| Daniel Brought before Belshazzar.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> | B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 538.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 10 Now<\/I> the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and<\/I> the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is<\/I> 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,<\/I> thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and<\/I> soothsayers; 12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. 13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And<\/I> the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art<\/I> thou that Daniel, which art<\/I> of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? 14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is<\/I> in thee, and that<\/I> light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15 And now the wise men,<\/I> the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing: 16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have<\/I> a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 17 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. 18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: 21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was<\/I> with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that<\/I> he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. 22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; 23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is,<\/I> and whose are<\/I> all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. 25 And this is<\/I> the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is<\/I> the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put<\/I> a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.<\/P> Here is, I. The information given to the king, by the queen-mother, concerning Daniel, how fit he was to be consulted in this difficult case. It is supposed that this queen was the widow of Evil-Merodach, and was that famous Nitocris whom Herodotus mentions as a woman of extraordinary prudence. She was not present at the feast, as the king’s wives and concubines were<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 2<\/span>); it was not agreeable to her age and gravity to keep a merry night. But, tidings of the fright which the king and his lords were put into being brought to her apartment, she came herself to the banqueting-house, to recommend to the king a physician for his melancholy. She entreated him not to be discouraged by the insufficiency of his wise men to solve this riddle, for that there was a man in his kingdom<\/I> that had more than once helped his grandfather at such a dead lift, and, no doubt, could help him, Dan 6:11<\/span>; Dan 6:12<\/span>. She could not undertake to read the writing herself, but directed him to one that could; let Daniel be called<\/I> now, who should have been called first. Now observe, 1. The high character she gives of Daniel: He is a man in whom is the spirit of the holy gods,<\/I> who has something in him more than human, not only the spirit of a man,<\/I> which, in all, is the candle of the Lord,<\/I> but a divine spirit. According to the language of her country and religion, she could not give a higher encomium of any man; she speaks honourably of him as a man that had, (1.) An admirably good head: Light, and understanding, and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him.<\/I> Such an insight had he into things secret, and such a foresight of things to come, that it was evident he was divinely inspired; he had knowledge<\/I> and understanding<\/I> beyond all the other wise men for interpreting dreams,<\/I> explaining enigmas or hard sentences, untying knots, and resolving doubts. Solomon had a wonderful sagacity of this kind; but it should seem that in these things Daniel had more of an immediate divine direction. Behold, a greater than Solomon<\/I> himself is here.<\/I> Yet what was the wisdom of them both compared with the treasures of wisdom hidden in Christ? (2.) He had an admirably good heart: An excellent spirit was found in him,<\/I> which was a great ornament to his wisdom and knowledge, and qualified him to receive that gift; for God gives to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy.<\/I> He was of a humble, holy, heavenly spirit, had a devout and gracious spirit, a spirit of zeal for the glory of God and the good of men. This was indeed an excellent spirit. 2. The account she gives of the respect that Nebuchadnezzar had for him; he was much in his favour, and was preferred by him: “The king thy father”<\/I> (that is, thy grandfather, but even to many generations Nebuchadnezzar might well be called the father of that royal family, for he it was that raised it to such a pitch of grandeur), “the king,<\/I> I say, thy father, made him master of the magicians.<\/I>” Perhaps Belshazzar had sometimes, in his pride, spoken slightly of Nebuchadnezzar, and his politics, and the methods of his government, and the ministers he employed, and thought himself wiser than he; and therefore his mother harps upon that. “The king,<\/I> I say, thy father,<\/I> to whose good management all thou hast owing, he pronounced him chief of, and gave him dominion over, all the wise men of Babylon, and named him Belteshazzar,<\/I> according to the name of his god, thinking thereby to put honour upon him;” but Daniel, by constantly making use of his Jewish name himself (which he resolved to keep, in token of his faithful adherence to his religion), had worn out that name; only the queen-dowager remembered it, otherwise he was generally called Daniel.<\/I> Note, It is a very good office to revive the remembrance of the good services of worthy men, who are themselves modest, and willing that they should be forgotten. 