Daniel 5:1

Schlachter Bibel

König Belsazar machte ein großes Mahl seinen tausend Gewaltigen und trank vor den Tausenden Wein.

Parallel Translations

Lutherbible (1912)
König Belsazer machte ein herrliches Mahl seinen tausend Gewaltigen und soff sich voll mit ihnen.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

made: Genesis 40:20, Esther 1:3, Isaiah 21:4, Isaiah 21:5, Isaiah 22:12, Isaiah 22:14, Jeremiah 51:39, Jeremiah 51:57, Nahum 1:10, Mark 6:21, Mark 6:22

Reciprocal: Judges 9:27 - the house 1 Samuel 25:36 - merry 1 Samuel 30:16 - eating 1 Kings 3:15 - a feast 1 Kings 16:9 - drinking Ecclesiastes 7:4 - the heart Ecclesiastes 10:19 - feast Isaiah 5:12 - the harp Isaiah 14:11 - pomp Isaiah 44:11 - let them all Isaiah 47:8 - given Jeremiah 25:12 - that I Jeremiah 25:26 - drink Jeremiah 27:22 - carried Jeremiah 50:35 - upon her princes Jeremiah 51:41 - Sheshach Daniel 5:30 - General Daniel 7:1 - Belshazzar Hosea 7:5 - the day Habakkuk 2:5 - he transgresseth Matthew 14:6 - birthday Luke 12:20 - God Acts 24:25 - temperance

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Belshazzar the king made a great feast,.... This king was not the immediate successor of Nebuchadnezzar, but Evilmerodach, Jeremiah 52:31, who, according to Ptolemy's canon, reigned two years; then followed Neriglissar, his sister's husband, by whom he was slain, and who usurped the throne, and reigned four years; he died in the beginning of his fourth year, and left a son called Laborosoarchod, who reigned but nine months, which are placed by Ptolemy to his father's reign, and therefore he himself is not mentioned in the canon; and then followed this king, who by Ptolemy is called Nabonadius; by Berosus, Nabonnedus t by Abydenus u, Nabannidochus; by Herodotus w, Labynitus; and by Josephus x, Naboandelus, who, according to him, is the same with Belshazzar; whom some confound with the son of Neriglissar; others take him to be the same with Evilmerodach, because he here immediately follows Nebuchadnezzar, and is called his son, Daniel 5:11, and others that he was a younger brother, so Jarchi and Theodoret; but the truth is, that he was the son of Evilmerodach, and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, which agrees with the prophecy in Jeremiah 27:7, for though Nebuchadnezzar is called his father, and he his son, Daniel 5:2 this is said after the manner of the eastern nations, who used to call ancestors fathers, and their more remote posterity sons. He had his name Belshazzar from the idol Bel, and may be rendered, "Bel's treasurer": though, according to Saadiah, the word signifies "a searcher of treasures", of his ancestors, or of the house of God. Hillerus translates it, "Bel hath hidden". This king

