13/02/22 – Daniel 5:25-31
Daniel 5:25 – And this [is]
the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
was
written – was inscribed, was written, was signed. Its main meaning
is to be inscribed (written, printed, carved or
engraved on or in a surface), like an inscription on a grave headstone. Cambridge
says, “inscribed – The word is not
the one that ordinarily means to write, but one that
means rather to print or stamp.” This message was not going to be washed off with soap
and water!
“was
written” is only found in this verse and the
preceding verse (Daniel 5:24).
MENE – a weight or
measurement; usually 50 shekels but maybe 60 shekels; mina. Vs 26 below
suggests that it should mean “numbered” (or “reckoned”).
TEKEL – tekel (a unit of
weight, shekel) can mean to be weighed. Vs 27 below suggests that it should
mean “weighed”.
UPHARSIN – a unit of measure and weight; half-mina; half-shekel;
can mean to break into two, divide. Vs 28 below suggests that it should be
interpreted as “divided”.
These three words are all measurements of some kind, and all can be weights.
In simple terms, these words could mean “numbered, weighed and divided”. However, when Daniel gives his interpretation of these
words (Vss 26-28 below), it is
clear that much of what he says is not actually contained in these
words. It appears to be more of a riddle or puzzle than a straight-forward
statement of God’s judgment. We were given an indication of this riddle and
puzzle-solving ability of Daniel with the queen’s words: “shewing
of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel” (Daniel 5:12) = “the revealing
of puzzles or riddles and the loosening of knots, difficulties or
problems”.
Daniel here is being portrayed as a solver of puzzles and riddles, a
problem-solver. The words inscribed in Vs 25 above are clearly a riddle or
puzzle that must be solved in order to present the
full picture. We do not know exactly how these words were presented, but they
must have been presented in such a way that only someone like Daniel who could
loosen such knotty problems could reveal the meaning. And Daniel could only do
it because he alone in this group has God’s guidance with his thinking.
Barnes says: “Mene,
Numbered, Mene, Numbered, Tekel, Weighted, Upharsin. Divided. From this
arrangement it will be at once seen that the interpretation proposed by Daniel
was not one that would have been likely to have occurred to anyone.”
God’s wisdom
is not so plain to see that just anyone can read and understand it.
Isaiah 55:8-9 – 8For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are]
your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9For [as] the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts.
1 Corinthians 2:11-14 – 11For what man knoweth the things
of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth,
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual. 14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are
spiritually discerned.
Daniel 5:26 – This [is] the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
numbered – numbered; reckoned. That is, God has assessed your kingdom and has made a reckoning based upon His assessment.
kingdom – royalty; reign; kingdom; kingship; kingly authority.
MENE – God has
judged your kingdom (kingship; kingly reign) and numbered its days. He has
reckoned the number of days that your kingly rule will be permitted to last.
That number has now been reached and your kingly rule will therefore be brought to an end.
Everyone has an appointed time to die, after which they must face the
judgement.
Hebrews 9:27 – And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after
this the judgment:
God’s people must accept that we have a certain allocated number of days
on this earth, so use it wisely.
Psalm 90:12 – So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply
[our] hearts unto wisdom.
Therefore we must walk in a careful and prudent
manner, not wasting our days on foolish or evil activities.
Ephesians 5:15-17 – 15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16Redeeming
the time, because the days are evil. 17Wherefore be ye not unwise,
but understanding what the will of the Lord [is].
finished – shᵉlam (Aramaic) (finished;
brought to an end; rendered it in full) Belshazzar’s
reign had been deemed completed, and come to its end. It had reached its full and complete measure of time.
For “finished”, the Greek OT LXX uses ἐκπληρόω
= ekpleroo, translated “fulfilled”: Thus “and
finished it” becomes “has fulfilled it”. ekpleroo is
derived from the root word (πληρόω
– pleroo) as is also the word “fulness” (πλήρωμα - pleroma) in Romans 11:25. Interestingly, pleroma
has the idea of a ship inasmuch as it is filled (i.e.
manned) with sailors, rowers, and soldiers. That is, when a ship was pleroma,
it was ready to sail, depart the port. In Romans 11:25, pleroma refers to the Church which, when
it has reached its fulness (that is, all are on board and ready to sail), will
depart (that is, the Rapture), after which Israel will return to God’s
prophetic timeline, with salvation and the taking away of her sins, as per Daniel 9:24-27.