3. The motion she makes concerning him: Let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.<\/I> By this it appears that Daniel was now forgotten at court. Belshazzar was a stranger to him, knew not that he had such a jewel in his kingdom. With the new king there came in a new ministry, and the old one was laid aside. Note, There are a great many valuable men, and such as might be made very useful, that lie long buried in obscurity, and some that have done eminent services that live to be overlooked and taken no notice of; but, whatever men are, God is not unrighteous to forget the services done to his kingdom. Daniel, being turned out of his place, lived privately, and sought not any opportunity to come into notice again; yet he lived near the court and within call, though Babylon was now besieged, that he might be ready, if there were occasion, to do any good office, by what interest he had among the great ones, for the children of his people. But Providence so ordered it that now, just at the fall of that monarchy, he should by the queen’s means be brought to court again, that he might lie there ready for preferment in the ensuing government. Thus do the righteous shine forth out of obscurity,<\/I> and before honour is humility.<\/I><\/P> II. The introducing of Daniel to the king, and his request to him to read and expound the writing. Daniel was brought in before the king,<\/I> v.<\/span> 13<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. He was now nearly ninety years of age, so that his years, and honours, and former preferments, might have entitled him to a free admission into the king’s presence; yet he was willing to be conducted in, as a stranger, by the master of the ceremonies. Note, 1. The king asks, with an air of haughtiness: Art thou that Daniel who art of the children of the captivity?<\/I> Being a Jew, and a captive, he was loth to be beholden to him if he could help it. 2. He tells him what an encomium he had heard of him (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>), that the spirit of the gods was in him;<\/I> and he had sent for him to try whether he deserved so high a character or no. 3. He acknowledges that all the wise men of Babylon were baffled; they could not read this writing,<\/I> nor show the interpretation,<\/I> v.<\/span> 16<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. But, 4. He promises him the same rewards that he had promised them if he would do it, v.<\/I><\/span> 16<\/span>. It was strange that the magicians, when now, and in Nebuchadnezzar’s time, once and again, they were nonplussed, did not attempt something to save their credit; if they had with a good assurance said, “This is the meaning of such a dream, such a writing,” who could disprove them? But God so ordered it that they had nothing at all to say, as, when Christ was born, the heathen oracles were struck dumb.<\/P> III. The interpretation which Daniel gave of these mystic characters, which was so far from easing the king of his fears that we may suppose it increased them rather. Daniel was now in years, and Belshazzar was young; and therefore he seems to take a greater liberty of dealing plainly and roundly with him than he had done upon the like occasions with Nebuchadnezzar. In reproving any man, especially great men, there is need of wisdom to consider all circumstances; for they are the reproofs of instruction<\/I> that are the way of life.<\/I> In Daniel’s discourse here,<\/P> 1. He undertakes to read the writing which gave them this alarm, and to show them the interpretation of it, v.<\/I><\/span> 17<\/span>. He slights the offer he made him of rewards, is not pleased that it was mentioned, for he is not one of those that divine for money;<\/I> what gratuities Nebuchadnezzar gave him afterwards he gladly accepted, but he scorned to bargain for them, or to read the writing to the king<\/I> for and in consideration of such and such honours promised him. No: “Let thy gifts be to thyself,<\/I> for they will not be long thine, and give thy fee to another,<\/I> to any of the wise men whom thou wouldst have most wished to earn it; I value it not.” Daniel sees his kingdom now at its last gasp, and therefore looks with contempt upon his gifts and rewards. And thus should we despise all the gifts and rewards that this world can give did we see, as we may by faith, its final period hastening on. Let it give its perishing gifts to another; there are better gifts which we have our eyes and hearts upon; but let us do our duty in the world, do it all the real service we can, read God’s writing to it in a profession of religion, and by an agreeable conversation make known the interpretation of it, and then trust God for his gifts, his rewards, in comparison with which all the world can give is mere trash and trifles.<\/P> 2. He largely recounts to the king God’s dealings with his father Nebuchadnezzar, which were intended for instruction and warning to him, Dan 6:18<\/span>; Dan 6:21<\/span>. This is not intended for a flourish or an amusement, but is a necessary preliminary to the interpretation of the writing. Note, That we may understand aright what God is doing with us, it is of use to us to review what he has done with others.