made a great feast; or "bread" y, which is put for all provisions; it was great, both on account of plenty of food, variety of dishes, and number of guests, and those of the highest rank and quality. On what account this feast was made is not easy to say; whether out of contempt of Cyrus and his army, by whom he was now besieged, and to show that he thought himself quite safe and secure in a city so well walled and fortified, and having in it such vast quantities of provision; or whether it was on account of a victory he had obtained that morning over the Medes and Persians, as Josephus Ben Gorion z relates; and therefore in the evening treated his thousand lords, who had been engaged in battle with him, and behaved well: though it seems to have been an anniversary feast; since, according to Xenophon and Herodotus, Cyrus knew of it before hand; either on account of the king's birthday, or in honour to his gods, particularly Shach, which was called the Sachaenan feast; Daniel 5:2- : Daniel 5:2- : which seems most likely, since these were praised at this time, and the vessels of the temple of God at Jerusalem profaned, Daniel 5:2, this feast was prophesied of by Isaiah, Isaiah 21:5 and by Jeremiah, Jeremiah 51:39, it had its name from Shach, one of their deities, of which Jeremiah 51:39- : Jeremiah 51:39- : the same with Belus or the sun. The feasts kept in honour of it were much like the Saturnalia of the Romans, or the Purim of the Jews; and were kept eleven days together, in which everyone did as he pleased, no order and decorum being observed; and, for five of those days especially, there was no difference between master and servant, yea, the latter had the government of the former; and they spent day and night in dancing and drinking, and in all excess of riot and revelling a; and in such like manner the Babylonians were indulging themselves, when their city was taken by Cyrus, as the above writers assert b; and from the knowledge Cyrus had of it, it appears to be a stated feast, and very probably on the above account. According to Strabo c, there was a feast of this name among the Persians, which was celebrated in honour of the goddess Anais, Diana, or the moon; and at whose altar they placed together Amanus and Anandratus, Persian demons; and appointed a solemn convention once a year, called Saca. Some say the occasion of it was this; that Cyrus making an expedition against the Sacse, a people in Scythia, pretended a flight, and left his tents full of all provisions, and especially wine, which they finding, filled themselves with it; when he returning upon them, finding some overcome with wine and stupefied, others overwhelmed with sleep, and others dancing and behaving in a bacchanalian way, they fell into his hands, and almost all of them perished; and taking this victory to be from the gods, he consecrated that day to the god of his country, and called it Sacaea; and wherever there was a temple of this deity, there was appointed a bacchanalian feast, in which men, and women appeared night and day in a Scythian habit, drinking together, and behaving to one another in a jocose and lascivious manner; but this could not be the feast now observed at Babylon, though it is very probable it was something of the like nature, and observed in much the same manner. And was made "to a thousand of his lords"; his nobles, the peers of his realm, governors of provinces, c. such a number of guests Ptolemy king of Egypt feasted at one time of Pompey's army, as Pliny from Varro relates d; but Alexander far exceeded, who at a wedding had nine (some say ten) thousand at his tables, and gave to everyone a cup of gold, to offer wine in honour of the gods e; and Pliny reports f of one Pythius Bythinus, who entertained the whole army of Xerxes with a feast, even seven hundred and eighty eight thousand men.

And drank wine before the thousand; not that he strove with them who should drink most, or drank to everyone of them separately, and so a thousand cups, as Jacchiades suggests; but he drank in the presence of them, to show his condescension and familiarity; this being, as Aben Ezra observes, contrary to the custom of kings, especially of the eastern nations, who were seldom seen in public. This feast was kept in a large house or hall, as Josephus g says, afterwards called the banqueting house, Daniel 5:10.

t Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. u Apud Euseb. Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457. w Clio, sive l. 1. c. 188. x Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 2. y לחם "panem", Montanus, Piscator. All food is called bread, Jarchi in Lev. xxi. 17. z Hist. Hebr. l. 1. c. 5. p. 24. a Athenaei Deipnosophist. l. 14. c. 10. ex Beroso & Ctesia. b Xenophon. Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 23. Herodot. Clio, sive l. 1. c. 191. c Geograph. l. 11. p. 352, 353. d Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 10. e Plutarch. in Vit. Alexand. f Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 10.) g Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Belshazzar the king - See Introduction to the chapter, Section II. In the Introduction to the chapter here referred to, I have stated what seemed to be necessary in order to illustrate the history of Belshazzar, so far as that can be now known. The statements in regard to this monarch, it is well understood, are exceedingly confused, and the task of reconciling them is now hopeless. Little depends, however, in the interpretation of this book, on the attempt to reconcile them, for the narrative here given is equally credible, whichever of the accounts is taken, unless that of Berosus is followed. But it may not be improper to exhibit here the two principal accounts of the successors of Nebuchadnezzar, that the discrepancy may be distinctly seen. I copy from the Pictorial Bible. “The common account we shall collect from L’Art de Verifier les Dates, and the other from Hales’ “Analysis,” disposing them in opposite colums for the sake of comparison:

