Daniel

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Vessels of the temple: altar of incense, golden candlestick, table of shewbread, and ark of the covenanta subordinate to Nabonidus his father. In reply to thesecharges we may note, first of all, that the Aramaic wordmalka (‘king’) need not have the connotation of monarchor sole king (see R. D. Wilson, Studies in the Bookof Daniel, 1917, pp. 83–95). Furthermore, one of thecuneiform documents expressly states that Nabonidusentrusted the kingship to Belshazzar. . . . In allprobability there was a coregency between Nabonidusand Belshazzar in which Belshazzar occupied asubordinate position. Since, however, he was the manupon the throne with whom Israel had to do, he isdesignated king in the book of Daniel. No valid objectioncan be raised against this usage.” (Guthrie and Motyer,New Bible Commentary, p. 694.)(28-23) Daniel 5:3. Drinking from the Vessels of theTempleWhen the Babylonians overthrew Jerusalem, they“carried out thence all the treasures of the house of theLord” (2 Kings 24:13). As Keil and Delitzsch noted,during the feast the Babylonians “drank out of the holyvessels of the temple of the God of Israel to glorify . . .their heathen gods in songs of praise. In doing this theydid not only place ‘Jehovah on a perfect level with theirgods’ (Havernick), but raised them above the Lord ofheaven, as Daniel (ver. 23) charged the king. The carryingaway of the temple vessels to Babylon and placing themin the temple of Bel was a sign of the defeat of the Godto whom these vessels were consecrated; . . . the use ofthese vessels in the drinking of wine at a festival, amidthe singing of songs in praise of the gods, wasaccordingly a celebrating of these gods as victoriousover the God of Israel.” (Commentary, 9:3:180.)(28-24) Daniel 5:6. What Is Meant by the Phrase the“Joints of His Loins Were Loosed”?The great fear that came upon the king is describedin the Revised Standard Version of the Bible as: “Hislimbs gave way, and his knees knocked together”(Daniel 5:6).(28-25) Daniel 5:7. The Third Ruler in the KingdomThe Hebrew word that is translated “third ruler”means “one of three” (Guthrie and Motyer, New BibleCommentary, p. 694). The promise was that the interpreterof the writing would be made third in authority in thekingdom next to Nabonidus and Belshazzar. The scarlet(sometimes purple) clothing and the chain of goldmentioned in Daniel 5:7 were symbols of rank wornby high officials.(28-26) Daniel 5:17. “Let Thy Gifts Be to Thyself”Those who function under the influence of the Spiritof God have increased capabilities, not because of theirown qualifications, but because of the power of Godwhich they are privileged to use. They are servants inthe Lord’s hands who are to bless others and carry out301
the Lord’s will. Daniel knew this and neither deservednor sought for earthly rewards for his role as aninstrument in the hands of God.(28-27) Daniel 5:25–29. The Interpretation of theHandwriting on the WallThe handwriting on the wall indicated not only thatthe Babylonian kingdom would be overthrown but alsothe means by which it would be overthrown: “MENE,‘numbered’, i.e. God has numbered . . . the days of thekingdom; TEKEL, a ‘shekel’, used both as a coin andas a weight, indicated that Belshazzar was weighed (inthe balances) and found deficient; PERES, ‘division’,your kingdom is divided (peres) and given to the Medesand Persians (paras). The word paras would seem topoint out that the Persians were the dominant powerto whom Babylon would fall. When Daniel read thewriting he read and PARSIN (v. 25), but in giving theinterpretation he employed the form PERES (v. 28). . . .We have thus a play upon words in which the basicidea of division is linked with the name of theconqueror.” (Guthrie and Motyer, New BibleCommentary, p. 694.)(28-28) Daniel 5:29. Why Was Daniel Rewarded by theKing When He Prophesied of the King’s Destruction?Although Belshazzar did not believe that Daniel’sGod was the only true God, it is likely that he, likeother heathens, believed in the gods and in revelationsfrom God. He must have been deeply impressed withDaniel’s ability to interpret the writing on the wallbecause he rewarded him handsomely. Keil andDelitzsch suggested another possible reason:“Belshazzar perhaps scarcely believed the threatenedjudgment from God to be so near as it actually was . . .and perhaps . . . he hoped to be able, by conferringhonour upon Daniel, to appease the wrath of God”(Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 9:3:191).(28-29) Daniel 5:30. Was Babylon Really Overthrownin One Night?Babylon was surrounded by a massive wall over onehundred feet thick and three hundred feet high (seeEnrichment G). To breach such a wall, even with constantsieging, would take months, and yet there is no hintin Daniel’s record that the city was under siege at thistime. Could a city of Babylon’s size and fortificationsbe taken in one night?Historical sources other than the Bible indicate thatthat is exactly what happened, supporting Daniel’srecord exactly. The ancient Greek historian, Herodotus,recorded that “Cyrus had previously caused thePallacopas, a canal which ran west of the city, and carriedoff the superfluous water of the Euphrates into the lakeof Nitocris, to be cleared out, in order to turn the riverinto it; which, by this means, was rendered so shallowCyrus diverted the water and marched his soldiers under the wall of Babylon.302
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Daniel

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