<\/P> (1.) He describes the great dignity and power to which the divine Providence had advanced Nebuchadnezzar, Dan 6:18<\/span>; Dan 6:19<\/span>. He had a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour,<\/I> for aught we know, above what any heathen prince ever had before him; he thought that he got his glory by his own extraordinary conduct and courage, and ascribed his successes to a projecting active genius of his own; but Daniel tells him who now enjoyed what he had laboured for that it was the most high God, the God of gods and Lord of kings<\/I> (as Nebuchadnezzar himself had called him), that gave him that kingdom,<\/I> that vast dominion, that majesty wherewith he presided in the affairs of it, and that glory and honour<\/I> which by his prosperous management he acquired. Note, Whatever degree of outward prosperity any arrive at, they must own that it is of God’s giving, not their own getting. Let it never be said, My might,<\/I> and the power of my hand, have gotten me this wealth,<\/I> this preferment; but let it always be remembered that it is God that gives men power to get wealth,<\/I> and gives success to their endeavours. Now the power which God gave to Nebuchadnezzar is here described to be very great in respect both of ability and of authority. [1.] His ability was so strong that it was irresistible; such was the majesty that God gave him, so numerous were the forces he had at command, and such an admirable dexterity he had at commanding them, that, which way soever his sword turned, it prospered. He could captivate and subdue nations by threatening them, without striking a stroke, for all people trembled and feared before him,<\/I> and would compound with him for their lives upon any terms. See what force is, and what the fear of it does. It is that by which the brutal part of the world, even of the world of mankind, both governs and is governed. [2.] His authority was so absolute that it was uncontrollable. The power which was allowed him, which descended upon him, or which, at least, he assumed, was without contradiction, was absolute and despotic, none shared with him either in the legislative or in the executive part of it. In dispensing punishments he condemned or acquitted at pleasure: Whom he would he slew, and whom he would he saved alive,<\/I> though both were equally innocent or equally guilty. The jus vit et necis–the power of life and death<\/I> was entirely in his hand. In dispensing rewards he granted or denied preferment at pleasure: Whom he would he set up, and whom he would he put down,<\/I> merely for a humour, and without giving a reason so much as to himself; but it is all ex mero motu–of his own good pleasure,<\/I> and stat pro ratione voluntas–his will stands for a reason.<\/I> Such was the constitution of the eastern monarchies, such the manner of their kings.<\/P> (2.) He sets before him the sins which Nebuchadnezzar had been guilty of, whereby he had provoked God against him. [1.] He behaved insultingly towards those that were under him, and grew tyrannical and oppressive. The description given of his power intimates his abuse of his power, and that he was directed in what he did by humour and passion, not by reason and equity; so that he often condemned the innocent and acquitted the guilty, both which are an abomination to the Lord.<\/I> He deposed men of merit and preferred unworthy men, to the great detriment of the public, and for this he was accountable to the most high God, that gave him his power. Note, It is a very hard and rare thing for men to have an absolute arbitrary power, and not to make an ill use of it. Camden has a distich of Giraldus, wherein he speaks of it as a rare instance, concerning our king Henry II of England, that never any man had so much power and did so little hurt with it.<\/P> | Glorior hoc uno, quod nunquam vidimus unum,<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> Nec potuisse magis, nec nocuisse minus–<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P>
<\/P> Of him I can say, exulting, that with the same power<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> to do harm no one was ever more inoffensive.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> But that was not all. [2.] He behaved insolently towards the God above him, and grew proud and haughty (v.<\/I><\/span> 20<\/span>): His heart was lifted up,<\/I> and there his sin and ruin began; his mind was hardened<\/I> in pride, hardened against the commands of God and his judgments; he was willful and obstinate, and neither the word of God nor his rod made any lasting impression upon him. Note, Pride is a sin that hardens the heart in all other sin and renders the means of repentance and reformation ineffectual.<\/P> (3.) He reminds him of the judgments of God that were brought upon him for his pride and obstinacy, how he was deprived of his reason, and so deposed from his kingly throne<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 20<\/span>), driven from among men,<\/I> to dwell with the wild asses,<\/I> v.<\/span> 21<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. He that would not govern his subjects by rules of reason had not reason sufficient for the government himself. Note, Justly does God deprive men of their reason when they become unreasonable and will not use it, and of their power when they become oppressive and use it ill. He continued like a brute till he knew<\/I> and embraced that first principle of religion, That the most high God rules.<\/I> And it is rather by religion than reason that man is distinguished from, and dignified above, the beasts; and it is more his honour to be a subject to the supreme Creator than to be lord of the inferior creatures. Note, Kings must know, or shall be made to know, that the most high God rules in their kingdoms (that is an imperium in imperio–an empire within an empire,<\/I> not to be excepted against), and that he appoints over them whomsoever he will. As he makes heirs, so he makes princes.<\/P> 3. In God’s name, he exhibits articles of impeachment against Belshazzar. Before he reads him his doom, from the hand-writing on the wall, he shows him his crime, that God may be justified when he speaks, and clear when he judges.<\/I> Now that which he lays to his charge is, (1.) That he had not taken warning by the judgments of God upon his father (v.