Although such ancient records are notoriously inaccurate and at best are fragmentary, the argument of the critics was that Belshazzar never existed because his name did not appear in any of the ancient records. Home; Blog; Bible survey. 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). [43] Belshazzar appears to have worked to restore Marduk's status in his father's absence. Scholars are not agreed as to the precise meaning of this term, but the suggestion is made that it may be a title for an office of honor which did not necessarily correspond precisely to the meaning of the word. Having stationed the bulk of his army near the passage of the river where it enters Babylon, and again having stationed another division beyond the city, where the river makes its exit, he gave order to his forces to enter the city as soon as they should see the stream fordable. Later, King Nebuchadnezzar had another dream, and again Daniel was able to interpret it. Now, in chapter 5, this prophecy is about to be fulfilled. 5:1-30) and during whose reign he received two visions (Dan. 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). [8], Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus,[9] an elderly courtier who would rise to become the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. 266 Herodotus, History of the Persian Wars, 1:178-83. Was Nebuchadnezzar a believer? 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 Cross And Christs Suffering For Sins (1 Peter 3:18-22), 6. Nabonidus also sometimes sent orders to Belshazzar, which Belshazzar was forced to respect and implement. The battle probably took place much as Herodotus records it.286. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Prior to and after Belshazzar's regency, surviving texts only contain references to offerings to the king (i.e. Daniel read the writing and Belshazzar made him the third ruler in the kingdom. According to Herodotus, Babylon was about fourteen miles square, with great outer walls 87 feet thick and 350 feet high, with a hundred great bronze gates in the walls. Daniel 5:1 Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. 67-68. King Belshazzar gave a big party for 1000 of his officials. 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. As Keil points out, the king was ready to listen to anyone who could interpret the writing.269. The interpretation of Daniel is clear and much more satisfactory than the alternatives offered by some expositors. Interestingly, the wall behind the niche was covered with white plaster as described by Daniel, which would make an excellent background for such a writing.268. Young in his discussion on this point gives J. Dymeley Prince282 the credit for the suggestion that the maneh refers to Nebuchadnezzar, the shekel (of much less value) to Belshazzar, and the half-minas refers to the Medes and the Persians.283 Daniels explanation, however, is far more cogent and reasonable, and does not give any indication that the words mean other than he indicates. 1., and Xenophon, inform us. Omissions? Too often the world, like Belshazzar, is not willing to seek the wisdom of God until its own bankruptcy becomes evident. 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. One preserved document, which regards the granting of the privilege to cultivate a tract of land belonging to the Eanna temple in Uruk, is virtually identical to similar privileges issued by Nabonidus, though it is specified to have been issued by Belshazzar. Only Babylon with its massive walls and fortifications remained intact. Finally, the tidings come, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground (Is 21:9). 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. Although the precise identity of Belshazzar may continue to be debated, available facts support accepting Daniels designation of Belshazzar as king. Belshazzar, overcome by sickness, left the palace unobserved during the night through a rear exit. Nebuchadnezzar dies and is replaced by a succession of short-lived kings. 249 According to J. Critics of the authenticity and historicity of Daniel accordingly were free to question whether any such person as Belshazzar existed. [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. 184-85. 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. The next four years Neriglisar occupied the throne. As this phenomenon only began late in the regency period, it is not clear whether this was a prerogative that had been granted to Belshazzar, or if he inserted his name into oaths in violation of an agreement with his father. 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. The same was true in the Gentile world, and the dowager queen was able to enter the banquet hall without an invitation. So great was his genius that Nebuchadnezzar had made him master or chief of his wise men, which in itself was a remarkable position for one who was not a Chaldean; and this honor placed upon him testified to the confidence of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniels abilities. 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. Jeremiah 52:7-14, 2 Kings 25:4-10, Nebuchadnezzar makes a golden statue and orders everyone to worship it or be thrown into the furnace. 115-19; Keil, pp. When the Medes and Persians under Cyrus 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. 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. Midway in the long wall opposite the entrance there was a niche in front of which the king may well have been seated. Keil, pp. He praises God, and after seven months, his sanity is restored. Nabonidus was allowed to live in Carmania until the time of his death, but he was not allowed to come to Babylonia.245, The account of Berosus preserved by Josephus is supported by other evidence such as the short fragment of Abydenus preserved by Eusebius.246, Until the discovery of the Nabonidus Cylinder, no mention of Belshazzar, whom Daniel declares to be king of Babylon, had been found in extrabiblical literature. His son, Laborosoardoch, a mere boy, occupied it for nine months, when, owing to the depraved disposition which he showed, a conspiracy was formed against him, and he was beaten to death by his friends. The expression drunk wine before the thousand indicates that Belshazzar was probably on a platform at a higher level than other guests and led them in drinking toasts to their deities. . 