Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

Text and Content

The inscription appears in Daniel 5. Belshazzar, king of Babylon, held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles. There they drank wine from the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem and praised their idols. At that moment the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote upon the plaster of the palace wall (Daniel 5:1-5). The king's wise men could neither read the writing nor interpret it. At the queen's urging, Daniel was summoned; he rebuked the king's pride and then interpreted the writing. The words written were "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" (Daniel 5:25).

• Mene: "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it" (5:26).
• Tekel: "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting" (5:27).
• Peres: "Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians" (5:28).

That same night Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Mede took the kingdom (5:30-31).

Original Language and Background

The book of Daniel is written in Aramaic from the middle of 2:4 through the end of chapter 7, and this inscription is likewise in Aramaic. The three words are generally understood in connection with the following verbs:

• Mene: "to number" or "to count"
• Tekel: "to weigh"
• Peres: "to divide"

In "Upharsin," the prefix u- means "and," and pharsin is the plural of peres. For this reason Daniel's interpretation uses the singular form "Peres." A widely held view regards peres as a wordplay on Paras (Persia), which it resembles in sound. Some scholars also hold that the three words refer to units of weight and currency: the mina, the shekel, and the half-mina.

Babylon fell to Cyrus of Persia in 539 B.C. In Babylonian records outside the Bible, Belshazzar appears as the son of King Nabonidus and is known to have governed while his father was absent. The biblical text calls Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar's "father" (5:2, 11). Interpretations differ on the meaning of this expression and on the identity of Darius the Mede.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The central theme of this episode is that "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men." Daniel reminded Belshazzar how Nebuchadnezzar had earlier been humbled because of his pride (Daniel 4; see 5:18-21). The idea that God weighs human actions also appears in passages such as 1 Samuel 2:3. In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation uses Babylon as a symbol of the powers opposed to God and proclaims its fall (Revelation 14:8; 18:2). For this reason the passage is also read as a foreshadowing of the Last Judgment upon arrogant power.

Interpretations and Issues

• Why the wise men could not read it: The text does not give a reason. One view holds that they could not read the letters themselves; another holds that they could read them but could not interpret their meaning. Later Jewish literature preserves various speculations, such as that the letters were arranged in an unusual way, but these are not part of the biblical text.
• The repetition of Mene: The double occurrence of mene is commonly interpreted as signifying emphasis or certainty.
• Date of composition: The conservative view regards the book of Daniel as written by Daniel in the sixth century B.C. and reads this event as historical fact and as the fulfillment of prophecy. Many Korean denominations follow this view. The critical view holds that the book of Daniel reached its present form around the second century B.C. and reads the story as a message to a persecuted community.
• Idiomatic expression: In the English-speaking world, "the writing on the wall" has become an idiom for a sign of impending downfall. The scene has also been a popular subject in Western art, including a painting by Rembrandt.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, sermons often use this passage as a warning against pride and against treating holy things with contempt. The words "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting" are also used to call individuals and communities to examine their faith.