<\/I><\/span> 22<\/span>): Thou his son, O Belshazzar! hast not humbled thy heart, though thou knewest all this.<\/I> Note, It is a great offence to God if our hearts be not humbled before him to comply both with his precepts and with his providences, humbled by repentance, obedience, and patience; nay, he expects from the greatest of men that their hearts should be humbled before him, by an acknowledgment that, great as they are, to him they are accountable. And it is a great aggravation of the unhumbledness of our hearts when we know enough to humble them but do not consider and improve it, particularly when we know how others have been broken that would not bend, how others have fallen that would not stoop, and yet we continue stiff and inflexible. It makes the sin of children the more heinous if they tread in the steps of their parents’ wickedness, though they have seen how dearly it has cost them, and how pernicious the consequences of it have been. Do we know this, do we know all this, and yet are we not humbled? (2.) That he had affronted God more impudently than Nebuchadnezzar himself had done, witness the revels of this very night, in the midst of which he was seized with this horror (v.<\/I><\/span> 23<\/span>): “Thou hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven,<\/I> hast swelled with rage against him, and taken up arms against his crown and dignity, in this particular instance, that thou hast profaned the vessels of his house,<\/I> and made the utensils of his sanctuary instruments of thy iniquity, and, in an actual designed contempt of him, hast praised the gods of silver and gold, which see not, nor hear, nor know<\/I> anything, as if they were to be preferred before the God that sees, and hears, and knows every thing.” Sinners that are resolved to go on in sin are well enough pleased with gods that neither see, nor hear, nor know,<\/I> for then they may sin securely; but they will find, to their confusion, that though those are the gods they choose those are not the gods they must be judged by, but one to whom all things are naked and open.<\/I> (3.) That he had not answered the end of his creation and maintenance: The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.<\/I> This is a general charge, which stands good against us all; let us consider how we shall answer it. Observe, [1.] Our dependence upon God as our creator, preserver, benefactor, owner, and ruler; not only from his hand our breath was at first, but in his hand our breath is<\/I> still; it is he that holds our souls in life,<\/I> and, if he take away our breath, we die.<\/I> Our times being in his hand,<\/I> so is our breath, by which our times are measured. In him we live, and move, and have our being;<\/I> we live by him, live upon him, and cannot live without him. The way of man is not in himself,<\/I> not at his own command, at his own disposal, but his are all our ways;<\/I> for our hearts are in his hand, and so are the hearts of all men, even of kings, who seem to act most as free-agents. [2.] Our duty to God, in consideration of this dependence; we ought to glorify him, to devote ourselves to his honour and employ ourselves in his service, to make it our care to please him and our business to praise him. [3.] Our default in this duty, notwithstanding that dependence; we have not done it; for we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God.<\/I> This is the indictment against Belshazzar; there needs no proof, it is made good by the notorious evidence of the fact, and his own conscience cannot but plead guilty to it. And therefore,<\/P> 4. He now proceeds to read the sentence, as he found it written upon the wall: “Then<\/I>” (says Daniel) “when thou hast come to such a height of impiety as thus to trample upon the most sacred things, then<\/I> when thou wast in the midst of thy sacrilegious idolatrous feast, then was the part of the hand,<\/I> the writing fingers, sent from him,<\/I> from that God whom thou didst so daringly affront, and who had borne so long with thee, but would bear no longer; he sent them,<\/I> and this writing,<\/I> thou now seest, was written,<\/I> v.<\/span> 24<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. It is he that now writes bitter things against thee,<\/I> and makes thee to possess thy iniquities,<\/I>” Job xiii. 26<\/span>. Note, As the sin of sinners is written in the book of God’s omniscience, so the doom of sinners is written in the book of God’s law; and the day is coming when those books shall be opened,<\/I> and they shall be judged by them. Now the writing was, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin,<\/I> v.<\/span> 25<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. It is well that we have an authentic exposition of these words annexed, else we could make little of them, so concise are they; the signification of them is, He has numbered, he has weighed, and they divide.<\/I> The Chaldean wise men, because they knew not that there is but one God only, could not understand who this He<\/I> should be, and for that reason (some think) the writing puzzled them. (1.) Mene;<\/I> that is repeated, for the thing is certain–Mene, mene;<\/I> that signifies, both in Hebrew and Chaldee, He has numbered and finished,<\/I> which Daniel explains thus (v.<\/I><\/span> 26<\/span>): “God has numbered thy kingdom,<\/I> the years and days of the continuance of it; these were numbered in the counsel of God, and now they are finished; the term has expired for and during which thou wast to hold it, and now it must be surrendered. Here is an end of thy kingdom.” (2.) Tekel;<\/I> that signifies, in Chaldee, Thou art weighed,<\/I> and, in Hebrew, Thou art too light.