[56], The broad consensus among scholars is that the Book of Daniel was compiled shortly after the Maccabean Revolt in the 160s BC. That such a large feast should be held by a monarch like Belshazzar is not at all strange. When this took place, the Persians who were appointed to that purpose close to the stream of the river, which had now subsided to about the middle of a mans thigh, entered Babylon by this passage. This same son of the king is most probably mentioned . There are actually so many plausible possibilities in Daniels account, supported by the evidence cited, that the storm of objections can hardly be taken seriously.254. Problems of his relationship will be considered at the proper place in the exposition, including the possibility that Belshazzars mother was a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar and thus in the royal line, whereas Nabonidus was not. This text indicates that a person known as Bel-sarra-usur was a res sarri, an officer of the king, under Neriglissar who came to the throne in 560 B.C., as had been earlier pointed out in a text YBC 3765:2 published by R. P. Dougherty in 1929 in Nabonidus and Belshazzar, pp. The Jewish Encyclopedia. 263-64. Herodotus gives a glowing account of Babylon as a monument to the genius of Nebuchadnezzar and undoubtedly a source of much pride to all the Babylonians. Belshazzar goes on in verse 14 to repeat what his mother had said concerning Daniels wisdom. Although there are alternative explanations and some dates vary, this succession of kings and identification of characters seems to have reasonable justification. Suiting the action to the word, Cyrus and Darius grasped a heavy ornament forming part of a candelabrum, and with it shattered the skull of their royal master (Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah 3:4).[58]. Belshazzar then offers Daniel the same promise he made to the others of being clothed with scarlet and having a chain of gold and the privilege of being the third ruler in the kingdom, that is, the triumvir. 216-17, who discusses this quotation from Pusey. [44] Upon Nabonidus's return to Babylon, Belshazzar was demoted from his administrative responsibilities and officials he had appointed were dismissed. The word for doubts ( qitrin) is actually knots, joints, difficult problems. In the seventeenth year of his reign Cyrus advanced from Persia with a large army, and, after subjugating the rest of the kingdom, marched upon Babylonia. 248 James A. Montgomery, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, p. 249. The probability is that the writing was in Aramaic and therefore not entirely unknown to the wise men. [6] This is typical of the "tale of court contest" in which historical accuracy is not an essential element. 278 There is a remarkably close parallel to the language of 5:23 in the Prayer of Nabonidus found in Qumran Cave 4:See J. T. Milik, pp. All of these honors, however, were short-lived and useless, as Daniel well knew, and typical of the honors of this world. Cyrus, emperor of Persia, captures Babylon. Whereas Neriglissar's career as a businessman prior to becoming king can be followed through a trail of surviving business documents, Belshazzar appears to have become a prominent member of the Babylonian oligarchy overnight[18] (Belshazzar, in contrast to his co-conspirators was notably not a member of the old Babylonian aristocracy),[19] not being mentioned in any business documents or private transactions prior to Nabonidus becoming king. I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. Nebuchadnezzar II was the eldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, founder of the Chaldean empire. Daniel experiences a vision of the four terrifying beasts but kept the vision to himself. They were said to have had enough food stored up for 20 years. Leupold cites the ancient historian Ktesias to the effect that Persian monarchs frequently were known to dine daily with 15,000 people.257 M. E. 50:Mallowan mentions the great feast that Ashusnasirpal II gave to 69,574 guests when he dedicated his new capital city of Calah (Nimrud) in 879 b.c.258. Cf. But we have to acknowledge that this is speculation. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. Herodotus's description of Nitocris contains a wealth of legendary material that makes it difficult to determine whether he uses the name to refer to Nabonidus's wife or mother, but William H. Shea proposed in 1982 that Nitocris may tentatively be identified as the name of Nabonidus's wife and Belshazzar's mother. All Rights Reserved. Belshazzar was evidently in no mood to bargain but was terrified and desperately desired to know the meaning of the writing. The inability of the wise men to decipher the writing only increased the concern of Belshazzar. The new Persian-Median empire succeeds the old Persian Empire which had recently been ruled by Belshazzar, who is familiar to us from the Book of Daniel. When Nebuchadnezzar's son King Belshazzar uses the vessels from the Jewish temple for his feast, a hand appears and writes a mysterious . Belshazzar informs Daniel of the inability of all the wise men either to read or to interpret the writing. Also known as: Baltasar, Balthasar, Bel-shar-usur. The difficulty of the wise men in reading the writing may have been that it was written in Aramaic script without the vowels being supplied; but if written in cuneiform, the vowels would have been included. Belshazzar is not mentioned in building inscriptions, which usually mention the king responsible. Belshazzar was the first-born son of Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Knowing Daniel was a wise elder statesman, the new leaders gave him a prestigious place in their government (Daniel 6:1-2). In beginning his explanation of the handwriting on the wall, Daniel first of all reads the writing; and for the first time, the words are introduced into the text of this chapter. