nations of the world to them; as that by their means they had got such large dominions, and such great wealth and treasures, and particularly these vessels of gold and silver; and so insulted and triumphed over the God of Israel, and defied the prophecies and promises of the deliverance of them that went under his name.

Gill: Dan 5:5 - -- In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, &c. From heaven, as Jarchi; or they came forth as if they came out of the wall: this was done by ...

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, &c. From heaven, as Jarchi; or they came forth as if they came out of the wall: this was done by the power of God, though it might be by the intervention or means of an angel; so Josephus Ben Gorion i says, that an angel came and wrote what follows; and Saadiah says it was Gabriel, called a man, Dan 11:21, but this is conjecture; however, at the very time the king and his nobles were feasting and revelling, praising their idols, and reproaching the God of Israel, this wonderful phenomenon appeared:

and wrote over against the candlestick, upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; this candlestick was either upon the table, as Saadiah; or affixed to the wall, or hung as a chandelier in the midst of the hall; or, be it where it will, right over against it this hand appeared, and wrote, that, by the light of it, it might be clearly and distinctly seen: though Gussetius k thinks, not a candlestick, but a "buffet", is meant; where stood the drinking cups and vessels, and which he takes to be more agreeable to the signification of the word; and moreover observes, that it is not likely this feast should be made in the night, or at least it is not certain it was, or that it was yet night when this affair happened: however, this writing was upon the plaster of the wall, made of lime, and was white; and if the writing was with red colour, as Ben Gorion says, it was the more visible:

and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote; the back part of the hand; had he only seen a writing, but no hand writing it, he might have thought it was done by some present; but seeing a hand, and only part of one, or however not any other members of the body of a man, nor a man himself, it struck him with surprise, and he concluded at once there was something extraordinary in it; whether any other saw the hand besides himself is not certain; however, he saw it for whom it was particularly designed.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Dan 5:1 Aram “the thousand.”

NET Notes: Dan 5:2 Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportio...

NET Notes: Dan 5:3 Aram “the temple of the house of God.” The phrase seems rather awkward. The Vulgate lacks “of the house of God,” while Theodot...

NET Notes: Dan 5:5 While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

Geneva Bible: Dan 5:1 ( a ) Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine ( b ) before the thousand. ( a ) Daniel recites this history ...

Geneva Bible: Dan 5:2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his ( c ) father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the tem...

Geneva Bible: Dan 5:4 They drank wine, and praised the ( d ) gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. ( d ) In contempt of the true God they ...

Geneva Bible: Dan 5:5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over ( e ) against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: ...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Dan 5:1-31 - --1 Belshazzar's impious feast.5 A hand-writing unknown to the magicians, troubles the king.10 At the commendation of the queen Daniel is brought.17 He,...

MHCC: Dan 5:1-9 - --Belshazzar bade defiance to the judgments of God. Most historians consider that Cyrus then besieged Babylon. Security and sensuality are sad proofs of...

Matthew Henry: Dan 5:1-9 - -- We have here Belshazzar the king very gay, but all of a sudden very gloomy, and in straits in the fulness of his sufficiency. See how he affronts Go...

Keil-Delitzsch: Dan 5:1-4 - -- The verses describe the progress of Belshazzar's magnifying himself against the living Do, whereby the judgment threatened came upon him and his kin...

Keil-Delitzsch: Dan 5:4-5 - -- The warning signs, the astonishment of Belshazzar, the inability of the wise men to give counsel, and the advice of the queen . Dan 5:4 Unexpecte...

Constable: Dan 2:1--7:28 - --II. The Times of the Gentiles: God's program for the world chs. 2--7 Daniel wrote 2:4b-7:28 in the Aramaic langu...

Constable: Dan 5:1-31 - --D. Belshazzar's feast ch. 5 Belshazzar came to power some nine years after Nebuchadnezzar had died.165 ...

Constable: Dan 5:1-4 - --1. Belshazzar's dishonoring of Yahweh 5:1-4 5:1 Older critical scholars have claimed that Belshazzar was never a king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.167...

Constable: Dan 5:1-31 - --E. Darius' pride and Daniel's preservation ch. 6 Even though this chapter is one of the most popular in ...

Constable: Dan 5:5-9 - --2. God's revelation to Belshazzar 5:5-9 5:5 Like Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar received an omen from God. In Nebuchadnezzar's case it was two dreams (chs...

Guzik: Dan 5:1-31 - --Daniel 5 - The Writing On the Wall A. A disturbing message from God. 1. (1-4) Belshazzar's great, blasphemous feast. Belshazzar the king made a gr...

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Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: Dan 5:1 DANIEL 5:1 — How can Daniel say the last king of Babylon was Belshazzar when    history records that it was Nabonidus? PROBLEM: Danie...

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Introduction / Outline

JFB: Daniel (Book Introduction) DANIEL, that is, "God is my judge"; probably of the blood royal (compare Dan 1:3, with 1Ch 3:1, where a son of David is named so). Jerusalem may have ...

JFB: Daniel (Outline) THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY BEGINS; DANIEL'S EDUCATION AT BABYLON, &C. (Dan. 1:1-21) NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM: DANIEL'S INTERPRETATION OF IT, AND ADVANCEM...

TSK: Daniel 5 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Dan 5:1, Belshazzar’s impious feast; Dan 5:5, A hand-writing unknown to the magicians, troubles the king; Dan 5:10, At the commendation...

Poole: Daniel (Book Introduction) BOOK OF DANIEL THE ARGUMENT IN Daniel and his prophecy, observe these things for the better understanding of this book, and the mind of God in it...

Poole: Daniel 5 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 5 Belshazzar’ s impious feast, Dan 5:1-4 . The hand-writing on the wall, which the magicians could not explain, troubleth him, Dan 5:5...

MHCC: Daniel (Book Introduction) Daniel was of noble birth, if not one of the royal family of Judah. He was carried captive to Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiachin, B. C. 606, whe...

MHCC: Daniel 5 (Chapter Introduction) (Dan 5:1-9) Belshazzar's impious feast; the hand-writing on the wall. (Dan 5:10-17) Daniel is sent for to interpret it. (Dan 5:18-31) Daniel warns t...

Matthew Henry: Daniel (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of the Prophet Daniel The book of Ezekiel left the affairs of Jerusalem under a doleful aspect...

Matthew Henry: Daniel 5 (Chapter Introduction) The destruction of the kingdom of Babylon had been long and often foretold when it was at a distance; in this chapter we have it accomplished, and ...

Constable: Daniel (Book Introduction) Introduction Background In 605 B.C. Prince Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian army of h...

Constable: Daniel (Outline) Outline I. The character of Daniel ch. 1 A. Historical background 1:1-2 ...

Constable: Daniel Daniel Bibliography Albright, William F. From Stone Age to Christianity. 2nd ed. New York: Doubleday Press, Anc...

Haydock: Daniel (Book Introduction) THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL. INTRODUCTION. DANIEL, whose name signifies "the judgment of God," was of the royal blood of the kings of Juda, and one o...

Gill: Daniel (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL This book is called, in the Vulgate Latin version, "the Prophecy of Daniel"; and in the Syriac and Arabic versions "the Prop...

Gill: Daniel 5 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 5 This chapter gives an account of a feast made by King Belshazzar, attended with drunkenness, idolatry, and profanation of ...

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