Ezra 1:1-4. As mentioned before, Belshazzar was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar. Among these buildings were the Temple of Bel, an eight-story structure, and the magnificent palace of the king, actually a complex of buildings, which have now been excavated. Nebuchadnezzar's . Also known as: Baltasar, Balthasar, Bel-shar-usur. As Nabonidus assumed the throne in 556 B.C., only six years after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar was probably at least a teenager when Nebuchadnezzar diedif he was old enough to be coregent with Nabonidus in 553 B.C. it is possible that he was a genuine son of Nebuchadnezzar and that his mother, after Nebuchadnezzars death, was married to Nabonidus. Although Babylon has been only partially excavated with but a small part of the original city recovered, the system of mounds which mark the city today more or less indicate its boundaries. Belshazzar was evidently in no mood to bargain but was terrified and desperately desired to know the meaning of the writing. 245 The actual text of Berosus is as follows: After beginning the wall of which I have spoken, Nabuchodonosor fell sick and died, after a reign of forty-three years, and the realm passed to his son Evilmaraduch. Belshazzar had been known only from the biblical Book of Daniel (chapters 5, 78) and from Xenophons Cyropaedia until 1854, when references to him were found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. Daniel (Dn'il, or Danel) is also the name of a figure in the Aqhat legend from Ugarit. Whether, therefore, someone else made the suggestion to him in his perplexity, or whether he himself devised the plan, he had recourse to the following stratagem. The implication in the clause whiles he tasted the wine is that Belshazzar in his right mind probably would not have committed this sacrilegious act. Hearing the unusual clamor at the banquet and learning of the distress of her son, because of her position she was able to enter the banquet hall freely and speak to the king. Some have denied his historicity The kings name, however, has now appeared upon the cuneiform documents, so that there can be no question as to his historicity. How God holds in derision the rulers of the world who take counsel against Him (Ps 2:1-4)! 264 Otto Zockler, Daniel, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, p. 126. [50] It is often assumed that Belshazzar was killed by the Persians at Babylon when the city fell, on 12 October. Some have found, in the six materials mentioned, a typical reference to the number of the world amenable to judgment because of its hostility to God.264 In the original, the gods of gold and silver are separated by the conjunction and, not true of the listing of the gods of brass, iron, wood, and stone, as if there were two classes of deities. Her address is courteous, O king, live for ever, but directly to the point. It may even have been Belshazzar who convinced his father to stay away from Babylonia in the first place, fearing a confrontation with the Babylonian oligarchy and clergy over his father's religious beliefs. The queen urged, however, that now he be brought in to solve the present problem. Belshazzar was not allowed to date documents after his own "regnal years". In many respects, modern civilization is much like ancient Babylon, resplendent with its monuments of architectural triumph, as secure as human hands and ingenuity could make it, and yet defenseless against the judgment of God at the proper hour. As Keil expresses it, It is not quite certain what the princely situation is which was promised to the interpreter of the writing That it is not the ordinale of the number third, is, since Havernick, now generally acknowledged.270 However, recent scholarship has tended to confirm the translation the third ruler. Franz Rosenthal, for instance, confidently translates the term one-third (ruler), triumvir.271. [20], By examining surviving documents from Belshazzar's time as crown prince, it appears that the estates of Neriglissar's family were confiscated after Labashi-Marduk's death and that they were claimed and taken over by Belshazzar. Midway in the long wall opposite the entrance there was a niche in front of which the king may well have been seated. It was hard for the Babylonians to believe that even the Medes and the Persians who had surrounded their beloved city could possibly breach the fortifications or exhaust their supplies which were intended to be ample for a siege of many years. