Belshazzar's Feast

Text and Narrative

This event is recorded in chapter 5 of the Book of Daniel. Belshazzar, king of Babylon, held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles. He drank wine from the gold and silver vessels that his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem, and he praised gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone (Daniel 5:1–4). At that moment the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote on the wall of the palace. The king trembled with fear, but the wise men of Babylon could neither read the writing nor interpret it.

On the queen's recommendation, Daniel was summoned. Daniel declined the promised rewards and rebuked Belshazzar for failing to humble his heart even though he knew how Nebuchadnezzar had been brought low; he then interpreted the writing. The inscription read, "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN." Its meaning was that God had numbered the days of the kingdom and brought it to an end (Mene), that the king had been weighed in the balances and found wanting (Tekel), and that the kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians (Peres) (Daniel 5:25–28). As he had promised, Belshazzar made Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night, however, Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom (Daniel 5:30–31).

Historical Background

The portion of Daniel from the latter part of 2:4 through chapter 7 is written in Aramaic, and this chapter falls within that section. The three words are connected to Aramaic roots meaning "to number," "to weigh," and "to divide," respectively. Peres also sounds similar to the name of Persia.

For a long time Belshazzar was not attested in sources outside the Bible. Babylonian documents excavated from the nineteenth century onward, however, identified him as the son of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. According to these documents, he governed Babylon during his father's prolonged absence. Many scholars explain the "third" position given to Daniel in light of this co-regency. The Bible's reference to Nebuchadnezzar as Belshazzar's "father" is commonly interpreted as denoting an ancestor or a predecessor on the throne. Babylon fell to Cyrus of Persia. The Greek historian Herodotus reports that the inhabitants of the city were celebrating a festival when it was captured. Scholars differ on the identity of Darius the Mede.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

This event is read as the fulfillment of the judgment on Babylon foretold in Isaiah 21 and Jeremiah 50–51. The Temple vessels that Belshazzar profaned were later returned to Jerusalem by Cyrus (Ezra 1:7–11). In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation calls the powers opposed to God "that great city Babylon." It proclaims her downfall with the words "is fallen, is fallen" (Revelation 18:2) and declares that her judgment comes "in one hour." Because it portrays sudden judgment, the event is also sometimes mentioned alongside the Parable of the Rich Fool, in which God says, "this night thy soul shall be required of thee" (Luke 12:20).

Interpretation and Debates

Regarding the date of the Book of Daniel, the traditional view, shared by many evangelical scholars, holds that it was written by Daniel in the sixth century BC. Proponents of this view cite the confirmation of Belshazzar's historical existence as evidence for the book's historicity. Historical-critical scholars hold that the book was completed in the second century BC and read this chapter as a didactic narrative. The text does not explain why the wise men were unable to read the writing; suggestions that it was written in an unusual script or a cipher are later conjecture. Likewise, the account that the feast was held while the city was besieged by enemy forces derives not from the biblical text but from extrabiblical sources and interpretation.

In the Korean Church

The phrase "weighed in the balances, and found wanting" is frequently quoted in sermons warning against pride, against treating holy things lightly, and against putting off repentance.