263 Edward B. Pusey, Daniel the Prophet, p. 346. (Cf. 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's reign as king (not when he was acting in his father's stead) was incredibly brief and he only ruled two years before the Persians took over Babylon in 539 B.C. For pictures and further details, see R. K. Harrison, Babylon, in The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, pp. Isaiah 14:22, "And I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant and son and grandchild, saith the Lord", is applied to the trio: "Name" to Nebuchadnezzar, "remnant" to Amel-Marduk, "son" to Belshazzar, and "grandchild" Vashti (ib.). Now Belshazzar was all too eager to have the gifts of this man exercised to interpret the writing. It was hard for the Babylonians to believe that even the Medes and the Persians who had surrounded their beloved city could possibly breach the fortifications or exhaust their supplies which were intended to be ample for a siege of many years. 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. 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 5:1-25 ERV. Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: Bl-ar-uur,[1][2] meaning "Bel, protect the king";[3] Hebrew: .mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey Frank CLM","Frank Ruehl CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans} Blaar) was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (r.556539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. With what eloquent scorn Daniel declares that Belshazzar, his lords, wives and concubines had drunk wine from these sacred vessels and had praised 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.278. 11 or 12) 539 B.C., as indicated in the Nabonidus Chronicle,288 so the world will be overtaken by disaster when the day of the Lord comes (1 Th 5:1-3). All 66 books; Old Testament books; . Their confidence in their gods was bolstered by their confidence in their city. 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 nobles, his wives, and his concubines. In the ruins of Nebuchadnezzars palace archeologists have uncovered a large throne room 56 feet wide and 173 feet long which probably was the scene of this banquet. 11 b ). He knew Daniel and knew the history of Nebuchadnezzars experience with Gods chastening. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. This explains why Belshazzar in the lineal descent from Nebuchadnezzar was honored as a coruler under Nabonidus. That king soon died, leaving the throne to his son, Belshazzar's cousin, who was assassinated by order of Nabonidus. "That two deserters, Gadatas and Gobryas, having assisted some of the Persian army to kill the guards, and seize upon . 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. exhibits its remarkable accuracy.249 The controversy over Belshazzar, because of the extensive investigation and great variety of findings, has become one of the most complicated problems in the entire book, but the problem itself is comparatively simple. Belshazzar may have been the son of the king who is said in the same chronicle to have commanded the Babylonian army in Accad from the 6th to the 11th year of Nabunaid I; or, possibly longer, for the annals before the 6th and after the 11th year are broken and for the most part illegible. He was 62 years old. 315-16. Daniel 5:30. Belshazzar was not allowed to officiate and oversee the Babylonian. 5:31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. With only the fingers of the hand visible and producing writing upon the wall, the spectacle immediately attracted attention. Instead, documents from the period in which Belshazzar was regent continued to be dated after the years of Nabonidus's reign. Daniel 3:12, Nebuchadnezzar confronts Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego about their disobedience. Daniel (Dn'il, or Danel) is also the name of a figure in the Aqhat legend from Ugarit. Montgomery, opposing the idea that the queen is Belshazzars wife, comments, Also the ladys masterful appearance on the scene betokens rather the queen-mother than the consort.274 Jeffery, likewise, writes, she speaks to him of his father in a way that suggests a mother speaking to a son rather than a wife to a husband.275. 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. 00:00. [13], Belshazzar's father was proclaimed as king in May 556 BC,[14] and by the end of June, tablets recognising Nabonidus are known from across Babylonia. [26] The purpose for this prolonged stay, effectively self-exile, in Tayma are unclear and debated. Since Belshazzar was the main beneficiary of the coup, through confiscating and inheriting Labashi-Marduk's estates and wealth, it is likely that he was the chief orchestrator. J. For a map of Babylon in sixth century B.C., see D. J. Wiseman, Babylon, in The New Bible Dictionary, pp. [58], The Midrash literature enters into the details of Belshazzar's death. This would involve the premise that Nabonidus, although usually living at Teima, had returned to Babylon for a visit just prior to the siege of Babylon, had gone out to battle before Babylon was actually surrounded, and then was defeated, thereby permitting the Persians to besiege Babylon itself. Nabonidus), but during the period of the regency there are references to both "offerings to the king" and "offerings to the son of the king". Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It is possible that Belshazzar had campaigned against the Persians on Lydia's behalf a year prior, in 547 BC.

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