<\/I> So Dr. Lightfoot. For this king and his actions are weighed in the just and unerring balances of divine equity. God does as perfectly know his true character as the goldsmith knows the weight of that which he has weighed in the nicest scales. God does not give judgment against him till he has first pondered his actions, and considered the merits of his case. “But thou art found wanting,<\/I> unworthy to have such a trust lodged in thee, a vain, light, empty man, a man of no weight or consideration.” (3.) Upharsin,<\/I> which should be rendered, and Pharsin,<\/I> or Peres. Parsin,<\/I> in Hebrew, signifies the Persians; Paresin,<\/I> in Chaldee, signifies dividing;<\/I> Daniel puts both together (v.<\/I><\/span> 28<\/span>): “Thy kingdom is divided,<\/I> is rent from thee, and given to the Medes and Persians,<\/I> as a prey to be divided among them.” Now this may, without any force, be applied to the doom of sinners. Mene, Tekel, Peres,<\/I> may easily be made to signify death, judgment,<\/I> and hell.<\/I> At death, the sinner’s days are numbered<\/I> and finished;<\/I> after death the judgment, when he will be weighed in the balance and found wanting;<\/I> and after judgment the sinner will be cut asunder,<\/I> and given as a prey to the devil and his angels. Daniel does not here give Belshazzar such advice and encouragement to repent as he had given Nebuchadnezzar, because he saw the decree had gone forth and he would not be allowed any space to repent.<\/P> One would have thought that Belshazzar would be exasperated against Daniel, and, seeing his own case desperate, would be in a rage against him. But he was so far convicted by his own conscience of the reasonableness of all he said that he objected nothing against it; but, on the contrary, gave Daniel the reward he promised him, put on him the scarlet gown<\/I> and the gold chain,<\/I> and proclaimed him the third ruler in the kingdom<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 29<\/span>), because he would be as good as his word, and because it was not Daniel’s fault if the exposition of the hand-writing was not such as he desired. Note, Many show great respect to God’s prophets who yet have no regard to his word. Daniel did not value these titles and ensigns of honour, yet would not refuse them, because they were tokens of his prince’s good-will: but we have reason to think that he received them with a smile, foreseeing how soon they would all wither with him that bestowed them. They were like Jonah’s gourd, which came up in a night and perished in a night, and therefore it was folly for him to be exceedingly glad<\/I> of them.<\/P> <\/p>\nFuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n Here Daniel relates the occasion of his being brought before the king, as the reader and interpreter of the writing. The queen, he says, did this. It is doubtful whether it was the wife of King Belshazzar, or his grandmother. She was probably an old woman, as she refers to events in the time of King Nebuchadnezzar This conjecture has no sufficient foundation, and hence it is better to suspend our judgment than to assert anything rashly; unless, as we before saw, his wife was at table with him. As far as we can gather the words of the Prophet with certainty, we must diligently notice them, and thus convict the king of ingratitude, because he did not admit Daniel among the magi, Chaldeans, and astrologers. The holy man had no wish to be reckoned in that company; he would have deserved to lose God’s prophetic spirit had he thus mingled with impostors; and he is clearly to be distinguished from them. King Nebuchadnezzar had set him over all the magi; he had no wish to exercise this honor, unless, as I have just said, he would deprive himself of the singular gift of prophecy; for we must always take care how far we can go. We know how very prone we are to be enticed by the blandishments of the world, especially when ambition blinds us and disturbs all our senses. No plague is worse than this, because when any one sees a prospect of the acquisition of either profit or honor, he does not regard either what he ought to do or what God permits, but is hurried on by a blind fury. This would have happened to Daniel, unless he had been restrained by a sense of true piety, and hence he repudiated the honor offered him by King Nebuchadnezzar. He never wished to be reckoned among soothsayers, and astrologers, and impostors of this kind, who deluded that nation with prodigies. Here the queen enters and mentions Daniel; but this does not render the king without excuse; for, as we have already said, Daniel had acquired a name of renown among men of all ages, and God wished to signalize him by a distinct mark, to fix the minds of all upon him, as if he were an angel from heaven. As King Belshazzar was ignorant of the existence of such a Prophet in his kingdom, this was the result of his gross and brutish indifference. God, therefore, wished King Belshazzar to be reproved by a woman, who said, Let not thy thoughts disturb thee! She calms him quietly, because she saw how frightened he was; but, meanwhile, she shews him the grossness of his error in wandering about in uncertainty, when the way was plain before him. God had put his torch in the Prophet’s hand for the very purpose of lighting the king, unless he willfully desired to wander in darkness, as all the wicked do. Hence, we may learn from the example of this king, the common fault of our nature; for no one runs out of the right way, unless he indulges in his own ignorance, and desires all light to be extinct within him. As to the language of the queen, The spirit of the holy gods is in Daniel! we have elsewhere explained its meaning. It is not surprising that the profane use this language, since they cannot discern between the one God and angels. Hence they