man: or, grandee. Chaldee. g ebar. Same as App-14 . spirit . Chaldee. ruach. App-9 . holy . See note on Exodus 3:5 . gods . Chaldee. 'elahin (plural) App-4 . made master of the magicians . See Daniel 2:48 . See note on Daniel 2:2 . read more
Daniel 5:11. There is a man in thy kingdom, &c.— Belshazzar certainly could not have been well acquainted with Daniel, though Nebuchadnezzar had promoted him so considerably. This argues him to have been a weak and wicked prince, according to the character which the historians gave of him; leaving the care of public business to his mother. read more
11. spirit of the holy gods—She remembers and repeats Nebuchadnezzar's language (Daniel 4:8; Daniel 4:9; Daniel 4:18). As Daniel was probably, according to Oriental custom, deprived of the office to which Nebuchadnezzar had promoted him, as "master of the magicians" (Daniel 4:9), at the king's death, Belshazzar might easily be ignorant of his services. the king . . . thy father the king . . . thy father—The repetition marks with emphatic gravity both the excellencies of Daniel, and the fact... read more
3. The queen’s counsel 5:10-12 read more
As before, Daniel had not accompanied the other wise men whom the king had summoned (cf. Daniel 4:6-8). The reason for this is unclear, but the effect in the event and in the narrative is that it sets Daniel off as unique. Clearly Belshazzar did not know Daniel personally. Perhaps Daniel had left public service by this time.When really severe crises arise, it is often the man or woman of God that others turn to for answers. read more
Belshazzar’s FeastBelshazzar, king of Babylon, holds a great feast, at which he profanely uses the sacred vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar from the Temple at Jerusalem (Daniel 5:1-4). He is terrified at seeing part of a human hand writing mysterious words on the wall of the banqueting room, and vainly offers great rewards to the wise men of Babylon if they can read and explain the writing (Daniel 5:5-9). The queen tells him of Daniel, and of his fame for wisdom, acquired in Nebuchadnezzar’s... read more
(11) The spirit.—Comp. Daniel 4:8-9.Thy father.—No blood relationship is necessarily implied by this word. It means no more than “predecessor.” (See Introd., sec. VI.) read more
Daniel 5 : i Pomp, in our apprehension, was an idea of two categories; the pompous might be spurious, but it might also be genuine. It is well to love the simple we love it; nor is there any opposition at all between that and the very glory of pomp. But, as we once put the case to Lamb, if, as a musician, as the leader of a mighty orchestra, you had this theme offered to you 'Belshazzar the king gave a great feast to a thousand of his lords' ... surely no man would deny that, in such a case,... read more
THE FIERY INSCRIPTIONIN this chapter again we have another magnificent fresco-picture, intended, as was the last-but under circumstances of aggravated guilt and more terrible menace-to teach the lesson that "verily there is a God that judgeth the earth."The truest way to enjoy the chapter, and to grasp the lessons which it is meant to inculcate in their proper force and vividness, is to consider it wholly apart from the difficulties as to its literal truth. To read it aright, and duly estimate... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Daniel 5:1-31
Belshazzar’s feast (5:1-31)The events of this chapter took place in 539 BC. If Daniel was about fifteen years of age when taken captive to Babylon in 605 BC, he would now be over eighty. Nebuchadnezzar had long been dead. The present king, Nabonidus, was absent in distant territories for much of his reign, and the rule of the country was largely in the hands of his son Belshazzar. The queen who appears in the story (v. 10) was probably the queen mother, wife of Nabonidus. Nebuchadnezzar is... read more