HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
Book of Daniel, part 7

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Daniel 5: Five Moves

1. Belshazzar’s Party (1-4)
2. God’s Graffiti (5-9)
3. Calling Daniel (10-17)
4. Read It and Weep (18-28)
5. Aftermath (29-30)

Raiders of the Lost Artifacts

• Background: 2 Kings 25:13-17
• Destruction and Desecration of Jerusalem Temple
• Looting the Temple artifacts

Rembrandt, The Feast of Belshazzar (1632)

The Feast of Belshazzar

• Belshazzar throws a party for his nobles
• They use the goblets dedicated to Temple service
• They “toast” the images of their gods

God’s Graffiti

• Belshazzar is upset by God’s action
• The failure of his counselors magnifies his distress

Calling Daniel

• The queen has good advice
• Belshazzar isn’t aware of Daniel, suggesting he isn’t getting wise counsel
• Belshazzar has not learned Nebuchadnezzar’s lesson (his testimony in chapter 4)

Read It and Weep

• Handwriting on the Wall is a judgment of doom
• Belshazzar did not humble himself or honor God

Aramaic - Hebrew Words
To understand the cryptogram you have to understand a little about how Hebrew words work. Most words come from a three letter root. Hebrew has no true vowels. So different vowel sounds change the meaning of the words. One root word can be read numerous ways.

mlk – root word
mĕlĕk – king (m. noun)
mălkah – queen (f. noun)
mâlăk – reign (verb)
malkuth – royalty (noun)

MENE MENE TEKEL UPARSIN
The text only gives us the letters that make up the message. But these words are not evident until Daniel decodes it. Why can’t the other diviners read the message?

This is where the theory about the cryptogram comes up. What if the letters were arranged in an unusual and atypical way?

There is a legend that the inscription was written in columns. That is the way Rembrandt pictured it in his 1632 painting. He learned this interpretation from his friend Manasseh ben-Israel in Amsterdam.

The color changes above show how the four words (including the   for “and”) could be arranged.

More importantly is the how the words have double meaning depending on whether it is a noun or verb. This chart describes how Daniel understands the riddle.

The Pun Intended
So, Daniel is assuming that the riddle refers to an assortment of coins, but also functions as a prophecy of doom on Belshazzar.

The riddle Mina, Mina, Tekel and Parsin (using our common coinage) might read something like “Half a dollar, half a dollar, a penny, and two bits”

What is means (as Daniel explains very well in the text) is: “Your days are numbered, your rule has been weighed, and your empire will be divided among the Medes and Persians”

It isn’t accidental that the word for half-mina can also be read as Persia.

The aftermath is reported as Belshazzar’s immediate fall and the conquest of Persia. A new ruler is in charge of Babylon. The mighty have fallen.

So What?

• God is not limited to one nation or region
• It could have gone differently for Belshazzar
• God mocks the proud (See Proverbs 3:34 and Matthew 23:12.)

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Evening Sermon, 24 June 2007

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