Romans 11:25-27 – 25For
I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye
should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness (pleroma) of
the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it
is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this [is] my covenant unto
them, when I shall take away their sins.
That is, blindness in part has happened to Israel until the Gentile
Church is completed, all on board and set sail, after which the Deliverer shall
come to Israel to turn away their ungodliness
This refers to Daniel 9:24 – Seventy
weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision
and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Their final week of years (7 years) is all that’s left on their timeline here.
Effectively, according to the LXX, Belshazzar is being told that his
kingly authority is ready to sail, to depart port!
Daniel
5:27 – TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
TEKEL – You have been
weighed in the balances (on the weighing scales) and have been found wanting (lacking; wanting; deficient).
We will not be judged on
what we are able to do, for some will be gifted (with position, authority or abilities) above others. Instead, it is what we
have done with what we have been given that will judged.
In the parable of the
talents in Matthew 25:14-30, those who increased their talents were
permitted to enjoy the increase, while him who buried his one single talent had
it taken away and given to the one who had made the most of his allocated
talents.
Matthew 25: 28-30 – 28Take therefore the
talent from him, and give [it] unto him which hath ten talents. 29For
unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from
him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30And
cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
“talent” here = talanton
(the scale of a balance; a balance; a pair of scales; that which
is weighed; a talent) The Attic talent (of Athens) was equal to 60 Attic minae.
God’s people must strive to use what they have been given to the uttermost, so that they will not be found lacking or deficient in what they present to the Lord God when they stand before Him in judgment. Beware of setting too much store on the pleasures of this life.
Matthew 6:19-21 – 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Instead remember that the Christian’s hope is in heaven, not on earth.
Colossians 1:5 – For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
Daniel 5:28 – PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
PERES – This is the same word (pᵉrac (Aramaic)) translated “Upharsin” in Daniel 5:25. There is a difference in the grammar of each word, however. Upharsin is a plural active participle while Peres is a singular passive participle. The difference in meaning here would be minimal though.
is divided – pᵉrac (Aramaic) (to
break in two; divide; a half-mina; half shekel) This is the same word as used for Upharsin
and Peres. The idea seems to be that this is a weight that is broken into two
halves; thus divided into two.
Its Hebrew equivalent (parac) was translated
as a divided or parted hoof a number of times when
defining clean and unclean foods.
Leviticus 11:7 – And
the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not
the cud; he [is] unclean to you.
parac
is also translated “tear”
in Jeremiah 16:7a
(Neither shall [men] tear [themselves] for
them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead;)
The kingdom does not appear
to have been divided into two, as it seems to have been handed over as one
kingdom to the Medes and Persians. Instead, it could be read as being torn away
from one king and given to another. That is, the dividing is likely to be the
kingdom being torn from the king (Belshazzar). Belshazzar has been divided from
his kingdom.
Daniel 5:29 – 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.
Daniel 5:7b –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.
a proclamation – kᵉraz (Aramaic) (to
herald; proclaim; proclaim)
The noun form is translated “an herald” in Daniel 3:4.
Daniel had already refused this in Daniel 5:17, but Belshazzar is still king (though not for much longer) and when he gives the command, “they” (his servants) clothed Daniel with purple (or red/purple – see Daniel 5:7 notes), put a chain of gold around his neck, and proclaimed that he should be made one of three rulers in the kingdom. (That is, with Nabonidus as No.1 and Belshazzar as No.2.) It was really irrelevant. anyway, as the next verse shows: one of those three rulers (Belshazzar) was killed that very night by the attacking army of the Medes and Persians.
Daniel
5:30 – In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
That very same night Belshazzar died at the hands of the invading army. It is likely that Belshazzar was aware of the army surrounding Babylon even while he held that feast. But Babylon was supposed to be invincible, so what did he care about an army (albeit huge!) hanging around outside his city walls. Babylon’s walls were considered impenetrable. It is said that Nebuchadnezzar built three massive walls that were so wide that two chariots could race around on top (probably on top of each of the walls!). The walls were 30 metres or higher according to a number of sources. The Ishtar Gate was about 15 metres high, making the walls at least a few meters taller again.
Because Babylon’s main weakness was famine caused by an extended siege, its walls enclosed farmland as well as dwelling places. The area enclosed by the walls was said to be at least 500 sq. km. This meant that the city was able to withstand an extended siege, having good renewable supplies of both food and water.
