At Daniel's request, his three countrymen were also placed in positions of authority as administrators of Babylon. Belshazzar was not allowed to officiate and oversee the Babylonian. Like the other words, it is a passive participle. This, no doubt, prepared the way for the co-regency under Nabonidus which probably began 553 B.C., supporting Daniel 5. Daniel 5:2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his . In its rise to power the Babylonian Empire had conquered Jerusalem, taken its inhabitants into captivity, looted its beautiful temple, and completely destroyed the city. H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Daniel, p. 210; and George A. Barton, Archaeology and the Bible, p. 481 ff. According to the well-known narrative Belshazzar gave a splendid feast in his palace during the siege of Babylon (B.C. 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. 184-85. Nabonidus assumed the throne in 556 b.c. Apprised of his coming, Nabonnedus led his army to meet him, fought and was defeated, whereupon he fled with a few followers and shut himself up in the town of Borsippa. Later, King Nebuchadnezzar had another dream, and again Daniel was able to interpret it. (Daniel 5) and predicted the assassination of the corrupt King Belshazzar (her grandfather) by Medean spies. . We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. 5:24-28 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. Having stationed his forces and given these directions, he himself marched away with the ineffective part of his army; and having come to the lake, Cyrus did the same with respect to the river and the lake as the queen of the Babylonians had done; for having diverted the river, by means of a canal, into the lake, which was before a swamp, he made the ancient channel fordable by the sinking of the river. Daniel 6:6-9, Daniel is spotted by the administrators while he is worshiping the Lord inside his house, and they report him to Darius. Daniel 6:10-15, Darius orders Daniel to be thrown into the lions den and wishes Daniel that he be saved by his God. In vain did he pled that he was the king. How old was Daniel when he was taken into captivity? King Belshazzar wanted his royal people, his wives . the second year of Darius the King King of what, exactly ? While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Daniel does not record his immediate successors, and extrabiblical literature is somewhat confused. 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]. Because of the variety of words that could be identified merely by the consonants, another suggestion has been made. He was succeeded by Laborosoarchad, also known as Labashi-Marduk, a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, who was assassinated after less than a year. Thus the later tradition states that Cyrus and Darius were employed as doorkeepers of the royal palace. Chapter 7 was revealed to Daniel in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon (Dan 7:1) and the vision of the ram and he-goat in chapter 8 occurred in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar (Dan 8:1). The long chapter devoted to this incident which brought the Babylonian Empire to its close is undoubtedly recorded in the Word of God not only for its historic fulfillment of the prophecies relative to the Babylonian Empire but also as an illustration of divine dealing with a wicked world. But for Belshazzar, Daniel immediately speaks out and delivers the cold hard facts. 9. Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, was the last king of Babylon during the time of Daniel . This explains why Belshazzar in the lineal descent from Nebuchadnezzar was honored as a coruler under Nabonidus. They were said to have had enough food stored up for 20 years. 5. Belshazzar's Feast And The Fall Of Babylon | Bible.org 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. The Revised Standard Version, following the Vulgate, adds in verse 3 and silver vessels. This act of sacrilege was an intentioned religious gesture in praise of the gods of Babylon mentioned in descending order of importance as gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. That Belshazzar well knew the blasphemous character of his act is evident from Daniel 5:13, 22. Now Belshazzar was all too eager to have the gifts of this man exercised to interpret the writing. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. What do I do about calling a priest father at my Catholic University? One can well imagine the tense moment as these ringing words reached every ear in the vast hall in the deathlike silence that greeted Daniels prophetic utterance. The identity of this conqueror, unknown outside the Bible by this name, has touched off endless controversy and discussion which will be considered in the next chapter. The prophet Daniel, interpreting the handwriting on the wall as God's judgment on the king, foretold the imminent destruction of the city. Contemporary civilization is similar to ancient Babylon in that it has much to foster human pride but little to provide human security. Because his rule was arbitrary and licentious, he was assassinated by Neriglisar after he had reigned only two years. Daniel 1:3-7, Daniel and his friends complete their three years of learning. (Cf. However, the narration here must be considered in the form of a condensation; and probably Daniel addressed the king in a formal way. In many respects, Babylon was the most fabulous city of the ancient world both for the beauty of its architecture and for the safety of its huge walls and fortifications. 