Daniel 5:1–31

5:1 Belshazzar, a successor of Nebuchadnezzar, threw “a great feast” for a thousand lords. Daniel was not present at the festivities (cf. v. 13), either because he had not been invited or because his former prominence did not continue under Belshazzar (cf. vv. 10–12, where the queen informed the king about Daniel). During the feast, Belshazzar “drank wine in front of the thousand,” displaying privilege and arrogance.

5:2 The mention of temple vessels reminds us of chapter 1, in which Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, took the temple vessels, brought them to Babylon, and put them in “the treasury of his god” (1:2). These vessels had remained in the pagan temple since that time, but Belshazzar called for them to be brought out so that his wives, concubines, and lords could drink from them—an act that would outrage a Jew. Belshazzar did something that not even “Nebuchadnezzar his father” had done.

Nebuchadnezzar was not Belshazzar’s biological father but his ancestor. (The use of “father” could refer to either the immediately preceding king or a more distant predecessor; cf. ESV mg.) Belshazzar’s biological father was Nabonidus, with whom he reigned as coregent from 550 to 539 BC.

5:3–4 Once the vessels taken from “the house of God in Jerusalem” were brought to the feast, everyone present drank from them. Relocation of the vessels to a Babylonian god’s temple (1:2) had defiled them already, but the attendees of the banquet defiled them further not only when they “drank wine” from them but also when they “praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.” The banquet guests reveled in blasphemy and idolatry. These elements are identical in name and order to those in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2, with the exception of “wood” replacing “clay” (cf. 2:32–33).

Belshazzar and his guests may have directed their attention to the gods because of the encroaching Medo-Persian army, which—according to the Babylonian Chronicle—had defeated Nabonidus and the Babylonian army merely fifty miles from Babylon two days earlier. In all likelihood, Belshazzar was aware of this defeat, yet he held the banquet in a brazen display of invincibility—and, as it turned out, delusion.

5:5 The tone of the party changed when “fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace.” Since this happened “immediately” after the guests drank wine from the Jerusalem temple vessels (v. 4), the event was viewed as an ominous response (v. 6). The detached hand wrote on the wall “opposite the lampstand,” which illuminated the writing for all to see. This “lampstand” may have been one of the items from the Jerusalem temple. In the actual Jerusalem temple, the bread of the Presence stood opposite the lampstand (1 Kings 7:48–50; Ex. 25:23–26:37) to remind the people of Israel of God’s provision and sustenance. If this lampstand was now in Belshazzar’s palace, then instead of illuminating an object of provision, it was illuminating a sign of judgment.

5:6–7 Outwardly and inwardly, Belshazzar was undone and filled with fear, for he surmised that the writing on the wall was not a favorable sign. As Nebuchadnezzar had done, Belshazzar summoned the Babylonian wise men (cf. 2:2; 4:6), calling “loudly” out of fear and urgency. He promised three rewards to anyone who could interpret the writing on the wall: that person “shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” The first and second rewards symbolized the regal status of the third; the interpreter would be the “third ruler in the kingdom” because Nabonidus and Belshazzar filled the first and second positions, being corulers at the time.

5:8 Wise men arrived but could neither read nor interpret the writing on the wall. Their inability had precedent in previous chapters of the book, for Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men had failed to discern the meaning of his visions (2:7, 10; 4:7) as well. Unique in this situation was the visibility of what needed to be interpreted: the writing was on the palace wall, where all could see, unlike the visions of Nebuchadnezzar, which were visible only to him in his dreams.

5:9 Belshazzar remained alarmed, and his lords perplexed. This verse forms an inclusio with verse 6, where the king’s fear and color were noted. Verse 9 also mentions a perplexed look shared by the thousand lords as their leader’s mind and body pulsed and flushed with fear.

5:10 The queen entered the banquet hall, presumably because someone had informed her of “the words of the king and his lords.” She was not Belshazzar’s wife, for his wives were already present at the banquet (vv. 2–3). She was probably Belshazzar’s mother, wife of his father, Nabonidus.¹

5:11–12 The queen said, “There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.” Although she did not say the man’s name, the reader knows she meant Daniel. He, like Joseph in Genesis, had the spirit of God (4:8–9, 18; cf. Gen. 41:38). Still without explicitly mentioning Daniel’s name, the queen gave a brief history of Daniel’s relationship with Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 5:11; cf. 2:48). Her description of Daniel in 5:11 was meant to stir the king’s desire to see him before she actually names him in verse 12. The queen commended Daniel’s God-given ability “to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems.” She knew Daniel could explain the writing.

Apparently Belshazzar did not know about Daniel, which provides another link with Joseph, as we recall how a new Pharaoh rose to power who “did not know Joseph” (Ex. 1:8). Under that new Pharaoh, the Israelites were in Egyptian captivity; under Belshazzar, the Israelites were in Babylonian captivity. Despite the new rulers in both of these situations, an exodus was promised. For the Jews in Egypt, God raised up Moses, who led them toward Canaan. For the Jews now captive in Babylon, their new exodus would mean a return to that same land. God had raised up a leader for them too, a Medo-Persian king who would arrive before the banquet night ended.