promiscuously call anything divine and celestial, a god. Thus also the queen calls angels, holy gods, and places the true God among them. But it is our privilege to acknowledge the true God as shining forth alone, and the angels as all taking their own ranks without any excellence in heaven or earth to obscure the glory of the only God. The writing has this tendency — the exaltation of God in the highest degree, and the magnifying of his excellency and his majestic supremacy. We here see how needful it is for us to be instructed in the essential unity of God, since from the very beginning of the world men have always been persuaded of the existence of some Supreme Deity; but after they became vain in their imaginations, this idea entirely escaped them, and they mingled God and angels in complete confusion. Whenever we perceive this, let us feel our need of Scripture as a guide and instructor which shines on our path, urging us to think of God as inviting us to himself and willingly revealing himself to us. <\/p>\n Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n(10) By reason of the words.<\/strong>The noise and confusion in the banquet-hall was heard by the queen-mother in her apartments. Her respect for Daniel is evident from her language. The position which she held was one of influence, for it appears that her advice was no sooner offered than it was accepted.<\/p>\nFuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n 10<\/strong>. <\/strong> The queen <\/strong> mentioned here who according to the context comes to the hall because of the babel of voices which arose after the first shock had passed was not, as formerly conjectured, mother of Nabonidus, for a cuneiform text mentions her death, and the universal lamentation it caused, some years previous to this. The narrative becomes harmonious, however, by assuming that this was the wife of Nabonidus, and quite probably a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, and therefore the mother of Belshazzar. It was the ordinary expedient for a usurper like Nabonidus to strengthen himself on the throne by allying himself in marriage with the family of the previous king. The authority of her utterances and her superior knowledge concerning past events would identify her as the mother of the king, even if it had not been stated previously that the king’s wives were already in the banquet chamber (Dan 5:2<\/span>). Even an ordinary “mother” had great honor in ancient Babylon, being commonly represented by a sign which means “the goddess of the house,” and any disrespect to her was punished with severest penalties; but both in ancient Babylon and in Egypt, as in modern China, the queen mother had peculiar honor; being one of the most influential members of the court, whose judgment even the reigning king felt bound to respect (1Ki 15:13<\/span>; 2Ch 15:16<\/span>; Jer 13:18<\/span>; Jer 29:2<\/span>).<\/p>\nFuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n ‘The queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house. The queen spoke and said, “O king live for ever. Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and, in your father’s days, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him. And the king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king I say, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans and soothsayers, forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams and showing of dark sentences and dissolving of doubts (literally ‘of knots’) were found in that same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show you the interpretation.” ’<\/p>\n ‘The queen’ may be the wife of Nabonidus, and daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, but it is equally as likely that it means the mother of the queen, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar. In many ancient countries the queen of a past monarch was held in high esteem and had considerable authority (compare 1Ki 15:13<\/span>; 2Ki 11:1-3 ; 2Ki 24:12<\/span>; Jer 13:18<\/span>; Jer 29:2<\/span>). She came in because someone had brought news to her of what the king and lords were saying. The fact that she could enter of her own accord into the presence of the king and his assembly demonstrates her high authority.<\/p>\n She remembered that great man Daniel who had so helped Nebuchadnezzar. She was of an age to do so. And she was concerned for her son (grandson). So she told him about Daniel. She said that he was a man full of the spirit of the holy gods, and that he had deep understanding and wisdom, and light where there was darkness for others. Indeed because of these things Nebuchadnezzar had made him master (Rab) of the wise men. He could interpret dreams, explain words which no one else could, and resolve puzzles and doubts (knotty problems). He was just the man to help Belshazzar. Let him be called for.<\/p>\n Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nDan 5:10<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>Now the queen, <\/em><\/strong>&c.<\/strong> Now the queen, on account of the affair which had happened to the king and his lords, came, <\/em>&c. The word for countenance <\/em>at the end of the verse signifies splendour, <\/em>or the serenity of the face. The king’s wives and concubines sat with him at the feast, Dan 5:2-3<\/span> so that the person here mentioned must have been the queen-mother, whom Herodotus calls Nitocris; <\/em>a lady of eminent wisdom, who had the chief direction of public affairs. See Prideaux, and Herod. lib. i, and cap. 185. <\/p>\nFuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n 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.<\/p>\n Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nDan 5:10<\/span> [Now] the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: [and] the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:<\/p>\n Ver. 10. Now the queen.