Daniel 5:16. That thou canst make interpretations— That thou canst explain what is to be explained, or what stands in need of explanation. And dissolve doubts is literally to untie knots; a manner of speaking used to this day in the letters of the kings of Persia, to denote an expert judge, or an intelligent governor. See Chardin's Voyage to Persia, p. 228 and the note on Daniel 5:29. read more
4. Belshazzar’s request of Daniel 5:13-16The king had heard of Daniel by reputation, even though he had not met him before (Daniel 5:13). He recognized him as a person whose extraordinary ability came from some divine source (cf. Daniel 4:8; Daniel 4:18). Perhaps it was because Daniel was a Jew that Belshazzar did not know him. However now, the king was quite willing to give even this Jewish exile all the honors that he had formerly promised his wise men. Here was a worshipper of the God-that... 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
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
CHAPTER 5 Belshazzar’s Feast 1. Belshazzar’s licentious feast (Daniel 5:1-4 ) 2. The writing on the wall (Daniel 5:5-9 ) 3. Forgotten Daniel (Daniel 5:10-16 ) 4. The message of Daniel (Daniel 5:17-31 ) Daniel 5:1-4 . This feast of wickedness and blasphemy needs no further annotations. But it shows the great decline morally in the great Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar, no doubt, had handled the golden vessels of the house of the Lord most carefully. He had stored them away, fearing to... read more
FROM NEBUCHADNEZZAR TO CYRUS The effect of the interpretation of his dream on Nebuchadnezzar is the inflation of his pride. To be sure, he was grateful to Daniel (Daniel 2:46-49 ), to whom he offered worship, although the latter rejected it no doubt, as did Paul later (Acts 14:11-18 ). His apprehension of Daniel’s God, however, is yet only as one amongst the national or tribal gods, although greater than they. This is clear from what follows in Daniel 3:1-7 , which is an attempt “to unify... read more
The Hand At the Feast Daniel 5:0 This reads like a torrent king, and feast, and great feast, and lords a thousand strong, and wine-drinking worthy of the occasion. That is the beginning. If it were a piece of music the last note would be as the first; whether it be another note, we must wait a while to know: it will be a grand note, whether harmonious and sympathetic with the beginning we shall see. There was no harm in making a great feast to a thousand lords. Many persons are content to stop... read more
What a consternation the whole court was thrown into by this event, we may well conceive, by what is here said. Daniel is again had recourse to, in order to help the king, and his party out of their alarm. Let the Reader once more remark, how truly honorable the Lord's servants are, even in the very view of them who seem to despise them. And I would beg the Reader to believe, for the fact is certainly so, this is much more common in private life even than is generally conceived. 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