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. If, however, the Babylonians had been aware of it beforehand, or had known what Cyrus was about, they would not have suffered the Persians to enter the city, but would have utterly destroyed them; for, having shut all the little gates that lead to the river, and mounting the walls that extend along the banks of the river, they would have caught them as in a net; whereas the Persians came upon them by surprise. Possibly to reassert their faith in their Babylonian gods and to bolster their own courage, this feast in the form of a festival had been ordered. This would be understandable if she was elderly and the widow of Nebuchadnezzar. . Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom. Daniel 5:18-21 . Isaiah and Jeremiah had prophesied that Babylon would fall to the Medes on just such a night of revelry as Daniel records (Is 13:17-22; 21:1-10; Jer 51:33-58). In many respects, modern civilization is much like ancient Babylon, resplendent with its monuments of architectural triumph, as secure as human hands and ingenuity could make it, and yet defenseless against the judgment of God at the proper hour. On the other hand, Cyrus found himself in difficulty, since much time had elapsed, and his affairs were not at all advanced. Norman Porteous, Daniel: A Commentary, p. 76. Charles, for instance, suggests that the writing was in unfamiliar ideograms.272 This, however, is mere conjecture. He died about 561 and was succeeded by his son Awil-Marduk (Evil-Merodach of 2 Kings). The large reward that was offered, however, was to no avail, for the wise men who assembled could not read the writing nor interpret it. Though he is referred to in the Book of Daniel as the son of Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian inscriptions indicate that he was in fact the eldest son of Nabonidus, who was king of Babylon from 555 to 539, and of Nitocris, who was perhaps a daughter of Nebuchadrezzar. [54] Belshazzar is killed that night, and Darius the Mede takes the kingdom. There Nabonnedus spent the remainder of his life, and there he died^ Flavius Josephus. Daniel dies at 84 years old. Norman Porteous, for instance, writes, On the other hand it is known that Belshazzar was a historical person, the son of the last Babylonian king Nabonidus, who acted as regent of Babylon for several years before its fall, while his father was absent at the oasis of Teima in Arabia.252 This would begin Belshazzars regency about 553 B.C., when Nabonidus went to Teima. It seems likely that skirmishes along the border were frequent from then until Babylon's fall. A plausible account of Berosus, in his third book, found in a fragment preserved by Josephus summarizes the history between Nebuchadnezzars death in 562 B.C. He knew Daniel and knew the history of Nebuchadnezzars experience with Gods chastening. [54] Daniel interprets the writing as a judgment from Yahweh, the god of Israel, foretelling the fall of Babylon. In spite of the problem in the word, it is probable that the offer of honor was that of being the third ruler. Old Testament Table of Contents [25] October 543 BC is the return date most supported by surviving Babylonian documentation. For the duration of the decade-long absence of his father, Belshazzar served as regent in Babylon. [25] In 546 BC, Cyrus the Great crossed the Tigris to invade Lydia, ostensibly a Babylonian ally, and though Belshazzar took up a defensive position with his army, perhaps expecting a sudden Persian attack against Babylonia itself, no aid was sent to the Lydians, who were swiftly conquered by Cyrus. 257 Montgomery mentions a marriage feast of Alexander with 10,000 guests (Montgomery, p. 250). Like Nebuchadnezzar before him, Belshazzar was soon to experience divine judgment but without the happy ending. Daniel, in his condemnation of Belshazzar before interpreting the handwriting on the wall, honors King Nebuchadnezzar . Now Belshazzar was all too eager to have the gifts of this man exercised to interpret the writing. Although the size of the banquet is not amazing, the situation was most unusual. Much has been made of the reference of Belshazzars relationship to Nebuchadnezzar, who is described as his father in verse 2; and even Keil is influenced by this to consider Belshazzar a literal son of Nebuchadnezzar.261 This is not entirely impossible, of course, for as Leupold shows,262 Nabonidus could have married a widow of Nebuchadnezzar who had a son by Nebuchadnezzar who then could be adopted by Nabonidus by way of strengthening his own hold upon the throne. This, no doubt, prepared the way for the co-regency under Nabonidus which probably began 553 B.C., supporting Daniel 5. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Honoring of parents was characteristic of the Israelites (Ex 20:12; 1 Ki 2:13-20; 2 Ki 24:12-15). 538), using the sacred vessels of the temple, which Nebuchadnezzer had brought from Jerusalem. The Medes and Persians managed to slip into the city secretly while all the Babylonians feasted. That means Daniel was 36 years old when Jerusalem and Solomon's temple were destroyed. 