Daniel 5:31

5:31 (6:1) ¹  So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.

Daniel 5:1

Belshazzar Sees Mysterious Handwriting on a Wall

5:1 King Belshazzar ²  prepared a great banquet ³  for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of ⁴  them all. ⁵ 

Daniel 2:14

2:14 Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel ⁶  to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

¹ sn Beginning with 5:31, the verse numbers through 6:28 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 5:31 ET = 6:1 AT, 6:1 ET = 6:2 AT, 6:2 ET = 6:3 AT, 6:3 ET = 6:4 AT, etc., through 6:28 ET = 6:29 AT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Aramaic text are again the same.

² sn As is clear from the extra-biblical records, it was actually Nabonidus (ca. 556-539 B.C.) who was king of Babylon at this time. However, Nabonidus spent long periods of time at Teima, and during those times Belshazzar his son was de facto king of Babylon. This arrangement may help to explain why later in this chapter Belshazzar promises that the successful interpreter of the handwriting on the wall will be made third ruler in the kingdom. If Belshazzar was in effect second ruler in the kingdom, this would be the highest honor he could grant.

³ sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets.

⁴ sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.

⁵ tn Aram “the thousand.”

⁶ tn Aram “returned prudence and counsel.” The expression is a hendiadys.