<\/strong> ] The queen mother, whom Herodotus calleth Nicochris, and greatly commendeth for her wisdom and ability of speech, which in a woman is a comely ornament: Pro 31:26 (1.) She was not at this riotous feast, which is an argument of her temperance; (2.) She prudently insinuateth into the king by the ordinary salutation, “O king, live for ever”; (3.) She adviseth him to bear up, and not to be too troubled; (4.) She maketh honourable mention of Daniel, cuius virtutum sola est admiratrix,<\/em> and persuaded the king to make use of him by her own experience, We use to say thus women’s wits are best at a pinch. Most sure it is that women have proven sometimes more prompt for counsel than men; Jdg 13:23 and some we may find who, beside their sex, have little of a woman in them. See 2Sa 20:16<\/span> . Herodotus maketh this Nicochris as famous as Semiramis.<\/p>\nFuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nNASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Dan 5:10-12<\/p>\n 10The queen entered the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said, O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale. 11There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners. 12This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation.<\/p>\n Dan 5:10 the queen The Septuagint adds a phrase that says that Belshazzar called the queen. This is because it was highly unusual for anyone to enter the king’s presence without being summoned (cf. Est 4:11). However, the queen-mother had a unique position in the royal court and could probably come and go at will. There has been much debate as to her identity: (1) Nebuchadnezzar’s queen, (2) Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter, or (3) one of Nabonidus’ wives. Options #1 or 2 seem most likely because she knew of Daniel and his gifts.<\/p>\n Dan 5:11 There is a man in your kingdom Dan 5:8 is an example again of the failure of the Babylonian wise men to accurately know the heart and mind of the one true God. God did, however, provide a source of revelation, even to these Babylonian monarchs. That source was Daniel, one of the captives of Judah (cf. Dan 5:13).<\/p>\n a spirit of the holy gods See note at Dan 4:8.<\/p>\n NASBillumination, insight, and wisdom<\/p>\n NKJVlight and understanding and wisdom<\/p>\n NRSVenlightenment, understanding and wisdom<\/p>\n TEVgood sense, knowledge, and wisdom<\/p>\n NJBperception, intelligence and wisdom<\/p>\n These three characterizations are meant to reflect Daniel’s supernatural abilities to know and interpret visions, dreams, etc. (cf. Dan 5:14). The next phrase, the wisdom of the gods accentuates Daniel’s God-given gifts (cf. Dan 5:12; Dan 1:17; Dan 1:20).<\/p>\n appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners See note at Dan 1:20; Dan 2:48; Dan 4:9.<\/p>\n Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nthe queen. Nitocris, the daughter in law of Nebuchadnezzar, and mother of Nabonidus. <\/p>\n came into, &c. She was not present among the “wives” of Dan 5:2. <\/p>\n Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nDan 5:10-12<\/p>\n Dan 5:10 Now the queen,H4433 by reason ofH6903 the wordsH4406 of the kingH4430 and his lords,H7261 cameH5954 into the banquetH4961 house:H1005 and the queenH4433 spakeH6032 and said,H560 O king,H4430 liveH2418 for ever:H5957 let notH409 thy thoughtsH7476 troubleH927 thee, norH409 let thy countenanceH2122 be changed:H8133 <\/p>\n Dan 5:11 There isH383 a manH1400 in thy kingdom,H4437 in whomH1768 is the spiritH7308 of the holyH6922 gods;H426 and in the daysH3118 of thy fatherH2 lightH5094 and understandingH7924 and wisdom,H2452 like the wisdomH2452 of the gods,H426 was foundH7912 in him; whom the kingH4430 NebuchadnezzarH5020 thy father,H2 the king,H4430 I say, thy father,H2 madeH6966 masterH7229 of the magicians,H2749 astrologers,H826 Chaldeans,H3779 and soothsayers;H1505 <\/p>\n Dan 5:12 Forasmuch asH3606 H6903 H1768 an excellentH3493 spirit,H7308 and knowledge,H4486 and understanding,H7924 interpretingH6591 of dreams,H2493 and shewingH263 of hard sentences,H280 and dissolvingH8271 of doubts,H7001 were foundH7912 in the same Daniel,H1841 whomH1768 the kingH4430 namedH7761 H8036 Belteshazzar:H1096 nowH3705 let DanielH1841 be called,H7123 and he will shewH2324 the interpretation.H6591 <\/p>\n Dan 5:10-12<\/p>\n Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 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, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.<\/p>\n The queen was obviously not present at the party. This woman is obviously not Belshazzar’s wife because Dan 5:3 placed his wives in attendance at the party. Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC and the Babylonia empire was overthrown in 539, twenty three years later. It is possible and likely this queen was the widow of Nebuchadnezzar himself. She directly referenced Nebuchadnezzar as “the king”. At the very least, she personally knew both Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. At this time in Daniel’s life he had been in Babylon about 66 years. If he were twelve at the time he arrived in Babylon, this would place Daniel at the age of seventy eight years old. <\/p>\n Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nthe queen: This was probably Nitocris, the queen-mother, widow of Evil-merodach, son of Nebuchadnezzar, and father of Belshazzar. <\/p>\n O king: Dan 2:4, Dan 3:9, Dan 6:6, Dan 6:21, 1Ki 1:31 <\/p>\n let not: Gen 35:17, Gen 35:18, 1Sa 4:20-22, Job 13:4, Job 21:34 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 2Sa 16:16 – God save the king Neh 2:3 – Let the king Dan 4:5 – a dream Dan 5:6 – and his