5:13 When Daniel arrived, Belshazzar said, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah.” The queen had probably informed Belshazzar of these facts, and he repeated them to remind Daniel of where each stood in relation to the other: Belshazzar was royalty, while Daniel was a captive. It had been decades since Daniel’s journey from Jerusalem to Babylon (cf. 1:3–7), and he was now an old man.

5:14–17 Belshazzar repeated the essence of what the queen had told him about Daniel (cf. v. 11), and he then informed Daniel of the problem: the Babylonian wise men could not “read this writing and make known to me its interpretation.” Yet Belshazzar had heard that Daniel could “give interpretations and solve problems.” If Daniel could decipher the writing, the king promised the same rewards he had offered to his wise men (cf. v. 7): purple clothing, a golden chain, and status as the third ruler. Daniel told the king to keep the rewards and give them to someone else. He agreed to interpret the writing, but not for profit.

5:18–21 Before interpreting the writing, Daniel spoke about Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness and humiliation, both of which had been granted to him by God. Daniel recalled that “the Most High God” gave Nebuchadnezzar “kingship and greatness and glory and majesty.” The fourfold content of God’s favor should not be parsed too finely and could be summarized, “God granted Nebuchadnezzar reign over a glorious empire.” Because of Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness, everyone feared him. He had held (what seemed to be) unassailable power: he decided who would die and who would live, whom he would raise up and whom he would humble.

Belshazzar no doubt knew of the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar, but Daniel’s recollection of his glory and majesty was necessary in order to emphasize his subsequent humiliation: Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was lifted up, but God brought him down from his throne and took away his glory (cf. 4:19–25), after which the king, for a time, had thought and lived as a beast (cf. 4:16, 25, 32–33). The goal of such punishment was that Nebuchadnezzar would learn that “the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets it over whom he will” (5:21). Significantly, Daniel did not mention Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration (4:34–37). He covered only the history relevant for Belshazzar, whose life would emulate the pattern of pride leading to demise, but for whom there would be no restoration.

5:22–23 Belshazzar’s failure, said Daniel, was not in knowledge but in application. He knew what had happened to his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar, but he did not humble his heart. He did not modify his behavior in light of the fact that God “rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will” (v. 21). He acted recklessly and brazenly, as if he and glorious Babylon could never be brought down.

Having recounted what Belshazzar did not do, Daniel moved to what the king did do, and Daniel’s boldness shines with prophetic conviction: “You have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven” (v. 23). The blasphemy at the banquet dishonored God. Not only did Belshazzar drink from the Jerusalem temple vessels with his lords, wives, and concubines (vv. 2–3), he also praised the gods of “gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone,” which were idols unable to see, hear, or know anything (v. 4). The OT regularly characterizes idols in this way (cf. Deut. 4:28; Pss. 115:4–7; 135:15–17; Isa. 44:9–20). These non-gods were unable to do anything because they did not exist, yet these nonexistent non-gods were objects of praise! Daniel saved the most serious charge for last: “The God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored” (Dan. 5:23). Belshazzar was vulnerable because his very breath rested in God’s hand—the hand that had written on the palace wall.

5:24–25 Daniel explained the detached hand and ominous inscription as God’s response to Belshazzar’s sin, and he read aloud the writing on the wall: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.” Apparently not even the Babylonian wise men could read those words (v. 8), which could perhaps be explained by the fact that the words apparently had no vowels and no spaces between them; knowing where to break up the words could be a dilemma. Daniel, however, was able to read the writing according to the proper breakdown of the letters into the intended words.

5:26–28 Daniel interpreted each of the Aramaic words on the wall. “MENE” indicated that “God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.” A mina was a Babylonian weight or currency, equivalent to 60 shekels, and “MENE” sounded like the Aramaic word for “numbered.” God had allotted only a certain amount of time to the Babylonian kingdom, and that time was up.

Focusing on “TEKEL,” Daniel told Belshazzar, “You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.” Whereas “MENE” pertained to the Babylonian kingdom, “TEKEL” pertained to its current king. A tekel was equivalent to one shekel and sounded like the Aramaic word for “weighed.” Belshazzar had been weighed by God and had come up short. His time as king was over.

The third word on the wall was “PARSIN,” but Daniel used the singular form, “PERES”: “PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” Peres was a half-mina and sounded like the Aramaic words for “divided” and “Persia.” Daniel’s statement thus supports our interpretation of the vision in chapter 2, that Babylon would be followed by the Medo-Persian kingdom and not simply the Medes. Persia had already conquered the Medes c. 550 BC before arriving on Babylon’s doorstep in 539. Therefore Belshazzar’s reign would end because of the Medo-Persian Empire (table 1.5).

5:29 In response to the interpretation, Belshazzar commanded that Daniel be given purple clothing, a golden chain, and the position of “third ruler” in the kingdom. Belshazzar had promised these gifts to his wise men if they could read and interpret the mysterious writing, but they had failed (vv. 7–8). When Belshazzar offered the same rewards to Daniel for the same task, Daniel had refused them (vv. 16–17), but Belshazzar imposed the rewards anyway, perhaps because Daniel had already given the interpretation and had earlier made clear that he had no profit motive (v. 17). The concept of rewards accompanying Daniel’s successful interpretation parallels each of the previous chapters, which end with someone increasing in blessing and stature or position (1:19; 2:48–49; 3:30; 4:36).