Daniel 5:5

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ¹  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ²  The king was watching the back ³  of the hand that was writing.

Daniel 5:25-29

5:25 “This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, ⁴  TEQEL, and PHARSIN. ⁵  5:26 This is the interpretation of the words: ⁶  As for mene ⁷  – God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end. 5:27 As for teqel – you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking. 5:28 As for peres ⁸  – your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

5:29 Then, on Belshazzar’s orders, ⁹  Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.

[5:5]  ¹ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ² sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ³ tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[5:25]  ⁴ tc The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the repetition of מְנֵא (mÿne’, cf. NAB).

[5:25]  ⁵ tc The Aramaic word is plural. Theodotion has the singular (cf. NAB “PERES”).

[5:26]  ⁶ tn Or “word” or “event.” See HALOT 1915 s.v. מִלָּה.

[5:26]  ⁷ tn The Aramaic term מְנֵא (mÿne’) is a noun referring to a measure of weight. The linkage here to the verb “to number” (Aram. מְנָה, mÿnah) is a case of paronomasia rather than strict etymology. So also with תְּקֵל (tÿqel) and פַרְסִין (farsin). In the latter case there is an obvious wordplay with the name “Persian.”

[5:28]  ⁸ sn Peres (פְּרֵס) is the singular form of פַרְסִין (pharsin) in v. 25.

[5:29]  ⁹ tn Aram “Belshazzar spoke.”