thoughts<\/p>\n Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nDan 5:10. A queen was not the kings wife as a rule but instead she was his mother, and the word is so rendered by various versions. See an example of this subject in 1Ki 15:13, and it is further explained by the following from Smiths Bible Dictionary. This title is properly applied to the queenmother, since in an Oriental household it is not the wife but the mother of the master who exercises the highest authority. Strange as such an arrangement at first sight appears, it is one of the inevitable results of polygamy. This helps to explain, also, why the queen was so well acquainted with the events in the life of Nebuchadnezzar. Being older, and also associated near the throne for many years, she would have some personal recollection of those events, and she also had access to the records of the empire, (See comments on chapter 4:1, 2.) Learning of Belshazzar’s difficulty in solving the mystery about the writing, she came into his presence to console him with her information.<\/p>\n Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nDan 5:10-12. Now the queen, &c. The kings wives and concubines sat with him at the feast, Dan 5:2; therefore the person here called the queen, and said to come into the banqueting-house on this solemn occasion, must have been the queen-mother, the widow of Evil-merodach, named Nitocris, a lady, according to Herodotus, eminent for her wisdom, and who had the chief direction of public affairs. The queen said, Let not thy thoughts trouble thee Be not so distressed, nor yield to terror and despondency. There is a man in thy kingdom Some persons are apt to wonder that Daniel was unknown to Belshazzar, which others have accounted for from the abandoned and indolent character of this prince; but there is a further reason: which Mr. Harmer, vol. 1. p. 166, has hinted, from Sir John Chardin, namely, that he had been mazouled, as they express it in the East, that is, displaced at the death of a prior king; since, in the East, when the king dies, the physicians and astrologers are removed: the former for not having driven away death, and the latter for not having predicted it. It is probable, however, that Daniel was not totally unknown to the king; but being perhaps in no esteem, or not employed in any considerable department of the state, in the early part of his reign, he was not readily recollected. In whom was the spirit of the holy gods See note on Dan 4:8. And in the days of thy father That is, of thy grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, light and understanding, &c. That is, an enlightened understanding, or supernatural illumination, as the next words show. Such an insight he had into things secret, and such a foresight of things to come, that it was evident he was divinely inspired, and possessed of extraordinary wisdom, given him from above. Forasmuch as an excellent spirit and knowledge, &c., were found in the same Daniel His excellent disposition, his humble, holy, heavenly spirit, was both a great ornament to his wisdom, and fitted him for the reception and increase of that extraordinary gift of God. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation She speaks with confidence; for, being aged, and Nebuchadnezzar having been dead not above twenty-four years, she no doubt well remembered the extraordinary events which had occurred in the latter part of his life, and the supernatural inspiration, and extraordinary wisdom, which Daniel had manifested on these occasions. And she speaks as if she knew where to find Daniel, though Belshazzar probably did not.<\/p>\n Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n5:10 [Now] the {h} queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: [and] the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:<\/p>\n (h) That is, his grandmother, Nebuchadnezzar’s wife, who because of her age was not at the feast before, but came there when she heard of this strange news.<\/p>\n Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n3. The queen’s counsel 5:10-12<\/span><\/p>\nFuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\nNormally we would identify the queen as Belshazzar’s wife. However, there are a number of reasons to prefer the view that she was really the "queen mother." She could even have been the surviving wife of Nebuchadnezzar. [Note: Ibid., p. 122.] <\/span> Belshazzar’s wives had been participating in this banquet (Dan 5:2), but this woman now entered it apparently for the first time. She also spoke to the king more as a mother than as a wife. [Note: Arthur Jeffery, "The Book of Daniel, Introduction and Exegesis," in The Interpreter’s Bible, 6:426.] <\/span> Moreover, she spoke as one who had personal acquaintance with Daniel’s earlier interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream (cf. Dan 4:8-9; Dan 4:18). Probably this woman was Belshazzar’s mother and the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. [Note: Archer, "Daniel," p. 72.] <\/span> The queen mother was often a significant figure who exerted considerable influence in ancient courts (cf. 1Ki 15:13; 2Ki 11:1-3; 2Ki 24:12; Jer 13:18). This woman proceeded to do for Belshazzar what Arioch had done for Nebuchadnezzar, namely: to bring Daniel to the king’s attention (cf. Dan 2:25).<\/p>\nFuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[Now] the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: [and] the queen spoke and said, O king, live forever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 10. the queen ] probably, as most commentators assume, partly because she is distinguished … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 5:10”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21895\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} | |