164-71. [57], In the Book of Daniel, Belshazzar is not malevolent (he rewards Daniel and raises him to high office). Approximately twenty-three years elapsed between chapter 4 and chapter 5. [42], It is possible that a noteworthy return to orthodox Babylonian religion, following early attempts by Nabonidus to exalt the moon god Sn over the traditional Babylonian supreme deity Marduk, can be attributed to Belshazzar. Almost seventy years have passed since the events of chapter 1 of Daniel. Belshazzar had been known only from the biblical Book of Daniel (chapters 5, 78) and from Xenophons Cyropaedia until 1854, when references to him were found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. The reference to father may be construed as grandfather. As Pusey states, Neither in Hebrew, nor in Chaldee, is there any-word for grandfather, grandson. Forefathers are called fathers or fathers fathers. But a single grandfather, or forefather, is never called fathers father but always father only.263, The sacred vessels taken from Jerusalem had apparently been kept in storage without sacrilegious use from Nebuchadnezzars day until the occasion of this feast. Because his rule was arbitrary and licentious, he was assassinated by Neriglisar after he had reigned only two years. Daniel 5 says Belshazzar was king, and was making a great feast when (famously) a hand appeared and wrote a message of judgment on the wall. As Nabonidus was relatively old at the time, Belshazzar could expect to become king within a few years. [20], By examining surviving documents from Belshazzar's time as crown prince, it appears that the estates of Neriglissar's family were confiscated after Labashi-Marduk's death and that they were claimed and taken over by Belshazzar. Whether, therefore, someone else made the suggestion to him in his perplexity, or whether he himself devised the plan, he had recourse to the following stratagem. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. This prince, whose government was arbitrary and licentious, fell a victim to a plot, being assassinated by his sisters husband, Neriglisar, after a reign of two years. J. In his reign the walls of Babylon abutting on the river were magnificently built with baked brick and bitumen. Jeremiah is explicit, And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. John F. Walvoord, long-time president of Dallas Theological Seminary, was one of the most prominent evangelical scholars of his generation. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. Daniel 6:10-15, Darius orders Daniel to be thrown into the lions den and wishes Daniel that he be saved by his God. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. But as they had been long aware of the restless spirit of Cyrus, and saw that he attacked all nations alike, they had laid up provisions for many years, and therefore were under no apprehensions about a siege. The implication in the clause whiles he tasted the wine is that Belshazzar in his right mind probably would not have committed this sacrilegious act. Belshazzars situation and his knowledge of Nebuchadnezzars humbling made all the more blasphemous his taking of the vessels captured in Jerusalem from the house of the Lord and using them to drink wine in praising the gods of Babylon. E. G. Kraeling (The Handwriting on the Wall, Journal of Biblical Literature 63 [1944]: 11-18) assuming that five kings are in viewi.e., mene is given twice and the upharsin equals two half-minassuggests that the five kings following Nebuchadnezzar were intended, viz., Evil-Merodach, Neriglissar, Labashi-Marduk, Nabonidus and Belshazzar. Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, was the last king of Babylon during the time of Daniel . According to Berosus, Nebuchadnezzar died after a reign of 43 years and was followed by his son Evil-Merodach. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Q. Daniel 5:1-25 ERV. Who succeeded Belshazzar as king of Babylon? Then help is sought too late, as in the case of Belshazzar, and the cumulative sin and unbelief which precipitated the crisis in the first place becomes the occasion of downfall. Some have denied his historicity The kings name, however, has now appeared upon the cuneiform documents, so that there can be no question as to his historicity. Even during the period of Nabonidus's absence, he is mentioned in building inscriptions in Babylonia as a builder and excavator as if he was actively ruling at the time, with no known references to Belshazzar. And thus Babylon was taken for the first time.285, Keil discusses at length both Herodotus account and that of Xenophon in his Cyropaedia, which is similar, and summarizes the arguments of Kranichfeld discounting these records. Keil, pp. It is possible that Nabonidus was married to one of Nebuchadnezzar II's daughters. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. Probably before the babble of conversation in the banquet room had subsided, the king began to cry aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. Only three classes of wise men are mentioned, but it is doubtful whether any class was intentionally omitted as verse 8 refers to all the kings wise men. The astrologers were actually the magicians; the Chaldeans were a broad class of scholars and learned men in the lore of the Babylonians; and the soothsayers corresponded more closely to the modern concept of astrologers, although they may have also practiced sorcery.
Which Two Cellular Components Are Enclosed By A Membrane,
Gaige 71 Wide Mango Solid Wood Sideboard,
Sci Fi Name Generator,
Louisiana Nursing Home Administrator License Renewal,
Is Glenn Close Related To Dina Merrill,
Articles H