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [35] These include: The events that transpired in Babylonia during Belshazzar's regency are not well known, owing to a lack of surviving sources. When Daniel was brought before the king, he addressed a natural question to reassure himself of the identity of Daniel. If the scene can be reconstructed, it is probable that the banquet was illuminated by torches which not only produced smoke but fitful light that would only partially illuminate the great hall. 278 There is a remarkably close parallel to the language of 5:23 in the Prayer of Nabonidus found in Qumran Cave 4:See J. T. Milik, pp. Daniel 5:1 Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. This is the first point at which this ch. 1., and Xenophon, inform us. This article is about the Babylonian prince. See also Leupold, pp. Belshazzar is not mentioned in building inscriptions, which usually mention the king responsible. Nebuchadnezzar II, also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, (born c. 630died c. 561 bce), second and greatest king of the Chaldean dynasty of Babylonia (reigned c. 605-c. 561 bce). Whereas Neriglissar's career as a businessman prior to becoming king can be followed through a trail of surviving business documents, Belshazzar appears to have become a prominent member of the Babylonian oligarchy overnight[18] (Belshazzar, in contrast to his co-conspirators was notably not a member of the old Babylonian aristocracy),[19] not being mentioned in any business documents or private transactions prior to Nabonidus becoming king. Nebuchadnezzar dies and is replaced by a succession of short-lived kings. Daniel experiences a vision of the four terrifying beasts but kept the vision to himself. As soon as a suitable number of the wise men had assembled, the king addressed them offering the reward that, if one of them could read the writing and show the interpretation, he would be clothed with scarlet and have a chain of gold about his neck and become third ruler in the kingdom. How old was Daniel when Belshazzar was king? 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 does not record his immediate successors, and extrabiblical literature is somewhat confused. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. The storehouses of Babylon were still abundant with food and wine, and there is evidence that there was plenty of both at this feast. 9:41, cited by C. F. Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, p. 164. 258 M. E. L. Mallowan, Nimrud, in Archaeology and Old Testament Study, p. 62. Daniel does not explain the difficulty in reading the writing on the wall, but the problem apparently was not that it was a strange language but rather what the words signified prophetically. And thus Babylon was taken for the first time.285, Keil discusses at length both Herodotus account and that of Xenophon in his Cyropaedia, which is similar, and summarizes the arguments of Kranichfeld discounting these records. 271 F. Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic, p. 71. But for Belshazzar, Daniel immediately speaks out and delivers the cold hard facts. In the Neo-Babylonian Empire, oaths were typically sworn by the king, and several gods, by individuals who were going to conduct various services. [49] The last tablet dated to Nabonidus's reign is from Uruk and is dated to 13 October, which is considered the end date of his reign. This would involve the premise that Nabonidus, although usually living at Teima, had returned to Babylon for a visit just prior to the siege of Babylon, had gone out to battle before Babylon was actually surrounded, and then was defeated, thereby permitting the Persians to besiege Babylon itself. King Belshazzar gave a big party for 1000 of his officials. [29] It is probable that Nabonidus, a reformer, and Belshazzar, apparently more religiously conservative, did not see eye to eye in religious matters. Herodotus's description of Nitocris contains a wealth of legendary material that makes it difficult to determine whether he uses the name to refer to Nabonidus's wife or mother, but William H. Shea proposed in 1982 that Nitocris may tentatively be identified as the name of Nabonidus's wife and Belshazzar's mother. In many respects, Babylon was the most fabulous city of the ancient world both for the beauty of its architecture and for the safety of its huge walls and fortifications. It is possible that Nabonidus was married to one of Nebuchadnezzar II's daughters. A favorite target of critics of faith concerns two kings mentioned eight times each in the book of Daniel: Belshazzar and Darius the Mede. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? According to Berosus, Nebuchadnezzar died after a reign of 43 years and was followed by his son Evil-Merodach. When Nebuchadnezzar died, Daniel was one of the most powerful men in Babylon and doubtless had his own house and was well provisioned for retirement. In the midst of this atmosphere of consternation, apprehension, and fear, Daniels countenance alone reflected the deep peace of God founded on confidence in God and His divine revelation. 115-16; and T. G. Pinches, Babel, Babylon, in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1:350. Before morning they killed Belshazzar and took over his kingdom (v 31). Daniel read the writing and Belshazzar made him the third ruler in the kingdom. Although the precise identity of Belshazzar may continue to be debated, available facts support accepting Daniels designation of Belshazzar as king. Young states, The identity of Belshazzar has long caused difficulty to commentators. The probability is that the writing was in Aramaic and therefore not entirely unknown to the wise men. Belshazzar, overcome by sickness, left the palace unobserved during the night through a rear exit. His widespread troopstheir number, like that of the water of a river, could not be establishedstrolled along, their weapons packed away.
How To Block Spam Calls On Samsung S21,
Brown Funeral Home Mifflintown,
Articles H