Comparison of Historical Accounts of Nebuchadnezzar
From L’Art de Verifier		From Hales's Analysis
605	Nebuchacnezzar, who was succeeded by his son.	604	Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son.
562	Evil-Merodach, who, having provoked general indignation by his tyranny and atrocities, was, after a short reign of about two years, assassinated by his brother-in-law.	561	Evil-Merodach, or Ilverodam, who was slain in a battle against the Medes and Persians, and was succeeded by his son.
560	Nerigilassar, or Nericassolassar, who was regarded as a deliverer and succeeded by the choice of the nation. He perished in a battle by Cyrus, and was succeeded by his son.	558	Neriglissar, Niricassolassar, or Belshazzar, the common accounts of whom seem to combine what is said both of Neriglissar, and his son opposite. He was killed by conspirators on the night of the ‘impious feast,’ leaving a son (a boy).
555	Laborosoarchod, notorious for his cruelty and oppression, and who was assassinated by two nobles, Gobryas and Gadatas, whose sons he had slain. The vacant throne was then ascended by.	553	Laborosoarchod, on whose death, nine months after, the dynasty became extinct, and the kingdom came peaceably to ‘Darius the Mede,’ or Cyaxares who, on the will-known policy of the Medes and Persians, appointed a Babylonian nobleman, named Nabonadius, or Labynetus, to be king, or viceroy. This person revotled against Cyrus, who had succeeded to the united empire of the Medes and Persians. Cyrus could not immediately attend to him, but at last marched to Babylon, took the city, b.c. 536, as foretold by the prophets.
554	Nabonadius, the Labynetus of Herodotus, the Naboandel of Josephus, and the Belshazzar of Daniel, who was the son of Evil-Merodach, and who now succeeded to the throne of his
538	father. After a voluptuous reign, his city was taken by the Persians under Cyrus, on which occasion he lost his life.

It will be observed that the principal point of difference in these accounts is, that Hales contends that the succession of Darius the Mede to the Babylonian throne was not attended with war; that Belshazzar was not the king in whose time the city was taken by Cyrus; and, consequently, that the events which took place this night were quite distinct from and anterior to that siege and capture of the city by the Persian king which Isaiah and Jeremiah so remarkably foretold.

Made a great feast - On what occasion this feast was made is not stated, but is was not improbably an annual festival in honor of some of the Babylonian deities. This opinion seems to be countenanced by the words of the Codex Chisianus, “Belshazzar the king made a great festival ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τῶν βασιλείων en hēmera engkainismou tōn basileiōn) on the day of the dedication of his kingdom;” and in Daniel 5:4 it is said that “they praised the gods of gold, of silver, and of brass,” etc.

To a thousand of his lords - The word thousand here is doubtless used as a general term to denote a very large number. It is not improbable, however, that this full number was assembled on such an occasion. “Ctesias says, that the king of Persia furnished provisions daily for fifteen thousand men. Quintus Curtius says that ten thousand men were present at a festival of Alexander the Great; and Statius says of Domitian, that he ordered, on a certain occasion, his guests ‘to sit down at a thousand tables.’ “ - Prof. Stuart, in loc.

And drank wine before the thousand - The Latin Vulgate here is, “And each one drank according to his age.” The Greek of Theodotion, the Arabic, and the Coptic is, “and wine was before the thousand.” The Chaldee, however, is, as in our version, “he drank wine before the thousand.” As he was the lord of the feast, and as all that occurred pertained primarily to him, the design is undoubtedly to describe his conduct, and to show the effect which the drinking of wine had on him. He drank it in the most public manner, setting an example to his lords, and evidently drinking it to great excess.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER V

In the commencement of this chapter we are informed how

Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, when rioting in his

palace, and profaning the severed vessels of the temple, 1-4,

was suddenly terrified with the appearance of the fingers of a

man's hand, which wrote a few words on the wall before him,

5, 6.

The wise men and astrologers were immediately called in to show

the king the interpretation; but they could not so much as read

the writing, because (as Houbigant and others have conjectured)

though the words are in the Chaldee tongue, yet they were

written in the Samaritan or ancient Hebrew characters, with

which the wise men of Babylon were very probably unacquainted,

as the Jews were at that time a despised people, and the

knowledge of their language not a fashionable attainment, 7-9.