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. In the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible, Belshazzar is referred to as Nebuchadnezzar's (grand)son. His thin courage, bolstered by wine drunk from vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had plundered and were seemingly a symbol of the power of the gods of Babylon, now deserted him. [25] October 543 BC is the return date most supported by surviving Babylonian documentation. [7] The story of Belshazzar's feast is historical fiction, and several details are not consistent with historical facts. 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. That such a large feast should be held by a monarch like Belshazzar is not at all strange. That means Daniel was 36 years old when Jerusalem and Solomon's temple were destroyed. 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. Among these buildings were the Temple of Bel, an eight-story structure, and the magnificent palace of the king, actually a complex of buildings, which have now been excavated. That would make him about 85 to ninety years old at his death. There was, however, nothing insolent or discourteous in Daniels address to the king; and the charges were stated in a factual and objective way. Belshazzar's fate is not known, but is often assumed that he was killed during Cyrus the Great 's Persian invasion of Babylonia in 539 BC, presumably at the fall of the capital Babylon on 12 October 539 BC. Though oaths for most of the regency only refer to Nabonidus, some oaths from late in the regency were sworn by "the majesty of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, and Belshazzar, his son", or even by "the majesty of Nabonidus and Belshazzar". 5:17-23 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. : heart) (and therefore) ordered him to march against his city Babylon He made him set out on the road to Babylon going at his side like a real friend. [15] Belshazzar's father came to the throne as a result of a conspiracy that saw the deposition and murder of the previous king, Labashi-Marduk. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this: But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: Daniels reply to the king is properly called a sermon, and as King says, What a great sermon it is!276 Daniel begins by disavowing any interest in the gifts or rewards which the king offered. All of this proved that God was greater than Nebuchadnezzar and held him responsible for his authority. [5][6][7] Daniel's Belshazzar is not malevolent (he, for instance, rewards Daniel for his interpretation of "the writing on the wall"), but in later Jewish tradition Belshazzar was presented as a tyrant who oppresses the Jewish people. [43], Regardless of any potential animosity between Nabonidus and Belshazzar, Belshazzar retained the status of crown prince and intended successor, as a handful of documents still reference the "son of the king". Belshazzar was the first-born son of Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The Cross And Unjust Suffering (1 Peter 2:19-25). (19011906). Was Nebuchadnezzar the father of Belshazzar? - Studybuff Freedman cites H. Louis Ginsberg (Studies in Daniel, pp. For the duration of the decade-long absence of his father, Belshazzar served as regent in Babylon. After a decisive victory at the battle of Opis, the Persian army, on 12 October,[48] led by Ugbaru, entered Babylon without a fight. All Rights Reserved. He is considered perhaps the world's foremost interpreter of biblical prophecy.John is perhaps best known for his bestselling work on Bible prophecy, Armageddon More. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. Here the discussion is lost in a maze of conflicting facts in extrabiblical literature concerning which the critics themselves are not agreed. 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. [16] The sources suggest that while he was part of the conspiracy, Nabonidus had not intended, nor expected, to become king himself and he was hesitant to accept the nomination. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing: And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel 3:13-15, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego continue to refuse to worship Nebuchadnezzars golden statue. 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. See also Leupold, pp. Daniel 3:12, Nebuchadnezzar confronts Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego about their disobedience. On the other hand, Cyrus found himself in difficulty, since much time had elapsed, and his affairs were not at all advanced. If the scene can be reconstructed, it is probable that the banquet was illuminated by torches which not only produced smoke but fitful light that would only partially illuminate the great hall. Darius notes Daniels good qualities and plans to elevate him to the highest administrative position. Belshazzar was evidently in no mood to bargain but was terrified and desperately desired to know the meaning of the writing. Her address is courteous, O king, live for ever, but directly to the point. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The interpretation of Daniel is clear and much more satisfactory than the alternatives offered by some expositors. Nabonidus fleeing Babylon went to Borsippa but was forced to surrender to Cyrus. [11], The most important sources for the time of Belshazzar are the Nabonidus Chronicle, the Cyrus Cylinder, and the Verse Account of Naboniduswhich, despite its name, was commissioned by the Persian conqueror Cyrus the Great. Although the precise identity of Belshazzar may continue to be debated, available facts support accepting Daniels designation of Belshazzar as king. Although there are alternative explanations and some dates vary, this succession of kings and identification of characters seems to have reasonable justification. On the other hand, such a careful scholar as Edward J. There was plenty of water from the Euphrates River which bisected the city. Most expositors disagree with Keil, who identifies Belshazzar with Evil-Merodach, preferring the identification of a son of Nabonidus, based on later evidence not available to Keil.255 The identifications of Leupold are more satisfactory.256. Since there is little change in the prominent members of Neriglissar's and Labashi-Marduk's former household under Belshazzar, it is probable that Belshazzar becoming the master of the household was met with relatively little opposition. It is possible in the decline of the Babylonian Empire that the number of the wise men was far more limited at this point in history than it was under Nebuchadnezzars reign. The Writing on the Wall This was not prompted by disrespect nor by the evident fact that they would be short-lived. Cyrus took Babylon, and after giving orders to raze the outer walls of the city, because it resented a very redoubtable and formidable appearance, proceeded to Borsippa to esiege Nabonnedus. Daniel 5:30 That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain, 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. 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. Belshazzar | Bible Wiki | Fandom If Belshazzar began his reign in 553 b.c, when Nabonidus went to Teima, the visions of chapters 7 and 8 actually occurred about twelve years before the events of chapter 5. In any event, there is no proof for the suggestion discussed by Keil that the classification of wise men mentioned purposely excluded Daniel. [12] As all of these ancient Babylonian documents were written after Babylon was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire, they are biased in favor of Cyrus, and against Nabonidus and Belshazzar. The effect upon the king and his associates was immediate. Through the deposition of Labashi-Marduk, Belshazzar had positioned himself to become the heir of one of Babylonia's wealthiest families. The Verse Account of Nabonidus states that Nabonidus campaigned in Arabia with the "army of Akkad" (possibly referring to troops of Babylonian origin) whereas Belshazzar was entrusted at home with the "army of all the lands" (possibly referring to troops of foreign origin). 5:29-31 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. Belshazzar appears as a central character in the story of Belshazzar's feast in the Biblical Book of Daniel,[4] recognized by scholars as a work of historical fiction. A voice tells him the meaning of the vision, and Daniel lies exhausted by the vision for many days after. In spite of the problem in the word, it is probable that the offer of honor was that of being the third ruler. It is clear that the New Year's festival was not celebrated, and that there was concern regarding the rising power of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great. The information embodied in these two visions, insofar as Daniel understood it, therefore was known to Daniel before the event of chapter 5 which chronologically came after chapters 7 and 8. [31] These include: Though Belshazzar's authority was thus limited, he also was allowed, and assumed, certain royal responsibilities. This omission, however, was later remedied, as mentioned above, by the discovery of the name of Bel-shar-usur (Belshazzar) on cylinders in which he is called the son of Nabonidus. 115-19; Keil, pp. 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. According to Rex A. Turner, in his book "Daniel . Belshazzar goes on in verse 14 to repeat what his mother had said concerning Daniels wisdom. [35] These include: The events that transpired in Babylonia during Belshazzar's regency are not well known, owing to a lack of surviving sources. The crisis produced by the inability of the wise men to interpret the handwriting on the wall is met by the entrance of one described as the queen. Much speculation surrounds the identity of this person as it is related to the larger question of Belshazzars lineage. It seems clear that Belshazzar knew something of Daniel, for his form of address in verse 13 goes beyond the information supplied by his mother. That means Daniel was 36 years old when Jerusalem and Solomon's temple were destroyed. 