Norman Porteous, for instance, writes, On the other hand it is known that Belshazzar was a historical person, the son of the last Babylonian king Nabonidus, who acted as regent of Babylon for several years before its fall, while his father was absent at the oasis of Teima in Arabia.252 This would begin Belshazzars regency about 553 B.C., when Nabonidus went to Teima. In beginning his explanation of the handwriting on the wall, Daniel first of all reads the writing; and for the first time, the words are introduced into the text of this chapter. Was Nebuchadnezzar a believer? As Young points out, however, the very character of this absolute authority delegated to Nebuchadnezzar by God also made Nebuchadnezzar responsible.277 This is demonstrated and supported by Nebuchadnezzars experience of insanity in Daniel 4 when, as Daniel expresses it, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Daniel then itemizes in detail the characteristics of Nebuchadnezzars insanity, how he lived with the wild beasts, ate grass like the ox, and was wet with the dew of heaven. That such a large feast should be held by a monarch like Belshazzar is not at all strange. 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. Through his mother, he might have been a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar II (r.605562 BC), though this is not certain and the claims to kinship with Nebuchadnezzar may have originated from royal propaganda. How God holds in derision the rulers of the world who take counsel against Him (Ps 2:1-4)! As in the previous instances in Daniel 2 and 4, the wisdom of the world is demonstrated to be totally unable to solve its major problems and to understand either the present or the future. The Cross And Our Response to Trials (1 Peter 4:12-19), 8. A. v. 29-30 Belshazzar Died A Sudden Death - "In that night" - While Belshazzar partied, his enemies were encamped around Babylon. Daniel describes graphically in verse 19 how Nebuchadnezzar was feared and had absolute authority of life and death over his people and, accordingly, was an absolute sovereign. 208-14. [24] Nabonidus made Tayma his provisional seat and he would stay there for about a decade, not returning to Babylon until September or October of 543 or 542 BC. Daniel (Dn'il, or Danel) is also the name of a figure in the Aqhat legend from Ugarit. 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. The situation before Belshazzar had all the elements of a great drama. 287 J. 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. As one holding her position was normally highly regarded and treated with respect, she could speak out in a way that no other could do. 266 Herodotus, History of the Persian Wars, 1:178-83. Young, The Prophecy of Daniel, p. 115. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. In the interpretation of the image in chapter 2, Daniel had predicted to Nebuchadnezzar, After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee (Dan 2:39). Discoveries since Keil tend to support Herodotus and Xenophon, although not accounting for Darius the Mede. In any case, the king was in no position to dispute with Daniel, even though Daniels words brought even greater fear and apprehension to his heart. After his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar died, his uncle had reigned for two years, only to be murdered by a brother-in-law. The effect upon the king and his associates was immediate. For other uses, see, List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources, "Nabonidus, Belshazzar, and the Book of Daniel: an Update", Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belshazzar&oldid=1147589796, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia without a Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages with numeric Bible version references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Belshazzar never assumed, and was not allowed to use, the title of king (. Thus the later tradition states that Cyrus and Darius were employed as doorkeepers of the royal palace. Nebuchadnezzar himself had died in 562 B.C. 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. [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. For a map of Babylon in sixth century B.C., see D. J. Wiseman, Babylon, in The New Bible Dictionary, pp. 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. . [30] Though it is clear that Belshazzar during his father's absence assumed many responsibilities typically only held by the king,[22] several prerogatives were also kept solely by Nabonidus. His widespread troopstheir number, like that of the water of a river, could not be establishedstrolled along, their weapons packed away. Belshazzar's feast: analysis. [44] Upon Nabonidus's return to Babylon, Belshazzar was demoted from his administrative responsibilities and officials he had appointed were dismissed. 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. Daniel 6:26-27, Daniel prays and fasts about what lies ahead and the Jewish peoples indifference to their captivity. As he could lease out temple land, this suggests that Belshazzar, in administrative matters, could act with full royal power. Daniel 5:5-29, Belshazzar is killed when Cyrus of Persia invades Babylon. 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. Was Belshazzar actually king of Babylon and was he murdered on the night that Babylon was conquered? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 248 James A. Montgomery, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, p. 249. Much has been made of the reference of Belshazzars relationship to Nebuchadnezzar, who is described as his father in verse 2; and even Keil is influenced by this to consider Belshazzar a literal son of Nebuchadnezzar.261 This is not entirely impossible, of course, for as Leupold shows,262 Nabonidus could have married a widow of Nebuchadnezzar who had a son by Nebuchadnezzar who then could be adopted by Nabonidus by way of strengthening his own hold upon the throne. [56], The broad consensus among scholars is that the Book of Daniel was compiled shortly after the Maccabean Revolt in the 160s BC. More specifically of the invasion of the Medes, Isaiah writes, Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media (Is 21:2), and continues, after describing their dismay, My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. Belshazzar is made to understand that Babylon will be given to the Medes and the Persians. 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. Daniel 3:19-25, Nebuchadnezzar experiences visions of a tree and being driven away from people and losing his sanity. On the other hand, Cyrus found himself in difficulty, since much time had elapsed, and his affairs were not at all advanced. In any case Daniel read the writing as Aramaic, and the suggestion of puns in the language (see later discussion) depends upon the Aramaic. 57-59; cf. Instead, documents from the period in which Belshazzar was regent continued to be dated after the years of Nabonidus's reign. 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. and the fall of Babylon 539 B.C. 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. This page was last edited on 31 March 2023, at 23:09. 247 See Raymond P. Dougherty, Nabonidus and Belshazzar. . [10] It is alternatively possible that later traditions of Belshazzar being a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar are derived from royal propaganda, and that there was no connection to the previous ruling Chaldean dynasty. According to the accounts in the Bible and Xenophon, Belshazzar held a last great feast at which he saw a hand writing on a wall the following words in Aramaic: mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. The prophet Daniel, interpreting the handwriting on the wall as Gods judgment on the king, foretold the imminent destruction of the city. Now, in chapter 5, this prophecy is about to be fulfilled. [43] Belshazzar appears to have worked to restore Marduk's status in his father's absence.