Supposedly there was not a single siege engine in existence that was capable of doing any serious damage to any of these walls. These walls had huge gates that were as strong as the walls themselves. The city had a constant water supply via the Euphrates River which flowed under the walls into and through the city. There were massive grates, which couldn’t be broken, built across the Euphrates where it went under the walls. These metal grates went so far down into the water that it was impossible to go underneath them.
Thus, the supremely arrogant Belshazzar must have felt confident that he would wake up safe and sound the next morning in spite of the huge army surrounding Babylon. Even after Daniel’s interpretation of the writing on the wall, there is no indication that Belshazzar was concerned about Daniel’s statements. But Cyrus’ army managed to divert the Euphrates away from the city, thus drying up the water flow under the walls enough to permit his soldiers to enter Babylon underneath those huge metal grates. History says that the actual ruler of Babylon, Nabonidus, returned from his travels after Babylon had been taken.
Jerusalem was said to have been invincible too. When the Romans took Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Roman general (Titus) remarked on the strength of Jerusalem.
“Now, when Titus was come into this [upper] city, he admired not only some other places of strength in it, but particularly those strong towers which the tyrants, in their mad conduct, had relinquished; for when he saw their solid altitude, and the largeness of their several stones, and the exactness of their joints, as also how great was their breadth, and how extensive their length, he expressed himself after the manner following:— “We have certainly had God for our assistant in this war, and it was no other than God who ejected the Jews out of these fortifications; for what could the hands of men, or any machines, do towards overthrowing these towers!”“ Josephus, “The Wars of the Jews” Bk. 6, Ch.9, Part 1
Daniel 5:31 – And Darius the Median took the kingdom, [being] about threescore and two years old.
History records that it was Cyrus who took Babylon in 539 BC and ruled until 530 BC. Cyrus was a Persian king (Daniel 10:1) and Darius was a Mede (Vs 31 above). When Persia defeated the Medes around 550 BC, the Medes were then made junior co-rulers of their Persian kingdom. Darius (a Mede) was “made king” over the Chaldeans (Daniel 9:1). It can be assumed that Cyrus took Babylon and then placed Darius the Mede on the throne at Babylon (but not necessarily over the Persian empire). Darius was about 62 years old at this time, and therefore not Darius the Great who is said to have been born in 550 BC.
Isaiah 13:17 declares that God will stir up the Medes against Babylon, noting that Isaiah died over a hundred years before the Persians and Medes took Babylon.
Also note another from Jeremiah (who died in 570 BC). Jeremiah 50:24 – I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.
In fact, it does not matter who Darius here really is. This passage is not focused on who takes over after Belshazzar, but that Belshazzar has committed a great sacrilege through his use of God’s holy temple vessels. Darius is merely the person who is to step into the place that Belshazzar has been forced to depart. The book of Daniel reminds us over and over again that it is God who places kings on their thrones and just as easily removes them again (Daniel 4:17, 25, 35). Not one person can arrogantly boast of his position in society, for every person is only a breath away, or a mere heart-beat, from standing in judgment before God’s throne.
This world is bound by time; thus it is a temporal world. Anything that is temporal will change in time, eventually. The eternal world is that which is not bound by time, a world where nothing changes in time, ever. It is the eternal world that should hold our attention, not the temporal world.
2 Corinthians 4:18 – While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.
Getting back to Belshazzar’s predicament, mankind has no right to demand anything of God, nor can they take God for granted, or even think that if they don’t believe in God, then He’ll somehow get out of their lives. In particular, Christians cannot assume that they can demand things from God. Too many “Christians” demand perfect health and wealth. They try to bargain with God, saying that if they give their lives to him, then he’d better make it worth their while. They present their illnesses to God and demand that he heals them. They give a mortgage payment to the pastor’s bank account and demand of God that He then pay the rest of their mortgages. But no-one can demand anything from God. We are to “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalm 2:11), remembering “that we [are] dust.” (Psalm 103:14)
Jeremiah said it all before Judah went into captivity.
What a pity Belshazzar never knew the true wisdom of God and His people.
Jeremiah 18:7-10 – 7[At what] instant
I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and
to pull down, and to destroy [it]; 8If that nation, against
whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I
thought to do unto them. 9And [at what] instant I shall speak
concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant [it];
10If it do evil in my sight, that it obey
not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit
them.
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