247 See Raymond P. Dougherty, Nabonidus and Belshazzar. The famed hanging gardens of Babylon were large enough to support trees. 9:41, cited by C. F. Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, p. 164. He was known for his military might, the splendour of his capital, Babylon, and his important part in Jewish history. The inscription on the wall may have appeared like this, MN MN TQL UPRSN. The order of the letters in the Aramaic, of course, would be the reverse of this, that is, from right to left. According to the queen, Daniel had the spirit of the holy gods. In the time of Nebuchadnezzar, to whom she refers as thy father, Daniel had been found to have the wisdom of gods and possessing light, that is, enlightenment, understanding or insight, and in general wisdom comparable to the wisdom of the gods. Daniel 5:30. Daniel had not been assembled with the other wise men because he probably was in semiretirement and was no longer chief of the wise men. He knew Daniel and knew the history of Nebuchadnezzars experience with Gods chastening. No documents are dated to the "reign of Belshazzar", and no documents mention both Belshazzar and Nabonidus as if there was a formal co-regency. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. Belshazzar was not allowed to date documents after his own "regnal years". Under these circumstances, Belshazzar would indeed be king of Babylon in the absence of his father. According to Daniel, his countenance changed, that is, changed color and became pale. The situation before Belshazzar had all the elements of a great drama. 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. Darius makes the decree public. Belshazzar died after Babylon fell to the Persian general Gobyras without resistance on Oct. 12, 539, and probably before the Persian king Cyrus II entered the city 17 days later. 5:1-4 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. [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. [26] The purpose for this prolonged stay, effectively self-exile, in Tayma are unclear and debated. The solution to the problem which the queen suggested was that they invite Daniel the prophet, who had been discovered as a man of wisdom by Nebuchadnezzar, to interpret the writing. This article is about the Babylonian prince. [1], The ancient Greek historian Herodotus names the "last great queen" of the Babylonian Empire as Nitocris, though that name (nor any other name) is not attested in contemporary Babylonian sources. Daniel 8:1-12, Belshazzar holds a great feast and uses the holy vessels taken from Jerusalem. He eventually led his forces into Arabia, conquering several cities, including the city of Tayma. Some of these prophecies may have their ultimate fulfillment in the future (Rev 17-18). 263 Edward B. Pusey, Daniel the Prophet, p. 346. Verse 2 cites that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines drink from them; and this fact is restated in the actual act in verse 3 where only the golden vessels are mentioned. The bridge was later supplemented by a tunnel mentioned by Diodorus. Herodotus gives an interesting account of the circumstances surrounding the capture of Babylon: Cyrus then advanced against Babylon. This same son of the king is most probably mentioned . [54] Daniel interprets the writing as a judgment from Yahweh, the god of Israel, foretelling the fall of Babylon. J. feast at which the writing appeared on the wall, Belshazzar was killed and Darius the Mede took over Babylon (Daniel 5:30). All of these honors, however, were short-lived and useless, as Daniel well knew, and typical of the honors of this world. A parallel is found in Daniel 2:27, where Daniel addresses Nebuchadnezzar without formal greeting, and in Daniel 4:19, where Daniel replies to Nebuchadnezzar simply with the expression, My lord. This was hardly a time in any case for Daniel to greet Belshazzar with such an expression as he gave to Darius, O king, live for ever, when as a matter of fact, Belshazzars hours were numbered. PDF Interesting Facts About Daniel - Bible Charts For example, in the passage, "As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him" (Amos 5:19), the lion is said to represent Nebuchadnezzar, and the bear, equally ferocious if not equally courageous, is Belshazzar. Omissions? As Keil expresses it, It is not quite certain what the princely situation is which was promised to the interpreter of the writing That it is not the ordinale of the number third, is, since Havernick, now generally acknowledged.270 However, recent scholarship has tended to confirm the translation the third ruler. Franz Rosenthal, for instance, confidently translates the term one-third (ruler), triumvir.271. Man may have the first word, but God will have the last word. Daniel 5:30-31. 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.
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