Daniel, who had been so highly esteemed by Nebuchadnezzar for

his superior wisdom, appears to have been altogether unknown to

Belshazzar, till the queen (the same who had been the wife of

Nebuchadnezzar according to the general opinion, or the queen

consort according to others) had informed him, 10-12.

Upon the queen's recommendation, Daniel is called in, 13-16;

who boldly tells this despotic king, that as he had not

benefited by the judgments inflicted on his grandfather, but

gave himself up to pride and profanity, and had added to his

other sins an utter contempt for the God of the Jews by

drinking wine out of the sacred vessels of Jehovah in honour of

his idols, 17-23;

the Supreme Being, the Ruler of heaven and earth, had written

his condemnation in three words, MENE, TEKEL, PERES, 24, 25;

the first of which is repeated in the copies containing the

Chaldean original; but all the ancient Versions, except the

Syriac, are without this repetition. Daniel then gives the king

and his lords the fearful import of the writing, viz., that the

period allotted for the duration of the Chaldean empire was now

completed, (see Jeremiah 25:12-14,)

and that the kingdom was about to be transferred to the Medes

and Persians, 26-28.

However unwelcome such an interpretation must have been to

Belshazzar, yet the monarch, overwhelmed with its clearness and

certainty, commanded the prophet to be honoured, 29.

And that very night the prediction was fulfilled, for the king

was slain, 30,

and the city taken by the Medes and Persians, 31.

This great event was also predicted by Isaiah and Jeremiah; and

the manner in which it was accomplished is recorded by

Herodotus and Xenophon.

NOTES ON CHAP. V.

Verse Daniel 5:1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast — This chapter is out of its place, and should come in after the seventh and eighth. There are difficulties in the chronology. After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach his son ascended the throne of Babylon. Having reigned about two years, he was slain by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar. He reigned four years, and was succeeded by his son Laborosoarchod, who reigned only nine months. At his death Belshazzar the son of Evil-merodach, was raised to the throne, and reigned seventeen years, and was slain, as we read here, by Cyrus, who surprised and took the city on the night of this festivity. This is the chronology on which Archbishop Usher, and other learned chronologists, agree; but the Scripture mentions only Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach, and Belshazzar, by name; and Jeremiah, Jeremiah 27:7, expressly says, "All nations shall serve him (Nebuchadnezzar,) and his son (Evil-merodach,) and his son's son (Belshazzar,) until the very time of his land come;" i.e., till the time in which the empire should be seized by Cyrus. Here there is no mention of Neriglissar nor Laborosoarchod; but as they were usurpers, they might have been purposely passed by. But there remains one difficulty still: Belshazzar is expressly called the son of Nebuchadnezzar by the queen mother, Daniel 5:11: "There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and in the days of THY FATHER light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him: whom the king NEBUCHADNEZZAR THY FATHER, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians." The solution of this difficulty is, that in Scripture the name of son is indifferently given to sons and grandsons, and even to great grandsons. And perhaps the repetition in the above verse may imply this: "The king, Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king thy father." The king thy father's father, and consequently thy grandfather. If it have not some such meaning as this, it must be considered an idle repetition. As to the two other kings, Neriglissar and Laborosoarchod, mentioned by Josephus and Berosus, and by whom the chronology is so much puzzled, they might have been some petty kings, or viceroys, or satraps, who affected the kingdom, and produced disturbances, one for four years, and the other for nine months; and would in consequence not be acknowledged in the Babylonish chronology, nor by the sacred writers, any more than finally unsuccessful rebels are numbered among the kings of those nations which they have disturbed. I believe the only sovereigns we can acknowledge here are the following:

1. Nabopolassar;

2. Nebuchadnezzar;

3. Evil-merodach;

4. Belshazzar; and with this last the Chaldean empire ended.

To a thousand of his lords — Perhaps this means lords or satraps, that were each over one thousand men. But we learn from antiquity that the Persian kings were very profuse in their entertainments; but it does not follow that the Chaldeans were so too. Besides, one thousand lords and their appropriate attendants would have been very inconvenient in a nocturnal assembly. The text, however, supports the common translation. Literally, "Belshazzar the king made bread for his lords a thousand; and against the thousand he drank wine." That is, say some, he was a very great drinker.